Categorie: embodied energy
The discussion keeps coming back: high-rise buildings or not. Cities and towns can’t resist falling in love with high towers.that is, the project developers and politicians. Last year I had the opportunity to explain to a council committee in Utrecht and to a mixed political audience in Eindhoven what is…
Recycled materials, once created their impact on the environment, in many forms, and if that (negative) impact is not repaired or compensated, those materials still carry an impact in a second life. In other words , they cannot be considered impact free resources at the time of recycling, at any…
In many countries there is discussion at the moment about measuring the environmental impact of building ( and living ). [1] On the one hand of course the (operational) energy consumption, and how to deal with limited CO2 emission budgets. But on the other hand even more on the environmental…
There is a lot of discussion in the Netherlands about how to assess buildings, if you integrate material impacts in addition to energy, as well as to somehow include CO2 budgets. There is already an instrument for this, the MPG, (materials performance Buildings) but it is under discussion. Besides, in…
Since we are in an energy transition , in which we completely switch to renewable energy, the energy at building level will mainly have to come from solar energy. We assume that, the more local energy the better, and a ‘0 energy house’, including compensation for material energy, to be…
It is common in construction to normalize per m2 floor: such as e.g. energy, material, ventilation needs, or even costs and investments. But when it comes to the national requirements for housing in fact you should not calculate per m2 floor. Because it’s not about the impact per 1 m2…
Last week, two interesting reports were published analysing how regulations can better support ‘sustainable’ material use. Very esteemed colleagues, united in a Dutch ‘Gideons tribe’ to make the buildings sector move faster, have been working on this. [1] I can agree in general with the contents and analyses ( to…
Last week I published a letter in the Netherlands, in which I indicated that about 800,000 hectares of land would be needed for the construction of new homes. That’s how it works in a transition: We have to significantly reduce the impact of building. And it is becoming increasingly clear…
There is growing need for information of embodied energy impacts. As I argued in a Linkedin article last week: Needed: A international Embodied Energy Data Authority’.* But here I want to address the lack of data for especially installations. Mainly due to the need to develop energyneutral or energy positive…
Before we hurry covering everything with solar panels, let’s reason a bit further, because since my first experiences with renewable energy, many new insights have emerged. Those first experiences I had when building a “Bicycle wheel windmill”, as described in the “Windwerkboek” of the time. [1] ( Wind Work Guide)….
