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Low Energy Building
Low-energy buildings, which include zero-energy buildings, passive houses and green buildings, may use any of a large number of techniques to lower energy use. The following are some of the techniques used to achieve low-energy buildings, which excludes energy generation (microgeneration). Improvements to building envelope * Active daylighting * Barra system * Brise soleil * Cool roof and green roof * Daylighting * Double envelope house * Earth sheltering * Energy plus house * Fluorescent lighting, compact fluorescent lamp, and LED lighting * Green building and wood * History of passive solar building design * Low-energy house * Passive daylighting * Passive house * Passive solar * Passive solar building design * Quadruple glazing * -value 20 Quadruple gl ... * Solar energy">-value 20 Quadruple gl ... * Solar energy * Superinsulation * Sustainable architecture">Solar energy * Superinsulation">Solar energy">-value 20 Quadruple gl ... * Solar energy * Superinsulation * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Low-energy Building
A low-energy house is characterized by an energy-efficient design and technical features which enable it to provide high living standards and comfort with low energy consumption and carbon emissions. Traditional heating and active cooling systems are absent, or their use is secondary. Low-energy buildings may be viewed as examples of sustainable architecture. Low-energy houses often have active and passive solar building design and components, which reduce the house's energy consumption and minimally impact the resident's lifestyle. Throughout the world, companies and non-profit organizations provide guidelines and issue certifications to guarantee the energy performance of buildings and their processes and materials. Certifications include passive house, BBC—Bâtiment Basse Consommation—Effinergie (France), zero-carbon house ( UK), and Minergie (Switzerland). Buildings alone were responsible for 38% of all human Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) as of 2008, with 20% attributed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Building And Wood
Green building is a technique that aims to create structures that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout their lifecycle – including siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. A 2009 report by the U.S. General Services Administration evaluated 12 sustainably designed GSA buildings and found they cost less to operate. Wood products from responsible sources are a good choice for most green building projects – both new construction and renovations. Wood grows naturally using energy from the sun and is renewable, sustainable, and recyclable. It is an effective insulator and uses far less energy to produce than concrete or steel. Wood can also mitigate climate change because wood products continue to store carbon absorbed by the tree during its growing cycle, and because substituting wood for fossil fuel-intensive materials such as steel and concrete result in ‘avoided’ greenhouse gas emissions. Life cycle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zero Energy Building
A Zero-Energy Building (ZEB), also known as a Net Zero-Energy (NZE) building, is a building with net zero energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site or in other definitions by renewable energy sources offsite, using technology such as heat pumps, high efficiency windows and insulation, and solar panels. The goal is that these buildings contribute less overall greenhouse gas to the atmosphere during operation than similar non-ZNE buildings. They do at times consume non-renewable energy and produce greenhouse gases, but at other times reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas production elsewhere by the same amount. The development of zero-energy buildings is encouraged by the desire to have less of an impact on the environment, and their expansion is encouraged by tax breaks and savings on energy costs which make zero-energy buildings financially viable. Terminol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Windcatcher
A windcatcher, wind tower, or wind scoop () is a traditional architectural element used to create cross ventilation and passive cooling in buildings. Windcatchers come in various designs, depending on whether local prevailing winds are unidirectional, bidirectional, or multidirectional, on how they change with altitude, on the daily temperature cycle, on humidity, and on how much dust needs to be removed. Despite the name, windcatchers can also function without wind. Neglected by modern architects in the latter half of the 20th century, the early 21st century saw them used again to increase ventilation and cut power demand for air-conditioning. Generally, the cost of construction for a windcatcher-ventilated building is less than that of a similar building with conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The maintenance costs are also lower. Unlike powered air-conditioning and fans, windcatchers are silent and continue to function when the electr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trombe Wall
A Trombe wall is a massive equator-facing wall that is painted a dark color in order to absorb thermal energy from incident sunlight and covered with a glass on the outside with an insulating air-gap between the wall and the glaze. A Trombe wall is a passive solar building design strategy that adopts the concept of indirect-gain, where sunlight first strikes a solar energy collection surface in contact with a thermal mass of air. The sunlight absorbed by the mass is converted to thermal energy (heat) and then transferred into the living space. Trombe walls may also be referred to as a mass wall, solar wall, or thermal storage wall. However, due to the extensive work of professor and architect Félix Trombe in the design of passively heated and cooled solar structure, they are often called Trombe Walls. This system is similar to the air heater (as a simple glazed box on the south wall with a dark absorber, air space, and two sets of vents at top and bottom) created by professor Edwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainability
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social. Many definitions emphasize the environmental dimension. This can include addressing key environmental problems, including climate change and biodiversity loss. The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, organizational, and individual levels. A related concept is that of sustainable development, and the terms are often used to mean the same thing. UNESCO distinguishes the two like this: "''Sustainability'' is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world), while ''sustainable development'' refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it." Details around the economic dimension of sustainability are controversial. Scholars have discussed this under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Architecture
Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sometimes, sustainable architecture will also focus on the social aspect of sustainability as well. Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the built environment. The idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that use of currently available resources does not end up having detrimental effects to a future society's well-being or making it impossible to obtain resources for other applications in the long run. Background Shift from narrow to broader approach The term "sustainability" in relation to architecture has so far been mostly considered through the lens of building technology and its transformations. Going beyond the technical sphere of "green design", inventi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superinsulation
Superinsulation is an approach to building design, construction, and retrofitting that dramatically reduces heat loss (and gain) by using much higher insulation levels and airtightness than average. Superinsulation is one of the ancestors of the passive house approach. Definition There is no universally agreed definition of superinsulation, but superinsulated buildings typically include: * Very high levels of insulation, typically R-40 (RSI-7) walls and R-60 (RSI-10.6) roof, corresponding to SI U-values of 0.15 and 0.1 W/(m2·K) respectively) * Details to ensure insulation continuity where walls meet roofs, foundations, and other walls * Airtight construction, especially around doors and windows, to prevent air infiltration pushing heat in or out * a heat recovery ventilation system to provide fresh air * No large windows facing any particular direction * Much smaller than a conventional heating system, sometimes just a small backup heater Nisson & Dutt (1985) suggest that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solar Energy
Solar energy is the radiant energy from the Sun's sunlight, light and heat, which can be harnessed using a range of technologies such as solar electricity, solar thermal energy (including solar water heating) and solar architecture. It is an essential source of renewable energy, and its technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on how they capture and distribute solar energy or convert it into solar power. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and solar water heating to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include designing a building for better daylighting (architecture), daylighting, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light-dispersing properties, and organizing spaces that ventilation (architecture), naturally circulate air. In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that "the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quadruple Glazing
file:QGU1.jpg, Standard quadruple glazed window - openable file:Renovation with quadruple-pane in Oslo.jpg, The quadruple glazing, Q-Air, on Deg 8 building in Oslo, Norway (2020). Renovation brings Ug value of 0.29 W/(m2K) [R-value 20 Quadruple glazing (quadruple-pane insulating glazing) is a type of insulated glazing comprising four glass panes, typically equipped with low emissivity coatings and insulating gases in the cavities between them. It is a subset of multipane (multilayer) glazing systems. Multipane glazing with up to six panes is commercially available. Multipane glazing improves thermal comfort by reducing downdraft convection currents near the window surface. It can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by minimizing heating and cooling demands. Quadruple glazing may be necessary to achieve desired levels of Efficient energy use, energy efficiency in Arctic regions, or to allow higher glazing ratios in Curtain wall (architecture), curtain walling without increasing win ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Passive Solar Building Design
In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unlike active solar heating systems, it does not involve the use of mechanical and electrical devices. The key to designing a passive solar building is to best take advantage of the local climate performing an accurate site analysis. Elements to be considered include window placement and size, and glazing type, thermal insulation, thermal mass, and shading. Passive solar design techniques can be applied most easily to new buildings, but existing buildings can be adapted or "retrofitted". Passive energy gain ''Passive solar'' technologies use sunlight without active mechanical systems (as contrasted to ''active solar'', which uses thermal collectors). Such technologies convert sunlight into usable heat (in water, air, and thermal mass), cau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
