Page 072 - ENERGY DEMAND
Source section: Section 4 - Green Building Core Concepts and Application Strategies PDF page: 72 Guide page: 65 OCR quality: high (412 words)
OCR Text
ENERGY DEMAND Saving energy begins with conservation—reducing energy demand. Green buildings and neighborhoods can reduce demand for energy by capturing natural, incident energy, such as sunlight, wind, and geothermal potential, to reduce loads. For example:
- Community planning can support building configurations that minimize solar gain in summer and maximize it in winter
- Adjacent buildings can be designed to shade and insulate each other
- Building designs that incorporate passive strategies, like daylight, thermal mass, and natural ventilation, reduce the demand for artificial lighting, heating, and cooling
- Technologies and processes can be used to help occupants understand their patterns of energy consumption and reduce both individual and aggregate energy demand Inaddition to reducing demand, green building encourages sustainable methods for meeting energy needs. This may be most applicable when addressing a project’s use of refrigerants, substances used in cooling of systems. Refrigerants were widely employed throughout the 2oth century for transferring thermal energy in air-conditioning and refrigeration systems. Although these substances have remarkable functional properties, they also have damaging side effects on the environment. In the 1980s, research emerged demonstrating that certain refrigerants for building systems were depleting stratospheric ozone, a gas that protects human health and the environment by absorbing harmful UV radiation, and contributing to climate change. The Montreal Protocol subsequently banned the production of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants and is phasing out hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants. CFCs and HCFCs are organic chemical compounds known to have ozone-depleting potential. To achieve LEED certification, new buildings may not use CFC-based refrigerants, and existing buildings must complete a total CFC phase-out prior to project completion. LEED awards points for projects that entirely avoid the use of refrigerants or select refrigerants that balance concerns about ozone depletion and climate change. LEED recognizes that although there are no perfect refrigerants, it is possible to carefully consider performance characteristics and environmental effects and select a refrigerant with an acceptable trade-off. Taken together, demand reduction strategies provide the foundation for further energy efficiency efforts and the effective use of renewable energy. SS STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING ENERGY DEMAND IN DESIGN AND PLANNING:
- ESTABLISH DESIGN AND ENERGY GOALS. Set targets and establish performance indicators at the outset of a project and periodically verify their achievement.
- SIZE THE BUILDING APPROPRIATELY. A facility that is larger than necessary to serve its function creates costly and wasteful energy demand. ¢ USE FREE ENERGY. Orient the facility to benefit from natural ventilation, solar energy, and daylight.
- INSULATE. Design the building envelope to insulate efficiently against heating and ed cooling losses. 2 er ia un 65