Sustainability Midterm Exam

R-Value

R-Value: walls, roof, floor - While the U-factor is used to express the insulation value of windows, R-value is used for insulation in most other parts of the building envelope (walls, floors, roofs) - It is the capacity of an insulating material to resist heat flow. - The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating ability

Ecological Footprint

reflects the amount of natural resources required for shelter, food, transportation, energy and resulting waste - the ecological footprint difference between developing and highly developed countries is significant

Potable water

water that is safe to drink - We are trying to conserve this - Treated drinking water - We use potable water in our toilets, to wash dishes, showers, and for drinking

Energy Star

(started out of the EPA) - an international standard for energy efficient consumer products originated in the US. It was first created as a US government program during the early 1990's, but Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and the EU have also adopted the program. Devices carrying the Energy star logo, such as computer products and peripherals, kitchen appliances, buildings and other products, generally use 20%-30% less energy than required by federal standards.

What does the term "Net Zero" mean?

- A building that makes as much energy as it uses - the energy use and renewable energy creation equals out to zero

What is the "Antropocene"

- A geological Age described as the dominant influence of human activity as shaping the nature of the environment

What is the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics?

- A law of physics that describes entropy as the flow of energy from a more excited state to a less excited state (and the movement of heat from hot to cold)

What is 'xeriscaping'?

- A practice of installing native and drought tolerant plants and landscape features to eliminate the need for irrigation

What is a greenfield site?

- A site that has not been developed

What is a Renewable Energy Credit? (REC)?

- A system of offsetting the amount of non-renewable electricity used by purchasing credits to support the growth of renewable energy sources feeding in to the grid.

Which agency sets up minimum energy requirements for various building components (HVAC, electricity, wall insulation, windows, roofs etc) based on various building locational region or zone in the United States?

- ASHRAE

Why is night-time pollution a problem?

- All of the above - it can adversely affect sleep and migration patterns of nocturnal animals, it limits our view of the night sky, it can affect our safety as it takes time for human eyes to adjust from dark to light surroundings, but this is not all.

What is the name of the report that defined the 3 pillars of sustainability as we use them today?

- Brundtland Report

All of the following are passive design strategy to take advantage of solar gain in the winter AND block the sun the summer, EXCEPT FOR...

- Building a Trombe Wall to take advantage of solar thermal mass passively heating air - White a trombe wall is a passive thermal mass strategy, it does not provide shading in the summer

Which underfloor air distribution system provides the opportunity for individual occupant control of the airflow?

- Displacement ventilation system - underfloor air distribution is a type of displacement ventilation where we pump air in the breathing zone. When delivered through the floor, you can have a movable personalized air grille in the floor that occupants can open or close manually to fit their needs.

Which answer below is a certificate program created to provide energy efficiency?

- ENERGY STAR

Which of the following is not a LEED core category?

- Environmental Management

The following are all ways to define the three pillars of sustainability except for...

- Environmental, Ecological, Planetary

True or False: "Climate Change" and "Weather Changes" are the same thing

- False

The highest R-Values are assigned to the materials that provide the _______

- Greatest amount of insulation and greatest resistance to heat flow

All of the following are qualities of an energy efficient window assembly EXCEPT

- High R-Value - R-Value has nothing to do with windows, it primarily refers to the quality of wall and roof insulation

All of the following are strategies for saving water and reducing 'indoor' potable water use, EXCEPT

- Installing an irrigation drip system - All the other selections are for indoor water conservation, whereas this solution is to save water for outdoor irrigation

What does the LEED acronym stand for?

- Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Which global environmental policy outlawed the manufacturing of CFCs (Cholorflurocarbons) often used in refrigerants cause a hole in the ozone layer?

- Montreal Protocol

Which of the following is not considered biomass matter?

- Natural Gas - although it can be argued that natural gas comes from one alive organic matter, natural gas is not a biofuel and is a non-renewable fossil fuel. Biofuels are a renewable source, where as natural gas is from a limited supply of ancient fossil remains.

Why would exponential growth of the human population cause stress on the environment?

- People use finite natural resources to create food and energy. As the population grows, the use of these resources (like coal) increases, thus harming the planet - people need food, electricity, materials and more to survive, these things require water, coal, raw materials etc per person

All of the following contribute to creating heat islands, except for...

- Prairie Grass - vegetation can actually bring the ambient temperature down

Who is Considered the mother of the sustainability movement?

- Rachel Carson - Carson wrote Silent Spring which was a precursor of looking at toxicity, industry, ecology and human health - particularly the effects of DDT

Montreal Protocol

- The Montreal Protocol was to end the production of substances that deplete ozone, which included the phasing out of CFCs. Attempt globally for countries to come together to protect life on earth. - Even though the treaty was signed by all participating countries in 1989 and the ban started to happen, the damage was still feeding back into the ecosystem - The hole kept growing until its larger size in 2006 - significant repairing of the ozone due to the treaty, can see from 2006 v 2010 - Banning CFC's that were harming the ozone layer

True or False: Rocks, Wind, and Dirt are Abiotic parts of the environment

- True

What is Geothermal Heat Exchange?

- Using the earth's underground temperature to heat or cool water or air - the earths surface is a consistent 50-60 degrees all over the planet when you go between 5-10 ft below the surface. Geothermal heat exchange uses coils to pre heat or cool.

Which of the following is an example of biomimicry?

- Velcro technology made by studying the way lizards stick to surfaces

What does VOC stand for?

- Volatile organic compound

What did the Kyoto Protocol do?

- Was a global environmental policy acknowledging that CO2 and green house gasses cause global warming

Dates for solstices and equinox glare

2020: March 19th Equinox, June 20th Solstice

ISO 14000

A collection of the best practices for managing an organization's impact on the environment. Standardized Testing Agency - ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. It's a network of the national standards institutes of 162 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system. - The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water or land); (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations and other environmentally oriented requirements, and (c) continually improve in the above.

Acid Rain

Acid deposition (acid rain) - is the product of air pollution. Acid Deposition deteriorates materials used in the built environment, such as metal, stone, concrete, paints and textiles - Acid rain can eat through stone and metal - Gathers into the water vapor and rains down on earth - Can absorb into our own skin - Environment does not have strict boundaries - pollution runs through the entire ecosystem

ASHRAE

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE chart - lays out the different regional zones of heating and cooling needs

EPA

An agency of the Federal government of the US which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by congress. EPA was proposed by President Richard Nixon and began operation on Dec 2nd, 1970. - Clean Water Act - Clean Air Act Land Act

2nd Law of Therodynamics

Basis of how we can passively heat or cool buildings, it is a key principal in setting up any natural ventilation design. 1. 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy - energy before -> energy transformation -> usable energy after 2. Second Law of Thermodynamics - Heat always moves from a place of being hotter, to a place that is more cold a. Thermal mass - passive i. Anything that has mass can store heat

Biophilia vs Biomimicry

Biophilia - Need for nature, the idea and philosophy that we not only come from nature, but our well being and health are improved when were in biophilic environments - improving health and the well-being in the built environment - increase our health with a connection to nature Biomimicry - what would nature do? what wouldn't nature do? why or why not? Looking at natures processes and how they solve problems - when we design, we do it from a way of looking at how nature has done these things and what applications we can apply them to.

Building orientation strategies

Building orientation is the practice of facing a building so as to maximize certain aspects of its surroundings, such as street appeal, to capture a scenic view, for drainage considerations, etc. Thus, building orientation, along with daylighting and thermal mass, are crucial considerations of passive solar construction that can be incorporated into virtually any new home design.

LEED - professionals vs buildings and getting a designation by LEED

Buildings get certified and people can become accredited Exam Eligibility Requirements - - Must have done one of the following: 1) Supported a LEED-registered project 2) Attended a green building education program - Or work in a sustainable field 3) Must pass LEED Green Associate Exam - Or you may take both together 4) Must have experience on at least one LEED-registered project within the past 3 years What you need to know - Knowledge of green building principles and best practices - Basic understanding of LEED - The LEED rating systems - The certification process - Terminology and standards used in LEED - Basic requirements of LEED - Strategies for meeting sustainability goals/ LEED credits - How to support a LEED project team What you don't need to know (but you do for the LEED AP exam): - In depth / specific knowledge of each LEED credits intent, requirements, strategies and technologies

CO2 Monitors

Carbon monoxide detectors sound an alarm when they sense a certain amount of carbon monoxide over time. Different sensors set off different types of alerts. Biomimetic sensor: a gel changes color when it absorbs carbon monoxide, and this color change triggers the alarm.

Green/Environment Product Certification and Standards Programs

Certification Programs - LEED, 3rd party certified programs - Standard Testing - ISO International Organization for Standardization - Government Regulations - Environmental Protection Agency (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act) - Green building rating systems are consumer driven - Standardized Testing Agency - ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. It's a network of the national standards institutes of 162 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system. o The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water or land); (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations and other environmentally oriented requirements, and (c) continually improve in the above.

Global Warming and Climate Change - CO2

Climate Change - documented by recording mean annual global temperatures and the rise in sea levels due to receding glaciers Climate change and weather are NOT exactly the same o Ex: in the US in the south in Texas and FL, there are regular hurricane seasons, this is part of an overall weather pattern, but due to climate change, the average temps in the ocean become higher, there is more moisture in the air, and sea levels are risen, and it makes the storms more volatile, sandy, Katrina, Harvey etc. Doesn't have to just do with rising sea levels o Ex: imbalances in other regions - droughts which are causing fire prone areas in others, balance of the ecosystem becomes off o Change in terminology about 15 yrs. ago - shift from global warming - temperature imbalances, areas start to get colder - climate change is a more accurate term o Overall warming of the planet

Commissioning

Commissioning is a service, not a technology, that is used to verify that energy related systems are performing as intended This service is used in LEED and one will go through and carefully look at understanding the equipment and how its supposed to function and do a check. Ex of a commissioning report: filters are extremely dirty, appear to be temporary construction filters.

Federal Act that regulates VOCs

EPA does regulate VOCs in some household products under the Clean Air Act (CAA); however, the regulations that we have promulgated for VOCs in architectural coatings and consumer products are in place only because many VOCs photochemically react in the atmosphere to produce ozone, a component of smog EPA - Environmental Protection Agency - an agency of the Federal government of the US which was created for the purpose of protecting human health and environment by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by congress. EPA was proposed by President Richard Nixon and began operation on Dec 2nd, 1970. Clean Water Act (CWA) - (Under the EPA) To protect water quality, the two most important federal laws are the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA). To continuously improve the quality of water, the acts have been amended several times. For example, in 1988 the law banned the use of lead solder in water pipes used for water in new construction projects. Clean Air Act - helps to protect our air

Environmental Footprint - measuring tool/agency

EPA protects our environmental footprint Ecological Footprint - reflects the amount of natural resources required for shelter, food, transportation, energy and resulting waste - The Ecological Footprint difference between developing and highly developed countries is significant. For example, the ecological footprint for people living in the United States is significantly greater than for people living in India. - Footprint network

Pathway to designing an energy efficient building (order of considerations)

Energy Use and Passive Design Passive Design - Taking advantage of the sun as heat and light source - Passive strategies - basic laws of physics and orientation to save on heating and cooling and insulating our building before we use one wad of energy - In the US buildings consume approximately 39% of the energy produced annually and 74% of the electricity - Passive design for the northern hemisphere and solar trends, directions and angles

How are we exposed to VOC's and other toxins? What is the pathway of exposure?

Formaldehyde - a chemical that is frequently used in materials for construction and products specified by interior designers such as furniture and textiles. · The PF resins in pressed woods release formaldehyde at a lower rate than products with UF resins. The EPA reports that the rate of emissions can change depending on the age of a product and room temperatures. Generally, formaldehyde emissions will decrease with time, but high room temperatures or high humidity levels can accelerate the discharge of the chemical · Products made using adhesives that contain urea-formaldehyde - most common formaldehyde Biological Agents - indoor air pollution that can occur from a variety of sources and conditions, the most common indoor contaminants are formaldehyde, radon, biological agents, carbon monoxide, cigarette smoke, house hold pesticides, nitrogen dioxide, cleaning solvents, ozone, asbestos, lead, and VOC's - example: sources in a house - mold buildup, second hand smoke, cleaning products, dust mites, not adequate ventilation - indoor pollution in offices - plastics can omit VOC's in the air, computers, large printers in offices, chemicals that go into the printing inks, HVAC ventilation systems

Geothermal Heat Exchange

Geothermal Energy - using hot water and condensing it to make steam and the steam turns the turbine and turns the generator to create an electric current back - Creates a steam loop - Active form of energy Geothermal heat pumps / geothermal heat exchange - The upper 10' of the Earth maintains a nearly constant temperature between 50 degrees and 60 degrees, like a cave this ground temperature is warmer than the air above it in the winter, and cooler than the air in the summer - This can happen anywhere on the planet - Can pre-heat air or water before it comes into the house

Solid Waste Generation by Country

Green Buildings can reduce - energy use by 24%-50%, Co2 Emissions 33%-39%, water use 40%, solid waste 70%

EPD vs HPD

Health Product Declaration - HPD is a standardized way that a manufacturer can declare what is in their products and how it'll affect user's health - Has everything to do with health - Don't confuse it with the EPD - Environmental Product Declaration - manufacturer can declare the environmental impact of their product Declare - a program that is managed by the International Living Futures Institute, this tool is a label that will aggregate a lot of information from different sources, is it on the red list? Does it have a HPD? Does it have an EPD? A way of helping you make a better decision

Heat island effect

Heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun's heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies. Heat Island Effect - mitigate impact on microclimate - this can cause problems with smog, affect energy use (the hotter the air, the more electricity we have to use to cool it), adverse effects on animals in the region (effecting their environment through microclimate changes) To reduce this - we can plant more vegetation (this will reduce the amount of heat and absorb water), cool roofs by painting roofs white, use light colored asphalt instead of paving, shade our surfaces, reduce parking and use porous paving,

Kyoto Protocol

Kyoto Protocol - This is a protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting global warming. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" - The protocol was initially adopted on December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, and entered into force on Feb 16th, 2005. - As of August 2011, 191 states have signed and ratified the protocol. Former Pres Bush withdrew the US from its commitment to the protocol in 1998. The only remaining signatory not to have ratified the protocol is the US. - In Dec 2011, Canada also renounced the protocol

History of Sustainability Movement and Key People/ Books

History of the Environmental Movement - - 1800's in shaping our modern environmental movement - 1854 Henry David Thoreau published "Walden, or Life in the Woods" - talked about time and seasons and comprised the time into a single calendar year and used the passages in his book to organize these seasons and human development - John James Audubon (1785-1851) - Americas dominant wildlife artist, nature conservancy was founded in his name to protect birds - Blessed Unrest - George Gail and his business partners in the 1800's - sequoia trees, cut down a 300 ft diam sequoia, left the majority of it dead and people were horrified of the complete disregard of natural life, conservancy groups were created in reaction to this The Modern Sustainability Movement - - Rachel Carson - 1962 she wrote Silent Spring - controversial, documented the detrimental effects on the environment because of the use of pesticides, met with fierce opposition from chemical companies - led to a national ban on DDT's and led to the EPA - DDT - first used in the 1940's - found its way into the ecosystem and it was affecting the bugs and sucked up by the plants, we would eat them, and it would affect wildlife and human risk, relationship between DDT and cancer

Bruntland Report

IPCC - 1987, Sustainable development is a development which meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. - distributional justice, in both time and space - environmental sustainability means living well within the limits of our planet

Living Building Challenge vs. LEED general comparison

LBC and Trends - Living Building Challenge - voluntary green building certification program and sustainable design framework - Flower - ideal built environment should function as cleanly and beautifully as a flower - The initiatives they lay out are not optional like LEED's - The stakes are much higher than LEED - Creating positive output - regenerative output - Trying to create self sufficient building systems so living systems give more than they take LEED General Format - LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. It works for all buildings at all phases of development, from new construction to existing buildings, and all building sectors, from homes to hospitals to corporate hq's. - A concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance strategies and solutions - Lay out an easy to understand system to understand all the pieces and parts you should be thinking of - Set out quantifiable targets and goals - Third-party green building certification program - Encourages an integrated design process and a whole-building approach - Used to encourage, evaluate, recognize and influence market transformation LEED buildings: o Save money o Consume less energy o Use less water - use efficient plumbing systems, planting methods and irrigation that's efficient o Use fewer resources - reclaimed materials, regionally sourced locations o Better indoor environmental quality - healthier and happier environment, better views of the outdoors, more access to fresh air to reduce contaminants in a space - Mission Statement: market transformation

LEED building certification system

LEED BD&C v4 Credit Categories - were looking at LEED v4 - Integrative design (ID) - Location and Transportation (LT) - Sustainable Sites (SS) - Water Efficiency (WE) - Energy and Atmosphere (EA) - Materials and Resources (MR) - Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) - Innovation in Design (ID) - Regional Priority (RP) LEED Credit Format - LEED reference guide - Intent - Requirements - Potential Technologies & Strategies Climate change was the biggest issue and weighted more heavily on the LEED credit weighting based systems

LEED acronym

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Low - E

Low-E, or low-emissivity, glass was created to minimize the amount of infrared and ultraviolet light that comes through your glass, without minimizing the amount of light that enters your home. Low-E glass windows have a microscopically thin coating that is transparent and reflects heat.

Current Source of World's Energy

Majority of energy use in a building pertain to lighting, heating and cooling spaces

Passive House Certification

PHIUS - Passive House - Proper insulation - No air leakages - No thermal bridges - Proper windows with triple pane glass - Proper orientation and shading - HRV (heat recovery ventilation) - Passive houses need 90% less energy - Saves money and helps preserve the environment

Energy Information Administration Studies

Montreal Protocol - The Montreal Protocol was to end the production of substances that deplete ozone, which included the phasing out of CFCs. Attempt globally for countries to come together to protect life on earth. Kyoto Protocol - This is a protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting global warming. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" US environmental agencies - - DOE divisions include Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy; the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and Electricity Delivery & Energy - Environmental Protect Agency (EPA) - Green Building Council (USGBC) - ENERGY STAR - Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES) - Government Services Administration (GSA) - ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA - The Department of Defense (DOD) and the US Air Force, Army, and Navy sustainability programs

End Uses in a Typical Office Space

National data indicates that ventilation, computers, and lighting are the main electricity end-use categories in small office buildings, and that space heating dominates natural gas consumption.

Net Zero

Net Zero - Energy used = energy produced - uses as much energy as it creates

Why parking areas are bad for the environment

Parking areas are bad for the environment due to nonpoint pollution, sick building syndrome and the urban heat island effect - nonpoint source pollution - contaminated storm water washed off of parking lots, roads and highways and lawns results in urban runoff and this runoff is often classified as a type of NPS pollution - sick building syndrome - this can be caused from the exhaust from parking garages, this occurs when people who are working or living in the same building experience similar health problems such as headaches, dizziness etc. This cannot be traced to any specific source - reducing parking capacity - one of the easiest ways to get rid of so much parking that is designed into buildings, stacked parking lots are more sustainable because they take up less space - parking lots cause urban heat island effects - when dark asphalt absorbs sunlight and radiates heat, once it rains, all the rain hits the pavement, takes the pollution from the asphalt and sweeps it into our waterways - this creates pollution and problems with flooding

Stack Effect

Phenomenon of a strong air draft moving from ground level to the roof level of a building. Affected by building height, configuration, and temperature differences between inside and outside air. A way of passive ventilation Ex: termites build underground tunnels, the mound itself allows for the hot air to rise and escape, causing a vacuum, the holes on the right hand bottom side of the mound builds in colder air into the ground as the air heats up and it will rise and leave the termite mound.

Ecological Effects of Population Growth

Problems associated with natural resources are linked to the dramatic increases in the world's population Demographers and sociologists research factors that affect population size: - Capacity of the earth - Standards of living - Resource consumption - Technological innovations - Waste generation - Natural disasters - Manmade disasters negative environmental and economic outcomes ranging from the impacts of over-farming, deforestation, and water pollution to eutrophication and global warming current carrying capacity - at 2050 we will be at a 3 planet carrying capacity which is detrimental to our ability to survive on this planet All complex systems on earth are subject to - 1. limits to growth 2. 2nd Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy - energy before -> energy transformation -> usable energy after

Greenguard certification

Products that have achieved GREENGUARD Certification are scientifically proven to meet some of the world's most rigorous, third-party chemical emissions standards, helping to reduce indoor air pollution and the risk of chemical exposure, while aiding in the creation of healthier indoor environments.

LEED Certification levels

Ratings for commercial and institutional interiors projects are awarded at the following levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum LEED green building rating system and trends such as the tiny house movement, and new studies for inspiration in biomimicry and biophilia.

Ways to reduce storm water runoff

Reduce or eliminate storm water pollution - Best Management Practices (BMPs) to - remove total suspended solids (TSS) from of average annual rainfall - Total suspended particles (TSS) = particles that are too small and light to be removed from stormwater via gravity settling Solutions: - vegetated buffers on the sides of parking lots that are set up before the water drainage systems - this limits the disruption of natural hydrology - capture rain water - limits the quantity of water, detention ponds and storm water capture - clean water and filter the quality of it before it goes into a storm drain - ex: basin with a rock filter bed, where the rain will hit and it will be captured and filtered before it runs into a storm drain - open gird or permeable paving - creates permeable surfaces for rain water and storm water to infiltrate the ground - water collection systems - collection from the roof sometimes - green roofs - capture rain water and the plants can suck it up and filter some of the rain water before it goes through the cycle

Which one single sustainable strategy in building design can have a ripple effect on all of the other needs of a building?

Reduced building footprint and the square footage - The size of a building affects the amount of materials needed, maintenance, embodied energy, how much energy is needed to heat, cool, and light the place, site disturbance and more. The smaller the building, the better the environmental impact

Brownfield remediation

Remedies that cure Brownfields. - bring a site back up to habitable standards, and bring new life to a site that was previously dead instead of encroaching on a natural environment that's pristine - urban redevelopment - infilling - remediation

REC Energy Credits

Renewable Energy Credit - we can support a grid tide electric energy or renewable energy without it being directly integrated into the building. - A centralized power plant is getting its sources and electricity from a variety of sources - A REC represents delivery of 1 MWh of renewable energy to the grid and all associated environmental benefits of displacing 1 MWh of conventional power

Solar Hot Water vs Solar PV Panels

Solar Hot Water - Active - Water heated by the use of solar energy - Solar heating systems are generally composed of solar thermal collectors, a water storage tank or another point of usage, interconnecting pipes and a fluid system to move the heat from the collector to the tank. - 10th of the cost of Solar Photovoltaic - Sealed tubes with a gel that runs through the tube and goes into a hot water heater, super insulated, in your home Solar Photovoltaic Technology (PV) - Solar cells, also called photovoltaic (PV) cells, convert sunlight directly into electricity. Silicon (an element found in sand) creates an electric charge when exposed to sunlight. - Sunlight hits a silicon cell that generates electrons that are passed down different layers in the panel - this creates a direct current, which creates direct electricity - solar tiles being created by tesla - translucent applications of PV cells - would allow us to line windows with solar panels, rather than just relying on the surface area of the roof

Sustainable Reasons to live in an urban environment

Sustainable sites - location, land itself, management - if you live in an urban environment, you are already within an existing infrastructure and probably live within walking distance of basic services. In dense environments it can sometimes be more sustainable because infrastructure is already built in - roads, electricity, plumbing When you build on a new green site, you have to bring all of that onto untouched land, and the development can be hard on your site

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient

The amount of solar heat that enters a room through a glazing system, divided by the amount that is actually reaching the exterior of the unit.

What is Ecology?

The study of interactions between organisms and their environment - How these abiotic and biotic factors interact

Biotic and Abiotic Elements

The living things in an ecosystem are called biotic factors - People, animals, plants The nonliving parts of an ecosystem are called abiotic factors - Sunlight, temperature, atmospheric gases, water and soil, air

Thermal Mass

Thermal mass is the ability of a material to absorb and store heat energy. A lot of heat energy is required to change the temperature of high density materials like concrete, bricks and tiles. They are therefore said to have high thermal mass. Lightweight materials such as timber have low thermal mass. Second Law of Thermodynamics - Heat always moves from a place of being hotter, to a place that is more cold - Thermal mass - passive - Anything that has mass can store heat

U-Value

Thermal transmittance, also known as U-value, is the rate of transfer of heat through a structure (which can be a single material or a composite), divided by the difference in temperature across that structure. The units of measurement are W/m²K. The better-insulated a structure is, the lower the U-value will be.

Porous and open grid paving

These solutions help mitigate the heat island effect Different types of asphalt - porous asphalt - rain will be able to hit it and infiltrate it whereas with standard asphalt nothing is being absorbed - previous surface - allows for infiltration rather than run off - imperious surface - promotes run off water instead of infiltration open grid paving - this reduced or eliminates storm water pollution because it is a permeable paving solution - open grid system that one can walk or drive on, but grasses and other vegetation can grow in the spaces between the concrete, this creates a permeable surface for rain water and storm water to infiltrate the ground

Ozone

a colorless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odor and powerful oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light. It differs from normal oxygen (O2) in having three atoms in its molecule - Montreal Protocol

Underfloor Airflow Distribution

Underfloor air distribution (UFAD) is an air distribution strategy for providing ventilation and space conditioning in buildings as part of the design of a HVAC system. ... UFAD is appropriate for a number of different building types including commercials, schools, churches, airports, museums, libraries etc.

VOC's

Volatile Organic Compounds - Indoor pollution causes VOC's, they very closely mimic compounds that your body can absorb, your body can inhale these pollutants and because they're volatile organic in your bodies, they will merge with your body tissue a lot easier - sources of VOC's: Formaldehyde, Biological Agents

Strategies to reduce water needed for irrigation

WEc1 Water Efficient Landscaping - limit potable water used for irrigation - Strategies - - Reduce potable water consumption for irrigation - No potable water use or irrigation - Baseline = conventional local practices - Typical sprinkler systems are not as effective as we think Irrigation efficiency - drip line - Tape or tube that has small holes in it and it lies underneath the plant and right at the base, can be laid right into the soil or buried into the soil - When you turn on the irrigation, the lines are filled up and the plant takes what it needs, the water is delivered right there near the root - We can really control the use of water - Plant can make better use of it Captured rainwater - store it in a tank, filtration system in the tank, and then being able to use this directly to irrigate your plants Water sensors - its compiling weather data so it knows when its going to rain and it automatically tells the system to not go on, can also have this in the soil and it will turn on the sprinkler and drip systems as needed Xeriscaping - by using native plants that are adapted to the local region, the idea is that these plants are already adapted to survive based on normal rainfall in the area, so you don't need any irrigation - Using extremely drought tolerant plants such as succulents and cacti and native wild flowers to be able to construct landscapes that need no irrigation whatsoever

Green House Effect

When heat from the surface is trapped be the atmosphere Rapid climate changes due to global warming subsequently affect o Sea levels o Water resources o Food supplies o Ecosystems o Human health o Societal economics Greenhouse gases help to warm the earth by retaining some of the infrared radiation. o Ex: burning fossil fuels, cutting down forests, emitting CFCs (refrigerants) combusting of fuel from cars and industry - all of these emit greenhouse gases o These build up in our atmosphere, and the amount of radiation that hits the earths atmosphere without being able to escape, it bounces back into the earth and creates the greenhouse affect (cooking of our planet) Overall cooking of our planet causes dramatic shifts in our earth's climate - ex: melting ice caps, holds a lot of fresh water, melt, seal levels rise, currents change, more violent storms, changes in the balance of our cycle

Biomass

a form of renewable energy Biomass refers to any type of natural plant or living matter that we are able to convert to fuel - a biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, it can be either used directly or converted into other energy products such as biofuel. Industrial biomass can be grown from a number of plants - miscanthus, switchgrass, hemp, corn, etc Biopower - the use of biomass to generate electricity through direct-firing, cofiring, gasifications, pyrolyis and anaerobic digestion sources of biomass: - agricultural crops and residues - sewage - municipal solid waste - animal residues - industrial residues - forestry crops and residues

Hydrocarbons

are one of the Earth's most important energy resources. The predominant use of hydrocarbons is as a combustible fuel source. (burning, combusting fuel source) Hydrocarbons are economically important because major fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, and its derivatives such as plastics, paraffin, waxes, solvents and oils are hydrocarbons.

Light pollution strategies

even light is better and lighting lower surfaces instead of up lighting helps preserve the night sky night pollution means were using more electricity at night and this can affect animals and our sleep cycles

Strategies to reduce interior building water use

innovative wastewater technologies help reduce the generation of wastewater and potable demand - option 1: reduction (from EPAct baseline) in potable water use for building sewage conveyance - option 2: onsite water treatment to tertiary standards - highest form of wastewater treatment and includes removal of organics, solids and nutrients example case studies: bronx zoo using composting toilets, and the Solaire in BPC using an onsite waste water system

Standardized Testing Agency - ISO (International Organization for Standardization)

is the world's largest developer and publisher of International Standards. It's a network of the national standards institutes of 162 countries, one member per country, with a Central Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, that coordinates the system. The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes etc) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water or land); (b) comply with applicable laws, regulations and other environmentally oriented requirements, and (c) continually improve in the above.

Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC)

measure of a window's effectiveness in blocking heat Fenestration and energy performance - Fenestration (windows) characteristics that affect energy performance are - U-factor - Solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) - Visible transmittance (VT or Tvis) - properties of the glass itself in the windows - Air leakage (AL) rating - how airtight is it? - Dynamic glazing windows, or smart windows, that conserve energy by responding to environmental conditions or work schedules

How to reduce energy?

passive design strategies, better insulated building envelopes, commissioning agents, better HVAC, renewable energy

Point Source Pollution

pollution that comes from a specific site - example: factory chimney or sewage pipe - very direct cause and effect when it comes to where the source of pollution is - example: water pollution from an oil refinery wastewater discharge outlet, noise pollution from a jet engine, disruptive seismic vibration from a localized seismic study, light pollution from an intrusive street light - common result of all this pollution in the air can be known as industrial smog or photochemical smog

Anthropocene

relating or denoting to the global geological age because of human factors on the globe and climate Comparable to the prehistoric or ice age, Anthropocene is just as significant Causes of the Anthropocene o The US represents less than 5% of the worlds population but emits about 25% of the global emissions of carbon dioxide o Greenhouse Gases - A greenhouse gas (GHG) is a gas in the atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. As one of the most dominant Greenhouse Gases in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide in large amounts is significantly contributing to global climate changes. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. o Particles that accumulate in our atmosphere o Water vapor and ozone are natural o carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide and others are unnatural o absorb radiation and emit thermal radiation

Three Pillars of Sustainability

social, environmental, and economic health

Nonpoint Source Pollution

the result of the combined effect from various sources - example: water pollution in a pond could be the result of toxins from a nearby landfill, pesticides used on farmland, and/or poisons from the residue of rainwater - urban runoff: contaminated storm water that's washed off of parking lots, roads, highways, and lawns

Triple Bottom Line

the triad definition of sustainability - people, planet, profit - having solutions that are equitable for people, promoting stewardship for our planet, and economic prosperity