WEEK 1

How do you compare with the average for a person in Australia?

My carbon footprint is 13.41 metric tons per year.
The average footprint for people in Australia is 16.30 metric tons.
I am producing 2.89 metric tons less than the average footprint of people in Australia per year.

Apart from carbon offset; what would you have to do to reach the worldwide target of 2 Metric Tonnes of CO2 per person per annum?

My Carbon Footprint:

House 0.14 metric tons of CO2e
Flights 0.70 metric tons of CO2e
Car 0.01 metric tons of CO2e
Bus & Rail 0.00 metric tons of CO2e
Secondary 12.56 metric tons of CO2e

Just looking that is data I'll have to reduce my Secondary by are large amount.

My secondaries includes
(These figures are calculated from my estimation).

9.94 metric tons: Food and drink products
0.01 metric tons: Pharmaceuticals
0.09 metric tons: Clothes, textiles and shoes
0.23 metric tons: Computers and IT equipment
0.07 metric tons: Television, radio and phone (equipment)
1.36 metric tons: Motor vehicles (not including fuel costs)
0.18 metric tons: Furniture and other manufactured goods
0.45 metric tons:  Hotels, restaurants, and pubs etc.
0.13 metric tons: Telephone, mobile/cell phone call costs
0.13 metric tons: Recreational, cultural and sporting activities

The outstanding figures are:
Fooding and drinking products, and motor vehicles.

What I have to do to reach the world goal of 2 metric tons of co2 per person: 

I would have to reduce my food and drink products or change the food and drink products.

How much should you pay per annum to offset your carbon footprint to reach the worldwide target of 2 Metric Tonnes of CO2 per person?

$3 300 per annum

WEEK 2

Task: In a few short sentences, discuss your findings (i.e. shadows being cast onto adjacent buildings, how orientation impacts overshadowing) and how this impacts user comfort and building performance.

9:00 am

The sun rises from the East. At 9am the shadows are in line with the buildings. There will be minimal shade casted from the buildings. Shadows casted on the western side of the buildings.

12:00 pm

At 12pm the sun is directly above the buildings. No angle of the sun means there are no shadows casted by the buildings.

3:00 pm

The sun is setting in the west. At 3pm the shadows are still inline with the buildings. There will be minimal shade from the buildings. Shadows casted on the eastern side of the buildings.

The shadow alignment has its pros and cons to consider when designing a multi building area. I think this kind of multi building arrangement is suited of a cold climate because the outdoor areas have little shading and during most of the working hours the buildings are absorbing heat from the sun.

WEEK 2.2

Task:Using the sun shading chart discuss in groups of two the best options for implementing shading devices on a north, east and west facing façade. Put your findings into sentence format with screen shots of each outcome and email the findings to each of your tutors.

North facing window, summer

North Facing Window summer:

The overhang angle can be 55 degrees.

Vertical Fins Angles are not needed. Currently the building has [44 hours] of shaded already, adding fins will only increase the hours when the building is not needed to be shaded and decrease the comfort hours.
The surrounding buildings and boundary wall have little affect on the building.

North facing window, winter

North facing window winter:

The overhang angle can be 70 degrees.
Letting in more sun so that there is more comfortable hours [460 hours] with only [9 hours] that is projected to be Hot (over 27 degrees) which might be welcome in winter. 

West facing window, summer

West facing window summer:

There is a wall along the western boundary of the property which affects the sun coming in.
The overhang angle should be 45 degrees to shade more of the summer western sun.

West facing window, winter

West facing window winter:
Over hang angle should be the same as summer at 45 degrees.

By increasing the over hang angle will increase the hot sun (27 + degrees) but little affect the comfortable sun.

The hot sun (27 + degrees) still penetrates through the shading for a predicted [8 hours]  

East facing window, summer

East facing window summer:
Similar to the west facing window with an obstruction. (two storied house 6m)
The over hang angle could be 60 degrees with [315 hours] of comfortable sun and [24 hours] of hot sun.
Fins will only decrease the comfort sun hours

East facing window, summer

East facing window winter:

To achieve the relatively same amount of comfortable sun as summer the over hang angle should be 70 degrees however in achieving the similar numbers there is a cost of extra hot sun.

Conclusion:

The Fins are mainly needed in climates with a rather bias sun or a low azimuth angle.

There are ways to maximise the comfortable sun at the cost of increasing hot sun or minimising hot sun at the cost of comfortable sun, its all dependant on client.

Week 3

2904ENV Principles of Sustainable Design

Tutorial / Workshop 4 – Week 3

Passive Design Principles

Aim: To identify multiple passive design principles for two contrasting climate zones.

WORKING IN GROUPS OF TWO CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING TWO DESIGN SCENARIOS:

•       Ireland Detached House, Hilltop Rural (Belfast)

•       GC Detached House, Flat Rural (Very busy road to North)

Task:

-        Suggest and diagram 5 passive design strategies for each scenario

-        Compare strategies for each of the sites noting similarities and differences, are there strategies that can be applied to both climates?

-        Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both active and passive design (5 each)

Use Climate Consultant tool as a guide

A few examples to be explored:
- Orientation
- Shading (last week’s tutorial)
- Insulation properties
- Thermal mass
- Cross ventilation
- stack effect
- earth sheltering
- vegetation / deciduous trees

These principles are a suggestion. The idea is for you to research and explore new principles as a way to improve your knowledge in improving overall building performance through passive design.

Delivery:

Arrange your findings in a word document and email to your tutor. Diagrams may be done by hand or digitally and must be submitted along with discussion, in the word document. Diagrams should be annotated and require minimal written description (see examples).

Ireland Detached House, Hilltop Rural (Belfast)

Insulation:

The house will have to use a lot of energy to heat up the area. Seen on climate consultant the temperature is well below the comfort zone, for most part of the year. By having good insulation, the house will have less heat lost therefore using less energy to maintain the house at a constant and desired temperature.

Advantages:
Savings in energy bills.
easier to control the interior climage


Disadvantages:
Higher construction cost.
A ventilation is needed out losing too much heat.

Thermal mass:

Thermal mass will help to absorb the heat from the sun and heaters.
For example granite floors, will slowly absorb the heat from the sun during the day time and slowly release the stored heat when the house cools down at night.

Advantages:
Savings in energy bills.
natural light which is good for health
Uses little energy to keep the house at a constant temperature.

Disadvantages:
High material cost.
Takes a lot of energy to heat up the space.

Orientation:
The house should be longways for east to west to allow a large south facade.
The house's living area should be facing south to optimise passive solar energy from the sun.

Advantages:
Savings in energy bills.
Can use more of the passive solar design strategies

Disadvantages:
If the envelope is already built it will cost a lot to change the orientation.

Stack effect:
The climate has cool air therefore the house as to be to heated, creating a pressure difference between the inside of the house and the out side. High pressure air created from heating will want to equalise with the low pressure from the outside, so its important to have the roof insulated

Advantages:
Can use a passive ventilation system.

Disadvantages:
If the house is poorly insulated there can be a lot of the heat loss.

Earth sheltering:
Will increase the external thermal mass and insulate the roof of the house. This will help with the stack effect.


Advantages:
Easy to keep a constant temperature.

Disadvantages:
Possibly bad for mental health, more to do with weather.

 GC Detached House, Flat Rural (Very busy road to North):

Insulation:
The house will have to use energy to cool down some areas. By having good insulation, the house will have less heat gain therefore using less energy to maintain the house at a constant and desired temperature.


Advantages:
Savings on energy bills
easier to control the interior climate via ventilation.

Disadvantages:
Higher construction cost.
A ventilation is needed out losing too much heat.

Orientation:
The house should be longways for east to west to allow a large north facade.
The house's living area should be facing north to optimise passive solar energy from the sun.
The alfresco should be facing to the south.

Shading:
There should be a small overhang of the roof to allow the winter sun to penetrate into the house and to block the high summer sun. 
Thermal mass:
High Thermal mass in some area's can help climatise the house.

Cross ventilation:


vegetation / deciduous trees: