Energy
From Sustainable Building Resource
Measures taken during the planning and design phases of development can reduce energy consumption throughout the life cycle of a building.
Orientation Orientation has a significant impact on building performance. Particularly in terms of solar gain
Renewables Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources — such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat — which are renewable (naturally replenished). Your experiences with using renewable energy sources would be greatly appreciated here.
[edit] Heating system
Heating can be delivered in a number of ways these are explored further by clicking through
Conventional heating systems can be run on a variety of primary sources:
Insulation
Heat energy needs to be managed. Sometimes we need to keep it in, other times out. Insulation is the key to this and there are many different types. So Energy Efficiency is key to ensuring that buildings are as low impact as possible.
Embodied energy Most energy standards overlook the amount of energy needed to create and transport the products required for a building project. In the past this has been acceptable because the amount of energy used in occupation far outstripped the energy required for manufacture, but as occupation energy demand levels drop so the percentage of the total energy bill for a building accounted for by embodied energy rises. Care must therefore be taken when choosing materials.
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