Positive development

net sustainability. At best they reduce relative resource consumption. They still consume vast quantities of materials, energy, water and ecosystems during construction. Moreover, green buildings replace land and ecosystems with structures that, at the very best, only 'mimic' ecosystems<'). Mimicking nature is little compensation when we have lost a third of species that are integral parts of our life support system. Already, development has exceeded the Earth's ecological carrying capacity, so even 'restorative' design is not enough. Urban areas must be retrofitted to increase net bioregional carrying capacity - just to support existing or reduced population levels in cities. The eco-retrofitting of our built environment is therefore an essential precondition of achieving a sustainable society. But we need to eco-retrofit cities in ways that increase net sustainability, not just relative efficiency.

Challenging 'best practice' subtropical design

Genuine sustainability would require that urban development provide net positive social and ecological gains to compensate for previous lost natural capital and carrying capacity. Thus far, green buildings do not contribute to net sustainability. While they reduce relative resource consumption, they consume vast quantities of materials, energy and water.i Moreover, they replace land and ecosystems with structures that, at best, ‘mimic’ ecosystems. Elsewhere, the author has proposed a‘sustainability standard’, where development would leave the ecology, as well as society, better off after construction than before.ii To meet this standard, a development would need to add natural and social capital beyond what existed prior to development. Positive DesignTM or Positive DevelopmentTM is that which expands both the ecological base (life support system) and the public estate (equitable access to means of survival). How to achieve this is discussed in Positive Development (Birkeland 2008). This paper examines how net positive gains can be achieved in a ubtropical as well as temperate environment.

ERTP : Energy-efficient and reliable transport protocol for data streaming in wireless sensor networks

Emerging data streaming applications in Wireless Sensor Networks require reliable and energy-efficient Transport Protocols. Our recent Wireless Sensor Network deployment in the Burdekin delta, Australia, for water monitoring [T. Le Dinh, W. Hu, P. Sikka, P. Corke, L. Overs, S. Brosnan, Design and deployment of a remote robust sensor network: experiences from an outdoor water quality monitoring network, in: Second IEEE Workshop on Practical Issues in Building Sensor Network Applications (SenseApp 2007), Dublin, Ireland, 2007] is one such example. This application involves streaming sensed data such as pressure, water flow rate, and salinity periodically from many scattered sensors to the sink node which in turn relays them via an IP network to a remote site for archiving, processing, and presentation. While latency is not a primary concern in this class of application (the sampling rate is usually in terms of minutes or hours), energy-efficiency is. Continuous long-term operation and reliable delivery of the sensed data to the sink are also desirable. This paper proposes ERTP, an Energy-efficient and Reliable Transport Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks. ERTP is designed for data streaming applications, in which sensor readings are transmitted from one or more sensor sources to a base station (or sink). ERTP uses a statistical reliability metric which ensures the number of data packets delivered to the sink exceeds the defined threshold. Our extensive discrete event simulations and experimental evaluations show that ERTP is significantly more energyefficient than current approaches and can reduce energy consumption by more than 45% when compared to current approaches. Consequently, sensor nodes are more energy-efficient and the lifespan of the unattended WSN is increased.

Selection of solar energy for green building using superiority and inferiority multi-criteria ranking (SIR) method

Green energy is one of the key factors, driving down electricity bill and zero carbon emission generating electricity to green building. However, the climate change and environmental policies are accelerating people to use renewable energy instead of coal-fired (convention type) energy for green building that energy is not environmental friendly. Therefore, solar energy is one of the clean energy solving environmental impact and paying less in electricity fee. The method of solar energy is collecting sun from solar array and saves in battery from which provides necessary electricity to whole house with zero carbon emission. However, in the market a lot of solar arrays suppliers, the aims of this paper attempted to use superiority and inferiority multi-criteria ranking (SIR) method with 13 constraints establishing I-flows and S-flows matrices to evaluate four alternatives solar energies and determining which alternative is the best, providing power to sustainable building. Furthermore, SIR is well-known structured approach of multi-criteria decision support tools and gradually used in construction and building. The outcome of this paper significantly gives an indication to user selecting solar energy.

Thermal performance optimization of building aspect ratio and south window size in five cities having different climatic characteristics of Turkey

The aim of the study is to establish optimum building aspect ratios and south window sizes of residential buildings from thermal performance point of view. The effects of 6 different building aspect ratios and eight different south window sizes for each building aspect ratio are analyzed for apartments located at intermediate floors of buildings, by the aid of the computer based thermal analysis program SUNCODE-PC in five cities of Turkey: Erzurum, Ankara, Diyarbakir, Izmir, and Antalya. The results are evaluated in terms of annual energy consumption and the optimum values are driven. Comparison of optimum values and the total energy consumption rates is made among the analyzed cities.

Energy-oriented design tools for collaboration in the cloud

Emerging from the challenge to reduce energy consumption in buildings is the need for energy simulation to be used more effectively to support integrated decision making in early design. As a critical response to a Green Star case study, we present DEEPA, a parametric modeling framework that enables architects and engineers to work at the same semantic level to generate shared models for energy simulation. A cloud-based toolkit provides web and data services for parametric design software that automate the process of simulating and tracking design alternatives, by linking building geometry more directly to analysis inputs. Data, semantics, models and simulation results can be shared on the fly. This allows the complex relationships between architecture, building services and energy consumption to be explored in an integrated manner, and decisions to be made collaboratively.

Badge : Brisbane Office

This two-storey office building and upper floor interior fit-out, completed for the 25th anniversary of Adelaide-based construction firm, Badge Constructions, is a signature building for the client, and its recently established Brisbane-based operations, and a showpiece for their commercial and industrial construction prowess and dynamic, collaborative and transparent work ethic. Situated in the industrial precinct of Bulimba’s Oxford Street, the building is a continuation of the street’s nearby commercial heart, whilst its architectural language references the adjacent industrial structures. The building’s shed-like skillion roof and western wall have been considered as a folded plane, allowing space to be considered as the inhabitation of the inner surface of this plane. The analogy of a lined garment, tailored to suit its wearer, clarifies the relationship between the western façade plane’s unadorned, monochromatic outer surface and the coloured and patterned inner surface, celebrating inhabitation. The use of typically external construction materials are re-positioned as an integral part of the building’s interior fit-out, alluding to Badge’s construction repertoire, and weakening traditional barriers between interior and exterior commercial space. In reference to its Queensland context, the external glazed line of the building is pulled back from the street, providing an eastern verandah edge and a northern court, as a part of the public realm. The upper floor office incorporates a cantilevered outdoor mezzanine within the northern court, whilst the adjacent reception area and stairwell utilises clear glazing in order to visually connect to the street. The building is designed to take advantage of natural light to the east, whilst shading habitable spaces from the north, a building strategy that reduces solar heat gain and energy consumption. Placement of the building’s amenities core to the west provides substantial bracing and allows maximum activation of the north and east street edge. A collaborative design process has resulted in an affordable commercial building with a high level of design resolution and relationship to its Brisbane context, while also challenging the traditional relationships between exterior and interior commercial space, and informed client and consultant team of allied disciplines.

Energy-pollution nexus for urban buildings

Since the first oil crisis in 1974, economic reasons placed energy saving among the top priorities in most industrialised countries. In the decades that followed, another, equally strong driver for energy saving emerged: climate change caused by anthropogenic emissions, a large fraction of which result from energy generation. Intrinsically linked to energy consumption and its related emissions is another problem: indoor air quality. City dwellers in industrialised nations spend over 90% of their time indoors and exposure to indoor pollutants contributes to ~2.6% of global burden of disease and nearly 2 million premature deaths per year1. Changing climate conditions, together with human expectations of comfortable thermal conditions, elevates building energy requirements for heating, cooling, lighting and the use of other electrical equipment. We believe that these changes elicit a need to understand the nexus between energy consumption and its consequent impact on indoor air quality in urban buildings. In our opinion the key questions are how energy consumption is distributed between different building services, and how the resulting pollution affects indoor air quality. The energy-pollution nexus has clearly been identified in qualitative terms; however the quantification of such a nexus to derive emissions or concentrations per unit energy consumption is still weak, inconclusive and requires forward thinking. Of course, various aspects of energy consumption and indoor air quality have been studied in detail separately, but in-depth, integrated studies of the energy-pollution nexus are hard to come by. We argue that such studies could be instrumental in providing sustainable solutions to maintain the trade-off between the energy efficiency of buildings and acceptable levels of air pollution for healthy living.

HeatWave : a handheld 3D thermography system for energy auditing

Energy auditing is an effective but costly approach for reducing the long-term energy consumption of buildings. When well-executed, energy loss can be quickly identified in the building structure and its subsystems. This then presents opportunities for improving energy efficiency. We present a low-cost, portable technology called "HeatWave" which allows non-experts to generate detailed 3D surface temperature models for energy auditing. This handheld 3D thermography system consists of two commercially available imaging sensors and a set of software algorithms which can be run on a laptop. The 3D model can be visualized in real-time by the operator so that they can monitor their degree of coverage as the sensors are used to capture data. In addition, results can be analyzed offline using the proposed "Spectra" multispectral visualization toolbox. The presence of surface temperature data in the generated 3D model enables the operator to easily identify and measure thermal irregularities such as thermal bridges, insulation leaks, moisture build-up and HVAC faults. Moreover, 3D models generated from subsequent audits of the same environment can be automatically compared to detect temporal changes in conditions and energy use over time.

Energy use assessment of educational buildings: Toward a campus-wide sustainable energy policy

The purpose of this article is to assess the viability of blanket sustainability policies, such as Building Rating Systems in achieving energy efficiency in university campus buildings. We analyzed the energy consumption trends of 10 LEED-certified buildings and 14 non-LEED certified buildings at a major university in the US. Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of the LEED buildings was significantly higher (EUILEED= 331.20 kBtu/sf/yr) than non-LEED buildings (EUInon-LEED=222.70 kBtu/sf/yr); however, the median EUI values were comparable (EUILEED= 172.64 and EUInon-LEED= 178.16). Because the distributions of EUI values were non-symmetrical in this dataset, both measures can be used for energy comparisons—this was also evident when EUI computations exclude outliers, EUILEED=171.82 and EUInon-LEED=195.41. Additional analyses were conducted to further explore the impact of LEED certification on university campus buildings energy performance. No statistically significant differences were observed between certified and non-certified buildings through a range of robust comparison criteria. These findings were then leveraged to devise strategies to achieve sustainable energy policies for university campus buildings and to identify potential issues with portfolio level building energy performance comparisons.

LED lighting design strategies to enhance window appearance and increase energy savings in daylit office spaces

Vertical windows are the most common and simplest method to introduce daylight to interior spaces of office buildings, while also providing a view and connection to the outside. However, high contrast ratios between windows and surrounding surfaces can cause visual discomfort for occupants and can negatively influence their health and productivity. Consequently, building occupants may try to adapt their working environment through closing blinds and turning on lights in order to improve indoor visual comfort. Such interventions defeat the purpose of daylight harvesting systems and can increase the forecast electric lighting consumption in buildings that include such systems. A simple strategy to prevent these problematic consequences is to reduce the luminance contrasts presented by the window wall by increasing the luminance of areas surrounding the window through the sparing use of energy-efficient supplementary lighting, such light emitting diodes (LEDs). This paper presents the result of a pilot study in typical office in Brisbane, Australia that tests the effectiveness of a supplementary LED lighting system. The study shows an improvement in the appraisal of the visual environment is achieved using the supplementary system, along with up to 88% reductions in luminance contrast at the window wall. Also observed is a 36% reduction in the likelihood of user interventions that would increase energy usage. These results are used as the basis of an annual energy simulation of the test office and indicate that supplementary systems could be used to save energy beyond what is typically realised in side lit office spaces.

Performance analysis of solar desiccant-evaporative cooling for a commercial building under different Australian climates

This paper evaluates and compares the system performance of a solar desiccant-evaporative cooling (SDEC) system with a referenced conventional variable air volume (VAV) system for a typical office building in all 8 Australian capital cities. A simulation model of the building is developed using the whole building simulation software EnergyPlus. The performance indicators for the comparison are system coefficient of performance (COP), annual primary energy consumption, annual energy savings, and annual CO2 emissions reduction. The simulation results show that Darwin has the most apparent advantages for SDEC system applications with an annual energy savings of 557 GJ and CO2 emission reduction of 121 tonnes. The maximum system COP is 7. For other climate zones such as Canberra, Hobart and Melbourne, the SDEC system is not as energy efficient as the conventional VAV system.

Life cycle energy analysis of eight residential houses in Brisbane, Australia

Life cycle energy analysis (LCEA) of eight residential buildings in and around Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is undertaken in this study. Energy used in all three phases of construction, operation and demolition are considered. It is found that the main contribution to the operational energy in residential buildings is from use of general appliance. The choice of building materials is shown to have significant effects on the embodied energy for the production, construction, maintenance and demolition phases. From this study, it is shown that the embodied energy may vary from 10% to 30%, while the operational energy may vary from 65% to 90%. The demolition energy generally accounts for less than 4% of life cycle energy.

Embodied energy of service trading in Hong Kong

Purpose Energy is a resource of strategic importance for high density cities. International trade reshapes the urban economy and industrial structure of a city, which will indirectly affect energy use. As an international trade hub, Hong Kong relies on the import and export of services. Energy performance in the international trading of these services needs to be properly understood and assessed for Hong Kong’s urban renewal efforts. Design/methodology/approach This study evaluates Hong Kong’s embodied energy in service trades based on an input-output analysis. The three criteria used for assessment include trading areas, industry sector, and trade balance. Findings Analyzed by region, results show that Mainland China and the USA are the two largest sources of embodied energy in imports of services, while Mainland China and Japan are the two largest destinations of exports. In terms of net embodied energy transfer, Hong Kong mainly receives net energy import from Mainland China and the USA and supplies net energy export to Japan, the UK and Taiwan. Among industry sectors, Manufacturing services, Transport and Travel contribute most significantly to the embodied energy in Hong Kong’s imported services, while Transport and Travel contribute most to the energy embodied in exported services. Originality/value This study identifies the characteristics of energy consumption of service trading and establishes a feasible approach to analyze energy performance of service trade in energy-deficient Hong Kong for the first time. It provides necessary understanding and foundation for developing energy strategies in a service-based, high density urban economy.