construction Flashcards
insulation
The outside envelop of your building should be designed to lower heating and cooling needs. Your insulation should make your building as airtight as possible. In new buildings, this can be achieved by using high-performance insulation and non-traditional wall systems that offer additional insulation. With this in place and the building heating up quicker and easier, it therefore requires less heating and cooling energy to achieve a thermal comfort
using LED lighting
switching to LED lighting can help reduce your energy use by 75% compared to incandescent lighting. You can also use sensor lights in less used rooms such as conference rooms and restrooms to cut down on energy use.
Lighting accounts for nearly 5% of global CO2 emissions. A global switch to LED technology could save over 1,400 million tons of CO2 and avoid the construction of 1,250 power stations. With savings of up to 50-70%, LED lighting has been recognised as one of the most actionable and ready-to-implement technologies for cities to transition to a low carbon economy and peak emissions in the next decade.
LED bulbs also use less power and last longer
going solar and using solar panels
Solar panels have the ability to store energy. Stored energy will allow power to be kept and reserved for peak use and provide power for when the sun goes down. Using solar panels can reduce the amount of energy you need to buy from your retailer as it is a renewable source also meaning you can reduce your carbon footprint. Solar panels make buildings energy independent and puts less pressure on natural sources of energy. When energy efficient lights and appliances are used, together with a solar the use of energy can be reduced by 20-30%
measure your energy consumption
a way you can be more energy efficient is being aware in detail of how much energy you are using and considering how you can reduce it. Benchmarking is a good way to start seeing where you can make the greatest improvements on energy efficiency
install a new boiler
energy efficiency can be achieved with an upgrade to a new boiler to a new A rated condensing boiler with a programmer, room thermostat and thermostatic radiator controls it will make you more aware of your energy consumption and give you better managing ability
Using solar power
Using solar power. Using solar technology can produce lower environmental pollution. As solar energy relies entirely on gathering energy from the sun and converting it into electricity or hot water for use in our building, using it means that you are not producing any greenhouse gases or contributing to global warming. It can reduce the carbon footprint of your building by 80% in one year. By using solar power and it’s renewable energy, you will not require the need of the burning of fossil fuels which creates health harming air pollution and creates toxic emissions that drive climate change
saving water
conserving water saves energy. Energy is needed to filter, heat and pump water to your home, so reducing your water use also reduces your carbon footprint. Using less water keeps more in our ecosystems and helps to keep enough water for wetland habitats for animals like otters, water voles, herons and fish. Water use can be reduced with a number of ways including turning off taps when not in use, shorter showers and water saving shower heads
green roof
a way you can make your building environmentally friendly is with a green roof. A green roof provides a rainwater buffer, purifies the air, reduces the ambient temperature, regulates the indoor temperature, saves energy by cooling roofs and providing shade, and encourages biodiversity by creating new habitat for plants and animals
landscaping
Landscaping
landscapes act as an environmental cleaner as they play a role in capturing smoke, dust and other impurities. Plants and trees capture carbon dioxide everyday from the environment and produce oxygen in return
regeneration of area
Regeneration of an area is the long-term upgrading and redevelopment of an existing area for economic and social change. The aim of regeneration is to enable communities that have suffered from economic, social and environmental decline to work again. Regeneration of an area can be achieved through strategies executed by the government and NGO’s. Regeneration can bring development and employment opportunities, improved social infrastructure, improved health, quality of life and well being. Regeneration can include development of new housing, refurbishing existing buildings, new hospital, places of education, supermarkets and a police force. With the new buildings this will create jobs such as window cleaning, bin men, teachers, police and nurses
job role
brick layer - brick layers lay bricks, pre cut stone and concrete blocks in mortar. They construct, extend and repair buildings.
plumber - plumbers fit and maintain water systems in a buildings
contracts manager - manages contracts relating to building projects
architect - design buildings and bring structures to life
commissioning of services
commissioning is a process that ensures a building performs in accordance with the design intent, contract documents, and the owners operational needs. It also includes training of the owners facilities in order to understand and operate the building systems efficiently. Benefits include early identification of any issues which require corrections by the contractor so that they can be looked at and treated early. And commissioning will result in lower operations and maintenance costs over the lifetime of a building. It is also energy efficient as certain designs are built to not exceed a specific amount of energy use
early engagement
early engagement is an opportunity for those behind a project to involve and educate those who may be affected. Engaging stakeholders at the early stages of the project allows them to follow its progress and develop a sense of shared ownership. Informing the community of your project and involving them at the preliminary stages of the project means you’re getting local insight from the very beginning. You get a better understanding of the impact of your proposals and you can ensure that stakeholders are fully aware of everything and can give them to ability to comment and submit any concerns they may have, this lessens the chance of community dissatisfaction, problems and complaints when the project is complete, as any foreseeable issues would have been considered and dealt with early on
substandard workmanship
substandard workmanship is work or a job that is not done to what is considered a reasonable standard. If this occurs you should keep communicating with the builder with anything you don’t think is up to scratch and give them the chance to fix it. And if you and the builder agree to something, put it in writing so that if they don’t comply you can report it to citizens advice helpline so they can contact trading standards on your behalf.
Post occupancy evaluation
post occupancy evaluation is the process of obtaining feedback on a building’s performance after it has been built, occupied and used. It informs building users if their building is energy efficient and reveals if it is being used as intended. Addressing these issues can help reduce operational costs. It also provides data to help understand how buildings are performing compared to their design intention. Ways to conduct a post occupancy evaluation include energy and water usage, temperature and environmental conditions, waste generation, air temperature and user satisfaction.
Post occupancy evaluations enable architects to produce a high performance design while satisfying their clients’ everyday needs. Architects use them to measure success, test design hypotheses, and share new best practices that future designers can follow.
Clients also benefit from greater energy efficiency and building performance over time. For example, designing a zero net energy building is a great way to reduce the structure’s carbon footprint and save on future energy costs. Experienced architectural firms can verify that you’re saving as much energy as possible and meeting or exceeding environmental goals.
Post occupancy evaluations in architecture ensure that clients get the most from their investments. These evaluations hold architects accountable for executing their designs with great precision. To achieve this, every architectural firm uses a slightly different evaluation process
