According to the literature approximately 40% of global energy in 2007 has been using in the buildings which is responsible for 30% of total carbon emission. This human induced carbon emissions cause climate change by increasing global temperature. In this sense, energy consumption in the life cycle of buildings results in two different components: embodied carbon and operational carbon. Embodied carbon, encompasses extraction and processing of raw materials; manufacturing, transportation and distribution; use, reuse, maintenance, recycling and disposal. Operational energy is consumed in operating the buildings, e.g. heating and cooling systems, lighting, and home appliances which accomplish some household functions. A number of measures and targets have been introduced, including various fiscal and regulatory instruments to handle climate change and move towards low and zero carbon buildings. Overall, the increase in efficiency of energy use is as vital as production of energy and results in direct or indirect energy savings, and subsequently mitigates high energy cost. The aim of this paper is to highlight the impact of ‘different strategies’ on embodied energy and ultimately on the environment. This concern provides a more integrative approach to calculate a building’s embodied carbon in the housing life cycle assessment considering the following strategies: (1) Choice of construction materials such as wood and glass etc… When designing buildings, (2) Minimizing distance between building and raw material supply, (3) Choosing recyclability in building materials and parts, (4) Minimization of building-related waste during the construction processes, and (5) Planning in accordance with recent efforts for standardization of embodied carbon in the buildings. material supply, (3) Choosing recyclability in building materials and parts, (4) Minimization of building-related waste during the construction processes, and (5) Planning in accordance with recent efforts for standardization of embodied carbon in the buildings.
The awareness of users about the benefits provided by the energy retrofitting of buildings is mostly related to the measurable return on investment in each energy efficiency measure. The environmental and economic assessment of the benefits depends on the quality of information (which usually has to be collected for each case). However, in the absence of data decisions tend to be postponed or taken on a subjective level. This paper assesses the preference of occupants about energy efficiency measures applied to Portuguese residential buildings, following cost optimality criteria. Six alternatives were created for the reference building and presented to twenty-five interviewees. These alternatives encompass different combinations of energy efficiency measures arrived at by changing four elements (insulation, glazing, equipment and renewable energy systems). The reference building is representative of the housing stock built between 1961 and 1990 which has high potential for improving energy efficiency. Two Multi-Criteria Decision-Aiding (MCDA) methods were applied: one additive method based on Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) and an outranking method (PROMETHEE). These methods enabled decision-makers’ preferences to be established and gave a final ranking of the alternatives being assessed. Moreover, this study also looks at the results from four rankings of building conservation measures: Spontaneous (obtained through simple sorting of alternatives by interviewees), MAVT, PROMETHEE and Cost-Optimal (sorting given by interviewees after knowing the cost-optimal analysis).
Retrofitting of external walls and building façades of residential buildings is often considered as the most energy efficient renovation measure. This paper presents a web based tool for remote monitoring of energetical performance of a multifunctional façade system for apartment building retrofitting, the ‘MeeFS’ system (www.meefsretrofitting.eu/). MeeFS System is an energy efficient non-intrusive concept based on multi-module pre-fabricated components that will allow integrating both active and passive technologies for façade retrofitting. The retrofitting process is based on a combination of innovative composite façade structure materials, multifunctional and easy to install panels, technological modules as well as an efficient energy management system. Every module integrated in the façade is based on particular technologies that will allow the reduction of the primary energy either by reducing energy demand of the building or by supplying energy by means of RES (Renewable Energy Sources).
The New Zealand Government is in the process of considering a law that would require all commercial, multi-unit and multi-story residential buildings upgraded and strengthened to a minimum of 35% or more of the New Building Standard. Buildings so designated will have up to 15 years from the end of the review period to bring their buildings into line with these requirements. The proposal particularly affects old buildings constructed in unreinforced brick masonry. Many of these are home shop buildings with some heritage value, built around the turn of the 20th Century. Together they make up a considerable portion of many small town commercial precincts. The proposed legislation will affect all parts of New Zealand, regardless of the particular region’s exposure to earthquake risk. The implications of the upgrade are significant, both for owners and for townscape to which they belong. If the cost puts the viability of the building at risk, the owner will be in a position where demolition is the only feasible option. This could have far reaching implications for the wellbeing of many small towns within New Zealand. The Governments decisions follow on from some of the recommendations of the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission report on the recent Christchurch earthquake. The paper will examine these recommendations and report on the submissions to the proposed legislation, particularly as they relate to small-scale unreinforced brick masonry buildings. It will examine the social and economic effects of the legislation on the provincial town compared to inner city Auckland and suggest that there are other cost effective solutions to this dilemma than the route proposed by the impending legislation.
Mixed use developments (MXDs) have been in existence even before any definition emerged to delineate what constitutes it. This could be the reason why till date, it is one of the most evasive terms in the planning vocabulary. The context of strategies or policies that aid to frame the developmental pattern of MXDs remains a challenge to the planners. Various planning organizations and institutes have come up with varying methods to consolidate the issues that jeopardize the growth and developments of the mixed land use. Several attempts have also been made to make them efficiently planned areas. However, these methods are case-specific and cannot be optimized to address the sensitive socioeconomic disposition of any particular identified mixed land use. Adoption of any of these methods to address any mixed land use, particularly, in an Indian context, where socioeconomic composition is highly heterogeneous, would not be feasible. Here, the requirements would be to derive a correlation pattern between the plethora of socioeconomic issues of Indian MXDs with respect to the influence factors for relating them to a quantifiable module of assessment in order to resolve them. This study aims to conglomerate the identified influence factors and their contribution to a case-specific area/zone. It also develops a methodology that better addresses the identified influence factors to ensure socio-economic sustainability of the MXD. Finally, the study analyses the scope for possible adoption of the methodology for inclusion of a planned mixed land use pattern in a long term planning process of any identified mixed use zone.
The objective of this paper was to establish the attributes that determines neighborhood satisfaction in South Africa low-income housing subsidy scheme utilizing the Delphi approach. This is because the perception and housing satisfaction of low income housing beneficiaries toward their housing condition can be studied by examining their satisfaction towards the neighborhood factors. The Delphi method was used where the views of housing experts were solicited on 26 potential attributes as identified from literature. Consensus was achieved after three iterative rounds. The expert’s scored each attributes on a 10-point ordinal scale of impact significance, where l-2=No impact and 910=very high impact. The scales adapted for consensus were: strong consensus, median 9-10, inter quartile deviation (IQD) ≤1; good consensus, median 7-8.99, IQD≥1.1≤2; weak consensus, median ≤ 6.99and IQD≥2.1≤3. The key findings indicate that there was a good to strong consensus of 19 attributes which were key attributes that the experts perceived as determinants of neighborhood satisfaction; while 6 other attributes had weak consensus, as they were considered to have a lesser impact in determining residents’ neighborhood satisfaction. However, attributes with weak consensus were the attributes that are highly regarded as core neighborhood factors in other housing settings. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on the subject where no consensus has been reached pertaining to indicators for measuring neighborhood satisfaction in subsidized low-income housing in South Africa.
