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Measures of Sustainability

Measuring sustainability is challenging due to its wide scope and lack of a universal definition. This article explores direct and indirect metrics, such as produced energy, energy saved, life cycle costing, geological region, government influence, lifestyle, spatial relations, and human comfort. It also discusses sustainable energy techniques like solar, wind, and geothermal power, and materials like bamboo and cork. The text language is English.

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Measures of Sustainability

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  1. Measures of Sustainability Ben Carruth Nick Slobozien Brad Zanette

  2. How to measure Sustainability? “Measuring sustainability is difficult because there is no universal definition and it encompasses many aspects of our society, economy, and governing institutions in addition to our interaction with the natural environment” -HUD.gov

  3. Direct Metrics • Produced Energy • Energy Saved • Life Cycle Costing • Indirect Metrics • Geological Region • Government Influence • Lifestyle • Spatial Relations • Human Comfort

  4. Direct Metrics

  5. Produced Energy • They key to a zero energy building is the mechanical system that produces energy to balance our energy in and energy out. • There are a lot of different ways to produce energy. • We focused on a couple to get a better understanding on them.

  6. Sustainable Energy Techniques • Solar • Wind • Geothermal • Materials

  7. Solar • Payback • If electricity prices remain static and the price you are paid by the grid remains static, then current payback is around 30 years. • If electricity prices rise by only 10% per year, but the price you are paid by the grid remains static, then payback is around 18 years. • If both prices rise by 10% per year, then payback is under 10 years. • Essentially free sustainable electricity for whatever use • You can sell excess electricity produced back to national grid • Source of backup power if you use battery storage • The average (home) solar panel array output ranges from about 175 W to about 235 W • With an average of 5 hours sun per day = .875-1.175 kWh per day = 320-430 kWh per year • In 2012, the average annual electricity consumption for a U.S. residential utility customer was 10,837 kWh (according to US Energy Information Administration) • So….3-4% of annual energy produced by solar power

  8. Wind Benefits: • 10 million MWh of electricity generated annually by U.S. wind farms • Releases no pollution • One of the lowest-priced renewable energy technologies available • Costing between four and six cents per kilowatt-hour • Benefits the economy in rural areas • Creates new jobs Challenges: • Turbines may cause noise • Blades may damage local wildlife • Located away from cities where the electricity is needed

  9. Geothermal Benefits: • 2,800 megawatts of electricity from geothermal power plants are supplying about 4 million people in the US • 8,200 megawatts of electricity in 21 countries, supplying 60 million people • Cost Savings • lower running costs, saves 80% over fossil fuels • No fuel is required • No pollution • Creates Jobs Challenges: • High installation costs • Operating and maintenance costs range from $0.01 to $0.03 per kWh • Can run out of steam • Geothermal sites can run out of steam over a period of time due to drop in temperature or if too much water is injected to cool the rocks • Hard to transport

  10. Materials • Bamboo • Rapidly renewable raw material • Can grow up to 6” a day • Douglas fir typically grows ~24” per year = 0.066 inches per day • Technically in the grass family though can replace timber in the building process • Bamboo filaments have a greater strength to weight ratio than hardened steel • Every part of it can be used = no waste • Cork • Bark of the tree is peeled off and it regenerates • Microscopic air pockets that are enclosed in the cork fibers give it great thermal and acoustic value • Cork tree that has its bark removed every 9 years will absorb 3-5 times more CO2 than a similar idle tree

  11. Energy Saved • The Zion National Park Visitors Center in Springdale, Utah • The building's operating costs is only $0.45/ft^2, ($4.84/m^2) to operate • using 70% less energy compared with facilities built to the applicable Federal codes • This energy use is equivalent to a total annual savings of about 250,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) (870 million Btu)

  12. Life Cycle Costing • Life-Cycle Costing Analysis (LCCA) is related to but not a direct measure of sustainability. • A LCCA does produce a sustainable quantitative metric that can be compared for best efficiency.   • The  most cost-effective solution is not always the most environmentally ideal choice, LCCA helps identify that. • Ex: A building that consumes little energy but cost more to maintain then the energy costs saved.

  13. Looking at a 30-Year Life Cycle Cost, the utility, maintenance, and operation costs nearly equal the initial project expense.

  14. Harvard Life Cycle Costing Policy • Use a 20-year project lifetime            • Use a discount rate of 8% as recommended by the Finance Working Group and approved by the GHG Executive Committee (To be reviewed on an ongoing basis with quadrennial GHG Reduction Goal Review)            • Use total project costs net of incentives (e.g. utility rebates)            • Include maintenance and equipment replacement costs incurred during the 20-year lifetime        • Use Harvard-specific utility rates and utility escalation rates            • Use the expected inflation rate from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to escalate maintenance and other one-time costs            • Use Harvard-specific GHG emission conversion factors            • Use the Net Present Value and the Savings-to-Investment ratio to determine if a project is financially viable        • Rank financially viable projects by the 20-year GHG savings (avoided GHG emissions)

  15. IndirectMetrics

  16. Geological Region • The geological region effects the circumstances to achieve sustainability. • The aspects to achieve sustainability changes whether it’s a warm, cold, dry, or wet climate. • For example: Solar energy and thermal heat from the ground’s surface might be the main focus of energy production for a city near the desert while heat exchange from a large body of water might be the main focus for a city near a lake.

  17. Warmer Climate

  18. Colder Climate

  19. Government Influence “What if government incentivized innovative, efficient and environmentally effective design? What if government became the carrot rather than the stick?” -Center of Sustainability at Aquinas College

  20. What is Sweden doing that makes it more sustainable than Spain? Each country's government plays a role.

  21. Sweden Spain • Is involved with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) along with several other countries, which addresses economical, social, and environmental challenges. • This is one of the few publicized government initiatives towards sustainability Spain reflects. • Swedish Government set up a national Sustainability Commission which has primarily focused on the issue of climate change. • The Government additionally appointed an International Climate Commission focused on climate and development issues.  

  22. Lifestyle • A sustainable design is one the influences a sustainable lifestyle for an occupant. • This is a very important idea that reflects on many ideas, including the elimination of cars in a consumer’s daily routine. • The space that we occupy for the majority of our day can have the biggest impact on our lifestyles .

  23. Spatial Relations • This is a very neglected aspect of sustainability. • Spacial Relations is the utilization or designation for each individual space of a specific system or project, in this case, where the arrangement of the spaces produces the most efficient results. • Ex: A floor plan that designs a basic hallway/ room intersection into a common area for passive solar energy to enter the house. • Essentially its the idea of making every space count more.

  24. Spatial relations ties into sustainability because of the efficiency behind the idea of it. • Essential the heating of a space that serves very little purpose is wasteful. • This idea is why the Passive House design is held to be very compact and small.

  25. Human Comfort • The comfort an occupant feels is in relation with how much energy is consumed. • If an occupant does not feel comfortable they will amp up the amount of energy being spent through mechanical systems to make themselves more comfortable. • That is why it is very important consider what will be more comfortable so overall less energy is consumed in achieving that comfort.

  26. Sources • http://cdn.environmentalleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/top-sustainable-countries.jpg • http://www.huduser.org/portal/periodicals/em/summer11/highlight2.html • http://lbre.stanford.edu/sites/all/lbre-shared/files/docs_public/LCCA121405.pdf • http://energy.gov/eere/femp/life-cycle-cost-analysis-sustainable-buildings • http://green.harvard.edu/topics/green-buildings/life-cycle-costing • http://pureenergies.com/us/how-solar-works/solar-panel-output/ • http://sustainable-building.webs.com/solarpanelspv.htm • http://www.pawindenergynow.org/wind/benefits.html • http://centerforsustainability.org/resources.php?root=91&category=91 • http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2013/june/images/windturbines_500x314.jpg • http://sustainability.rpi.edu/images/sustainability_studies.jpg • http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_ni/ni_pdfs/NationalReports/sweden/Full_text.pdf • http://geothermal.marin.org/geopresentation/sld067.htm • http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=97&t=3 • http://sustainablematerials.com/ • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204605000599 • http://laurenfast.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/backcountry-ski-patrol-4.jpg

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