Sustainable Building Services: Categories and Importance

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING SERVICES
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Question 1
a) A necessary evil is an evil that has to be permitted for a better or greater
good or results. Building services involve services being installed in the
buildings to enhance their functionality, comfort, efficiency and safety. The
installation of building services come with extra costs of construction but
such services must be included in the building to achieve its functional
requirements Mumovic, D. and Santamouris, M. eds., 2013. This makes
building services a necessary evil.
b) The design, manufacture and installation of building services are done in
such a way that they are aimed at reflecting the needs of Environmentally
Sustainable Development. Services like electrical power systems include
such designs as the solar power and panels that are aimed at reducing
production of electricity through biofuels Alyami, S.H., Rezgui, Y. and
Kwan, A., 2013. The availability of such services as rain water harvesting
systems, stormwater harvesting systems and drainage water harvesting
systems are important in enhancing environmental sustainability.
Priority in the design and construction was minimization of water and energy
consumption technologies among them passive cooling, renewable energy,
recycling of grey water, the use of intelligent control systems as well as
combined solutions of heat and power. Through following such a path in the
design and construction process, the environmental performance of the
building is enhanced and thus a check on the cost of maintenance of the
building is done.
c) Categories of Building Services
Mechanical services include
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 HVAC systems: The central focus of the Heating, Ventilation and Air
Conditioning System is to achieve an indoor environment that is not
only safe but also comfortable for human habitation. The safety aspect
is mainly on the Indoor Air Quality which means that the indoor air
should be composed of sufficient oxygen but free from noxious gases.
Comfort on the other hand is purely human perception and can change
within the boundaries. Generally comfortable air quality is defined as
that with which 80% or more of the people who are subjected to the
condition do not express dissatisfaction. The HVAC system has three
components: rejection unit, central plant and distribution system. The
core of the system is contained in the central plant also termed as the
chiller plant and it is the part in which compression of the fluid occurs
in order to generate its heat. The coolth which has been produced by
the chillers are distributed throughout the building by the distribution
system.
 Elevators and escalators: Elevators are cars that navigate in a vertical
shaft to transport passengers or goods between the various levels of a
multi-storey building. Most of the modern elevators are operated using
electric motors with the help of counterweight via a system of cables
and pulleys. Escalators are modified staircases that are capable of
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moving between floors or levels of buildings. The current escalators
are able to move at a speed of 36 m per minute with the larger types
having a capacity of 6000 persons per hour. The breakage of a chain in
the escalator results in the halt of release of tension and a safety switch
as well stops the device should there be a breakage in the handrail or
should it become lose or in case of deflection in the side panel.
 Compressed air systems which are used in the industries
 Fire fighting systems
 Gas supply systems
Water drainage and Plumbing Systems
Drainage refers to the elimination of the sub-surface and surface water.
Sustainable urban drainage systems are drainage systems that have been
designed in such a way that they can effectively manage the drainage of
surface water especially in the urban surroundings. Plumbing on the other
hand defines any system that permits the movement of fluids majorly
involving plumbing fixtures, pipes, valves and tanks among other apparatus.
The system services include
 Water supply 4