Low-emission buildings – the target structure with zero carbon emissions (2023)

Low carbon buildings are frameworks designed and built with reduced carbon materials that improve the energy performance of UK buildings.

Whatever the truth about the proportion of man-made global warming versus natural causes, there is no doubt that we are burning more hydrocarbon fuels and causing more pollution than ever before.

This affects climate change and causes environmental degradation. As more fossil fuels are extracted, the demand for them increases, which drives up prices. Most fossil fuels are now imported. leading to dependence, so there are very good economic and political arguments for reducing the use of hydrocarbons and fossil fuels.

Buildings account for about half of the country's total fuel consumption, half of which is accounted for by commercial buildings. Reducing that number is probably easier for large buildings built by BCSA members, and REIDsteel is one of those members.

Unless buildings become more efficient, the policy goal of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 cannot be met.

There are five ways to reduce the burning of hydrocarbon fuels in buildings:

one.Reducing the amount of "carbon embedded" materials used in the original construction of the building.
and.Increasing the efficiency of the use of commercial buildings.
Do.Recycling of materials at the end of a building's life.
Hello.Obtaining energy from sources other than the combustion of hydrocarbons.
M.Offsetting the building's carbon content by saving carbon elsewhere.

How to use low carbon building materials in your building:

Concrete and steel emit carbon dioxide during their production. If all the steel used in a construction project were new and made from imported ore in a blast furnace, then the carbon content of the steel would be as high as concrete. Fortunately, steel is almost 100% recyclable, and reuse has a much lower carbon content.

Therefore, steel-framed buildings and structures contain less carbon than their concrete cousins ​​(40% of steel is considered "new" and 60% is recycled; however, almost all embedded steel will be recycled).

Steel buildings are often smaller and lighter than concrete structures. Suspended floors can be made of concrete slabs or prefabricated hollow core slabs and overlays, or thinner concrete poured over a steel floor. Research shows that the thinner the steel floor plate, the less carbon it will contain.

An alternative is the use of wooden frames, which, unlike steel and concrete, absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when producing wood. In addition to the energy used for logging, transport and processing, wood therefore has a negative carbon footprint. If all the wood at the end of its life is burned in a waste-processing plant, the use of the wood would be very positive. but wood has an Achilles heel.

Only a small percentage of the tree becomes structural timber. Rotting wood emits some of its carbon as methane, which is 25 times more dangerous as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. If only 4% of the tree rots in this way, the global warming potential will be the same as burning the entire tree. The wooden frame is also very expensive and is best stored in places where the aesthetic value is high.

Even there, steel cladding is more effective than using bare wood or glulam. Therefore, steel buildings in practice usually contain low levels of carbon. Of course, REID's high performance steel structures are built to eliminate waste and are more sustainable than most.

How to increase the efficiency of the use of commercial buildings:

one.Reduction of air leakage - Large, continuous areas of double sheets or sandwich panels that are properly attached and sealed cause very little air leakage. All eaves, corners, ridges and joints above masonry walls have air gaps that require good finishing and good construction to minimize leakage.

Windows, doors, vents, structural penetrations through the bulkhead all have joints to allow leakage. Keeping them to a minimum and improving their detail and assembly will help minimize air leaks. Good fillers and sealants can significantly reduce air leakage. Generally, the joints of translucent sheets with sheet metal are more difficult to seal properly.

and.The door can be opened and closed quickly, minimizing opening time.

Do.Increasing the thermal insulation of the case - This can be done with thicker fiberglass or polyisocyanurate foam, although increasing the thickness may result in a decrease in performance.:.

Hello.Reduction of thermal bridges - again, every door, window and vent will transfer heat through the coating. In particular, structural steel passing through the coating can conduct heat and requires a thermal break. The fewer such thermal bridges, the better.

M.White or light-colored sheets reflect more heat on summer days and give off less heat in winter or at night. For example, in a sunny climate, white leaves can reach temperatures of 50 degrees C and dark leaves can reach as high as 100 degrees. If the inside temperature is 25 degrees, using a white sheet you will get 3 times less solar energy gains.

eatCarefully balance the need for windows and translucent cladding - they transmit between 1.5 and 3 W/degree C/m². Compare that to 0.25 W for roofing sheets. 10% translucent loses or transmits the same amount of heat as the rest of the roof. The same applies to windows. These figures do not include "solar gain", which is the heating of the interior by sunlight passing through translucent material or glass. can give intense heating. Various expensive coatings can reduce this. and a sun visor (brise soleil) will also reduce direct sunlight. Accurately calculating the need for light and heating or cooling will determine whether natural light is a benefit or a cost. Natural light passing through the walls provides less solar gain than through the roof, because the sun shines from above. and translucent on the roof lose more heat because the air higher up in the building is warmer.

G.Efficient lighting and interior fittings will reduce energy consumption.

the.Warm air rises to the ceiling and can be directed downwards with sock fans or layer nozzles.

I.Different finishes on south-facing walls can trap heat that can be used to heat rooms. An example is the "Solar Wall". The holes in the dark outer sheet can allow air to enter the space behind it and then be warmed by the sun. This warm air can then be pumped to heat buildings.

I.Buildings can be built with "green roofs" with insulation followed by a membrane over which soil or other growing medium is laid. The appropriate plants are then planted. This can absorb carbon dioxide (but be very careful here. Planting grass that is then cut and mowed turns CO2 into vegetation and then into methane, which is 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide). "Green roofs" are expensive and require maintenance. but they also limit heat transfer through the roof, so they have value.

Packages of measures called "Target Zero", developed by Corus, are available. Providing three steps to reduce carbon emissions, increase costs and reduce value. so you have to stay on the first step.www.targetzero.info.

How to recycle building materials at the end of a building's life:

In an ideal world, wooden structures would be chipped and the wood reused or burned in a power plant. Although most of it can be burned on site or sent to landfill. Storing is extremely harmful because wood can rot for years and produce large amounts of methane, 25 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.

There is little that can be done with concrete other than breaking it down and using it as a road base, which consumes energy. It can be difficult to recover the steel content because concrete cannot be recycled commercially. A similar problem occurs with masonry walls as the product has a low value (down-cycling).

Metal buildings are almost entirely recyclable. Ceiling beams, rails and frames can be melted down to make new steel, and this requires 3 times less energy than making new steel. The steel cladding can also be recycled. Although foam filled sandwich panels are difficult due to their chemical content, deck style composite concrete floors are difficult to recycle and tend to end up in landfills, although at least they are thinner than regular concrete floors. The recovery rate of steel buildings is around 94%!

How to obtain energy from sources other than hydrocarbons:

one. Ground source heat pumps– Pipes buried in the ground should be used to distribute water over large areas. Thanks to this, it is possible to extract heat from the ground. Alternatively, the heat pump used in the refrigerator can extract heat from the water and use it for heating. . This is an effective process, especially if there is a moving water table in the ground. Although the disadvantage of this is the initial cost and the need to program the installation with the builder. Some experts believe that this is the only energy saving system that will pay for itself in a reasonable time.

si. Air source heat pumps– Taking heat from outside to heat buildings. This can be used in radiators, floor heating systems or hot air ducts. They are less economical to operate, because the calorific value of air is much lower than that of soil or water.

Down. Combined heat and power, CHP– Generation of electricity and useful heat by means of a heat engine or power plant device. Most energy generation methods produce heat that is usually wasted in the atmosphere. For example in cooling towers, diesel radiators and turbine cooling systems, etc. This heat can be reused in industrial greenhouses, heating homes and buildings, etc. If the plant is properly designed to generate its own energy, to distribute the waste heat where it is needed, the combination of heat and carbon dioxide-producing energy will be reduced, which is being effectively implemented in several places.

Hi. Biomass power plants– This renewable energy source comes from various energy sources such as wood, waste, landfill gas, alcohol fuels and garbage. Wood energy, and even wood grown for this purpose, is directly used to obtain "overlay" wood. It can be burned to produce heat and electricity. Farms can use manure and rotting vegetation to produce methane. It is then burned to produce energy or ethanol. Biomass boilers – Biomass can be classified as a renewable energy source that can be burned for heating in special boilers. Biomass boilers can generally burn wood chips, wood pellets, grain, or a combination of fuels. In this way, instead of gas, coal or oil, heat is generated.

M. Wind generators– It is a device that extracts energy from the wind and is used to generate electricity. On a larger scale, this can cost twice as much per watt as normal generation, and requires 100% support because wind doesn't always blow on cold or hot days.

eat Solar heating– These systems are a popular way of using renewable energy technology. This may work effectively for water heating, but probably not for space heating or cooling. This is more popular in countries with hot climates and can easily be used for water heating and cooking. See also 6 hours above.

G. Solar energy production– This source of electricity is generated by the sun and fed into existing electricity grids. In countries with warm climates, solar energy can be collected by mirrors to heat water. The water can then be boiled to generate steam to drive turbines that generate electricity. They can be very thermally efficient and are designed to store heat to produce it at night.

h. Photovoltaic cells– It is a direct conversion of light into electricity. They are expensive to produce and require solar radiation to function, so they need 100% support. They were created to save carbon dioxide emissions and are supposed to absorb electromagnetic energy to generate heat, although they only convert 10% of this energy into usable electricity. The rest becomes infrared heat. Exactly at the frequency that CO2 and CH4 get trapped in the upper atmosphere, causing global warming.

I. Hydroelectric– A good, clean method of generating electricity, provided there is plenty of water. This can be done on a small scale if a high-pressure water source is available. Unfortunately we don't have enough of it in the UK and a low pressure drop hydrophore rarely works economically (see h. below).

j. Too many falsies“It is an almost inexhaustible source of energy, although still in its infancy. There is still no proven method of generating energy and economically sending it to consumers.

Mr. Tidal Force– Uses tidal energy to convert energy into electricity or other forms of energy. This works in some parts of the world but involves a huge tidal rise and fall as it is necessary and small warheads are very expensive to manufacture. Nuclear fission – when generating energy for nuclear power, it is currently the only viable way to generate the amount of electricity we need without burning hydrocarbons. It has the disadvantage of producing radioactive waste that will last for 10,000 years. It currently costs little more than electricity from fossil fuels, especially when decommissioning and waste disposal costs add up. Although there is political opposition as London gets its electricity from Electricte De France (EDF) which generates 75% of its electricity from nuclear power. The waste problem is not insurmountable, nor is any other problem, except that we have lost know-how over the years of inactivity.

big. "Green" Energy Market– By generating your own energy and using natural resources, this electricity or heat can be described as zero or low carbon energy. Most users will not be able to micromanufacture cost-effectively. but it is already possible to buy energy from "green" suppliers, usually at high costs. Such a commitment could offset the carbon content associated with the operation of the building.

How to offset the carbon dioxide generated during the construction or use of a building:

The government's plan is to achieve zero carbon construction in a short time using integrated materials like ours. Constructing a building using construction methods that are carbon neutral or carbon neutral is extremely costly and difficult, although there are sensible methods that can achieve about half of that goal. However, construction will begin and the facility will be "carbon offsetting" elsewhere. The idea will be that the client will "offset" the remaining 50% of the building's carbon emissions by reducing its carbon use elsewhere.
See paragraph 8.

SUMMARY

Most of our energy comes from burning fossil fuels. This generates carbon dioxide and pollution, and consumes valuable and dwindling resources. Buildings of this type built by steel construction contractors consume about a quarter of the country's energy. You should save money on "embedded carbon" used in building structures, and steel framed buildings are the most "embedded carbon" way to achieve this.

There are a number of relatively cheap things you can do to improve ordinary construction buildings and then reduce the return on further expenses. Buildings need to be recycled at the end of their life to get the correct life cycle carbon cost, and steel buildings are recyclable. The government would like our buildings to be low carbon by 2020, but achieving 100% carbon reduction is impractical. This can be remedied by buying "green energy" or "offsetting" by saving carbon elsewhere.

REID steel buildings are most effective when designed to minimize "carbon materials" and support sustainability.