SUSTAINABLE DESIGN Flashcards
List 5 things to do with water for a sustainable project
- Controlling stormwater runoff
- Prevent erosion
- Use rainwater
- Employ graywater
- Water conservation (eg. Low flow fixtures)
What first/most basic step to ensuring a sustainable design project?
Minimize disturbance to the site
What is graywater
waste water not from toilets or urinals
What is blackwater?
Water from toilets, urinals (some places include waste from laundries, kitchen sinks)
What are some of the problems that stormwater runoff can create? (Eight.)
- Increased load on sewers
- Increased potential for flooding
- Pollution of waterways with road salts, sediment, petrol, fertilizers, heavy metals, bacteria
- Erosion of sites and waterways
- Erosion of stream beds
- Soil creep, landslides
- Stream warming
- Loss of aquatic biodiversity
What does stormwater management sets out to do?
Reduces stormwater runoff pollutant loads, discharge volumes, and discharge rates
Name some materials that can create pervious paving
Grids of concrete, plastic or other. Or porous asphalt or concrete
The 2 basic advantages of rainwater collection
- You can use that water (for all sorts of nonpotable purposes like irrigation, flushing toilets)
- You are also reducing stormwater runoff
What are the 3 elements of a rainwater collection system?
- Collection system
- Storage cistern
- Distribution system
3 good materials and 2 bad materials to use in a rainwater collecting roof
- Clay tile, metal, concrete are good
2. Asphalt shingles and lead-containing metal (like flashing) are bad
What are steep roofs better than shallow ones for collecting rain?
The wind cleans them more from dust and debris
How do you determine the amount of rainfall you will collect?
Multiply the horizontal area of catchment by average annual rainfall for the region and then reduce by around 75% for loss and evaporation
You can also be green by using graywater in a ____ ________ system
Heat recovery
What is LCA and what are the 3 steps?
Life cycle analysis measure the full environmental impact of using a particular material in construction.
- Define goals and scope of study
- Perform inventory analysis (all the way down to the energy require to obtain raw materials)
- Impact assessment (resource depletion, pollution, etc)
- Improvement analysis
What are the 4 main stages of a product’s life cycle?
- Raw material acquisition (acquisition, processing, transport to manufacturing facility)
- Manufacturing (including packaging and transport to final site)
- Use/maintenance (including installation, performance, fixing)
- Disposal (including reuse and recycling)
What is embodied energy?
All the energy it took to get the raw material, process it for manufacturing and get it to where it needs to be
Name 5 advantages of fly ash on concrete
- Comes from coal-fired plants (therefor recycling a byproduct)
- Increases concrete strength
- Decreases permeability
- Reduces temperature rose during placement/curing
- Increases sulphate resistance
- Improves workability
- Reduces need for cement (can replace 40 to 50% sometimes 65% of the Portland cement needed)
What is AAC autoclave aerated concrete? What is it good for?
Lightweight, precast concrete made with aluminum powder, hardened in molds, cured in an autoclave. Formed into blocks that can be cut and shaped with normal woodworking tools. Used for non loading bearing residential and light commercial walls. Has great insulation, reduced air infiltration, and great insulation value. And it requires less cement.
What is a common higher recycled content of steel?
30%
What is a renewable resource?
A material that comes from a source that can be renewed in a short period of time.
What is a common higher recycled content of aluminum?
20%
What is the resin based alternative to urea formaldehyde in engineered wood products using wood waste?
MDI (methyl-diphenyl isocyanate)
What does FSC stand for?
Forest Stewardship Council
A bldg can get a LEED credit if it uses a __% of FSC certified wood product
50%
What is the most sustainable plastic product (bio plastics, polylactide PLA) made of?
Corn biodegradable
Some sustainable insulations… Cellulose insulation - what is it?
Contains at least 70% post consumer paper waste
Some sustainable insulations… Mineral-fiber insulation - what is it?
Made from mill slag or basalt rock, available as rigid boards, batt, or
Loose
Fill
Some sustainable insulations… Glass
Fiber insulation - what is it?
Contains at least 30% post consumer
Recycled glass, available in rigid boards, batt, and loose fill
Some sustainable insulations… Vermiculite - what is it?
Made from mica expanded by heat. Loose fill.
Some sustainable insulations… Perlite - what is it?
Made from volcanic rock expanded by heat, used as lightweight aggregate for plaster/concrete or as loose-fill
Some sustainable insulations… Compressed straw can be used …
As infill in structural insulated panels
What are the standards by which the national Fenestration Rating Council measures the energy efficiency of windows?
U–factor, solar heat gain coefficient, and visible light transmittance coefficients.
Name two reasons that interior finish materials provide a primary method of improving a buildings sustainability.
They are one of the main sources of potential indoor air pollution and they are replaced several times over the life of a building.
Name two sustainable raw materials for making carpet.
- Polyester and nylon-blended carpet from recycled soft drink containers
- Wool
Name a nylon that can be recycled easily.
Nylon 6
What are the ingredients in linoleum?
Linseed oil, rosen, cork powder, and pigments.
What is the main source of synthetic gypsum in North America?
Flue-gas desulfurization.
What percentage of gypsum wallboard core is made from synthetic gypsum?
7%
Sissel wallcovering is made from what plant? What are its advantages and disadvantages?
Henequen plant. It is fairly rough and not suitable for wet areas. But it is durable, low maintenance, and reduce his sound reflection and transmission.
What can affect absenteeism, productivity, creativity, and motivation?
IAQ, indoor air quality
What are volatile organic compounds (VOC)?
Chemicals that contain carbon and hydrogen and vaporize at room temperature and pressure.
Colorless gas with pungent order odor, used in preparation of resins and adhesives, found commonly in particleboard, wall paneling, furniture, adhesives, glue, and the furnishings industry.
Fromaldehyde
For IAQ with formaldehyde ASHRAE recommends a maximum continuous indoor air concentration of blank parts per million… But to be green guard certified a product cannot admit more than blank ppm.
0.1… .05
Name the three conditions mold needs to grow.
Moisture, a nutrient, and temperature between 40°F and 100°F
Hey condition in which occupants experience a variety of health related symptoms not directly linked to any cause, like irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. Generally symptoms disappear after occupants leave the building.
Sick building syndrome
What is it called when there is a health – related symptoms of a building occupants that can be directly attributed to certain building contaminants?
Building – related illness
What is the condition brought on by exposure to VOC’s resulting in acute, long term sensitivity each time people are exposed to the chemicals?
Multiple chemical sensitivity