Energy Efficient Architecture

Energy efficiency
It is the goal to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and
services.
• Installing LED lighting, fluorescent lighting, or natural skylight windows reduces the
amount of energy required to attain the same level of illumination compared to
using traditional incandescent light bulbs.
• Reducing energy use reduces energy
costs and may result in a financial cost
saving .
• Reducing energy use is also seen as a
solution to the problem of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.
• Energy efficiency and renewable
energy are said to be the twin pillars
of sustainable energy policy.
• Modern appliances, such as, freezers, ovens, stoves,
dishwashers, and clothes washers and dryers, use
significantly less energy than older appliances.
• Installing a clothesline will significantly reduce one's energy
consumption as their dryer will be used less. Current
energy efficient refrigerators, for example, use 40 percent
less energy than conventional models did in 2001.
Energy Efficiency in Building Design
• Buildings are an important field because of their role as a major energy consumer.
• The measures that keep buildings comfortable, lighting, heating, cooling and
ventilation, all consume energy. Typically the level of energy efficiency is measured
by dividing energy consumed with the floor area of the building which is referred
to as specific energy consumption (SEC) or energy use intensity (EUI).

Energy consumed/ Built Area

• However, the issue is more complex as building materials have embodied energy in
them.
• On the other hand, energy can be recovered from the materialswhen the building
is dismantled by reusing materials or burning them for energy. Moreover, when
the building is used, the indoor conditions can vary resulting in higher and lower
quality indoor environments.
• SEC should be amended to include these factors.
Passive building design
• Passive design maximises the use of 'natural1 sources of heating, cooling and
ventilation to create comfortable conditions inside buildings. It harnesses
environmental conditions such as solar radiation, cool night air and air pressure
differences to drive the internal environment.
• Passive measures do not involve mechanical or electrical systems.
• Designers will aim to maximize the potential of passive measures, before
introducing hybrid systems or active systems.
Passive design can include: Passive design can include consideration of:
1)Passive cooling ■ Location.
2)Passive heating ■ Landscape
3)Passive ventilation (or natural ventilation) ■ Orientation.
4)Passive solar design ■ Massing.
■ Shading.
■ Material selection.
■ Thermal mass
■ Insulation
■ Internal layout.
■ The positioning of openings to allow the
penetration of solar radiation
visible light and for ventilation.

In its most simple form, a

shallow building orientated
perpendicular to the
prevailing wind with
openings on both sides, will
allow sunlight to penetrate
into the middle of
the building and will enable
cross ventilation .
Building Location
• A building's location and surroundings play a key role in regulating its temperature
and illumination. For example, trees, landscaping, and hills can provide shade and
block wind.
• In cooler climates, designing northern hemisphere buildings with south facing
windows and southern hemisphere buildings with north facing windows increases
the amount of sun (ultimately heat energy) entering the building, minimizing
energy use, by maximizing passive solar heating.

• Proper placement of windows

and skylights as well as the use
of architectural features that
reflect light into a building can
reduce the need for artificial
lighting. Increased use of natural
and task lighting has been shown
by one study to increase
productivity in schools and
offices
Ventilation and light
• In taller buildings, stack ventilation can be used to draw fresh air through a
building, and in deeper buildings atriums or courtyards can be introduced to allow
light into the center of the floor plan.
• When buildings have cellular spaces
that block the passage of solar
radiation and air
• Where site constraints create complex
massing or mean that windows
cannot be opened because of noise or
air quality issues.
• The situation is complicated further
by different climates, changing
seasons, and the transition from day
to night, so that passive design may
have to allow different modes of
operation.
• Typically, these variations can be dealt
with through measures such as
shading, shutters, overhangs and
louvres that allow low-level winter
sun to penetrate into the building, but
block the higher summer sun.
• Thermal mass can be used to store
peak conditions during the day and
then to vent them to the outside at
night.
Landform Landform Orientation
Prime Parameters- Radiation
Prime Parameters- Air Temperature, Air Movement
Other Parameters - Daylight
Vegetation Pattern
Open Spaces and Built Form
Prime Parameters- Radiation, Air Movement
Prime Parameters- Radiation, Airflow
Other Parameters – Relative Humidity, Daylight
Open Spaces and Built Form
ZEB Pilot House, Norway : Energy-Efficient House

• Zero Emission Building (ZEB) created a house that is 100% sustainable yet livable that
used absolutely no energy.
• Nearly every geometric slice of the home’s foundation, the materials used, and the
houses’s placement contribute to a good indoor climate, air quality, and thermal
prowess.
• The Project is so sustainable that the energy produced is in Surplus.
• ZEB Pilot’s sustainable superiority is on the roof, where solar panels and collectors
slope southeast for optimal sunlight.
• On the ground level, geothermal energy wells are dug under the earth, a rainwater
collector is positioned to flush the toilet and water the garden.
• A model home demonstrating the ability of sustainable solutions and “plus dwellings,”
which are buildings that produce more energy than they use.
Even deciduous trees can be beneficial, their leaves shading buildings from summer sun,
but then allowing the solar radiation to penetrate through their bare branches during the
winter.
Thermal Mass

Thermal Mass is any material in the home that absorbs and stores heat.

Masonry (concrete, brick, tile) is the most often used material for thermal mass.

They are most effective when dark colored and located in direct sunlight.

Drums filled with water are an excellent material for thermal mass because of water’s high
specific heat.

They can heat spaces more quickly and more evenly than masonry or wood. Water also can
store many times more heat than most other materials due to its high specific heat.
Heat Transfer
There are Four main ways that heat can be transferred into the home:
1) Radiation
Radiation is heat that travels from a heat source to warm a surface . An example is the
sun shining through a window directly heating the floor and furniture.

2) Conduction

Conduction is heat that transfers through solid objects. An example of this is heat being
transferred from the outside surface of a block (the outside of the home), to the inside
surface of a block (the inside of the home)
3) Convection

Convection is heat that is carried by the circulation of liquids or gases . The circulation
continues until the temperature evens out. An example of this is when hot air in a
room rises, drawing cooler air from below.

4) Phase change

• When substances change phase, for

example changing from liquid to gas, they
absorb or release heat energy.
• For example, when water evaporates, it
absorbs heat, producing a cooling effect,
and when it condenses it releases heat.
• So when water evaporates from the
surface of a building, or when sweat
evaporates from the skin, it has
a cooling effect.
Roofs
The roof is the largest surface area of the home and is exposed to the sun all day. As a
result, choosing the right building materials and insulation for your roof is essential.
Choose Light Colours
• Light colours reflect heat, preventing surfaces from becoming excessively hot.
• Dark-coloured roofs absorb heat which is then transferred into the home.
• Thus, choosing light colours for the roof is vital for reducing heat gain and
therefore the need for air conditioning
Steel and Tile Roofs
• Steel roof sheeting such as corrugated iron, will lose heat quickly as soon as the sun
stops shining on it.
• Its physical properties allow it to respond quickly to any change in temperature
which is beneficial, particularly at night, for instant relief from the heat.
• Roof tiles, because of their physical properties, will slowly absorb heat during the day
and then slowly re-radiate it into the home at night.
• This can prevent the home from cooling down quickly and in many cases the inside
will remain hotter than the outdoor ambient temperature

Ventilate Your Roof-Space

• Poorly ventilated roof-spaces get hot.

• Heat coming through the roof
superheats the air in the roof-space
which in turn conducts heat through
the ceiling into the room below.
Thermal Insulation for Roof
• Insulation can significantly reduce the amount of heat entering the home.
• It can also help seal in the cool air created by air-conditioning.
• Air-conditioning is not considered sustainable but with insulation, can be used more
effectively to reduce its impact.
• Plan ahead to get the best performance out of your building.

There are two main types of insulation:

1)Reflective Insulation
• Reflective insulation reflects heat away from a surface preventing 95% of infrared
“radiant” heat from entering the space below.

The Most common products for

reflective Insulation are reflective foil
laminates or ‘RFL’.
2)Bulk
• It works by resisting the amount of “conducted” and “convected” heat flow between
the hotter air in the roof-space and the cooler air inside the home.
• There are several types of bulk insulation: polyester, wool, bubble wrap, fibreglass
(glass wool), rock wool (spun fibres of basalt – like glass wool), cellulose fibre
(paper).
• For a home with only occasional or no air-conditioner use, bulk insulation is best
installed under the roof sheeting as this will keep the roof-space cool and prevent
hot air being transferred through the ceiling into the rooms.
• For homes that use more air-conditioning, the best place to install bulk insulation is
on top of the ceiling.
• In a hot humid climate, the provision of bulk insulation on the ceiling sheet
combined with good ventilation of the roof-space is a good combination.
Walls
1) Insulate All Walls Exposed to Sun

• If external walls are not adequately shaded then it is important that they are
insulated.
• Walls which are subject to the hot afternoon sun, should be the highest priority.
• ‘Thermal Mass’ is a material or element in the home that absorbs, stores and later
releases heat to great effect.
• Thermal mass has two main properties; the ability to absorb and release heat,
known as ‘Thermal Lag’ and its capacity to store heat, known as ‘Volumetric Heat
Capacity’.

Use of Masonary Walls

• Masonry that is exposed to a hot environment absorbs heat and then slowly releases
it over many hours at night.
• This results in homes that are slightly cooler in the middle of the day, but consistently
warmer in the late afternoons and evening when many of us are at home.
• For homes in the tropics, masonry must be used with care. If masonry is to be used
as a building material it must be either shaded, or alternatively, insulated.

• To insulate a concrete block wall, a frame is

attached to either the outside or the inside
of the wall thereby providing a space for the
insulation. One building alternative to
• Insulating the outside is generally preferred concrete is Autoclaved Aerated
as this prevents the block wall from heating Concrete (AAC). This product is
up and re-radiating heat. lighter and more energyefficient
• Installing foil in-between a masonry block compared to regular concrete
wall and an internal wall lining will not blocks.
improve performance.