.png){kind=small}
Alongside decisions about the financial aspects of your building project you should also consider the value of comfort and wellbeing. Environmentally sustainable buildings will generally be easier to keep warm in winter, cool in summer, provide better levels of natural daylight and ventilation, and provide improved connection with the landscape and nature; factors that can provide real benefits for comfort and wellbeing.
What Factors Improve Sustainability & Wellbeing?
Insulation - Insulation is a general term for any building material used to reduce flow of heat. Many older buildings do not have any insulation within their walls, floors or roofs. There are various techniques and many different products available. There are three main factors affecting the effectiveness of any insulation material, firstly the performance of the given material, secondly the thickness used, and thirdly how well it has been installed to avoids gaps, air pockets and thermal bridging.
MVHR – Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery is a system that is generally a necessity in any highly thermally efficient building such as new Passive Houses and EnerPhit refurbishments. It works by pulling in cold air from the outside (assuming a UK winter), warming it through a heat exchanger with energy from exhaust air, and distributing it to all habitable spaces. The exhaust air is typically extracted via a separate set of ducts and used to preheat the incoming air before being exhausted to outside. This heat transfer will reverse in warm weather to cool the incoming air.
Heat Pump (cooling) - A heat pump is a form of renewable energy that extracts energy from a very small temperature differential in the surrounding environment. This energy is then consolidated and used to heat a building. The system uses a small amount of electricity, but is significantly more efficient than traditional heating systems. Variations of the heat pump include ground source that is typically only used on larger sites or in more rural contexts, air source that extracts energy from the air, and water source that extracts heat from a river or lake. Some heat pump installations can be reversed in summer to provide cooling instead of heating.
Renewable Energy – Apart from heat pumps, there are various other forms of renewable energy. Solar panels are split into two categories; solar thermal panels contain a liquid that is heated by the sun, then pumped to a tank to transfer its heat to a domestic hot water tank. Photovoltaic panels convert solar energy to electricity. This can either be used directly by the building, to charge parked vehicles, sold back to the national grid for use by others, or stored in batteries for use at a later date. Other technologies are less common in houses but include wind or water generators.
Daylight – Designing for good levels of natural light helps to reduce reliance on artificial lights and so minimises energy consumption. Creating well-lit spaces is not necessarily about the size of windows, it is more about how they are positioned. A well placed rooflight can provide twice as much daylight as a window in a wall of the same size. Natural light also provides benefits for physical and psychological health, and can help to enliven and animate a space as light levels adjust throughout days and different seasons.
Connection to Nature – The gardens and landscapes that surround a building have the potential to contribute positively to broader ecosystems and the biodiversity of their areas. Habitat roofs and planting beds can often also be incorporated into a design. Creating a sense of connection to planting and natural habitats can contribute to the comfort and wellbeing of a building’s inhabitants.
Natural Materials – The environmental impact of the materials used to construct a building and its interiors can have significant implications for sustainability and wellbeing. Some materials are known to be high in toxins and VOCs that can have health implications for building occupants. Many of these materials are also reliant on fossil fuels for their manufacture and may be difficult to recycle or dispose of safely once they have reached the end of their use. Careful selection of natural and non-toxic materials, with low embodied energy, can have significant benefits for people and the environment.
Saving Water – Water shortages have become more common in recent years and are predicted to increase in future. There is also an energy requirement to collecting, filtering and transporting water to the home. When designing a project for your home various steps can be taken to help reduce water usage. New appliances and fittings with water saving features can be selected. There may also be potential to design in rainwater collection and storage; this would generally be used to water lawns and plants during the summer months.