UNIVERSITY OF MAURITIUS

CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

BUILDING SERVICES
CIVE 3218(5)
CIVE 2215
CIVE 2242D

LECTURE NOTES 8

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Naresh Sewdin

16 October 2013
Lecture Notes 8 Building Services

1. Scope

The scope of this section is to provide you with the basic principles for understanding the
importance of all issues relevant to sustainability in the construction industry with
particular relevance to buildings.

2. Introduction

The world is changing fast. The hot summers, fiercer floods and our rising gas, and
electricity bills at home, ring alarm bells for all of us. The world is very far from being
able to meet its required greenhouse gas emission reductions to meet the 90% reduction
targets that many bodies propose as necessary if we are to stabilise climate change by the
end of this century. To achieve this many scientists now believe we must keep carbon
levels in the atmosphere below 450 parts per million (ppm). We are already at 380ppm
and rising at around 2-3 ppm, year on year. The urgency of the challenge is obvious. The
world has only one generation, perhaps two, to save itself.

3. Sustainability concept

Sustainability and green building

Sustainability and quality of life are highly influenced by the buildings in which we live
and work. At their best, buildings can be inspiring, efficient structures which facilitate
health and creativity, and enable us to live in harmony with one another and the planet.

Green buildings should aim to cause the minimum possible harm to the environment and
users - throughout their design, construction, use, upkeep and eventual end of life
recycling. Despite green and sustainable construction becoming increasingly popular,
this comprehensive, cradle to cradle philosophy is not yet common currency. A
sustainable house, for example, might be designed to service the needs of many
generations of diverse users - from infancy to old age, from lively teenagers sharing
space and facilities, to disabled people or elderly relatives. Such long-life green buildings
need to be part of a sustainable community infrastructure to deliver their full potential.

Green building, as a concept, is straightforward and makes perfect sense. It means

making thoughtful design choices and using ecological materials in ways that create
quality, long-lasting environments with minimum damage to the planet. Natural ambient
resources can often be used for services - energy – heating - cooling – water.

Low energy buildings provide us with an easy way to combat climate change. New
buildings can be designed to be zero-heat and zerocarbon. With the application of
external wall and warm-roof insulation, existing buildings can also make a massive

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contribution. Cities and urban areas will need to be greened - less buildings and more
nature, more local fresh food production. Rural areas could benefit from sensitive
development, so they become less isolated and more sustainable.

Challenges for green design

For green buildings to make a real difference, they must be practical designs which we
can all have and afford. Cost-efficiency is a prerequisite for sustainability, because
income generation usually has environmental consequences. Green designs do not have
to be complex or costly.

Figure 8.1

Complex and costly multiple-layer walls, or a wall or roof of south-facing glazing may
not be the most efficient or sustainable building form. The technologies needed to make
a building autonomous have always been tempting, but unless they are cost-effective,
simple and reliable, they may not deliver any benefit.

Well designed, easy to build, robust buildings that are healthy to live in and perform well
year after year without causing harm to the planet are urgently needed. We must rise to
the challenge of climate change - but without resorting to building in unecological
materials! A building is not just a machine or a lock-up for our possessions, but
something we intimately live with, that we care for and love.

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Theere are a nuumber of keyy aspects too the design of green buuildings:
• cost-effficiency (a ppre-requisitee for sustainnability)
• conservvation of eneergy and resources
• ecological foundations and miinimal site intervention
i n
• reductioon of infrasttructure; roaads; pipes; lighting...
• eliminaation/reductiion of materrial and resoource wastaage
• eliminaation/reductiion of toxicc materials and
a processees
• use of renewable/b
r biological materials
m andd energy
• use of safe,
s recycleed materialss and products
• vapour--diffusive - air and winnd-tight construction
• super innsulation annd ecologicaal thermal energy storaage
• use of natural
n (passsive) heatinng and cooliing
• use of natural
n lightting (for heaalth and eneergy saving))
• minimissation of eleectro-magnetic fields
• long liffe - low maintenance, roobust designn
• adaptabble, inclusivve (access foor all) desiggn
• green suurroundingss - design with
w nature and a climate.

Prooper sustainnable designn

w sustainable develoopment, susttainable dessign and

Thee triangle below definees equally well
susstainable con
nstruction

Figure 8.22

Whhichever deefinition annd accompaanying conncept is ussed, it is important

i t
that key
prinnciples and interdeppendences inform design judgeement. Theese are im mportant
relaationships in
n terms of sustainable
s constructionn between:

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Lecture Notes 8 Building Services

Figure 8.3

Good natural lighting and solar space heating can be achieved without massive areas of
high-embodied-energy glass. Glazing areas should be sized appropriately for the
orientation, construction and type of building, together with the provision of adequate
shading and ventilation to avoid summer overheating. Double glazing with a 1.5 U-value
(frame + glass) is now common and can be supplemented with low energy blinds.
Attention should be paid to air-tightness, the quality of seals, materials and fittings used
for doors and windows.

Ventilation is an increasingly challenging area of design. We need systems that can

provide adequate fresh air in winter, without heat loss in varying weather conditions, but
can also provide summer cooling during heat-waves.

Ensure that internal materials and finishes are robust to eliminate the need for wasteful
renovation. Reduce water use by fitting aerating taps, showers and low flush toilets.
Installing professionally engineered dry (composting) toilets may actually be more eco
than a rainwater harvesting system used to flush ordinary water closets. Keep wiring
simple and pipework compact and eliminate unnecessary pumps, boilers and techno-
gizmos. Design to allow the easy reuse of materials in the future – buildings do not have
to be irreversible.

4. Clean and green energy

It is widely recognised that there are four main global environmental sustainability
issues: global warming, non-renewable resource depletion, toxic pollution and ozone
depletion, and that these global issues far outweigh any local environmental
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sustainability issues in their need for immediate attention and potential impact from
inaction. Recent studies have shown that the first three issues are essentially one. The
extraction and consumption (burning) of fossil fuels is by far the most significant
contributor to global warming, non-renewable resource depletion and toxic pollution.

Green energy is energy that comes from clean, renewable, sources such as the sun, wind,
waves, water (hydro) biomass and geothermal energy from the ground. The 'clean' refers
to the fact that it has negligible emissions, not only of the key greenhouse gasses that are
driving climate change, of which the main one is carbon dioxide', but also that it does not
produce polluting gases, such as sulphur dioxide that causes acid rain, or nitrogen
dioxide that is an important constituent in air pollution. All renewable energy sources
arise from repeating natural processes, in contrast to the very finite nature of the global
fossil fuel reserves. The latter are largely past their 'peak' of production, forcing oil and
gas prices up globally and providing a strong impetus for the swift move to renewable
energy use.

Some sources also include nuclear power and energy from waste incineration as green
power but neither are anywhere near carbon neutral power supplies due to the high
energy costs of maintaining these large plants, and their highly polluting processes.
Energy purchased from green energy suppliers cannot be technically counted as 'green'
energy because the carbon emission reductions of the suppliers have typically already
been included in the supplier's quotas and cannot then be double counted into the
customer's carbon quotas.

Buildings have an unhealthy appetite for energy, and energy consumption is increasing
despite use of more efficient technology. This is most important for the built
environment that uses up to 50% of all energy produced on the earth. There is massive
potential for the development of new energy-efficient appliances and for new ways of
living and working which can reduce our energy use. Solar and wind energy are
available to all buildings and we should make better use of these independent resources.
Using renewable energy makes us more dependent on climate, but reduces our
vulnerability to scarce, imported and costly fossil fuels. Driving down energy demand
makes it much easier for a building to be self-sufficient through using ambient energy
sources. The increasing use of green electricity from the national grid makes it essential
and urgent that we harvest more renewable energy for grid connection.

Up to 50% of the solar energy falling on a roof or wall can be harvested just by sucking
the pre-heated air from behind the tiles or claddings. Solar water heating is one of the
most cost-effective and reliable renewable energy systems and an increased collector
area could be used in winter to boost performance. Photovoltaic (PV) electricity panels
are gradually falling in cost while gaining in efficiency and can be easily mounted on the
roof and walls of buildings. PV is increasingly used to pump solar water heating systems
and to feed appliances in buildings or export to the electricity grid during times of
excess.

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Small-scale wind turbines are more cost effective than PV modules and can work both
day and night, but for best results they are mounted on tall towers - away from trees or
buildings. New, quiet, slow-speed turbines are becoming available and some can be
building mounted. Be cautious and realistic though - urban wind-speeds are very low,
and some manufacturers are making equipment of questionable quality and
unsubstantiated performance claims. Wind turbines can also be used to heat buildings
and pump water without the need for battery storage. If well designed and maintained, a
wind turbine system can have an unlimited life.

Green buildings have the potential to become energy producers rather than users. The
key to making these systems cost-effective is to use them as part of an integrated design
where they replace and eliminate the need for conventional energy systems.

5. Sustainable buildings

Just like human beings, buildings need to be allowed to develop over time, to mature,
grow and evolve; otherwise they often deteriorate and become obsolete. For most
buildings, it is impossible to consider or even to know, at the design stage, all the
different potential activities and uses that they may be used for over an extended life.

Buildings are complex assemblies of many different resources, with a large investment
of materials, labour, and energy. A building which allows its parts to change over time
will place a lighter load on natural resources and provide better value to future
generations. Buildings that are not adaptable are destined to become lost resources more
quickly. Adaptability takes advantage of the embodied energy of the components, as less
processing or transport is required if a building's life is extended.

A building is more adaptable when it can be easily modified, extended, and strengthened
to allow a new or changed use. 'Open building' is an approach to the design of buildings
that recognises that the contemporary built environment must allow both stability and
change. The open building approach includes the idea that the built environment is in
constant transformation and that change must be recognized and understood. It
recognises that the built environment is the product of an ongoing, never ending design
process that includes many participants, including users / inhabitants making design
decisions as well as professionals.

The following are a series of approaches identified from various technical studies that
can help to make a building more adaptable:
1. minimize the number of internal structural components (columns and load
bearing walls) to create flexible open space.
2. optimise structural grids to allow changing uses of space. Use simple structural
grids with clear support lines.

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3. allow some redundancy so that additions and changes to the building can be
accommodated. Over-designed structural capacity may be appropriate to allow
alternative uses and the option of extending the structure. Ensure that floor loads
used in design reflect foreseeable changes in occupancy patterns.
4. separate structure and cladding to allow independent alteration and replacement.
5. allow for good vertical circulation by lifts and stairs, and for service routing.
6. separate services into clearly accessible locations to allow easy change and
upgrade. Raised floors can also permit easy upgrade of services. Integrate heating
and electrical systems so they can easily be upgraded or replaced. These systems
generally require far more regular replacement than other components of the
building. Some overprovision of flexibility in service routing allows for future
upgrade.
7. design with a building depth to allow for daylighting of the main spaces, and for a
variety of different ways to divide up the spaces.
8. avoid complex composite materials that are difficult to separate. This includes
some treatments and finishes applied on site.
9. incorporate each component so that it can easily be removed and recycled when
obsolete. Use demountable internal partitions.

Adaptable building incorporates, at the design and construction stage, the ability to make
future changes easily and with minimum expense to meet the evolving needs of
occupants. It means designing a building to allow its different parts to change, each in its
own timescale. Incorporating adaptability into a building during initial construction can
save time, money and inconvenience when changes are needed or desired later in the life
of a building, and can significantly extend its life.

6. Future of green building standards

Within the definition of green building standards, the following main obligations are
involved:

Futurity a responsibility to leave future generations with both

natural resources and scientific/cultural capital to allow
them to meet their needs.
Environment a responsibility to protect and manage effectively all
environmental resources (land, water, air, biodiversity etc.)
Equity a duty to share resources locally and globally on the basis
of equality of access.
Public participation a recognition that environmental issues are best handled
through participation and open access to information.

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Building assessment methods provide a common metric on which similar building types
can be assessed. They allow the client to specify how sustainable they want their
building to be, using an easily understood format, which is much simpler than specifying
a list of criteria. It also allows planners, developers and housing agencies to specify a
level that a building should meet in a simple and accessible manner.

• BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method)

The BREEAM series of assessment methods have been established for well over a
decade and as such have a good reputation for benchmarking buildings.

There are a number of different assessment methods which are tailored to different
building types. The options that are currently available are:
 residential units (EcoHomes)
 retail units
 industrial units
 offices
 schools

The BREEAM assessment method assesses a building's performance against a number of

criteria, namely these are:
 management
 energy use
 heath and well being
 pollution
 transport
 land use
 ecology
 materials
 water

The output of the BREEAM process is that buildings are given a rating of 'pass', 'good',
'very good' or 'excellent', and a certificate is awarded to this effect. EcoHomes is the
name given to the the version of BREEAM specifically designed for homes and
residential dwellings. It follows the same pattern as the other BREEAM standards in that
buildings are assessed against a similar range of criteria, the output from the process
being a rating of 'pass', 'good', 'very good' or 'excellent'.

• LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

LEED is an assessment method from America devised as a voluntary assessment tool by

the US Green Building Council, a consortium divided into 52 'Chapters' spread around
the US, not all by state.

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Lecture Notes 8 Building Services

The US Green Building Council asserts that LEED was created to:
• define 'green building' by establishing a common standard of measurement
• promote integrated, whole-building design practices
• recognize environmental leadership in the building industry
• stimulate green competition
• raise consumer awareness of green building benefits
• transform the building market.

LEED is not simply an energy assessment, it takes a number of things into account when
assessing the sustainability of a development:
1. suitability of the site for a sustainable development.
2. water management and economy
3. energy efficiency and conservation
4. suitable selection of environmentally responsible materials
5. quality of the indoor environment.

A building can earn one of four possible LEED ratings. A 'LEED certified' building
meets the minimum environmental standards, a 'LEED silver rated' building is an
improvement on the basic standards, 'LEED gold rated' being higher still, and 'LEED
platinum' represents the paragon of the green building trade.

LEED has been highly successful in the United States, and this may lead to its further
adoption in the UK.