11/29/2011

CE 6320- BUILDING ENGINEERING Lecture Content

1. Planning and design of building services
-Sanitary appliances, waste disposal systems, refuse disposal,
drainage systems 6 hours

2. Green Buildings 2 hours

3. Building Environmental Assessment Methods 2 hours

Ms. Nadeeka Miguntanna,

Senior Lecturer,
Faculty of Engineering,
University of Ruhuna.
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nadee830@gmail.com

How Buildings Work Contd:

How Buildings Work • Basic human processes supported by all buildings include:
• Purpose: – Metabolism of water, energy and materials (plumbing, heating,
ventilation & air-conditioning (HVAC), electrical)
– Provide the human support functions necessary for us
– Waste removal and recycling (plumbing)
to live and work in a comfortable, healthy and
– Thermal comfort (HVAC)
productive environment. – Respiration (HVAC)
– Buildings are fundamentally an extension of human – Sight (lighting)
metabolic processes. – Physical protection (structure, envelope)
– Performing task (equipment)

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Today’s Built Environment

• A complex web of systems and building
structures serving human wants and needs
through greater thru-puts of resources.

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Building Life-cycle
• Resource extraction
• Manufacture
• Development
• Design
• Construction (Birth)
• Operation and Maintenance (Life)
• Deconstruction (Death)
• Disposition

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Key Players
• Owner
• Architects, engineers, design consultants
Non-renewable energy
• Builders, contractors, CMs, trades
Wasteful use of materials and byproducts are
• Facilities managers discarded to soil, water and air
• Users
Compliance with the law is the measure of
• Lenders success
• Manufacturers and suppliers
Goals are short term
• Planning & code officials
Design is based on convenience, custom, and
• Service providers economics
• Community You are learning these
things under

Nature is manipulated to meet a narrow
Project/Construction range of human needs
Management
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Building Services –Quick memory

Building (Construction) Industry
Industry-- Facts
 Providing Water
Population Vegetation • Buildings and settlements must always be near an
adequate source of clean water
Climate Air Quality
– Pure surface or groundwater source produced from the
distillation or filtration of atmospheric water vapor
Construction – Piped to storage reservoirs for treatment and distribution
Watersheds Transportation – Use gravity as much as possible.

 Impact of providing water

1/6 of the world’s 1/4 of world’s 2/5 of world’s Because of relative low cost and ease of transport, up to
freshwater withdrawals wood harvest material & energy flows 90% of all potable water is used for non-potable use.

Rate of use is faster than rates of regeneration.

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 Removing Wastes
 Providing Thermal Comfort
Psychrometrics – how comfortable
a person feels in relation to air
temperature and humidity

Winter heat loss

Summer heat gain

We discussed in
Planning and design of building services
-Sanitary appliances, waste disposal systems, refuse
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disposal, drainage systems

 Providing Respiration
• Nature renews outdoor air
– Sunlight kills pathogens
– Plants remove CO2
– Gravity and rainfall draw out particles
– Wind disperses and dilutes contaminates

 Impacts of Providing Respiration

 Impact of Thermal Comfort • Too little outside air and a build-up of CO2 and re-circulated
Maintaining thermal comfort airborne debris and pathogens results in sick building;
comprises about half of all the energy • Too much outside air and excessive energy use to heat or
used by buildings HVAC(heating, cool and control humidity;
ventilation & air-conditioning) • If humidity is not controlled, bio-growth in HVAC ducts and
systems use refrigerants that have building surfaces
either ozone-depleting potential (ODP)
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or global warming potential.

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 Providing Illumination  Impacts of Providing Illumination

• Many spaces today are over lit or use
• We gather most of the information needed to survive and be
less than optimal light distribution, do
productive from our eyes
not adjust to changing levels of
– Light comes from natural (passive) and artificial (active)
sources daylight
– Reflected wavelengths are captured by our eyes, converted
• Lighting systems not only use energy,
to electrical impulses and transmitted to the brain, which
then creates visual images the energy that is used is transformed
– Amount of light needed is determined by the task to heat for added load on HVAC
systems

• Lamps (bulbs) are often made of

detrimental materials such as
mercury

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Sitting, design, construction, operation Environmental and Economic Impacts of

Aspects/stages of a Built
Environment and maintenance, renovation, Buildings
deconstruction/decommission

All these stages

will consume 16
Fresh Water Withdrawals
Timber Harvest 25
Built environment Energy, materials, natural resources
has several effects Raw Materials Consumption 30
(renewable/nonrenewable)
on the environment Global CO2 Emissions 35
40
Global Energy Use
Municipal Solid Waste to Landfills 40

Air, water, land pollution, indoor Current Building Environment Ozone depleting CFCs in Use 50
pollution 0 10 20 30 40 50
Percentage

Compiled from: Worldwatch Paper #124

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Environmental Impacts of Buildings Contd:

Environmental Impacts of Buildings
 Air/Energy Impacts
 Indoor Air/Human Health – Buildings consume one third of all energy
 People spend 90% of their time
indoors – Consume 2/3 of all electricity
 On average, indoor air is 2-10 more – Buildings contribute
contaminated that outdoor air • 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions,
 20% of workers suffer from indoor
air illnesses resulting in 11,400 • 49% of sulfur dioxide emissions, and
premature deaths/year • 10% of particulate matter emissions
 Health and productivity losses
associated w/indoor air quality are
estimated to cost tens of billions of
$ annually. 21 22

Environmental Impacts of Buildings Contd:

Example:
 Waste Impacts
– Worldwide construction activities consume billion 350
tons of raw materials each year. 300
250 Hazardous Waste -
– Large amount of waste due to activities related to RCRA
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building construction and demolition debris. Municipal Solid
150 Waste
– More than 30% of the mercury in solid waste is
100 Construction &
from building switches, thermostats, florescent 50 Demolition Debris
tubes, and paints 0
Million Tons/Year Due to Construction/Demolition
activities
Ref : USEPA 2009 Region 9

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“We can’t solve the problems of the

past using the same thinking and
methods that created them…”
…….Einstein

The input and output streams of resource flow

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Sustainable Development
“....to meet the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of the future generations to
meet their own needs.”
 The World Commission on Environment and Development (1987)
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• Time to understanding the role of the

Construction Industry within Sustainable
Development:

– Fundamental understanding of basic sustainability

concepts
– Fundamental understanding of how buildings use
resources and discharge wastes throughout their life-
cycle

Working Principles
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Sustainable Management Sustainable Management

• It is about the management of ‘ecosystems’ • Interactions between human and nature
– natural ecosystems – land use
• e.g. water, atmosphere, soils, wetlands, forests – land cover
• provide ecosystem services e.g. support of the food – production
chain, harvesting of animals or plants, and the
provision of clean water or scenic views – consumption
– other ecosystems – disposal
• landscape ecosystem • Sustainable construction
• building ecosystem – consider the influences on the ecological and
• human ecosystem social surroundings

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Sustainable Management
• Sustainable design principles
– economy of resources
• energy, water, and material
– life cycle design
• consider environmental quality, functional quality and
future values
– human design
• reduce impact on nature
• ensure human comfort and health

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IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDING IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDING

Reason 1: The built environment is one of the main
causes of the loss of biodiversity...
Contd:
Reason 2: Buildings consume 40 percent of the
Today there are about 5,000 endangered animals and at least one species world‘s energy and materials...
dies out every year
DID YOU KNOW? Energy is consumed by building materials (embodied energy), DID YOU
DID YOUKNOW?
KNOW?
the construction, operation and demolition of buildings

Living Planet Index 1970-2003: The worldwide biodiversity has It takes the
Australia earth
ranks at
diminished by 30% 10,000 days
Global ecological footprint 1961-2003: Our Resources consumption No.to replenish
5 with a
exceeds the bio-capacity of the earth by 25% footprint of approx.
the energy we use
7inhectares
one single day.
Number of planets

1/3 of the operating expenses

a typical office building is
accounted for energy costs

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IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE
Green Building Market Study 2006 BUILDING
Contd:
Reason 3: The use of fossil fuels in construction
makes the building sector one of the biggest contributors
of global warming...

Key factors influencing energy consumption 37 38

IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABLE
Green Building Market Study 2006 BUILDING Contd: Linking Building Life Cycle and Sustainable Management
Energy issues Water conservation
Reason 4: The building and construction
Efficiency Renewable Reduce Recycle
sector has done comperatively little in the past DID YOU KNOW?
decades to mitigate its damaging impact on the
environment... The total energy use Design Pre-Building
in commercial Phase
buildings could
be cut by 60% Construction
if all climate sensitive
Building
design practices &
technologies available
Phase
Operation & maintenance
today were employed

Demolition/Disposal
Post-Building
Phase

Materials and systems Waste management

Reduce Select Recycle Reuse

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Building life cycle and sustainable management 40

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Concepts in Sustainable Building

• Just like people, the creation and sustainment of • Smaller is better
the built environment requires five fundamental • Energy-efficient building
ingredients: • Use renewable energy
– Energy • Optimize material use
– Water • Water-efficient, low-maintenance landscaping
– Materials • Occupants recycling
• Design for durability
– Land • Design for future reuse and adaptability
– Biota (living systems) • Avoid potential health hazards: radon, mold,
pesticides

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Advanced Features of a Sustainable Green Buildings

Building
 Best Building Form
 Solar & Energy Efficient Design
 Improved Indoor Air Quality
 Usage of Green Materials
 Proper Mechanical Systems
 Efficient Lighting
 Proper Testing & Maintenance

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An Approach towards Pollution Prevention 44

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Green Buildings
Green building is the practice of increasing the
efficiency with which buildings use resources —
energy, water, and materials — while reducing
building impacts on human health and the
environment, through better site, design,
construction, operation, maintenance, and removal.

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Green, High Performance Buildings

What is green?
• The term “green” refers to environmentally
friendly practices from building design to the
landscaping choices.
• It also encompasses energy use, water use,
and stormwater and wastewater reuse.

What is Green Building? The creation and maintenance
of a healthy built environment based on resource
efficient and ecological principles.

Also referred to as High Performance buildings

And sometimes referred to as Sustainable Construction

Architects refer to the process as Ecological Design or
Ecologically Sustainable Design.

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Green Buildings-Introduction Green Strategies

• Green buildings are more than a fashion statement.
• Many architects, builders and clients agree that
smart, sustainable buildings are becoming a • Using the Sun
necessity. • Saving on Water
Why?
• Because according to some estimates, present • HVAC –(heating, ventilation & air-conditioning)
buildings account for almost one-half of the world's Details
material and energy consumption, one-sixth of fresh • Sustainability of Materials
water use, and a quarter of all wood harvested.

• As costs for sustainable materials and products drop,

building green is really the most cost-effective kind
of design and construction. More and more, you
can't afford not to build green. 49 50

Elements of Green/Healthy Buildings Benefits of Green Buildings

• Sensitive to Natural Environment
• Effective with resources, including water,
energy, and material
• Contribution to community
• Durable and Dry (avoid accumulation of
excessive moisture)
• Comfortable, in air quality and temperature
• Quiet with improved acoustical quality
• Well-lit, with adequate natural and artificial
light
• Well-maintained in surfaces and systems
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Benefits of Green Buildings
 Environmental benefits:
• Enhance and protect ecosystems and biodiversity
• Improve air and water quality
• Reduce solid waste
• Conserve natural resources
 Health and community benefits:
• Improve air, thermal, and acoustic environments
• Enhance occupant comfort and health
• Minimise strain on local infrastructure
• Contribute to overall quality of life
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Understanding the Significance
 Grown Interest on Green building activity
 Green building growth : What growth in green building do
you expect in different sectors such as government, private,
institutional etc.
 Architect’s perspective on green building from:
Green building will inevitably become
a greater and greater concern and is already changing the
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way buildings are designed, built and occupied
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Benefits of Green Buildings Contd:
 Economic benefits:
• Reduce operating costs- Green buildings save money,
starting the very first day of construction.
• Enhance asset value and profits: Both residential and
commercial buildings retain a high resale value if they
include sustainable design components. The value to
prospective buyers comes from knowing their utility and
maintenance costs will be lower in green buildings that
outperform non-green buildings. Occupancy levels are
consistently higher, and vacancy rates lower, in
sustainable office buildings.
• Improve employee productivity and satisfaction: A
number of studies -- and common sense -- indicate that
building occupants who are healthy and comfortable are
more productive.
• Optimize life-cycle economic performance
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Understanding the Significance contd:
 Commitment & Involvement for the Green buildings
• Building owner’s perspective on green building
• Contractor’s perspective on green building
• Government perspective on green building
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1. Selection of Proper Materials

• Use durable products and materials
• Choose low-maintenance building materials
• Choose building materials with low embodied
energy
• Buy locally produced building materials
• Use building products made from recycled
materials
• Use salvaged building materials when possible
• Seek responsible wood supplies
• Avoid materials that will off-gas pollutants

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Interest on green Materials 58

Use of Green Materials ‘Green’ Building Materials

 Materials, production, use and disposal must be safe for
the planet. Most of the materials have specific range of
conditions in which they best work
 Sustainable building materials have the following
features:
• Durable and easily maintained
• Less processing required
• Low odor
• Low emitting
Hebel Block Truss Joist McMillan
• Cost-effective ACC Engineered Lumber
• Aesthetic 59 60

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‘Green’ Building Materials Contd: Use of Slag for Cement Contd:

Use of Slag for Cement • Reduction of CO2 emissions
Slag mitigates the adverse effects of cement in construction
• Almost one ton of CO2 is released for every ton? of Portland

cement produced.
lessens the burden on landfills

reduces carbon dioxide emissions

conserves energy

reduces virgin material extraction

Mixing 50% slag to Portland cement
lighter colour enhances environment leads to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of
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42 to 46% 62

Use of Slag for Cement Contd: Use of Slag for Cement Contd:
• Reduction of raw material extraction
• Energy savings
• Raw materials for Portland cement are gathered trough
•Slag cement requires nearly 90% less energy to mining operations. DID YOU KNOW?
produce than an equivalent amount of Portland cement.
1 ton of Portland cement
requires the extraction
of 1,6 tons of raw
materials

• Substituting 50% slag can save between 281 and

640 pounds of virgin material per cubic of

concrete. This translates to a reduction of between
6 and 15%.
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Use of Slag for Cement Contd:

2. Care on Construction Operations
• Lighter color enhances the environment

• Lighter colored pavements, like parking areas and streets,

produce brighter environments with higher visibility and improved o Construction waste reduction and
safety. recycling
o Protecting ductwork during construction
o Erosion and sedimentation control
o Protecting trees

• Buildings and pavements that are lighter in color reflect more

light. This helps minimize the heat island effect, which reduces the
energy needed for cooling and lowers ozone levels.
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3. Lighting

• Daylighting & Skylighting-

Incorporated lots of natural
light to reduce the need for
electric lighting and the
associated increase in the
air conditioning load
• Energy efficient fluorescent
T5s bulbs installations.

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4. Natural Ventilation 5. Installation of high efficiency and effective

• Operable windows pull
fresh air into one side of
the room, while
ventilation stacks pull the
air out on the opposite
side of the room
• At extreme temperatures,
automatic backup
mechanical ventilation
systems used
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Instruments and appliances:

Install high-efficiency heating and cooling
equipment

Install high-efficiency lights and appliances

Install water-efficient equipment

Install mechanical ventilation equipment
Objective : To save energy, improve
efficiency of operations and minimize
equipment down time
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6. Water Conservation Use of water saving sanitary appliances

• Methods
• Water
– leak detection & prevention – Waterless urinals
– efficient fixtures/appliances (e.g. low- – Low flow faucets
– Rainwater harvesting for toilets
flow toilets)
– Reclaimed water for irrigation
– correct use of appliances (e.g. washing
machine) • Materials
– water use for landscaping & irrigation – Linoleum flooring
– Cellulose insulation
• Green design issues – Wood from sustainably managed forests
– greywater reuse and rainwater recycling – Deconstructability
– Recycled content carpeting
– composting toilets & wastewater
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treatment

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Use of water saving sanitary appliances contd:
Flow Reduction Devices and Appliances
Faucet aerators
Use of water saving sanitary appliances contd:
• The greatest savings on kitchen and bathroom faucets comes
from proper operation. Do not leave the faucet running when
washing, shaving, brushing teeth, or washing dishes. This one
precaution can save five or 10 times the water of an efficient
faucet or aerator alone.

•Faucet aerators mix air and water as the water leaves the spout.
• They reduce both the flow rate and splashing, while increasing areas
of coverage and wetting efficiency. This conserves water and improves
faucet performance at the same time.
• Aerators will not reduce the amount of water needed to fill a sink or
water jug, but will reduce the amount of water needed for a thorough73 74
rinsing.

Use of water saving sanitary appliances contd: Use of water saving sanitary appliances contd:
Low flush toilet Limiting-flow shower heads

This device places restrictions on people

who linger too long in the shower by
drastically reducing flow when time's up.

Water efficient dishwasher

Reduces the water used

Pushing the handle on dual-flush

toilet down uses 1.6 gallons; pushing
it up uses just 1.1 gallons.
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Use of water saving sanitary appliances contd: Rainwater Recycling systems

Water efficient clothes washer

Reduces the water used

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Using greywater for crops and landscape irrigation 7. Maintain Indoor Environmental Quality
– Low emissions paints and
carpeting-Use of paints and
sealers with low or no-
volatile organic compounds
(VOCs)

– Daylighting and ‘green’ views

• Site
Crops growing – Former parking lot
Espalier
(for food or flowers) – Trees preserved
– Recycled asphalt and limerock

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8. Waste Management Waste Management Contd:

• Sources of solid waste
• Green strategies
– residential & commercial
– waste prevention
– industrial & agricultural
– construction and demolition recycling
– construction
– architectural reuse
• Elements of solid waste management
– design for material recovery
– waste generation, on-site storage, collection
• Important factors
– transfer and transport
– on-site collection & storage space
– processing and recovery
– sorting & separation (paper, glass, plastic, metal)
– disposal (e.g. landfill, incineration, composting)
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Products of green Buildings

• Green Roofs
Waste Management Contd:
Contd:
 Soil layer with shallow root plants captures rainwater and

Recycling organic waste reduces runoff

make use of organic nutrients in garbage, human waste, and  Lowers roof (and building) temperature, lowering cooling
sewage loads

for growing crops/flowers in gardens
• Chilled Beams

for feeding to farms (e.g. ‘urban farming’)

food gardens and city farmers  Chilled tubes circulate cold water

 As hot air rises, it hits the tubes, cools, and falls

 Expected energy savings: 20-50%

 Potential cost reduction: 10%+ (compared to VAV)

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 Higher air quality and comfort

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Products of green Buildings Contd:

Products of green Buildings Contd:
• Permeable Paving • Grey Water Capture and Re-Use
 Provide storm water absorption into groundwater  Captures gray water from showers, sinks, washing
 Reduces storm water runoff machines, and cleans it for re-use for toilets or
landscape
• Bamboo Flooring  Reduces water use by 35-40%
 Rapidly renewable
–Nontoxic in fabrication • Moisture and Insulative Wrap
–Easily cleaned  Lightweight structural sheathing panels
–Durable  100% recycled cardboard and aluminum-foil facings.
 Pressure-laminated with a special water-resistant,
nontoxic adhesive.
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Key Considerations_ Locating a new Key Considerations_ Locating a

Green Building new Green Building
 Try to orient the building for the best environmental
 Location is as important in green building . fit,
• Easy Accessibility to the building. • Positioning the building to take advantage of the sun
• customer convenience. or leaving as much of the natural landscape,
including trees and other plant life, as possible.
Less Energy to get there……………. • Set the elevation of the building to minimize
earthwork and balance the earth to be removed
with the earth to be filled.
• If there are any wetlands, do not disturb them. It
takes many years for nature to make topsoil. Save it;
don’t waste it.
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Key Considerations_ Locating a Key Considerations_ Locating a

new Green Building
 Take into account all of the utilities that you may
need to extend to the building,
• keeping distance to a minimum. Consider where
entrance or exit roads are placed, and keep the
road grade to a minimum.
• Take advantage of the prevailing wind direction for
wind turbines.
new Green Building
The building itself can have many green
options—from using
• recycled building material,
• Use paints and finishes that have fewer (or no)
chemicals,
• To heating and cooling the building, to using as
much natural sunlight as possible.

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Retrofitting Existing Buildings Retrofitting Existing Buildings Contd:

• It’s not impossible to transform an existing
building to a green one, but it can be difficult.
• There are some easy items that can be retrofit-
ted into an existing building at relatively low cost
and, in time, often pay for the retrofit.
• Existing buildings require an upfront investment
to replace something that already exists and is,
presumably, in working order.
• However, not all of the necessary alterations
need to be done at once.
o Start with what needs to be fixed or repaired such as
leaking
faucets or toilets.
o If the building is being remodeled, keep the green
concept in
mind and use recycled material and paints that are
environment friendly.
o Whether the building is old or new, installing low-flow
fixtures is one of the easiest ways to save money and
conserve water.

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Retrofitting Existing Buildings Contd:

Green Buildings as a Response
 Energy efficiency: -50%
• If leaking faucets or fixtures cannot be repaired,
replace them with ultra-low-flow fixtures.  Water conserving: -60%
• Some of the easiest green retrofits to an existing  Reduced waste: -80%
building are methods for decreasing power usage  Deconstructable, recyclable: future resources
and water consumption.
• For example,  Improved site protection
 Anytime a light bulb burns out, replace it with an  Healthier buildings: IAQ (Indoor Air quality) during
ultra-low-energy use bulb.
construction
 When landscaping, use native plants and garden
designs that require less(or no) irrigation.  Lower building operating expenses through reduced
utility and waste disposal costs
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Green Buildings as a Response Contd:

Environmental
Conserve natural resources
 Lower on-going building maintenance costs, ranging Less water, air and land pollution
Enhance biodiversity
from salaries to supplies
Benefits of
 Increase worker productivity by six to 16 percent Green
Buildings
 Higher property values and potentially lower
lenders’ credit risk Economic Social
Reduced operational costs Less strain on local infrastructure
 Higher building net income Increase in occupant High self esteem
productivity
 New economic development opportunities
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The Challenge The Challenge

• Increase the efficiency with which
buildings and their sites use energy,
water, and materials, and
• Reduce building impacts on human
health and the environment, through
better siting, design, construction,
operation, maintenance, and removal
• Assess the complete building life cycle

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Examples of Green Building University of Nottingham

• New GSA Federal Building in

San Francisco
– windows that open,
– shared spaces between
offices,
– lots of natural light,
– reduce energy costs by 45
percent, and
– is expected to save
$500,000 per year in
taxpayer dollars.

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Solaire, New York City

Research Needs
• Water conservation and reuse,
• Recharging of groundwater,
• Construction runoff control,
• Use of green building products,
• Indoor environmental quality (e.g., day-lighting, ventilation,
low emitting materials)
• Design products to consider toxicity emphasizing natural, low-
emitting materials
• Effect on cost savings, worker productivity, and worker health
• Comparable information on the environmental impacts of
building products
– life cycle assessment (LCA) and
– building product life cycle inventories (LCI) tools
and protocols
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