Modern Buildings And Its Effects On The Environment

Both water and homes have been heated by passive solar energy since 1882. Passive solar energy technology can best be described as thermal windows and orientation of buildings to receive the maximum amount of sunlight during the course of a day. Active heating, which utilizes solar panels, is largely a development of the 20th century. Although heating homes is a necessity during winter months, Texas needs to develop a way to cool buildings during much of the year due to high humidity and scorching temperatures. Cooling using solar energy is possible but complex since it requires an indirect technique to extract heat. The solar cooling technology was first displayed on a large scale at Trinity University in San Antonio during 1977. Texas Tech University was the first institution to develop a moderately sized solar-electric power plant in the United States. The solar-electric power plant developed by Texas Tech replaced the diesel-fueled generators used to power the City of Crosbyton. The device used to harness solar energy and convert solar radiation into electricity has been modified for usage at the Johnson and Johnson plant in Sherman, Texas as an economical electricity generating alternative (Wilder, 2013).

Through this rule-based design strategy, the form of the building is easy to change by modifying the constraints of the parameters. The time cost of the model could save because the whole model does not need to rebuild. By parametric design, we could use the characteristics of Building Information Modeling (BIM) elements to response the data from the environmental analysis, such as solar radiation and wind velocity. Considering BIM providing a corporation system for information to share and use by architects, which not only could build three-dimensional models, predict the performance of the building, but also enable to analyze the environment, BIM already become one of the most significant computational design tools for contemporary architecture. The author uses sun shades as an example to show the approach used by designers to complete a façade design step by step and the relationships between analytic data, BIM and different software, such as Revit, Ecotect, and Excel. Also, the limitations of parametric design are mention in the

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.

Passive solar heating designs are some of the simplest forms of incorporating solar energy into your daily home life. Passive solar designs incorporate the sun

Fossil fuels are harmful to the environment, they release chemicals into the atmosphere which reduces the air quality, and degrades the protective ozone layer around the Earth. Solar power is unlike fossil fuels in this way; solar harnesses power from the sun, a never ending source, in a simple process that does not harm the environment, making it renewable and sustainable. For a comfortable indoor temperature year round, this house utilises double glazed operable windows. Double glazing windows increases thermal protection of the house by creating a thicker insulating layer, it keeps the cold air outside in winter, and the warm air outside in summer that would usually be transmitted through the windows. The structure is made from metal cladding, cement sheet and plantation timber. Metal cladding and cement sheet create a thermal layer that protects the

Heat load on the buildings are reduced through thermally insulated facades and roof, light coloured roofing, natural shading devices.

Since metal reflects the heat of the sun, aluminum roofing minimizes the building’s midday heat gain,

Green buildings could become one of the main factors to preserve our rapidly decaying environment. There is no easy way to define a green building, but a green building is essentially a structure that amplifies the positives and mitigates the negatives throughout the entire life cycle of the building (Kriss, 2014). There are many definitions for a green building, but all of them include the planning, designing, constructing, and operating of the building while taking into huge considerations of the energy use, water use, indoor air environment, materials used and the effect it has on the site the green building is being built on. The first green buildings dates back to as far as the 1970’s, when solar panels went from experiments to reality. Green buildings were not as popular as they are today due to their extremely high pricing. With technology rapidly growing, solar panels are becoming cheaper and cheaper, making the transition to creating green buildings more affordable. This is the primary reason for the increased growth of green buildings today. A modern company that is paving the way to the growth of green buildings named LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, focuses primarily on new and effective ideas for environmentally friendly buildings projects. With more than 60,000 commercial projects worldwide and 1.7 million square feet being certified every day, LEED is one of the leading groups for promoting green buildings. LEED has popularized the entire

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

The basic components of an envelope are floors, roofs, fenestrations (windows, skylights, clerestories, etc), doors, walls and more. The biggest function of a successful envelope design is to see how the heat is been transferred between the outside and the inside. Minimizing heat transferring can be very important because it can help reduce the amount of need of the space cooling and heating. That is why understanding how heat is been transferred and the types of insulations that can be used in walls can decrease energy costs at a larger scale. Engineers and architects have created new ways to improve the way a building is designed to have great heat efficiency and maximize the light from the sun. As a

The inefficient homes in the UK have catastrophic effects on global warming. The UK needs to become more energy efficient as at the moment it emits a large amount of greenhouse gases which risk dangerous climate change. The retrofitting of the brick three storey terraced town house is necessary in order to comply with the legislations set out by parliament in the UK Climate Change Act (2008) or if the house falls under the private rented sector it must comply with the Energy Act 2011.

Passive design for heating, cooling and ventilating was put into consideration during the design process of the CIRS. The building relies significantly on natural ventilation when the outside conditions allow it. The central atrium uses the “stack effect” due to the automatic vents on the curtain walls and skylight. Windows are shaded on sun-facing sides of the building in order to block excess glare and heat gains. The permanently occupied spaces in the building have full access to natural light and outside views, which reduces the amount of artificial lighting and energy. Photovoltaic panels are located on the atrium skylight and on the window shades and they transform sunlight into electricity. Tall windows allow lots of natural light to reach the

Passive solar design consists of taking natural solar energy, such as that from the sun, and using it to our own advantages such as heating or cooling a building. This technique utilizes the sun's heat energy and is important in architectural designs becuase it can have an impact on bettering the environment. An example of this could be larger window placements on buildings based upon the location of the sun as well as taking into consideration the different season of the year.

The adaption of a second-skin to the South façade of an office building in the city Kiev (Ukraine) is investigated and compared to the use of internal blinds. Furthermore, research is done the physical domains of thermal and air flow in the second-skin, and its interactions for which three simulations were done. Due to these three simulations, the following questions good be answered:

Energy simulation software tools are an important support used for building designers to design energy efficient buildings. Energy simulation basically means using a calculation to mathematically model the interplay of thermal processes within a building. There are a wide range of mathematical models used for this purpose, all of which vary significantly in both ease of implementation and application. These models have been translated into computer software’s for excellence and efficiency in building design. The paper attempts to review the available Energy simulation softwares and select an appropriate one for simulating the various building design options for an ongoing research, “Design of Earth Sheltered Buildings”.