ENERGY EFFICIENT ARCHITECTURE - 8011
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
‘We must satisfy our generation’s needs without destroying the opportunities for future
generations to satisfy their needs.’
Energy efficiency means using less energy to provide the same service.
Energy Efficiency ENERGY EFFICIENCY ARCHITECTURE
Architecture • Sustainable architecture is architecture tha
t seeks to minimize the negative
environmental impact of buildings by
Helps attain
efficiency and moderation in the use of
materials, energy, and development space
and the ecosystem at large.
Comfort zone • Its primary goal is to lessen the harm
poorly designed buildings cause by using
the best of ancient building approaches in
through logical combination with the best of new
technological advances.
• Green buildings try to take less from the
Control measures earth and give more to people.
IDEALLY A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING SHOULD:
• make appropriate use of land
• use water, energy, lumber, and other resources efficiently
• enhance human health
• strengthen local economies and communities
• conserve plants, animals, endangered species and
• natural habitat
• protect agricultural, cultural, and archaeological resources
• be nice to live in
• be economical to build and operate
THE PRIMARY STEPS IN THIS APPROACH WOULD BE TO:
• Incorporate solar passive techniques in building design to
minimize load on conventional systems (heating, cooling,
ventilation and lighting).
• Design energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems.
• Use renewable energy sources to meet part of building
load.
• Use low energy materials & methods of construction &
reduce
transportation energy.
PASSIVE DESIGN is where the building uses the SUN, WIND and LIGHT to heat, cool and
light ARCHITECTURALLY
Passive vs. Active Design
Passive design results when a building is created and simply works “on its own”. The plan,
section, materials selections and sitting create a positive energy flow through the building and
“save energy”.
Active design uses equipment to modify the state of the building, create energy and comfort; i.e.
Fans, pumps, etc.
Passive buildings require active users (to open and shut windows and blinds…)
ENERGY
EFFICIENCY
Climate -
Adaptive
buildings
Climate -
Rejecting
buildings
Wainwright Building
Seagrams Building
• Landform, vegetation and water bodies
• Design strategies
1. Climate near the ground is
what governs the interaction
between most organisms and
the environment
2. Absorption of radiant energy
is sensitive to the nature of the
surface.
Landform and Climate
Valleys
Types of landforms –
large landforms & small
landforms
Flat land
Undulating
surfaces
Vegetation and Climate
Obstruction, Filtration, Deflection and Guidance
Vegetation areas designed to fulfill these general functions are usually classified
as windbreaks and shelterbelts.
Vegetation and air movement
Water
Water bodies absorb much heat during the day and reradiate it at night
natural airflow pattern
Why consider building
orientation ?
Key definitions – Sun Path
Advantages of Effective Building
The orientation of a building is influenced by numerous environmental and built factors, among them
• Sensory
– Thermal—solar exposure, wind direction, temperature
– Visual—varying daylight qualities in different locations and at different times of day
– Acoustical—direction of objectionable noises
– Environmental—smoke, dust, odors
• Psychological
– Views
– Privacy
– Street activity
• Local development patterns
– Street direction
– Spatial organization, land use, urban design
– Zoning
– Accessibility requirements—main/secondary entrances, parking
• Other considerations
– Aesthetic
– Direction of storms
– Site conditions—topography, geotechnical, wetlands
– Site vegetation—mature trees
– View corridors, scenic easements
The other key property you need to obtain is the
conductivity of each building material. This
is a measure of its inherent ability to facilitate the
passage of heat. It is normally referred to as
a ‘k value’ and values for materials can be found in
publications such as the New Metric
Handbook and the Architects’ Pocket Guide
The U value is defined as being reciprocal of all the
resistances of the materials found in the
building element.
• The resistance of a building material is derived by
the following formula:
R = (1/k) x d where k is the conductivity of the
building material and d is the material
thickness.
