Development of Sustainable Home Using Net Zero Energy

Sustainability in Home Design 1
DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE HOME USING NET ZERO ENERGY
By (Name)
Course
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission
|

Sustainability in Home Design 2
Abstract
The report’s central objective is to address the recent methods of technology applied in the
process of constructing of the zero net energy buildings. The report takes note of new
materials of construction, energy consumption levels, innovative procedures and technology,
renewable energies, reuse and recycling of materials and the management systems in place.
Through a feasibility test carried out the report gives the differences that arises in two
different buildings that are constructed differently but in the same locality and both having a
life cycle of 40 years. Two houses in Melbourne whose layout structure are the same but one
was built using new construction materials and innovative methods of construction, the house
was named RH. The other house coded as YH is constructed using traditional procedures
with traditional materials. The feasibility process focused on use of zero carbon energy
elements used to build the two houses after which a comparison on their carbon emission is
determined.
HOMER software and Energy plus helped when analyzing the conditions of the two
houses as the methodology put in use was by running the designs of the two houses in the
software. The results obtained after the analysis process addressed the financial conditions
of the two houses, tangible use of carbon energy and the level saving the embodied energy.
Lastly the report ended by providing the discoveries and later recommended better ways
and methods that can be employed to improve the construction of houses with the aim of
achieving buildings with net zero energy emission.
|

Sustainability in Home Design 3
Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................1
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
2.1 Review low/zero carbon design technology......................................................................5
Selection of low carbon construction materials......................................................................5
Innovative Construction Process............................................................................................8
Renewable Energy................................................................................................................14
2.2 YH Details.........................................................................................................................20
YH detail construction material............................................................................................21
Detail Construction Process for YH.....................................................................................22
Details of YH heating/cooling, hot water, and appliances...................................................23
2.3 RH Details.........................................................................................................................24
Selection of construction materials.......................................................................................24
Your Selection of manufacturing constituents for RH that need less
replacement/maintenance over their service life..................................................................27
Your selection of construction process that has fewer carbon emissions for RH.................29
Your approach to reuse and recycle construction materials for RH.....................................29
Your Energy management design to reduce energy consumption for heating/cooling........30
Your energy management design to reduce energy consumption for hot water, and
Appliances............................................................................................................................31
Your selection of on-site renewable energy.........................................................................32
2.4 Estimating the annual and total carbon emission over the service life of YH and RH
..................................................................................................................................................35
Estimation of embodied carbon emission of YH and RH Construction Material................35
Estimation of carbon emission related to the construction of YH and RH...........................37
Estimation of carbon emission related to maintenance........................................................38
Estimation of carbon emission from wastes of your rebuilt/redesigned home.....................40
Estimation of operating carbon emission in relation to the daily usage for hot water, and all
appliances of YH and RH.....................................................................................................41
Estimation of operating carbon emission in relation to the daily usage for heating and
cooling of YH and RH..........................................................................................................43
2.5 Use HOMER to design on-site renewable energy supply to achieve ‘net-zero-
emission’ over the service life of RH (e.g. 40 years)............................................................46
Released Carbon Dioxide Benefits.......................................................................................61
2.6 Estimate cost and benefit (e.g. energy saving) of RH in comparison with YH...........62
2.7 Discuss the feasibility and challenges of implementing RH, and the Ways to
overcome the challenges........................................................................................................63
References...............................................................................................................................65
|

Sustainability in Home Design 4
Introduction
|

Sustainability in Home Design 5
The built environment has a huge impact on the environment and people’s lives. Residential
developments use averagely 45% of the energy produced on planet earth (Khan et al. 2004.
P.26). Energy is mainly nonrenewable and a major pollutant of the environment thus it
largely contributes to climate change and air pollution on earth. Stakeholders in the built
environment are now taking keen interest on how to mitigate the effects of the built
environment by building environmentally friendly buildings. Among the measures being take
includes:
 Legislative measures to govern the construction industry
 Review of the building codes
Climate change experienced as a result of global warming are the main impacts of pollution
and they have led to catastrophic disasters such as floods, droughts and a rise in sea levels
(Balzani &Armaroli, 2010)
The state of California has taken steps to ensure that it achieves net zero certified buildings
by the year 2030. It is has formulated a detailed goal and vision for its built environments
with the residential buildings are required to meet the sustainability demands of a net zero
energy home by the year 2030 (Balzani &Armaroli, 2010) Commercial buildings should also
be net zero certified by the year 2020 (Van 2008, p.565). California’s vision is aligned to the
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that requires complete elimination in the
usage of fossil fuel in upcoming federal developments by 2030 (Van 2008, p.568) and the
contactors are already working towards the achievement of the net zero certified building
goal
A net zero certified building is one, which has reduced its energy requirements by optimizing
efficiency in energy utilization as per research by energy department in America. This is
achieved by balancing energy requirements supplied using renewable energy (Borenstein,
2008) proper and comprehensive study of the site and good planning, keen adherence to the
regulations to achieve minimum energy consumption and installation of extra energy
producing systems in the buildings
The need to reduce the causes of climate change and have an economy run on
environmentally friendly activities (Borenstein, 2008) led to the construction of Net zero
homes in the 2000s. The government of America completed the development of a research
facility in Colorado and achieved net zero emissions threshold by changing the design during
construction.
Among the policies affected in the process include:
 Incorporation of day lighting
 Natural ventilation of the spaces
 Provision of extra energy sources for example 1.6MW of photovoltaic power through
an agreement to purchase power. (Construction Limited Company, 2010).
|

Sustainability in Home Design 6
An efficient and energy conserving data center was also incorporated in the building. Another
notable building that has achieved the net zero status is the Adam Joseph Lewis located in
Oberlin University in united states(Dixit, et al., 2010) built for the sole purpose of
environmental research and study.
Owing to the huge impact of the built environment to the planet caused through carbon
emissions from buildings, it is important that professionals and stakeholders in the built
environment to invent technologies that reduce carbon emissions to the environment as well
as recommend and use low carbon energy materials that have shown effectiveness in
reducing climatic change. (Dixit, et al., 2010)
This report seeks to show the impact of the built environment on climatic change by
comparing two buildings, the materials used and the resultant embodied carbon energy as
well as the cost saved if renewable sources of energy are used.
In conclusion this report will highlight the construction of a net zero energy building citing
the possibilities and the hiccups experienced in the implementation.
2.1 Review low/zero carbon design technology
Selection of low carbon construction materials
The most effective way of achieving net zero emission in buildings is by using material
with low embodied carbon. (Goswami, 2004). Embodied carbon refers to the amount of
carbon gases released to the environment through the entire production process of a specific
construction material. These carbon gases include carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.
Embodied carbon is checked in the life cycle assessment test (Ameli & Brandt, 2015) and
presented as either a single indicator or a core environmental indicator. Life cycle
assessment method assesses the environmental impact caused by the embodied carbon in
material used in a development.
Below is a list showing embodied carbon sources in buildings and the respective percentage
of embodied carbon energy they contribute.
.
|

Sustainability in Home Design 7
Knowledge of the carbon emissions by each material professional are able to make informed
decisions as pertains to material selection for construction
From study of the table of embodied energy contained in materials above steel is better suited
for construction because it can be recycled and reused giving it a lower carbon content
compared to concrete and a resulting lower carbon emission (Hui, 2010).
Both still have high carbon content and are critical for construction works. Steel structures
possess another advantage of being lighter compared to concrete structures. Carbon energy in
concrete is reduced by use of precast concrete for suspended floors or use of thinner slabs that
studies indicate have lower carbon content. Precast concrete production is controlled and this
results in low carbon content. Extensive researches and studies have led to invention of
alternative construction materials with lesser carbon content. They include: blended cement,
insulated concrete forms, fly ash blocks, rammed earth walls, autoclaved aerated
concrete, recycled metal etc.
|

Sustainability in Home Design 8
Innovative Construction Process
This section reviews techniques of structuring and use of materials in the construction
process for overall reduction in embodied carbon. Construction is divided into 3 phases
namely: planning, supply of materials to site and building or erection of structure
Method of construction and the process plays a big part in reducing or eliminating carbon
emissions.in this implementation stage lack of experience or education by human resource on
site can pose significant challenges in the achievement of low carbon discharges due to
factors such as wastage of materials. Less costly methods that lower personified carbon are
needed there in. The method should also lower the quantity of resources used, reduce rates of
wastage by reducing the dependence on tactics of energy processing and provide a good
image to the company involved in the construction.
The carbon emissions are eliminated as follows in each phase:
Design phase- the professional should design for lowest usage of material through compact
structural form and correct use of space. This ensures more efficiency of the building and
reduces personified carbon by 5%.Exemplified carbon in the construction process can be
reduced up to 20% by altering the structural element requirements ;such as designs of the
roof (Van, 2008, p.564). The positioning of the plan on site also influences the energy
consumption levels as well as the use of viable energy. Orientation of openings like windows
should be in a direction that allows flow of natural light and solar energy. Landscaped lawns
and well situated gardens also help cool and beautify viewpoints of the building resulting to
lower exemplified carbon. Living quarters and social nodes of the building should be oriented
to the North to ensure well lit living spaces during winter. The bedrooms and other private
areas should be oriented towards the south to ensure natural cooling in summer
Construction of the structure- in erection of structures on site embodied carbon emissions can
be reduced by building off site. Off-site building is especially beneficial in steel, timber
structures and molded concrete panels. Due to efficiency in manufacturing and the correct
and accurate assembly of materials on site wastage is highly minimized and thus a 10%
reduction in emission of carbon is achieved on site (Bornstein, 2008).
Carbon emanations can also be reduced by generation of a waste regulation protocol in the
process of manufacturing. The construction system can also be optimized by optimizing
material usage and minimizing wastage of materials.
Selection of in site materials also aides in achieving the desired goal. Onsite materials should
if possible be locally obtained, recyclable or reusable and also use minimal transport to
minimize on the use of fossil fuels in transportation.
Structure decarburization in implementation phase can be done use of certain policies on site
including:
 Thermal enactment index improvement
|