The Role of Improved Energy Efficiency in Buildings in Contributing Sustainable Development - Literature review Example

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT By Name Course Instructor Institution City/State Date The role of improved energy efficiency in buildings in contributing sustainable development and the implications for prospective construction professionals Part 1: Reading Journal According to Popescu et al. (2012, p.554), the key goal of energy policies is to make every society level, from citizen to governments, concerned in heightening the buildings’ energy efficiency. I have noted that one of the main hurdles in execution of energy policies is that the outlay of possible energy savings, on average measured as being the just financial benefit, fails to adequately inspire investments. Hence, the target is to recognize additional potential drivers pushing positive response in line with energy saving action. I concur with to Popescu et al. (2012) argument that improvements to the buildings’ energy efficiency are decelerated when costs of energy are extremely diminutive fraction of the owner/resident’s revenue. According to Sev (2009, p.162), energy policies can be much better if the tangible gains would turn out to be substantial, using drivers of the market instead of only legislation. I deem Popescu et al. (2012, p.457) solution is the most suitable; they suggest that owners and residents motivation can take place by utilising a market driven rationale, like higher prices for buildings that have undertaken measures for energy efficiency. Investments cost in measures for energy efficiency according to Morrissey and Horne (2011, p.916) could be much in excess of the additional amount of money that may be gained in case of business deal. The market value is defined by the International Valuation Standards as the approximate amount for which a property must exchange on the valuation date involving a willing seller as well as a willing buyer in a length business deal of an arm subsequent to an appropriate marketing wherein parties had each acted capably, discreetly, and devoid of pressure. Simply, the supplementary value owing to energy performance relies heavily on the willingness to pay extra for having a building that is energy efficient. I observed in Australia, nationwide laws for minimum building performance standards were set up in 2003, reinforced in 2006 and are were further reinforced for 2011, but such standards are somewhat feeble as compared to European standards. Whilst there remains considerable possibility for energy efficiency standards enhancement in residential building, particularly corresponding to the novel housing thermal performance, the debate on policy has been slowed down by insufficient empirical study. The regulatory debate according to the Morrissey and Horne (2011, p.917) has concentrated much on particulars of the cost benefit connections related with energy efficiency. Specifically, I observed in Petrovic‐Lazarevic (2008) study that the debate concentrates on prohibitively high costs of upfront investment for high thermal efficiency performance as well as ambiguity concerning the possible savings. Undoubtedly, a considerable fissure in examination remains to be the insufficient empirical study into the life-cycle cost significances of heightened household thermal efficiency, above all from the viewpoint of new constructed houses. Sustainability according Sev (2009, p.161) is an overarching notion that influences, as well as can be influenced by, all facet of infrastructure development. I concur with Morrissey and Horne (2011) view that all scientific setbacks solved by intervention of human through manufactured materials as well as fossil fuels is traditionally seen as a success of management as well as a input to the good of trade and industry; yet, it is as well viewed as a potential threat to sustainability. In this regard, a building project that is actually sustainable as per Sev (2009, p.164) must include environmental, social, and economic issues in the stages of preparation, construction as well as demolition, with the goal of offering a building that is reasonably priced, easily reached and environmentally mindful. Whereas conventional constructions as well as design activities concentrate on quality, performance and cost issues, i concur with Presley and Meade (2010, p.436) that sustainable design and building adjoins the minimization issues of environmental degradation, resource utilization, as well as the formation of a hale and hearty developed surroundings and making sure the comfort and health of human is well considered. Constructors as well as designers have to approach all projects not just with the primary capital investment but as well with the whole buildings lifecycle; rather than considering the constructed setting as an entity separate from the natural surroundings, in my view it must be seen as an element of the exchange as well as flow of energy that takes place naturally in the biosphere. Sev (2009, p.168) posit that political as well as social forces are bringing extra pressure for technological solutions that are more environmentally cognisant, and facilities as well as companies as well know that initiatives like appropriate waste and materials management, resource efficiency as well as recycling will be both lucrative and environmentally preferable. Additionally, I strongly believe that novel standards as well as mandates are motivating companies to handle their environmental considerations as well as costs better. Consequently, so as to completely develop their corporate social responsibility and possess a characteristic of a good citizen, I concur with Petrovic‐Lazarevic (2008, p.94) that companies in Australian construction industry must all use a corporate governance structure that considers concerns in working setting, as well as ameliorate their sustainability, associations with suppliers as well as dedication to local community engagement in addition to protection. Besides that, I have observed that school buildings are different from other building types owing to their role in education. According to Dimoudi (2013, p.22), school-going children can learn from their early steps in education how to turn out to be environmental friendly as well as conscious of the energy use and its outcome. As i have observed in Australia, this measure is these days heightening the concern in diverse countries as well as facilitates solutions that are sustainable in school buildings including energy-efficient measures and technologies. Owing to the high classrooms’ occupation density, requirements for aeration with visual standards are heightened, so as to guarantee an indoor setting that has ability to offer appropriate mental and health conditions for us students. I can personally attest that schools’ energy efficiency improvement can lead to upgrading of comfort state of affairs of students as well as staff. All in all, I agree with Presley and Meade (2010, p.438) that as sustainable construction keeps on growing in fame and stakeholders endeavour to accomplish the triple-bottom line, bearing in mind environmental, economic and social concerns, frameworks will be of use for the progress of benchmarking. Basically, every study has its own limitation, and in nearly all the studies I have examined they are inclined to concentrate on the implications of state level policy, on the effect of certain envelope elements on thermal performance. Thus far there has been small research which joins together analysis on the energy efficiency measures inclusion at the pre-construction phase, with thermal modelling examination as well as data on the housing provision life-cycle outlay. Whereas it is accredited that there is a crack in the literature pertinent to measuring the corporate social responsibility’s impact on the overall performance of the company, I believe there is need for further research on how to proof a communally responsible business that surpass the its implementation cost. Part 2: Analytical Report Undoubtedly, the sustainability concept in construction and building has evolved over scores of years given that the primary concentration was on how to handle the issue of inadequate resources, particularly energy, and on how to lessen effects on the natural environment (Agamuthu & Hansen, 2007, p.242). According to Dimoudi (2013, p.26), emphasis was placed on technological issues like construction technologies, building components, materials, as well as energy interconnected design theories. More of late, an approval of the implication of non-technical issues has heightened, and according to Hwang and Tan (2012, p.337) it is at the moment acknowledged that social as well as economic sustainability are essential, as are the cultural heritage characteristics of the constructed environment. Still, as per Sev (2009, p.168) sustainable construction espouses diverse approaches and is granted distinct priorities in diverse countries. Therefore, it is not astonishing that there are extensively differing interpretations as well as views between countries in the third world countries and those in developed countries. According to Bossink (2009, p.358), countries with developed economies can dedicate greater concentration to generating buildings that are more sustainable by upgrading the present stock of building by using novel invention or developments as well as employment of innovative technologies for material and energy savings, whereas third world countries are more probable to concentrate on economic sustainability as well as social fairness. Many scholars like Dimoudi (2013) and Bossink (2009) have documented how the energy cycle, is liable for scores of the present ecological concerns at the global, national, as well as local levels. Rapidly rising prices of energy, concerns relating to exhaustion of resource as well as global warming, and calls for energy self-sufficiency at national level have made people focus on the role that energy plays in our day after day lives. In this regard, a lot of the effort is concentrated on securing adequate supplies such as gas, oil cheaply; however, Akadiri and Olomolaiye (2012, p.672) affirm that reducing the demand of energy at source can be a better option. Today, there are several methods of reducing demand of energy in the two key types of building (commercial as well as housing buildings) in urban areas at comparatively low or zero cost. Fundamentally, a commercial buildings’ energy-efficient system like hotels as well as offices is one that meets the main desires and offers the needed indoor thermal ambience and air quality whilst using the least energy amount. With regard to indoor thermal environment, the key setback in buildings in Australia is to maintain them cool, and not warm. Morrissey and Horne (2011, p.918) hold the view that the building’s basic orientation, location, and construction will have a considerable effect on its energy consumption. The current trend toward lightweight buildings with terracotta blocks or hollow concrete is not an excellent construction technique in areas with hot climates. Popescu et al. (2012, p.459) posit that solid blocks possess high thermal mass as well as absorb a quantity of the solar heat, holding-up heat transmission through the building for a number of hours. Besides, using soil to filling hollow blocks will have a similar consequence. Therefore, the main goal must firstly be to exclude heat from the building, by limiting the solar radiation ingress, and this according to Presley and Meade (2010, p.442) can be realized by suitable design as well as orientation of the main windows in the building and by using shading devices such as blinds. In this regard, external blinds are ideal to internal ones given that they shun more solar radiation out of the building, but they as well have to be more long-lasting. Subsequently, solar radiation striking the building’s external walls will convey into the building through the structure, and can be decreased significantly by using thermal insulation. This according to Akadiri and Olomolaiye (2012, p.668) is primarily cost-effective on the building roofs because at latitudes nearer to the equator the majority of the solar radiation penetrating the building source from the roof. These measures’ objective is to lessen or eradicate Australians dependence on mechanical air conditioning, which is undauntedly a considerable electricity user. This does not only lead to high emissions of green house gases but as well places an extra strain on the electricity production as well as supply infrastructure. Dimoudi (2013, p.24) claim that sizing is similarly vital for central air-conditioning systems given that for a central system, the fan have to be set to shut off simultaneously as the compressor (cooling unit). Therefore, making use of circulating fans in entity rooms is much better as well as more resourceful as compared to using the system’s central fan to offer air circulation. Besides that, appropriate daylight integration in buildings using electric lights must be taken into account to enable energy efficiency. Such integration can just be realized through a cautiously synchronized design of the electric lighting as well as day lighting systems. Notably, as with every design strategy that is energy-efficient, there are a number of costs related with the utilisation of controls that must be in correct functioning order. Poor commissioning, installation, or maintenance and operation practices can result in sub-optimum performance. Monitoring energy consumption in commercial buildings is imperative to maintain control of energy use as well as outlay, monitor trends and recognize improvement opportunities. With regard to implications for prospective construction professionals, Hwang and Tan (2012, p.344) posit that future engineers in construction industry are progressively more needed to play a leadership role in sustainable development, mastering global challenges, like environmental pollution, depletion of resources, harm to bionetworks, and rapid population growth. The prospective construction professionals’ goal for sustainable development will be to allow every person across the world to satisfy their essential desires, devoid of putting the future generations’ life in a compromising situation. Besides that, heightened use of information and communication technology will undoubtedly be a future driver, pushing professionals in the construction industry towards greater dependence on and employment of ICT for planning, constructing as well as managing buildings, but, it could as well be employed as a reaction to an economic imperative, like the desire to reduce costs or compete internationally, or to certain setbacks, like managing global construction projects. This according to Agamuthu and Hansen (2007, p.243) advocates that the specific impacts and forms are as a minimum partially shaped by the contexts of other impacts as well as the associations between them. Even though recognizing certain issues as well as drivers which could be imperative in defining the prospective construction industry is vital so as to create credible scenarios, the cycle wherein diverse issues could have an influence on construction as well as the possible interconnectivities amongst them as well have a substantial effect. Prospective buildings will be able supervise, clean and maintain themselves through nano technology, smart cladding systems, as well as intelligent computers. Besides that, the certainty provided by manufactured elements will enable the construction professions to eliminate the past uncertainties of customized techniques. On-site technology will as well bring about benefits; for instance, robotic machinery will enable construction professions working in dangerous areas to ameliorate construction’s safety as well as health record to a flawless standard. Besides that, common systems of ICT utilised for work coordination, will enable the prospective construction engineers make the process of construction more transparent, permitting clients to achieve a better knowledge of construction techniques, and to play a proactive role during design. Conclusively, buildings are long-lasting and building resolutions have long-standing consequences; therefore, design decisions are essential for successful management of prospective energy requirements, especially for purposes of space conditioning. The arguments presented in this report are pertinent to the ongoing debate over energy efficiency in buildings concerning minimum standards for energy performance. Outcomes recommend that the cost savings from high effective standards are considerable, especially in the wake of heightening prices of energy. Further than the first few occupation years, the energy cost savings related with building designs that are more thermally efficient overshadow the higher costs of building. Study results clearly provide proof that energy efficiency pays, and as the time-horizon grows and energy savings build up, scenarios for higher thermal performance turn out to be more gainful. Correspondingly, for a scenario of high energy cost, big energy efficiency investments turn out to be more gainful. References Agamuthu, P. & Hansen, J.A., 2007. Universities in capacity building in sustainable development: focus on solid waste management and technology. Waste Management & Research, vol. 25, no. 3, pp.241-46. Akadiri, P.O. & Olomolaiye, P.O., 2012. Development of sustainable assessment criteria for building materials selection. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 19, no. 6, pp.666-87. Bossink, B.A., 2009. Nation-wide development of sustainable production patterns: The case of 16 years of sustainability in Dutch residential house building. International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, vol. 9, no. 4, pp.356-72. Dimoudi, A., 2013. Analysis of energy performance and conservation measures of school buildings in northern Greece. Advances in Building Energy Research, vol. 7, no. 1, pp.20-34. Hwang, B.-G. & Tan, J.S., 2012. Green building project management: obstacles and solutions for sustainable development. Sustainable Development, vol. 20, no. 5, pp.335-49. Morrissey, J. & Horne, R.E., 2011. Life cycle cost implications of energy efficiency measures in new residential buildings. Energy and Buildings, vol. 43, pp.915–24. Petrovic‐Lazarevic, S., 2008. The development of corporate social responsibility in the Australian construction industry. Construction Management and Economics , vol. 26, no. 2, pp.93-101. Popescu, D., Bienert, S., Schützenhofer, C. & Boazu, R., 2012. Impact of energy efficiency measures on the economic value of buildings. Applied Energy, vol. 89, pp.454–63. Presley, A. & Meade, L., 2010. Benchmarking for sustainability: an application to the sustainable construction industry. Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 17, no. 3, pp.435-51. Sev, A., 2009. How Can the Construction Industry Contribute to Sustainable Development? A Conceptual Framework. Sustainable Development, vol. 17, pp.161–73. Read More