Green Building Evaluation - Term Paper Example

Green Building Evaluation Student Name Tutor Course Institution Date Part A: BREEAM RATING Introduction BREEAM is a tool that is used to access the environmental sustainability of buildings. It is owned by the BRE Global group who has provided a rating for buildings so as to attain an environment that is sustainable. The rating is done so as to enhance the social and environmental issues of a building project. This is aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the building. The scoring for BREEAM rating is done by awarding credit depending on the environmental impact obtained from the objective judgment of the development versus set criteria. This rating has been used in the construction of many buildings in Britain and cross the world. Various buildings can be assessed using the BREEAM rating for buildings to ascertain environmental sustainability. These include commercial buildings, public buildings, multi-residential buildings among other buildings. This paper shall use the case study of Price Water House Coopers office towers at 7 More London to illustrate the BREEAM rating for buildings. Role of BREEAM rating in enhancing sustainability Originally, the BREEAM rating scheme was used in assessing the environmental impact of buildings during the initial stages of design and construction. Presently, the rating scheme has expanded and it now covers the whole lifecycle of a building from its planning to the in-use and revamp. To enhance sustainability in the design of a building, BREEAM carries out an assessment using scientific based criteria that cover a variety of issues in areas that evaluate use of water, energy, pollution, transport, waste, materials, ecology, management processes, health and wellbeing. The evaluation is meant to ensure that the building meets the issues of sustainability such as reduced use of water and energy, increased fresh air and natural lighting and more use of recycled materials. The 7 More London building attained high energy conservation by getting a rating of 70% of the building code (Michler, 2010). This building used the criteria of energy by using day lighting together with improved solar and HVAC technologies to conserve energy. In addition, the building utilizes waste heat from the air conditioning system in heating the parameter of the building. During construction of large buildings, they have to be able to cool the inside of the building and at the same time provide heat close to the windows. This is the logic behind the design of the building to utilize its waste heat. While carrying out the assessment of the building, the tool sets sustainability benchmarks using such criteria as energy conservation. In addition, the tool sets sustainability benchmarks that will be ahead of the regulatory requirements and also encourages innovation in achieving the set targets. Such innovation was used in the 7 More London to recycle waste energy (Grontmij, 2009). Therefore, the measures set by BREEAM push for greater sustainability as well as innovation in the environment that has been built. Necessary information for BREEAM rating To carry out the rating process for a building, information on the aspects of the building that shall be rated should be known. Such information includes the aspects of management, energy, transport, water, materials, waste, land use and ecology and pollution. Each of these aspects has its own rating in terms of points. The assessor should therefore be versed with the points that are scored by each of the aspects of the building. These points are scored based on how best the building has utilized the stated criteria. Utilization of the aspect is measured based on the efficiency of the building in saving the aspect. For instance, the 7 More Building has an efficiency score of 70% in energy saving. This is given a high score in terms of energy aspect. In addition, information on the best practices for each of the assessed aspects is paramount. For instance, one should have information on how to save energy, how to recycle products, how to utilize waste materials and how to select the best materials that shall enhance environmental conservation. It is important to understand the best practices that enhance sustainability of the environment. This provides the assessor with important information during assessment since they are able to identify the best practices from those that are not environmentally sustainable. The information above will be important during analysis of the design aspects of the building (Bre, 2013). Design aspects to be considered During the design process, materials’ design is considered for sustainability. The materials selected for construction of the building have to be eco-friendly. In addition, the materials have to limit the amount of pollution caused. In addition, the structure of the design is considered when using the BREEAM tool. This is because part of the assessment criteria involves energy conservation. Therefore, the structure of the building has to provide for this aspect through effective utilization of space and provision of natural circulation of air. The design of equipment to be used in the building also has to be considered since the equipment has to produce a low impact on the environment (Breeam, 2013). An example of the 7 More Building indicates the use of HVAC and solar technologies in the building. This is a move to conserve the energy used in the building. Limitations of BREEAM and how to overcome them The BREEAM rating tool has some limitations in its assessment. The tool is heavily biased in measuring the performance of the environment. This implies that using the tool on its own cannot lead to achievement of sustainability in construction of a building. In addition, BREEAM only seems to be a certification of the building. This has a lot of bureaucracy and so much documentation. To achieve better performance of the rating tool and to propel buildings towards sustainability, there is need to use other socio-economic factors in the rating of the building. This shall provide a measure that is more holistic in examining the performance of the building (Heide, 2011). Part B: Green Star Assessment The Green Star rating system is used in Australia to rate a building based on the relation of the building with the management of the building, accessibility of the building to public transport, the health and wellbeing of the occupants of the building, use of water, consumption of energy in the building, use of land, pollution and the embodied energy of the materials used in the construction of the building. The aim of this rating is to enable the enable the building move towards sustainable development. Along with establishing a common language and setting a standard for measuring buildings, the rating was developed to recognize the leadership on the environment and to promote an integrated design for the whole building. Green Star Assessment report of the old design From the design provided, the management has addressed some aspects of sustainable principles of development from the conception of the design. The design of the building indicates that there is consideration of these principles because it has incorporated consultancy services in the design and there is the desire to develop the building into a sustainable building to the environment. The indoor environment quality of the building provides for some space that will enhance comfort in the building. There is also a provision of a lift to move people between the floors. The building has provided a lot of room for individual car transport by providing a massive car packing space. This indicates that the building does not value reduction of individual cars. There is provision for a water pump in the building. This indicates that the building considers provision of water to the life in the building. The land use and ecology of the building has addressed the impact of the building on its close ecosystem. The building has also utilized the space in the environment by having its floors rise up high. This has conserved a good portion of the land in the environment. In addition, the materials selected for the construction of the building do not fully support efficient practices of management that will favor an environment that is sustainable. For instance, use of PVC roof ceiling is not sustainable to the environment. According to Adegboye (2012), an expert from Nigeria warned that the use of PVC for construction has some health hazards associated with it during its lifecycle from production, usage to disposal. The PVC release some chemical known as DiEthyl-Hexyl Phathalate which is known as a softener and is known to cause increased sensitization in respiration. Some have lead additives that cause lead poisoning. Therefore, PVC use in construction is harmful. In addition, the building does not support energy conservation through the insufficient natural lighting in the building. As a result, there is excess use of artificial energy sources to light the building and this consumes a lot of energy from the environment. This also affects the rating on emissions produced by the building because there is a lot of pollution resulting from the excessive lighting in the building. Green Star Rating Management 8 Indoor environment quality 17 Energy 20 Water 7 Transport 7 Materials 15 Land use 6 Emissions 12 Innovations 3 Total 95 Out of 142 From the rating of the various aspects and the score attained by the design of the building, the rate is 67%. To enhance the Green Star Rating Various aspects should be improved to enhance the Green Star rating of the design. To begin with, the consideration of a Green star Accreditation will provide the building with an extra score. In addition, aspects of environmental and waste management should be considered to enhance this score. The building design should also reduce the amount of hazardous substances in the building. The levels of electric lighting should be reduced along with enhancing daylight in the building. To better conserve energy, the building should provide for natural circulation of air so as to reduce the amount of energy consumed in the building. The building should also provide roof tanks so as to tap rainwater and supply this water by gravity and reduce dependence on the water pump. This would conserve energy and provide alternative water in the building. The building should also provide for commuting of mass transport. Further, the materials used for the design of the building should not be hazardous. Use of PVC should be avoided and instead, materials such as fiberglass, foils, glass wool and cellulose should be considered (Australian Gov, 2013). The amount of light pollution can be reduced by using natural lighting and this will improve the rating on emissions. Further, a lot of innovativeness will be achieved by using HVAC and solar systems for air conditioning of the building and utilizing the waste heat from air-conditioning to heat the room (Greenflow, 2013). Project score sheet for the improved design Green Star Rating Management Green star, commissional clauses, building tuning, independent commissioning agent, environmental management, waste management 10 Indoor environment quality: ventilation, air change effectiveness, daylight, carbon dioxide monitoring, daylight glare control, hazardous materials, internal noise levels, volatile compounds, mould prevention, formaldehyde minimization electric lighting levels, thermal comfort, external views, 23 Energy: lighting zoning, greenhouse gas emissions, lighting power density, lighting zoning, peak power demand reduction, energy sub-metering 25 Water: water meters, landscape irrigation, heat rejection, fire system water consumption 9 Transport: car parking, fuel efficient transport, commuting mass transport 9 Materials: recycling waste storage, building reuse, concrete, steel, PVC minimization, sustainable timber, dematerialization 19 Land use: top soil, reuse of land, change of ecological value 7 Emissions: water course pollution, light pollution, legionella, light pollution, refrigerant leaks, insulant ODP, 14 Innovations: innovative strategies & technologies, exceeding Green star, Environmental design initiatives (solar technologies, HVAC, waste heat to heat the building parameter) 4 Total 117 Out of 142 The improved rating gives an 83.4% rating. Assumptions and why the building can achieve a Green Star rating The building has a well and does not tap water from the rains Materials used are not eco-friendly, e.g. roofing materials The building design does not provide sufficient natural lighting The building design does not facilitate commuting The building design is not innovative enough to utilize some of the energy produced in the building The building can achieve a Green Star rating because adding these factors will increase the rating of the building. In addition, the building design should consider using materials that are eco-friendly. This will enhance the safety of the people in the building and shall reduce the amount of hazardous substances in the building. Financial analysis Improvement Cost ($) Roofing material (fiberglass/ glass wool) 1250 per 100sqm Solar technology 0.67 of electricity cost Roof tanks 20,000 Natural roof light 715 per piece From the table, there will be reduced costs from the solar technology air conditioning. The other costs incurred from eco-friendly materials and roof tanks will fall within the stated range. The cost of natural lighting will complement the cost used in roofing the building. Therefore, the cost incurred in making the building attain a green star rating is affordable, based on the budget. Bibliography Adegboye, K., 2012, Expert warns on dangers of PVC building materials, Retrieved on June 21, 2013 from: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/expert-warns-on-dangers-of-pvc-building-materials/. Australian Gov., 2013, Australian Home Insulation, Retrieved on June 21, 2013 from: http://www.australian-government-insulation-rebates.com/Products/bestinsulation.html. Bre, 2013, Sustainability and Breeam, Accessed on June 22, 2013 from: http://www.bre.co.uk/page.jsp?id=1766. Breeam, 2013, The World’s leading Design and Assessment Method for Sustainable Buildings, Accessed on June 22, 2013 from: http://www.breeam.org/. Greenflow, 2013, Solar Air Conditioning- Go with the Flow, Accessed on June 22, 2013 from: http://www.greenflow.com.au/. Grontmij, 2009, 7 More London Riverside achieves BREEAM 'outstanding' rating, Accessed on June 22, 2013 from: http://www.grontmij.co.uk/mediacentre/news/Pages/7morelondon.aspx. Heide, V. 2011, A critical evaluation of BREEAM-NOR from a sustainable Perspective, NTNU. Michler, A., 2010, The UK's First BREEAM Outstanding Office Tower Rises in London, Accessed on June 20, 2013 from: http://inhabitat.com/londons-first-breeam-outstanding-office-tower/. Appendix Assumptions The building has a well and does not tap water from the rains Materials used are not eco-friendly, e.g. roofing materials The building does not provide sufficient natural lighting The building does not facilitate commuting The building is not innovative enough to utilize some of the energy produced in the building Pictures of the proposed new design features Image of the roof water tank Image of fiber glass roofing: source: Regal Rooflines, 2013. (Google images) Image of natural lighting roof Solar systems for air conditioning Source: Google Images at . Read More