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Impacts of Green Building in the Nichols Arboretum. Kara Steeland kstee@umich.edu Adena Kass adenaka@umich.edu William Finnicum wleasfin@umich.edu . Global Change 1-Section 5. The Problem: Fossil Fuel Emissions. Non-Renewable Resources: coal, gas, oil
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Impacts of Green Building in the Nichols Arboretum Kara Steeland kstee@umich.edu Adena Kass adenaka@umich.edu William Finnicum wleasfin@umich.edu Global Change 1-Section 5
The Problem: Fossil Fuel Emissions • Non-Renewable Resources: coal, gas, oil • Combustion of fossil fuels in urban buildings is responsible for approximately half of the global carbon dioxide emissions each year (Beascochea and Filippin, 2005) • Buildings are responsible for about 37% of energy consumed in the United States and consumed 68% of the electricity produced (LEED-NC Reference Guide) • Fossil fuel emissions add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere which increases greenhouse effect and global warming Image taken from: https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/group/db7fe7ed-e073-46a4-80bc-358b887d9cc9/Lecture%20Powerpoints/George%20Kling/Climate_models_lecture.pdf
Hypothesis • Our case study will examine how we can reduce fossil fuel consumption in the construction and maintenance of a building. • By following the guidelines of sustainable architecture, we will minimize the amount of fossil fuels consumed in the construction and maintenance of a building. • Sustainable architecture attempts to decrease energy use and create buildings that generate their own energy
Sustainable Architecture • Used interchangeably with the term ‘green building’ • Aspects of sustainable architecture (Gissen, 2002): • Energy: redesign mechanical systems to use less energy; use renewable sources (wind, water, solar power) • Light: shading • Air: ventilation • Greenery: use plants to treat water • Water • Waste • Construction : use recycled, local, and renewable materials • Renewable materials: resources that can be replenished at the same rate they are being used Image taken from www.mcgill.ca
Our Building Project Building a visitor’s center in the Nichols Arboretum in order to determine the decrease in CO2 emissions as a result of using sustainable building practices Image taken from: http://www.enfo.ie/leaflets/Sustainable%20Building.htm Sustainable designreduces need for fossil fuels Compare the materials used and energy sources in a green building and a conventional building
Location and Orientation • The orientation of the building within the Arboretum is essential in order to maximize the use of natural energy sources such as the river and the sun: • be built on a hill with the largest side facing south • more windows will be placed on the side of the building with southern exposure, allowing the radiation to enter the building in the winter • deciduous trees on the southern side of the building will shield the visitor’s center from sun in the summertime • ventilation: large vents under the roof of the visitor’s center (Gissen, 2002) • two stories so that it can have a slim shapemaximize ventilation caused by breezes naturally flowing through its windows (Battle, 2002) (Kim, 2005)
Energy Use • Conceptual model of green energy and fossil fuel energy: • Energy used for heating, cooling, and lighting • Green energy: solar and wind • Fossil fuel energy: oil, coal, natural gas • Differences in energy use between conventional and green building • conventional building: uses only .1% green energy (United States Energy, 1998) • green building: uses 75% green energy (LEED-NC Reference Guide)
Types and Amount of Energy Used Conventional building utilizes only .07% solar energy and .04% wind energy (United States Energy, 1998) Green building uses 45% wind energy and 30% solar energy (LEED-NC Reference Guide)
Materials • Conceptual model of types of materials and the resulting pollution during building construction: • Compare local, non-local, renewable, and non-renewable resources • Best source: local and renewableleast fossil fuel emissions and environmental impact
Renewable and Recycled Materials • No standards for recycled or renewable materials in conventional buildings • Use mainly recycled material in green building; 25-80% recycled materials (Hunt, 2002) • Wood is considered to be the most renewable resources: • only 6% used in conventional building (Keoleian, 2000) • According to LEED (leadership in energy and environmental design), at least 50% wood must be used in green building (LEED-NC Reference Guide)
Local versus Non-Local • Local resources: materials that are produced or recovered within 500 miles of a project site • LEED standards require a building to utilize 50% of materials that are extracted or recovered locally and 20% that are manufactured locally (LEED-NC Reference Guide) • By using mostly local materials for construction, the impacts on the environment due to fossil fuel emissions are decreased
Results/Conclusion • our proposed visitor’s center will use energy and materials efficiently • conventional building: • .1% renewable energy (United States Energy, 1998) • non-renewable and non-local materials • sustainable building: • 75% renewable energy (LEED-NC Reference Guide) • recycled and renewable materials • 70% local materials (LEED-NC Reference Guide) • conclusion: the visitor’s center built according to sustainable guidelines will have reduced fossil fuel emissions and have a decreased impact on the environment
References Beascochea, A., and C. Filippin. 2005. Energy-efficient housing for low-income students in a highly variable environment of central Argentina. Renewable Energy 32: 1-20. Energy and Atmosphere. LEED-NC Reference Guide, 2.1: 109-181 Gissen, D., ed. 2002. Big & Green: Toward Sustainable Architecture in the 21st Century. Princeton Architectural Press, New York. Hunt, H.D. 2002. Green Building. Construction Technology, 1569. Keoleian, G.A., Blanchard, & S., Reppe, P. 2000. Life Cycle Energy, Costs, and Strategies for Improving a Single-Family House. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 4: 135-156. Kim, D.K. 2005. The natural environment control system of Korean traditional architecture: Comparison with Korean contemporary architecture. Building and Environment, 41: 1905-1912. Materials and Resources. LEED Reference Guide, 2.1: 185-238. “United States Energy and World Energy Production and Consumption Statistics.” 1998. <http://energy.cr.usgs.gov/energy/stats_ctry/Stat1.html> (28 November 2006)