Article by Pornphimol Winyuchakrit (Ph.D.), Sustainable Energy and Low Carbon Research Unit
Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology, Thammasat University
A sustainable building, or green building integrates a design philosophy and building materials which focus on increasing the efficient management of energy, protection of environmental quality and reduction of human health impacts. One-third of the global final energy is consumed in buildings, which imply that it certainly effects on cost of goods or products coming from energy cost in factory building or marketing office of the company. Moreover, global building-related CO2 emissions have continuously increased by nearly 1 percent per year since 2010. Global use of electricity in building grew by nearly 6 percent per year in non-OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. However, due to adoption of building energy codes and efficiency standards, global buildings energy intensity (in term of energy consumption per square meter) fell by 1.3 percent per year between 2010 to 2014 .
Building energy codes are also well-known as “energy standard for buildings”, “thermal building regulations” or “energy conservation building codes”. This is the main policy used by governments, which consist of a set of mandatory requirements to reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency of buildings, especially for all new buildings. Without reveal of building energy codes, energy services were very common by inefficient energy systems such as single pane windows, no insulation and high air leakage. Afterwards, building energy codes have been promoted to improve energy efficiency of the buildings. The traditional or typical building energy codes aim at improving energy efficiency of energy services, i.e. lighting, air-conditioning, space heating, etc. Additionally, Low E or low-emissivity glasses and double-glazing window are also utilized to be thermal insulation in the most energy-efficient and sustainable way. However, new wave of building energy codes provides a comprehensive and effective path to zero-energy buildings or sustainable buildings which require: (1) reduction amount of energy need for energy services; (2) building designs to reduce the need for energy services or improve the ventilation of the buildings; and (3) use of on-site renewable energy to generate energy by building itself (Figure 1).
Building envelopes design will play an essential role in minimizing cooling and heating loads while advanced facades with increasing daylight and passive heating will enact a large saving potential of lighting, cooling loads, and peak electricity demand. Supply form renewable energy sources not only reduce the need for grid-based energy supplies but also can transform the buildings from an energy consumer to a power generator that supplies energy to the grid. Renewable energy can be used in various forms, i.e. the capture of solar for water heating or electricity, the use of biomass for heating, etc.
However, more efficient building design represents one of the most cost-effective opportunities. The key to improve building energy performance is integrated design, including the decisions about building orientation, facade systems, heating and cooling strategies, and glazing windows. Therefore, in order to achieve the sustainable buildings, not only architects but also engineers should play a crucial role in the earliest stages of building design process helping to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions of existing and new buildings. Finally, buildings are widely recognized as the largest opportunity for reducing production cost in another way.
