Embodied Energy Comparison Proposal
Summary statement:
Green building has risen in popularity around the world and is leading the way to a better future. Is this technology green from start to finish? How does embodied energy of building materials for a green home compare to a conventional wood frame home? These materials may produce a greener more sustainable home, but does that alone make up for how much energy may go into manufacturing these materials. There are many different materials that go into constructing a home, but not all of them have been proven to be green.
Purpose:
The building green concept definitely produces an energy efficient home, but what about before those materials arrive at the construction site. The purpose is to find out how the embodied energy of materials in green homes differs from the traditional wood frame home. It’s also important to determine whether or not the way these materials are transported is more or less green.
Goals and Objectives:
· Determine if there is a big difference in the embodied energy of a wood frame home and a net zero energy home.
· Interpret statistics on how much embodied energy there is in producing and transporting and extracting different materials and applications in these homes.
· Establish how the energy input differs in the construction of the two types of buildings. Find out how different material affects how quickly or effectively a project is completed.
· Evaluate how green a home is after determining the embodied energy.
Methodology and analytical approach:
· Extract information from various publications, and sources.
· Research embodied energy of the individual components of each home.
· Calculate energy of transportation and production combined.
· Apply information to specific type of home.
· Convey the information in a detailed report.
Previous Studies:
Previous studies show calculations of embodied energy of materials without a lot of application to the building. This project will provide a conclusion of how embodied energy affects the overall process of construction. The knowledge gathered from these studies will help to define a green building and will show how green these building actually are.
Plans for dissemination of work:
Discussions on the topic and the different ideas amongst peers in the same area of study; Provide a blog allows others from all over to give their input on the topic. This allows a broader audience to access the information researched and quickly provide their feedback. Professionals in the field are another great source of people to discuss ideas with.
Summary statement:
Green building has risen in popularity around the world and is leading the way to a better future. Is this technology green from start to finish? How does embodied energy of building materials for a green home compare to a conventional wood frame home? These materials may produce a greener more sustainable home, but does that alone make up for how much energy may go into manufacturing these materials. There are many different materials that go into constructing a home, but not all of them have been proven to be green.
Purpose:
The building green concept definitely produces an energy efficient home, but what about before those materials arrive at the construction site. The purpose is to find out how the embodied energy of materials in green homes differs from the traditional wood frame home. It’s also important to determine whether or not the way these materials are transported is more or less green.
Goals and Objectives:
· Determine if there is a big difference in the embodied energy of a wood frame home and a net zero energy home.
· Interpret statistics on how much embodied energy there is in producing and transporting and extracting different materials and applications in these homes.
· Establish how the energy input differs in the construction of the two types of buildings. Find out how different material affects how quickly or effectively a project is completed.
· Evaluate how green a home is after determining the embodied energy.
Methodology and analytical approach:
· Extract information from various publications, and sources.
· Research embodied energy of the individual components of each home.
· Calculate energy of transportation and production combined.
· Apply information to specific type of home.
· Convey the information in a detailed report.
Previous Studies:
Previous studies show calculations of embodied energy of materials without a lot of application to the building. This project will provide a conclusion of how embodied energy affects the overall process of construction. The knowledge gathered from these studies will help to define a green building and will show how green these building actually are.
Plans for dissemination of work:
Discussions on the topic and the different ideas amongst peers in the same area of study; Provide a blog allows others from all over to give their input on the topic. This allows a broader audience to access the information researched and quickly provide their feedback. Professionals in the field are another great source of people to discuss ideas with.
Great site Ellisa. Just one question, What is the definition of Embodied Energy?
ReplyDeleteThis is a really neat topic Ellissa. Are you planning on using the net zero house in Kamloops as your example of a net zero home? Or are you going to make your own design?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to see how "green" our dream home actually is, and also by using that for an example you would have a reference point to calculate transportation costs.
Can't wait to see how it turns out!
~Samantha
Embodied energy is the energy required to extract, manufacture and transport a building's materials as well as the energy required to assemble and finish it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam, Yes I've decided to use the net zero home here in Kamloops. Since there are many different types of different green building envelopes, I'm choosing to study the one applied in that home. It will allow me to produce more accurate results, because we know more about it. It would also be interesting to see how that green home measures up to another green application like strawbale.
ReplyDelete