Goals and Strategies for Passive Sustainability

A chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, and an environment in a city plan

A chair in a room, a room in a house, a house in an environment, and an environment in a city plan are all examples of things that should always be designed with their next larger context in mind. - Eliel Structure Choosing methods that are environmentally responsible and ecologically resourceful throughout a building’s life cycle, from selecting and analyzing a site to designing, constructing, and administering the building, is known as a “green” or “sustainable” building. That is, creating a balance between construction and the environment is all that is required for green building design. Moreover, World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) defined sustainable development as a “development which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.”

Incorporating Collaboration and Design Goals

Not only does this notion brace strong economic and social development, but at the same time, it highlights the significance of protecting the natural resource base and the environment. Besides, to build green is to build collaboration among designers, engineers, managers, investors, and users in which all share the same design goals. In other words, for a building to be economically and ecologically sustainable, it should be socially and culturally sustainable, as well, and this takes an integrative and collaborative design process. Besides fostering a more sustainable and collaborative society, green building tends to significantly reduce, or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on the environment and its occupants with regard to site planning, safeguarding water use and water use efficiency, promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy, conserving materials and resources; and promoting indoor environmental quality.

Techniques for Building Energy Efficiency

Further, several techniques to enhance building energy efficiency include better insulation, more energy-efficient heating, cooling, ventilation, and refrigeration systems, efficient fluorescent lighting, passive heating and lighting to take advantage of sunlight, and the purchase of energy-efficient appliances and electronics. Also, many are now dramatically driven into the green building for it acquires strong market demand, high cost savings for business and taxpayers, public health gains, steady gains in the percentage of large green nonresidential commercial or institutional, and increased property values. To elucidate projects pursuing a more sustainable future eventually pursue a LEED certification patent of by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) evaluating the environmental performance of a building and encouraging market transformation towards sustainable design. The bottom line, green building, simply focuses on economic prosperity, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship.

Sustainable Goal

To start with, the aim of this project is to decrease the amount of energy as much as possible to attain a green future. That is to say; the concept is to simply structure the building itself to serve as its green form and backdrop. To clarify, the objective is to allow sufficient daylight, eliminate the greatest sources of heat gain, and improve the natural ventilation and air movement performance. In fact, all these are facilitated by orienting the structure with regards to the climatic factors of the wind and solar radiation as well as by the view, noise, and requirements of privacy which may take precedence over the climatic considerations.

Construction of Green Building

We are living in a world of modern technology and engineering where the environmental risks and problems are enhancing the speed of light. Construction of new and modern technology based buildings is a necessary component of the society growth but also an important factor that is causing environmental disruptions at the same time. Green building, as a new turn and type of engineering charisma, is an excellent option for both modern construction and sustainability of the environment. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), green building can be defined as the process of creation and construction of environmentally accountable and effective in resources from the sitting plan to construction, formation, design and maintenance in the life cycle of a building. Green building is also called high-performance building or sustainable building because it is built in such a way that is beneficial for the individuals of the society as well as for the environment.

Focusing on Natural Ventilation

Green building is not necessarily built for business purposes only. Any building can be constructed on the design of the green building to make it environment-friendly and less threat to the safety of environmental surrounding. Green buildings are an excellent option to choose if we want to protect the earth from further damage and control the one that has been done to the land and its surroundings. To achieve the desired goal, to construct an ideal green building, few factors are must to be focused on. These factors include proper natural ventilation of the building, increased thermal capacity, remarkable porosity, stack ventilation, proper insulation of all important parts of the building, courtyards construction and appropriate and planned grouping of adjacent or close buildings.

The Importance of Natural Ventilation

Natural ventilation refers to the continuous supply and removal of air through an indoor space by natural ways. No artificial means like fans or other mechanical or electrical systems can be used for this type of ventilation as it is natural and involves natural means only. This type of ventilation works using differences in the pressures inside the building and its surroundings and because of those pressure difference air ventilation and process of space cooling occurs (Fig #1). As the least use of energy is our main concern and part of the sustainable goal, the process of natural ventilation is essentially important as it does not use any forms of energy as well as beneficial on environmental safety (Fig #2).

The Benefits of Natural Ventilation

Benefits of the process of natural ventilation (the maximum the better) not only includes a healthy, safe, beneficial and convenient condition to occupants of the building and free space cooling without the use of any fans or other mechanical systems. It decreases the use of energy as well as increases the environmental safety and benefits. Not only this, but increased natural ventilation also caused a marked decrease in the expenses of construction of building and causes a reduction of money to be spent on air conditioners and electrical fans. It is not that, it eliminates their use; it is just that it causes a marked decrease and reduction in their amount and ultimately money to be spent on them.

Types of Natural Ventilation

Like every basic entity, natural ventilation also has two basic and significant types which include wind driven ventilation and stack ventilation (Fig #3). Natural ventilation has been divided into both of these types because of different types of pressure differences. The main distinct point between both types is that the pressure produced by natural wind forces results in wind driven ventilation (Fig #1) while pressures that are produced by buoyancy results in stack ventilation (Fig #4). So, both of these types of natural ventilation are used by keeping in mind their distinct and main points (Fig #5).

Stack Ventilation

Stack Ventilation is also known as Buoyancy ventilation. It can be produced in two ways; then it is referred as stack ventilation while if produced by humidity referred to as ’Cool tower.’ The most important factor to be present for stack ventilation to occur is the difference in temperature between the building and its surroundings (Fig #6). To design a building to allow more and more stack ventilation to occur inlets of air should supply low air in the rooms and should be placed low in the room while the outlets must be placed at a high level and across the area of the entire room. Stack effect occurs best when there is a vertical or straight distance between the exhaust opening and the inlet. Usage of skylights enhances the stack effect (Fig #7).

Advantages of Stack Ventilation

The most ultimate benefit of stack ventilation is that it does not rely or depend on the presence or persistence of the wind (Fig #8). During the days of extreme heat in summer, when the wind is negligible, the strength of stack effect and ventilation is unaffected and goes on with the same speed unless the temperature difference between building and its surroundings remains intact. Its only limitation is its low magnitude as compared to the wind driven ventilation (Fig #9). For the proper construction of natural ventilation, intake of inner air supply must be increased by making certain of absence of any inner or outer obstruction, the inlet and outlet openings must be present in every room but must be located in opposite pressure zones to each other, there should be significant difference in the location as well in the position of inlets and outlets as the inlets must be placed at a higher location in the room while outlets must be located in the across the room as compared to inlets which are positioned on only one side of the room.

Thermal Capacity of Green Building Design

The thermal capacity of the green building design is extremely high, and these buildings are significantly and specifically designed in such a way that their capacity to bear and control elevated temperature is more than other buildings (Fig # 10, 11, 12). The green buildings are designed and constructed with the main sustainable goal of efficiently and effectively using energy. First of all, in the case of green buildings, there is never such condition where the temperature gets elevated above the normal limit because of specific thermal bearing and thermal controlling construction of every part of the building. Green building construction is not only important to make it convenient for its surrounding but also for its occupants as well. The utmost comfort, convenience, and ease of its occupants are one of its primary priorities and preferences. Some people suffer from ’sick building syndrome’ which is a rare condition but because of the abundance of those properties which are constructed for benefits of specific beings, this syndrome is increasing in its severity and victims of this unapparent abnormality experience the feelings of unease and uncomfortable conditions depending upon their time spent inside the premises of such property. Green buildings are the most appropriate and optimal options for especially those people.

Size, Shape, and Spacing

Another important fact to be considered in green building is their size, shape, and spacing with other adjacent green or non-green buildings as it majorly affects the amount of sunlight, wind and external temperature and pressure entry in the building premises (Fig # 13, 14, 15). Green buildings must be constructed by keeping in check the proper insulation of the building which not only protects the building from sudden changes in temperature but also protects the surrounding environment from inside changes of the building (Fig # 16 - 20).

Conclusion

To achieve the sustainable goal of the effective and least possible use of energy and keeping the internal residents or occupants and outer environmental surroundings safe and healthy, the property must be constructed as green buildings along with keeping the above-mentioned factors in mind and primary focus.

References

Green Building and Development Green Building and Development Green Building and Development - Creating Sustainable Spaces Creating Sustainable Spaces. Retrieved from http://aaec.vt.edu/content/dam/aaec_vt_edu/extension/cee/files/green-building-worksheet.pdf

How to obtain LEED credits with natural ventilation. Retrieved from https://stateofgreen.com/files/download/2169

Howe, J. (2017). Overview of Green Buildings (1st ed.). Retrieved from https://sallan.org/pdf-docs/CHOWE_GreenBuildLaw.pdf

O. Akadiri, P. (2012). Design of A Sustainable Building: A Conceptual Framework for Implementing Sustainability in the Building Sector. Buildings. Retrieved from http://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/2/2/126/pdf

PLANNING, DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION STRATEGIES FOR GREEN BUILDINGS. (2001). Retrieved from https://www.greenbiz.com/sites/default/files/document/O16F22028.pdf

Precourt Energy Efficiency Center. (2017). Retrieved from https://peec.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/project_update_-_improved_energy_simulation_tools_for_buildings.pdf

Ventilation and the Green Ventilation and the Green Building Opportunity Building Opportunity. (2008). https://www.hvi.org/publications/pdfs/raymer.comfortech08.presentation.pdf.

Appendices

Natural Ventilation:

Fig #1

Fig #2

Fig #3

Fig #4

Fig #5

Stack Ventilation:

Fig #6: Pressures of low air at elevated heights can submissively pull air through a building.

Fig #7: Hot air rises from its level because of buoyancy

Fig #8: Atria with vents at the top as well as at the bottom

Fig #9 (a)

Fig #9 (b)

Thermal Capacity:

Fig #10

Fig #11: Evolution of solar chimney designs, from a simple black-painted pipe to integrated Trombe roof structure

Fig #12: Solar chimney design in outhouse in a park

Grouping of buildings:

Fig# 13

Fig #14: Projects in Delhi, India

Fig #15: Hangzhou Zhejiang Printing Group Headquarters by LYCS Architecture

Insulation:

Fig #16

Fig # 17

Fig # 18

Fig #19

Fig #20