Sustainable and Energy Efficient Building.

There is a lot to consider within your house design if you want to minimise your house's environmental impact while meeting your needs.

Design:

• Optimise thermal design to provide a low energy, healthy and comfortable house
• Make sure the house is well insulated and correctly ventilated, the building will then maximise the available benefits of the sun

Insulation:

• Greater insulation can be achieved by specifying the highest performing insulation product for the framing thickness
• Providing edge insulation to concrete slabs- or even better insulating the whole slab
• Use polystyrene insulation instead of foil under floors
• Use double glazing as standard ( or even better high performance orgon filled IGY's with an inner low E glazed pane
• Increasing the framing members in walls and skillion roofs to accommodate thicker insulation

Solar design:

• Passive solar design- involves harnessing and using the suns energy to heat and cool a building. Solar design should be part of the buildings initial design
• Maximise winter sun in spaces that require heating by placing living areas on the sunny side of the house
• Maximise the number of rooms that receive solar gain- if section allows a long narrow building with axis on an east- west orientation

Orientation:

• Use external shades to prevent solar heat build up in summer
• Provide sufficient thermal mass to store winter heat gain
• Arrange spaces to maximise summer cooling through providing windows in at least two sides of each room to allow cross ventilation

Water saving:

• Use water saving devices- low flow fittings, duel flush toilets
• Investigate opportunities for grey water recycling
• Installing rain water tanks
• Use low flow shower head units

Water heating:

• Insulate pipe-work
• Minimise hot water pipe run by careful placement of water heater
• Install solar water heating

A C Builders promote sustainable construction by:

• Adopting sustainable development as core business activity, with every project undertaken to utilise sustainable construction techniques

Examples:

• Minimises transport costs by planning deliveries
• Using local where possible
• Promoting travel plans to construction sites that reduce the number of vehicles

Projects:

• Chose materials with low embodied energy, but not dismissing the importance of durable materials with high embodied energy
• Lean construction practices- make sure you have the right amount of materials first time
• Reduce material waste by good design
• Re-cycle and re-use where possible
• Use environmental choices where possible

Save Energy:

• Install energy efficient equipment
• Specify an energy efficient hot water service of solar
• Energy efficient heating and cooling methods
• Use natural ventilation and passive engineering techniques like thermal mass

Benefits of sustainable construction:

• Saving money
• Lower energy, waste disposal and water costs
• Lower operations and maintenance costs and savings through increased productivity and health, staff recruitment and retention

A C Builders are the Golden Bay agents for Energy Efficient Homes NZ - www.eehnz.com

Contact Liz at AC Builders to discuss sustainable solutions for your next building project.