The Northwest Skills Academy

In October 2007 Birmingham’s North West Skills Academy was opened. The 3,270m2 College houses workshops, teaching and learning space for construction industry and automotive training. The building is the latest academy by City College, Birmingham and is the most advanced, of a series of energy efficient academies (see School Building Issue 17, 2007). Having reduced energy demand to a practical minimum, the next stage in the evolution of the College’s academies was to incorporate renewable energy into the design. Throughout the project, the client was keen to integrate renewable energy technologies into the building as much as possible so that the building could be a showcase project and a real focal point for local community

Climate change, blackouts and society: dress rehearsals for the future

Blackouts serve as a reminder of how dependent mankind has become on electricity and the appliances it powers. Whatever the cause of a blackout, there are patterns in the consequences that take place as a result. These include not only measurable economic losses but also social consequences that are sometimes immeasurable. This paper reviews almost 50 different significant power-outage events that have occurred in 26 countries, mostly over the last decade. The unpredictable nature of blackouts limits the collection of field data. Hence the data in this paper are collected from reputable media coverage of the events. The patterns that are analysed include economic loss, food, health, crime, social unrest, transport and inequalities While many blackouts are caused by systems failures, there is a growing trend of failures due to inadequate energy; whether due to depletion of resources such as oil and coal or due to the vagaries of the climate in the supply of renewable energy. As we enter the period of peak oil and climate change the security of energy supply for electricity generation is under threat. Understanding the nature of blackouts is more than just a record of past systems failures; blackouts are dress rehearsals for the future

The potential of PVs in developing countries: maintaining an equitable society in the face of fossil fuel depletion

The availability of an adequate electrical supply to the whole population is essential for the wellbeing and equity of a society. However, for those countries that are largely dependent on fossil fuels for generating electricity, peak oil and gas threaten energy security and the ability to provide an uninterrupted supply of electricity on an equitable basis. This paper will review future energy demand and supply in Malaysia and implications for its electricity supply. It will demonstrate that there is likely to be an energy deficit that could result in electricity rationing. Difficult decisions will need to be made about the priority of electricity supply that is likely to have a greater impact on the “bottom” layers of society. The paper will also review the extent to which renewable energy, in particular photovoltaics, can contribute to the energy mix in Malaysia. It will be argued that a decentralised renewable energy supply system has the potential to maintain not only an equitable distribution of electricity but also potential earnings to low-income families. In order to achieve this, technical and economic changes are required to make decentralised renewable energy systems a viable proposition. The importance of the introduction of ‘smart meters’ and a ‘smart grid’ as both a means of increasing energy efficiency and equitably distributing electricity will be addressed

The power of suburbia

IT IS A COMMONLY held belief that a compact city is a more energy-efficient city. In Auckland, like many other cities, this has become enshrined in policy. Compact housing is believed to have a lower surface to volume ratio and will therefore lose less heat. The low-density urban form of suburbia is also believed to be energy inefficient because of high oil-dependent private transport use. At face value, compact houses and urban forms appear to be the solution for a sustainable Auckland. But while these beliefs may be true for now, consider the future when: ●the climate will be warmer ●emerging technologies will replace the internal combustion engine ●harvesting energy from rooftop photovoltaics will be cheaper than the grid. Should we be designing buildings and cities for the present or for future conditions

New directions for housing research due to climate change in New Zealand

Research concerned with energy and housing in NZ has focussed on the costs-effectiveness of maintaining warmth. Studies have concentrated on heat loss from houses and the efficiency of heating systems. One of the consequences of this has been Government subsidies for insulation and heat pump installations to reduce energy consumption in winter months. This has led to a significant growth in the heat pump market. Research is indicating that these devices are not significantly decreasing the demand for electricity in the winter. Of greater concern is that there is an increase in demand for electricity for cooling purposes which introduces a new and significant electrical load in the summer. This paper will outline the research currently being undertaken on the long-term impact of both climate change and energy depletion and the consequences for Building Code standards and ‘sustainability’ rating tools for housing. In New Zealand there has been a general shift in peak electrical demand from winter towards summer which has increased the risk of inadequate supplies in summer months. Climate change will not only alter the seasonal demand for electricity it will also impact on seasonal supply. About 50% of the water used for hydro electricity generation comes from glacial melt-water during the summer. The glaciers are now retreating due to climate change and it has been estimated that most glaciers will have melted by about 2040. NZ will not only experience ‘peak oil’ and ‘peak gas’ but also ‘peak hydro’. This will significantly increase the cost of electricity and the risk of interrupted supplies. The paper concludes that consideration should be given to subsidising long-lasting improvements to the fabric of houses rather than subsidising short-lived equipment such as heat pumps. Rating tools for the ‘sustainability’ of new and refurbished housing should also address this problem and actively discourage equipment that results, not only in increased electricity consumption, but also does not allow the human body the ability to adapt over time to the predicted increased average temperatures in New Zealand

Urban development in developing countries: analysing current policies for Mumbai

Urban areas in developing countries have been growing exponentially. In a list of cities with 5 million people or more, Mumbai did not feature in 1950, but in 1975 it occupied the 15th position which changed to 5th in 2000 and is expected to be 3rd by 2015. The rapid and continued growth of Mumbai and its sprawling metropolitan regions has put considerable strain on the city’s infrastructure and caused environmental degradation. Not only is Mumbai one of the most crowded cities in the world, its residential floor space consumption per person is one of the lowest in the world. With a population of about 14 million and growing daily, the task of providing adequate housing is becoming an increasing challenge in Mumbai, especially due to the geographical constraints of the Island City. Most research on the subject has advocated a high density and compact city. However, this research has not taken account of the finite sources of water, energy and food for which the city is dependent on its hinterland or the potential of any new development to harness its own water or energy from renewable resources. High-rise residential buildings are being promoted as a sustainable solution by the government and researchers alike, with almost no consideration of the environmental impact of increased density. This paper will review current research and critically analyse the Municipal proposals for Mumbai. A method of using an ecological footprint will also be discussed. The footprint allows an analysis of the environmental impact of density based not only on resources and consumption within the city but also on the depleting resources from outside the city that feed the population and power the economy

Mumbai: urban reconstruction or environmental destruction

Urban areas in developing countries have been growing exponentially. In a list of cities with 5 million people or more, Mumbai did not feature in 1950, but in 1975 it occupied the 15th position which changed to 5th in 2000 and is expected to be 3rd by 2015. The rapid and continued growth of Mumbai and its sprawling metropolitan regions has put considerable strain on the city’s infrastructure and caused environmental degradation. Not only is Mumbai one of the most crowded cities in the world, its residential floor space consumption per person is one of the lowest in the world. With a population of about 14 million and growing daily, the task of providing adequate housing is becoming an increasing challenge in Mumbai, especially due to the geographical constraints of the Island City. Most research on the subject has advocated a high density and compact city. However, this research has not taken account of the finite sources of water, energy and food for which the city is dependent on its hinterland or the potential of any new development to harness its own water or energy from renewable resources. High-rise residential buildings are being promoted as a sustainable solution by the government and researchers alike, with almost no consideration of the environmental impact of increased density. This paper will review current research and critically analyse the options for Mumbai. A method of using an ecological footprint will also be discussed. The footprint allows an analysis of the environmental impact of density based not only on resources and consumption within the city but also on the depleting resources from outside the city that feed the population and power the economy

The two sides of a double-skin facade: built intelligent skin or brand image scam?

Double-Skin Facade (DSF) buildings regularly appear in popular architectural journals and claims are made that the buildings are either ‘sustainable’, ‘green’, ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘intelligent’. This results in myths about the performance of buildings that are perpetuated by designers eager to maintain a brand image. A literature review of research on the performance of DSFs reveals that the vast majority of the analysis is carried out by simulation methods and that there is a lack of empirical evidence obtained from monitored buildings. This paper will present some early findings from buildings with DSFs that are currently being monitored in Auckland, New Zealand, to assess the contribution of a DSF to reducing the building’s heating and cooling load. It will also analyse the common simulation models to examine whether the models are a reasonable representation of reality. Initial evidence indicates that DSFs in sub-tropical climates offer less energy savings than predicted and could even contribute to increasing cooling loads. It is the hypothesis of this paper that a DSF has become a way in which an excessively glazed building in a warm climate can maintain its transparent architectural image while still claiming to be ‘green’ but with little evidence of any energy savings

Post-disaster: an opportunity to address sustainable reconstruction, based on the 2010 Chile earthquake

On Friday 27th February 2010 at 3:40 am, a terrible earthquake measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale rocked the central territory of Chile. Hours later a terrible Tsunami hit a large part of its coastal region. This event spanned a longitude of 630 km causing damages in at least six regions of the country which concentrate 75% of national population. Besides the destruction and all the panic, the quake caused an instantaneous black out for more than four days. As a result of this black out, cities suffered severe difficulties related to provisions, communication and safety, to name a few. This situation demonstrated the vulnerability of Chile electrical grid and the people’s dependence of energy. According to data from National Reconstruction Plan (2010) the number of damaged houses reached 370,051 generating enormous work in rebuilding not only houses, but entire communities and town, each of which had particular way of life. It is important to mention the destruction of many major historic centers with low density residential communities that had taken dozens of years to consolidate their cultural wealth (Letelier, 2010). That cultural richness is characterized by the diversity in its population, including people of various social classes having accesses the same services and facilities. Also, this proximity to services produced a low dependence on automobiles, keeping walking as a basic system of transportation. As these current events imply a lot of work, questions are raised about what kind of cities can be rebuilt or what kind of neighborhoods can be developed

Energy and building control systems in the tropics

This book addresses both passive and active methods of controlling the environmental performance of buildings in hot tropical climates such as Malaysia. In these climates the building fabric plays a crucial role in determining the indoor environment and maintaining reasonable thermal comfort. Useful and practical case studies are used to illustrate solutions. While the book is of a technical nature and based on academic research, the language is suitable for students, architects and the general public. The book offers a significant contribution towards to the move to more sustainable, energy efficient and ‘green’ buildings. It provides building designers with practical and simple solutions that are based on a sound understanding of building physics