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Assignment: Module 1 Project – How can you reduce your carbon footprint in your
home?
Course Code: 0201512015
Student Name: Manpreet Singh
Student ID: A00131931
Due Date: Jan 16, 2022
ZED 210-01 Intro to Low Carbon Construction
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How will low carbon technologies reduce your home’s carbon footprint?
1. Embody Less Carbon Construction Materials in Building:
We have common things to construct buildings, which are Steel and Concrete, both
produce CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) in their production. If all of the steel used in the
construction project was brand new and manufactured in a blast furnace from
imported ore, the carbon content would be comparable to concrete. Luckily, steel is
completely recyclable like 100 & 1%, however reusing steel emits far less carbon
according to normal calculations.
As a result, we can construct steel formed buildings and that structure building
contains less amount of carbon as compared to concrete. Moreover, steel
constructions are frequently smaller and lighter than concrete ones.
Apart from this, we have Timber, which is alternative to steel and concrete,
eventually timber absorbs CO2 from the environment.
Only a small section of a tree is used for structural purposes. When wood rots, a
portion of its carbon content is released as methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times
more hazardous than carbon dioxide. If only 4% of a tree root in this way, it has the
same global warming potential as if the entire tree is burned. Timber frame is also
highly pricey; thus, it's best reserved for areas with a high aesthetic value.
Even there, cladding steelwork rather than utilizing pure wood or glulam is more
effective. As a result, steel structures are often low in carbon. Naturally, REID steel's
extremely efficient designs are built to eliminate waste and are more environmentally
friendly than others.
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2. More efficient Commercial Buildings:
a. Reducing thermal bridging- Every door, window, and vent, once again, will
transport heat through the envelope. Thermal breaks are required for structural steel
that penetrates through the skin. The fewer thermal bridges present, the better.
b. Balance the necessity for windows with the need for transparent sheeting (which
lets in 1.5 to 3 W/Dec/sqm). When compared to 0.25W for roofing sheets, this is a
significant difference. The same amount of heat as the rest of the roof is lost or
allowed in by the ten percent transparent. Windows are the same way. These values
do not account for 'solar gain,' which is the heating of the interior by sunlight passing
through a transparent or glass window; this can result in a lot of heat. Sun shading
and various costly coatings can help to lessen this, as can various expensive
coatings. If natural light is a benefit or an expense, it will be determined by a detailed
estimate of the requirement for light, heat, and cooling.
c. Joints in windows, doors, vents, and structural penetrations in the envelope all
allow for leakage. Air leaks can be reduced by keeping the number of these to a
minimal and enhancing the detail and construction of these. Air leakage may be
greatly reduced with the use of good fillers and seals. In general, transparent sheet
to metal sheet couplings are more difficult to seal properly.
Energy consumption may be reduced by using energy-efficient lighting and interior
equipment. Moreover, to reduce the amount of time that doors are open, they can
open and close quickly.
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3. Getting Energy from Renewable resources than Burning Hydrocarbons:
a. Tidal Power - Converts energy from the tides into electricity or other types of
power. This works in some regions of the world, however there is a significant rise
and fall in tide since this is required, and low head generation is quite costly. Nuclear
Fission—Generating energy for nuclear power is now the only viable technique to
create the quantity of electricity required without burning hydrocarbons. The
disadvantage is that it produces radioactive waste that will endure for thousands of
years. Now, it costs a bit more than fossil-fuel power, especially when
decommissioning and waste disposal expenses are factored in. Though there is a
political problem to this because London's electricity is supplied by Electricte De
France (EDF), which generates 75% of its electricity by nuclear power. Waste
concerns are not insurmountable, nor are any of the other issues, except that we
have lost experience due to years of inaction.
b. Solar Power - This kind of electricity harnesses the sun's energy and feeds it into
existing power systems. Solar power may be focused using mirrors to heat water in
nations with hot climates. Water may then be boiled to create steam, which can be
used to power turbines and generate energy. These may be constructed to be highly
thermally efficient and to store heat to create heat at night.
c. Wind turbines - This is a gadget that generates electricity by extracting energy
from the wind. On a larger scale, this can cost twice as much per watt as traditional
generating, and it requires a complete backup system because the wind does not
constantly blow on cold or hot days.
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Will the addition of the 3 low-carbon technologies into your home
renovation classify your home as a low-carbon building? Why or why
not? If so, which kind (e.g., net zero, zero carbon etc)?
The 3 low-carbon technologies into my home renovation classify my home as a
low-carbon building because using these three technologies we can construct our
home with some sources like: Solar, Hydro, Wind, Geothermal and so on sources
like these which helps to create low carbon building for living and environmentally
friendly which directly leads to improve environmental health.
Reference:
Steel, Reid. “Low Carbon Building Design and Construction: Reidsteel.” Reidsteel Structural
Engineering, 6 Jan. 2017, [Link]
carbon-buildings/.