Sustainability

Section 06: Sustainability

Section 06: Summary

This section explores how my design responds to embodied energy, operational energy, water usage, and wetlands. These topics were taken from the class wide research groups as I wanted to ensure my building explored a variety of parameters. When designing around embodied energy I made sure to utilize plenty of timber in addition to recycled aggregate in the concrete slab. To lower the operational energy of the branch I focused on heating and cooling demands of the building. As the percentage of overheating in my building was so low I opted for a fully passive cooling system that utilized automatic windows and smart sensors. As the building is one storey it has a large roof area which harvests plenty of water per year. The water will be stored in a bladder tank under the southern deck to prevent overheating and provide easy maintenance. Greywater usage was also explored in the wetlands including the amount of water that could be added to the system each day. The greywater will be filtered and treated before entering the system to prevent damaging local wildlife and plants.

Embodied Energy

Local Slate Tiles Ash Timber Cladding Salvaged Timber Cladding

Recycled Aggregate Concrete MDF Internal Finishes 100% Timber Construction

Key Takeaways:

• Local materials are used when possible • Recycled materials are used when possible • Materials which can be reused, such as the slate tiles, are used as this extends the lifecycle of the material thus lowering embodied energy • The high reuse of materials and long life cycles drop the embodied lifecycle carbon to -814 kgCO2/m2

Operational Energy

PV Panels

• The PV panels generate 74 kWh/m2 • The panels are placed on the parts of the roof which face north • The panels used are the LG 410w NEON 2 Commercial solar panel • The panels are sized 1x1.7m with a 500mm gap for maintenance

Branch Electricity Usage

• The branch uses a total of 51 kWh/m2 • 7 kWh/m2 for cooling • 3 kWh/m2 for heating • 1 kWh/m2 for hot water usage • 40 kWh/m2 for electricity

Water

Rainwater Calculations

• The total roof area of the branch is 325.2m2 • The total roof area of the garage is 278.8m2 • The total combined roof area is 604m2 • The rainfall in the area is 738.2mm (35mm per month in summer and 65mm per month in winter) • The roof can harvest 439,832L of rainwater per year • This will be stored in a 20,000L bladder rainwater tank which will be stored under the southern deck

Water Usage Calculations

• The building will use roughly 229KL per year • The building will use roughly 627L per day due to the large number of paramedics showering, cooking, and using the bathroom • 126KL in the bathroom • 60KL in the garden • 37KL in the kitchen • 6 KL in other spaces

Greywater Calculations

• 153L of per day of greywater will be produced which can be moved into the wetlands after filtration • This equates to 56KL per year

Wetlands

Stormwater will be funneled into the sediment pond in the top left. The sediment pond is close to the driveway to ensure easy maintenance access. The top layer of water from the sediment pond will be transferred through an inlet pipe to the main wetlands. The water will pass through a series of pools before reconnecting to the stormwater in the bottom left corner. Filtered greywater will be added to the wetlands in the southern pools.

Greywater

Coarse Filter Sand Filter Metal Filter

Pump To Wetlands

The greywater is filtered using a series of coarse, sand, and metal filters before entering the wetlands

Final PHPP Document

To achieve low heating and cooling demands the building is angled to maximise the area of north facing windows. Above these windows 500mm shading is installed which allows for passive heating in winter and shading in summer. The building has polished concrete flooring as thermal mass which helps to keep the internal temperature comfortable year round. A continuous line of high-performance insulation is included in the building to prevent heat loss through the roof, walls, and slab. In addition, double glazed low-e windows provide good thermal properties and help to regulate heat loss through the building. Clerestory windows are installed along the northern facade to help facilitate stack ventilation thus helping to move warm air out of the building in summer.

Achieving Carbon zero