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Author Topic: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”  (Read 88539 times)

kassy

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #250 on: August 05, 2020, 03:42:11 PM »
Don't demolish old buildings, urge architects

...

In the past there was debate about whether it was better for the climate to demolish an old energy-hungry building and build a well-insulated replacement.

But this is now widely considered a serious mistake because of the amount of carbon emitted during the construction of the new building.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) estimates that 35% of the lifecycle carbon from a typical office development is emitted before the building is even opened. It says the figure for residential premises is 51%.

These calculations suggest it will be decades before some new buildings pay back their carbon debt by saving more emissions than they created - and these are decades when carbon must be sharply reduced.

...

It wants the government to change the VAT rules which can make it cheaper to rebuild than to refurbish a standing building.

Architects' Journal managing editor Will Hurst said: “This staggering fact has only been properly grasped in the construction industry relatively recently. We’ve got to stop mindlessly pulling buildings down.”

He said VAT on refurbishment, repair and maintenance should be cut from 20% to zero to match the typical rate for new-build.

He continued: “It’s crazy that the government actually incentivises practices that create more carbon emissions. Also, if you avoid demolition you make carbon savings right now, which we really need.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53642581
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Sciguy

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #251 on: October 23, 2020, 11:00:33 PM »
Here's a story about a town in Kansas (USA) that rebuilt using sustainable methods after being destroyed by a tornado in 2007.

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/10/22/greensburg-kansas-wind-power-carbon-emissions/?arc404=true

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The town that built back green
After a tornado demolished Greensburg, Kan., it rebuilt without carbon emissions. Can its lessons help communities and economies rebound from fires, hurricanes and covid-19?

 By Annie Gowen
October 23, 2020

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GREENSBURG, Kan. — After powerful tornadoes swept through Nashville earlier this year, killing 25 and leaving a trail of destruction for miles, one of the first calls officials made was to tiny Greensburg, population 900.

A wind-swept farming community in southwestern Kansas, Greensburg rebuilt “green” after an EF5 tornado — the most violent — barreled through at more than 200 miles per hour and nearly wiped it off the map in 2007.

A decade later, Greensburg draws 100 percent of its electricity from a wind farm, making it one of a handful of cities in the United States to be powered solely by renewable energy. It now has an energy-efficient school, a medical center, city hall, library and commons, museum and other buildings that save more than $200,000 a year in fuel and electricity costs, according to one federal estimate. The city saves thousands of gallons of water with low-flow toilets and drought-resistance landscaping and, in the evening, its streets glow from LED lighting.

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Greensburg is no liberal bastion. It sits in Kiowa County, where Trump handily beat Hillary Clinton in 2016, carrying 83 percent of the vote.

But leaders there now are routinely consulted by communities around the world grappling with devastating weather events from wildfires, tsunami, earthquakes and floods — in Australia, China, Japan and Joplin, Mo. In March, the city council member in Nashville wanted to ask what kind of building codes or regulations could make its buildings more tornado-resistant going forward.

Greensburg’s efforts have gained new currency in recent months as climate catastrophes have continued to worsen and Americans struggle with a deadly pandemic that has shut down much of the economy — and begin to rethink what life might look like after a vaccine.

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They held meetings in a temporary red-striped tent set up downtown, where townspeople commented on the rebuilding plan. And they stressed the practical savings of installing energy-efficient windows and insulation in new homes. According to a recent NREL estimate, energy costs for a 2,000-square-foot home with standard construction in Greensburg are about $1,820 annually. Adding more insulation, an energy-efficient furnace, LED lighting and a small solar panel system would save 70 percent of the energy use and reduce energy costs to $1,260 in the first year, which includes the additional mortgage costs for the upgrades.

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More than a decade later, the town has about 400 modest, newly rebuilt homes — many of them with white-pillared front porches — centered in a small downtown where the key buildings are clustered among a few walkable blocks. There’s the city hall, hospital, courthouse, a commons building with a media center and library and school, all built with green construction features like angled windows that make the most of winter sun, cisterns to collect rainwater for irrigation and geothermal heating and cooling systems.



The green areas on the map above show where wind energy is commercially viable.

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The city was able to halve its carbon footprint by shifting to 100 percent wind energy from a 10-turbine wind farm south of town that is owned and operated by Exelon Corp. The turbines, which began operating in 2010, are capable of producing 12.5 megawatts of electricity, enough to power about 4,000 homes, according to Exelon.

vox_mundi

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #252 on: November 05, 2020, 04:57:00 PM »
“There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see.” ― anonymous

Insensible before the wave so soon released by callous fate. Affected most, they understand the least, and understanding, when it comes, invariably arrives too late

sidd

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #253 on: April 16, 2021, 05:31:44 AM »

kassy

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #254 on: June 09, 2021, 07:33:59 PM »
Halogen lightbulb sales to be banned in UK under climate change plans


Sales of halogen lightbulbs are to be banned in the UK from September, with fluorescent lights to follow, under government climate change plans.

The move will cut 1.26 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year and deliver consumers savings, officials say.

...

The cut in carbon emissions as a result of the new rules is the equivalent of removing more than half a million cars from the UK's roads, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-57407233
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Eco-Author

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #255 on: August 18, 2021, 02:17:13 AM »
Ran across an utterly staggering new technology that--to me--is about the equivalent of the advent of the Iron age; 40 homes of the highest quality built in a day that are the most efficient, yet can withstand MEGA quakes 9.0 listed several times (without collapsing) typhoons... fires!  The best five minutes you'll ever spend as an environmentalist:
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Freegrass

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #256 on: August 18, 2021, 04:41:23 AM »
Ran across an utterly staggering new technology that--to me--is about the equivalent of the advent of the Iron age; 40 homes of the highest quality built in a day that are the most efficient, yet can withstand MEGA quakes 9.0 listed several times (without collapsing) typhoons... fires!  The best five minutes you'll ever spend as an environmentalist:
That was awesome! Thanks for that.
Now imagine these boxes installed with a fully automated hydroponic grow system. Then you could build lots and lots of fully automated farms stacked on top of eachother... Maybe even incorporated into buildings?
90% of the world is religious, but somehow "love thy neighbour" became "fuck thy neighbours", if they don't agree with your point of view.

WTF happened?

Eco-Author

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #257 on: August 18, 2021, 06:06:58 AM »

That was awesome! Thanks for that.
Now imagine these boxes installed with a fully automated hydroponic grow system. Then you could build lots and lots of fully automated farms stacked on top of eachother... Maybe even incorporated into buildings?
[/quote]

All the buildings I've drawn have hydroponic growing... this one has them all on the south side and all previous had the upper floor didicated to it... Offering 72sqft of 24/7/365 growing area per person at max capacity.  Several other countries such as IR Iran have a similar Prefab all steel construction but is not containerized like this one... it takes longer has all the benefits (even stronger), but isn't restricted to the size of a container... taking only a few months to complete vs. over a year so the tech has already gotten around.  Never thought of the value of Rockwool as such ultra high quality insulation/sound absorption...
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #258 on: August 18, 2021, 06:10:51 AM »
btw... in the 1950s Enamled steel construction almost took hold (four of these homes are in my area and still look new 70-years later including the original roof) but the industry deliberately put him out of business for fear of having their entire industry collapse... They are called lustron homes, were pre-fab w/ built-in shelving/wiring...
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #259 on: August 18, 2021, 06:27:13 AM »
another video... starts slow but goes into more details including walk through! 

Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!

Eco-Author

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Re: Energy Efficiency: The “First Fuel”
« Reply #260 on: August 22, 2021, 08:36:59 PM »
Part of energy efficiency is internal volume compared to outside surface area.  This is completely counter to the architect's desire to put as many eye-catching 'POINTS' on a building that make it look fancy but only adds to building/repair costs and wastes heat.  Obviously, a sphere has the most internal volume compared to any other shape per outside surface area followed by a cylinder... I've used Octagons which are ~3% less than cylinders but have other benefits.  The more floors you add on top of each other is one of your main keys which is why every time I see an 'environmentalist' promoting some single/two level structure, I just cringe. 
Self-sufficiency and Durability to disasters are the absolute keys to nearly any disaster you can think of such as War, economic collapse, pandemics, Global warming, quakes, volcanoes, Hurricanes... all of which put solar farms etc. and power grids at risk!