Chapter 7 - Energy Building Performance

Question 1

Explain the economic and environmental benefits of energy conservation in the home

Answer 1

1-SWITCHING IT OFF- turning off appliances rather tan leaving them on standby can help yous save up to £80 on electricity
2-CARE IN THE KITCHEN- up to £50/year can be saved on your energy bill by using kitchen appliances more carefully;
>use a bowl to wash up instead of running a tap=£30 savings
>only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need=£7 saving
>cutback your washing to just once cycle/week=£5 savings
3-SHOWER HEADS-if your shower takes water from the boiler, fitting a water efficient shower head. For a 4 person home could save £67/year on gas as well as £100 on water bills

Question 2

What does a buildings air tightness mean?

Answer 2

This is the resistance to inward or outward air leakage through unintentional leakage points or areas in the building.
Air tightness has several positive impacts;
-lower heating bills due to less heat loss
-better performing ventilation system
-fewer drafts and thus increased thermal comfort

Question 3

Define the ‘U value’ of a wall

Answer 3

The U value is sometimes called thermal transmittance. the U value tells us about a materials ability to transmit heat from one point to another. The units of a U value are w/m2/k

Question 4

what is the equation for the U value of a material

Answer 4

Q = U x A x ^T

Question 5

Example question:
Brick wall has a U value of of 0.8 w/m2/k, Area of 15m2. outside temperature of 8 *C while inside its 21 *C work out the rate of heat loss.

Answer 5

U=  0.8w/m2/k
A= 15m2                      Q = U x A x ^T
^T= 21 - 8 = 13 *C            = 0.8 x 15 x 13 
Q = ?                                = 126w

Question 6

What is the ZERO CARBON BUILDINGS policy?

Answer 6

The zero carbon buildings policy forms part of the governments wider strategy to achieving the CCA targets. The zero carbon policy requires all new homes of 2016 to mitigate, through various measures, all carbon emissions on site as a result of the regulate energy use. The zero carbon buildings policy is well aligned to EU policy, specifically the European Performance of Buildings Directive which requires all new buildings to be zero carbon buildings by 2020

Question 7

How will a home qualify as Zero Carbon?

Answer 7

1- the fabric performance must comply with the defined standard known as FEES
2- whatever carbon emissions remain after consideration of heating etc must be equal or less to the Carbon Compliance Limit established for Zero Carbon homes
3- the remaining carbon emissions must be reduced to zero

Question 8

If the CO2 emissions need to be taken down after fabric design and Low carbon technologies are considered, what 2 options is the project developer granted

Answer 8

OPTION 1 - PAY INTO A CARBON FUND;
Simply pay into a carbon fund where carbon fund managers will be responsible for investing in projects which deliver carbon savings

OPTION 2 - INVEST IN A DISTRICT HEATING EXTENSIONS;
For smaller scale projects the district heating will normally only provide heating and hot water