Sustainable Architecture
The term sustainable architecture is defined as architecture that uses environmentally conscious design techniques in the field of architecture
. In the field of sustainability, sustainable architecture is framed by the larger discussion of how anything and everything effects the economic and political issues of our world.
With sustainable architecture, figuring out how to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by enhancing efficiency and moderation with the use of materials, energy, and development space is important. The idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is also meant to ensure that our actions and decisions today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations.
When one is designing a home to be sustainable, one aspect looked at is energy efficiency over the entire life cycle of the building. Architects will use many different techniques to reduce energy needs of buildings and increase their ability to capture or generate their own energy.
In reducing energy needs, the inspection of how effective and efficient heating, ventilating, and the air conditioning (HVAC) system is within a well insulated building is important. A more efficient building requires less heat generating or dissipating power, but may require more ventilation capacity to expel polluted indoor air.
In buildings not designed for sustainability, large amounts of energy is wasted in the design of how water and air is utilized. There are a number of ways buildings can be designed to preserve energy. Some design on-site recycling technology. Others orient the building in a way that is the most HVAC effective.
Site and building orientation have some major effects on a building's HVAC efficiency. Passive solar building design allows buildings to harness the energy of the sun efficiently without the use of any active solar mechanisms such as photovoltaic cells or solar hot water panels. Passive solar building are also designed to incorporate materials with high thermal mass that retain heat effectively. These buildings are strongly insulated which helps prevent heat escape. Low energy designs also require the use of solar shading, by means of awnings, blinds or shutters, to relieve the solar heat gain in summer and to reduce the need for artificial cooling. In addition, low energy buildings typically have a very low surface area to volume ratio to minimize heat loss. This means that sprawling multi-winged building designs (often thought to look more "organic") are often avoided in favor of more centralized structures.
The proper use of materials also helps insulate a building. Masonry building materials with high thermal mass are very valuable for retaining the cool temperatures of night throughout the day.
If a home or building is designed for a climate with four seasons, then an integrated energy system will increase in efficiency.
Those designing homes and buildings with sustainable architecture also often use active solar devices such as photovoltaic solar panels. The electrical output of a solar panel is dependent on orientation, efficiency, latitude, and climate--solar gain varies even at the same latitude. In addition, roofs are often angled toward the sun to allow photovoltaic panels to collect at maximum efficiency. For any solar panel, a true-south facing orientation maximizes yield. If true-south is not possible, solar panels can produce adequate energy if aligned within 30 of south. However, at higher latitudes, winter energy yield will be significantly reduced for non-south orientation.
There are many ways a home or building can be designed to provide a sustainable architecture, all of which assist in the protection of the environment long-term.
Sustainable Architecture
By: Carolyn Boden
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