REDUCE. REUSE. RECYCLE.
Housing and construction are the two sectors which together have the highest environmental impact on our world. We will focus on the housing sector in this article, but we always emphasise the impact of the overall construction sector as the two are closely connected. We need infrastructure to have access to our houses, energy carriers to power our houses and dig more materials to build new infrastructure.
When policies (for housing and construction), industry standards and consumer behaviour do not change, meaning do not become more sustainable, we have major environmental and social problems at our hands.
Read more about what is sustainable housing and what does sustainability mean overall.
But let’s get back to the housing sector and how to limit its environmental impact.
We need to make a difference between new buildings and existing buildings as the methods for achieving sustainability and energy efficient are different.
Best practices for new buildings
REDUCE
- Design for energy efficiency
- Use the whole life-cycle approach for building
- Use of quality, low to zero building materials
- Reduction of material waste
- Use of smart solutions
- Use of renewable energy
REUSE
- Design for deconstruction
- Improvement of existing buildings
- Use of recycled materials
The most important factors for sustainable housing is design. Design will determine what will be the future sustainability footprint of the house, meaning the house’s carbon, water, ecological, and the social footprint.
1. Design with clear priorities.
Ideally, we should only build spaces we actually need and use.
2. Design with the whole life cycle approach in mind.
The whole life cycle approach refers to the stages across the processes for the provision of the products and services used in construction.
This is a support mechanism for the design phase that helps to analyse and calculate the environmental impact of the designed house. In case the priority is to design and build a sustainable house, all stages of the building life cycle need to be well thought through.
3. Use of quality, low to zero building materials
High quality materials extend the life-spam of the building and are a healthier option for the house owners.
Low to zero building materials are potential carbon sinks that consume less energy during production and store carbon through photosynthesis. These are mainly sourced from harvested wood products. Lowering carbon emissions by choosing low to zero building materials can lower emissions from construction processes by up to 20% via limiting the emission from raw material extraction, raw material processing, melting, manufacturing to final products, and transportation to building sites.
4. Reduction of material waste
Up to 30% of building materials can end up on a landfill1. To minimalise waste from new buildings, the design of the house should allow waste-efficient procurement and optimisation of materials. Prefabrication of houses can also considerably reduce construction waste and make it as low as 1.5%.
5. Use of smart solutions
The use of smart home solutions can save approximately 10-15% on energy usage. Some companies selling smart solution claim to save even up to 30% on energy. We do need to emhpasise the word “can” as smart solutions can also result in no savings if they are not set-up and used properly.
6. Use of renewable energy
Sun, wind, water and wood are the most commoN energy resources that regenerate. More specifically, read more about renewable energy sources here.
7. Design for deconstruction
The built environment accounts for approximately 50% of all world materials’ use. Design for deconstruction forces the decisions and building component designs made to increase the quality and quantity of materials that could be re-used at the end of a building’s life.
Best practices for existing buildings
There is a major problem with existing buildings’ energy efficiency. Approximately 75% of all existing buildings in the EU are energy inefficient2. What can be done about it?
1. Improvement of existing buildings
Renovation of existing buildings can have an enormous influence on energy savings. Especially when renewable energy and good quality, recyclable materials and technologies (LED lights, smart house system etc), are used in the process.
2. Change in user behaviour
Lowering heating temperatures and avoiding air-conditioning can make a huge difference in energy consumption. In addition to energy, water management can also make a big difference to our water and ecological footprint.