Sustainability in Non Domestic Construction By Professor Christopher Gorse – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution – Non-Commercial – Share Alike License

Low Carbon – Zero Carbon Buildings What are the practical solutions to improve the energy performance of a building?

Improved thermal performance Preventing cold bridges Insulating Using thermal mass

Improved Airtightness Air leakage reduces thermal effectiveness

Air gaps cause real problems. If air is allowed to move around insulation thermal bypass occurs – cavities should be sealed and air-barriers maintained.

Harnessing Solar Power

Solar Photovoltaics can be used to harness the sun’s energy. Energy is collected during daylight hours and can be used of fed directly to the national grid. Buildings that use electricity during the day, such as offices and schools have the greatest potential to make direct use of the electricity generated during the day.

To capture energy from the sun, solar panels should face south in the UK and be orientated at an optimum angle (30-40 degrees). The panels should be unobstructed by trees, building or other tall objects that may reduce the efficiency.

Solar thermal panel – solar collectors capture the suns heat energy. They are used to assist with the heating of the building.

Wind power

Natural ventilation reduces the demand on air conditioning systems

Ground air heat pumps can supply additional heating and cooling to a building

Brainstorming topic Identify other methods of improving the energy efficiency of buildings