Human Thermal Comfort /Building Site Location

Human Comfort Energy-efficient buildings are only effective when the occupants are comfortable If not they will take alternative means to heating/cooling the space Space heaters, window mounted air conditioners Could be substantially worse than typical heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems (HVAC)

Thermal Comfort Difficult to measure since it is so subjective Depends on air temp, humidity, radiant temp, air speeds, activity rate, clothing Temp of the skin is not uniform on all areas of the body Variations which reflect the variations in blood flow and subcutaneous fat Insulative quality of clothing has an effect as well Sensation from any particular part will depend on time, location, clothing and temp of surroundings

Building Site Location Whether or not a building is net zero energy, part of its sustainability is related to its land use Converting wild lands/farmlands into building sites is unsustainable Lots of land near or in cities that can be redeveloped

Greenfield/Greyfield/Brownfield Sites that have not been built on before are greenfield sites Best left unbuilt Impact to these sites can be mitigated by having a small building/hardscape footprint, and covering the buildings or hardscape with vegetated roofs, especially local native plant species

Greenfield/Greyfield/Brownfield Sites that have been built on are greyfeild Building on these lands avoids destruction of wild lands/farmlands Benefits them, make neighborhoods more vibrant, walkable and cost effective to provide transport to Polluted sites from development or industry are called brownfield sites Try to clean these up and redevelop them

Site Accessibility Along with building energy being one of the biggest sources of pollution, cars are another huge source Choose a site that is easily accessible by foot, bicycle or public transit to reduce the impact

Site Surroundings Can change the effective weather patters Nearby buildings or trees can block sunlight and/or change wind patters Take into account surrounding buildings How the affect your design What passive strategies to rely on

Right to Light and Solar Envelopes Important when building in urban environments Zoning requirements may be in place to preserve solar access Too dense or tall buildings will limit access to daylighting and solar radiation Solar envelop regulates the development within imaginary boundaries Helps so you do not overshadow the surroundings

Daylighting Envelope Greatest volume you can build on the site while still giving the neighboring building access to daylight Based on the entire sky dome and assume an overcast sky

Wind Other buildings and surroundings can also block access to the wind On the other hand you may find a site that gets too much wind Use vegetation to block the wind Place vegetative sheltering 3 – 4x the height of the building from the building Provides wind shelter but allows solar radiation access