A Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology document published in 2011, found that the effects of poor housing conditions are costing the NHS around £600 million per year. The document acknowledged some of the housing related hazards that are contributing to poor health, which included mould, damp and excess cold. Poor layout and structural defects were also identified as being a problem, as they can increase the risk of accidents (parliament.uk, 2011).
However, the Action Plan is not likely to produce 9.8 Mt in new reductions by 2020, as the government stated. For example, the government claimed that using Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account funds to subsidize electricity prices which would produce 3 Mt in emission reductions. We found no evidence to support this claim and concluded that subsidizing electricity rates is not an acceptable use of these funds. Fortunately, the government is no longer proposing to divert Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account funds in this way.
Being environmentally friendly isn’t merely a trend. After thousands of years of using the earth’s resources, we have finally come to realize that we are destroying this beautiful gift we were honored with. Architects play an influential role in trying to preserve this gift by encouraging a multitude of strategies that can be more cost efficient in the long run, be more comfortable for its users, and most importantly, have a lower carbon footprint. Strategies can include drastic changes to heat and air systems, construction material selections, or even specific design details to the architecture of a building that would reduce the amount of energy it consumes.
The main aim of factor 4 is to decrease the level of materials utilization and usage of human resources to one fourth level. The Factor 4 follows a set of guidelines for comparing design options and for evaluating the performance of buildings and their component systems. Factor 4 suggests that for humanity to live sustainably today, we must rapidly reduce resource consumption to one-quarter of its current levels. Fortunately, the technology to accomplish Factor 4 reductions in resource consumption already exists and requires only public policy prioritization and implementation.
Statistics show that there is a higher rate of repossession of council houses than any other group of home owners. showing that many of those living in council houses
The ‘Valley House’ (figures 1.1 - 1.3, page 3) exemplifies energy efficiency in both its locality and materials used. It has been strategically positioned within the existing topography on a north facing aspect to take advantage of the sunlight consistently throughout the day, minimising the need for daytime lighting, thus saving electricity. The main power
How did changing energy conditions affect the design of the homes of powerful people – comparison between the Forbidden City and 19th century merchants’ houses in Liverpool
The book's selection of outstanding, best quality work provides several examples for homeowners with a discerning sense of style and environmental responsibility. The spectrum of featured projects has a range between energy efficient restoration and the construction of intelligent extensions to the planning and building of new low-energy or passive homes. The book introduces not only the current building forms and materials but also case studies examining the best division of space, architectural planning, and the use of innovative technologies to control and improve heating and air conditioning. Therefore, Building Better provides a striking overview of the topic of sustainable building, and insightful information on details from technical data to blueprints. In the book, both homeowners and architects have their motivations, ideas, desires, and real experiences. Against this background, Building Better is both an inspirational and a practical guide for everyone who thinks that the sustainability not as limiting, but rather as a creative opportunity. As such, it is an essential reference for everyone who wants to build a
To address this growing concern, people are now thinking of some innovative ways to address the space constraints. Most of the houses that you find in London or most of the house
In this regard, Hamelin and Zmeureanu (2014) conducted a lifecycle cost analysis (LCCA) in a single-family home in Québec; they presented the optimum thermal resistance value of building envelope that achieved the minimum lifecycle cost. The insulation level of recommended design in their study was much higher than code requirements. This is due to the fact that the lifespan of an actual house is quite long, which provides a substantial energy savings from better insulation and would have offset the additional initial cost in this case.
The energy consumption on the Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration systems are fleetly ceaselessly increasing. Department of Environment and Energy (2013) stated that the energy consumption in Australia on the HVAC was approximately 40% and 70% of the base building consumption in 2012. Moreover, a research conducted in Paris projected that 15% of the generated electricity world wildly is utilized for air conditioning and refrigeration systems (Choudhury et al. 2010).
For example; improving steam heat systems, adding insulation and installing more efficient boilers water heaters and energy efficient windows. The legislation would include a max of 50,000 B.T.U. of fossil permitted per apartment building while right now the average apartment is using between 65,000 to 70,000 there would be a reduction of 25%. Some of the issues regarding this legislation are that not every single landlord can afford an extra loan payment. At the same time, living in New York City is expensive with the legislation landlords would have to raise rents so tenants would be more tie money ways. There are some aspects on the article that need more clarification for instance he says that landlords would achieve energy savings by making the buildings more energy efficient. However, I believe that tenants are the ones who are going to make the energy savings since they are the ones leaving on the building, the only benefit for the landlords that I see is if they raise rents because know the building is saving energy. Something that I don’t understand is how all the buildings are going to be measure on how much fossil is using and how this legislation would be treated on very low income areas, where they can’t afford a rent increase. The industry would have some negative effect landlords would raise their
Sustainable engineered housing allows for water-conserving and energy efficient technology in buildings. As a result of having a more energy efficient residence and building, residents, especially low-income residents are able to save on the cost of their utilities. Compared to how much a low-income family may be paying for utilities in a traditionally built residence with high energy using appliances, this new go-green way of living alone can help put less demands on the work-force by allowing families to spend less money each month on
Architects and building modelers are blaming the use of energy intensive appliances, excessive lighting, and building contractors for not properly insulating the buildings (Knapton, S.
According to the Bid Manger, at the outset consortium members reviewed the “Local Authority Requirement" and decided on the strategies to meet them. For sustainability, the decision was to achieve BREEAM “Excellent” on the new-built projects, and “Very good” on the refurbishment. The consortium also decided to exceed the authority’s planning requirements of 10% renewable energy generation. Two biomass boilers were installed on the two new-built PFI projects which provided around 98% of their heating requirement. The team was, therefore, able to achieve 24% renewable energy generation across the estate. The team also introduced further improvements to the buildings insulation and achieved