PrintSummary & Activities
This lesson overviews the key aspects of high performance buildings. The bottom line here is that different systems inside the building require specific technical knowledge, so creating a sustainable building is a collaborative, multi-expert task. All of the design and technology efforts typically target two main directions: resource use efficiency and human health. Because of the complexity of building design, assessment of buildings requires a comprehensive framework, such as LEED, which was adopted as a universal metric set in the U.S. It is not the only certification system for buildings, but is probably the most well known and widely used in assessment of public facilities and large common use buildings. While we do not go through every step of the LEED system here, we explore a few common metrics and study several examples. The design + technology collaborative thinking made a Net Zero Energy Building a reality, so this lesson also took a brief tour of that concept.
| Type | Assignment Directions | Submit To |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | Complete all necessary reading assigned in this lesson. | |
| Forum Discussion |
Read the web-article "The Future of Green Buildings May Be Closer than You Think" about the net-zero-energy building philosophy. Write a short post (<200 words) expressing your opinion on the following question: What are three most important features/qualities of a net-zero-energy building? Defend your opinion, presenting another example of such a building found on the web. Provide comment to at least one other post by your classmates. |
Canvas: Lesson 7 Discussion |
| Activity |
A. Perform a simple energy audit of your current house or residence and calculate the following LEED metrics: (a) energy use intensity (EUI) in kBtu/sf/year, (b) greenhouse gas emissions (GGE) in lb CO2e/sf/year. Compare your results to the numbers in LEED case studies in Section 7.2 of this lesson. Deadline: Wednesday (before midnight) - check Canvas calendar for specific deadlines. |
Canvas: Lesson 7 Activity |
References:
Green Building: Project Planning and Cost Estimating, RSMeans, John Wiley & Sons Inc., 2011.
Hakkinen, T., Helin, T., Antuna, C., Supper, S., Schiopu, N., and Nibel., S., Land Use as an Aspect of Sustainable Building, International Journal of Sustainable Land Use and Urban Planning, 1, 21-41 (2013).