Towards a Climate-Friendly Built Environment pot

solutions Marilyn A. Brown Frank Southworth Therese K. Stovall OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY + + + + Towards a Climate-Friendly Built Environment [...]... developed a design tool that assigns points in the categories of site, water, energy, human factors, materials, and waste for both new and renovated facilities.27 This guide includes an impressive tool, the Minnesota Building Materials Database, for comparing the lifecycle impact of material alternatives.28 Green Building Initiative™: This initiative originated in the U.K and Canada and is now available... gases,” only HFCs are significantly related to buildings HFC emissions are increasing because of their use as replacements for CFCs, halons, and other ozone-depleting chemicals that damage the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer and are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol In particular, HFCs are used as refrigerants in refrigeration, chillers, and automobile air conditioning, and as blowing agents... early stages of development.24 Under LEED, building projects are awarded points in six categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, incorporation of local and recycled materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation and design process It has proved to be an effective voluntary standard, although some concerns exist regarding a lack of direct correlation... EIA’s industrial sector statistics); • The fuel used to transport construction and demolition materials (this is included in EIA’s transportation sector statistics); and 7 Towards a Climate-Friendly Built Environment + • The energy associated with urban sprawl—including passenger and freight transport and the construction and maintenance of low-density, dispersed infrastructures The fact that many building... generate about 3,500 megawatt hours per year—they are fueled by natural gas, but no combustion is involved and the byproducts are hot water and CO2 derived from natural gas In addition photovoltaic cells are being used to a limited degree to generate energy as an on-site demonstration The “thin-film” photovoltaic (PV) cells are integrated into the “spandels” on the building—the area of the façade between... heat-pump water heaters and ground-coupled heat pumps60 has been handicapped by limited access to equipment suppliers, installers, and repair technicians.61 The problem of access is exacerbated in the case of heating equipment and appliances, because they are often bought on an emergency basis, thereby limiting choices to available stock A survey of 639 consumers who had recently replaced their gas... northern plains, Northeast, and upper Midwest are primarily provided by natural gas However, several of these areas also have summer peaking demands for cooling and dehumidification Efficient building shells, HVAC systems, and appliances are the key to reducing building energy consumption in these regions Opportunities for photovoltaic, solar heating, and combined heat and power systems are capable of... such as energy efficiency and the amount that the consumer actually pays when a policy is implemented).40 + + 16 + Towards a Climate-Friendly Built Environment III Market Structure and Change Mechanisms A The Fragmented Buildings Industry The building industry comprises hundreds of thousands of firms designing, building, and maintaining the nation’s building stock and affecting its urban landscape Figure... articulated approach to influencing change.48 Only for large-scale commercial and mixed-use projects is the majority of the market dominated by a small number of large construction firms Numerous decision-makers are also involved in the design, operation, renovation, and repair of buildings An estimated 125,000 architects are licensed to participate in the design of buildings today, + and only a small... availability and ease of access to climate-friendly options The realty, financial, and insurance industries also can considerably influence the uptake of energy-efficient and climate-friendly building products The realty industry is considerably decentralized, although recent trends in national franchising of local offices may afford the opportunity for improving information dissemination through realty channels . Global Climate Change Marilyn A. Brown Frank Southworth Therese K. Stovall OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY June 2005 Towards a Climate-Friendly Built Environment + + + i T owar ds a Climate-Friendly. solutions Marilyn A. Brown Frank Southworth Therese K. Stovall OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY + + + + Towards a Climate-Friendly Built Environment