Passive Design Strategies/ Passivehaus- April 4th

Seminar Leaders- Caitlin, Chelsey, Lesley, Leanza, Neda, Jessica, Tyler, Andy, Dale, Kent, Kalika

Thermal Behaviour of an Earth-Sheltered Autonomous Building- The Brighton Earthship- This article discusses the use of sustainable and renewable resources in housing units. The housing unit that was focused on was called the Brighton Earthship, this housing unit relies on only passive design strategies to support the inhabitants. The energy for the home comes from solar and wind power from outside, there is also a sewage water system that cleans the water for the toiletries and for water plants. The house is heated and cooled entirely with the heat from the earth and the sun that is captured. The housing unit is made of mostly recycled materials, mainly of tired and cans/bottles. The article discusses the first tests done on an Earthship and it showed that summers were quite hot within the house and fairly cool in the winter months. It also showed that these housing systems need time to charge and store heat for winter months, therefore will take some time before they are ready for living. The energy efficiency of the unit allows for the Earthship to be off the grid and it is its own, " Independent Vessel." (Ip et al. 2009, 2037). 1

2) Brighton Earthship home

Developing Green Housing- The main topic of discussion was passive design strategies and how these designs are applied to buildings. A passivehaus is a building that is entirely self sufficient and relies on very little or no energy sourcing. For this method of building, the designer studies the site and uses pre-existing conditions to their advantage within the building. Some ways are to create south facing windows to capture the winter sun to warm the house in the winter, but the windows have high eaves to block the hot summer sun, helping to cool the building. Also positioning trees and vegetation strategically can dramatically cool a  building and block out unwanted sun. Also the article discusses passivehausing through prefab buildings. Prefab buildings are ones that are already made off site, just the pieces are quickly joined together onsite. Prefab homes are becoming more popular and are an affordable living space for lower income homes. Prefab homes use to be set to specific standards that were not site specific, however today they are extremely flexible and allow homeowners to easily adjust their home when the space is needed, etc. Prefab homes are being incorporated more with passivehausing and are great compact living spaces that are sustainable.3

4) Passivehaus design proposal

Class Discussion- 
About Earthship, off the grid, passive housing
Would you ever live in one of these houses and why or why not?
-There needs to be a consideration with flooding the the areas and what the water table is like since the unit is inserted into the earth.
-These units are located in more remote locations and as education teaches you, it is more sustainable to live in densely packed urban settings, it feels against what education teaches
-Is there a size restriction based on heating the home? Yes, this impacts how many people may live in this dewling due to its smaller size.
-Some of the homes are decorated with non appealing materials, which some residents may not get passed, however some of the units are extremely well furnished and made, it is hardly noticeable that it is a passive housing unit.
-More research is needed to be done before the decision to live there is made.

If you were to commission a passive house, would you chose: Prefabricated passive housing, or site specific architecture?
-Site specific because it is made to utilize all the preexisting site conditions which would be pretty much impossible to get from something pre made.
-Could do site specific investigations then create a prefabricated home then bring it to the site.
-Passive housing systems that are made from prefab are much more defined today and flexible, they have a wide variety of choices for areas that can fit many sites. Still today accommodating everyones needs and wishes is impossible, but maybe it wont be in the future.
-The stigma with prefab homes is a horrible set back to the progress they have made and should not be diminished because of the stigma. '

Which of the passive design strategies would work best and worst in Winnipeg?
-Rain water/ Snow harvesting for water sources
-All of them could be incorporated
-Solar
-Can create a backup system for capturing sun during summer then using it in winter.
-Vegetation is least because there is very little growing season time. Only certain plants can thrive here.

Could Passive housing development work in Winnipeg? What if Waverley West was made of passive housing instead?
-This could increase the building popularity of it.
-There are building codes that need to be complied with, therefore these could limit the amount of passive design strategies.

Have you had any changes in your stance on design, or how you envision yourself designing in the future?
Personal Reflection- Yes I have had changes in where I stand because of this course. I never personally realized how many issues buildings caused until this year and I am sure not many other people know this when they first get into this career path. When I applied to the faculty of Architecture, I was envisioning on becoming a famous architect because I created some beautiful buildings, but now I realize this career is so much more. This is the time to help the world a make a difference and do it in a unique and designed way. Design does not need to be pulled from the subject just because you need to build a little greener, but the two studies, Ecology and Design can impact on another and work together. I have always been interested in microbiology and to this day I still debate switching into it for school, however this program from the way I see it now, will allow me to do both. Science and technology is coming together to work with living organisms in ways to create structures like the meat house or tree house discussed in previous blog posts. These two options and approaches can influence one another and create something the world has never seen before. The idea of passive design is great but I believe can be taken further. It should be taken to a completely new level that is not even thought possible because yes we as humans will find a way to make it happen somehow. Designing sustainably is great for now, but I encourage everyone to dig deeper and create something that is even better.


1) Ip, Kenneth, and Andrew Miller. "Thermal behaviour of an earth-sheltered autonomous building – The Brighton Earthship." Science Direct. 34. (2009): 2037-2043. www.elsevier.com/locate/renene (accessed April 4, 2013).
2) Unknown. WordPress.com, "Earthship Brighton Visit: September 2010." Last modified Unknown. Accessed April 4, 2013. http://landscapeisdonovan2.wordpress.com/earthship-brighton-visit/.
3) Unknown. "Building a Green Home. 147-202. www.worldchanging.com/shelter
4) Kain, Alexandra. Inhabitat.com, "Bird Island: Zero Energy Home in Kuala Lumpur Read more: Bird Island: Zero Energy Home in Kuala Lumpur | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building ." Last modified Unknown . Accessed April 4, 2013. http://inhabitat.com/bird-island-by-graft-lab/.

Sustainable Resources: Energy and Greenhouse Gases- April 4th

Seminar Leaders: Ian, Taylor, Sam, Derek, Chad, Krystal

Sustainable Infrastructure: The Guide to Green Engineering and Design- This article discusses the current problems the world is experiencing with energy. Energy is in many different forms all around us and is constantly switching forms, humans harvest this energy from the different forms it comes in. Todays energy strategy for harvest is very unstable, fragile and inefficient.

"2/3 fuel energy to generate electricity is lost before it gets to your house. 90% of the energy dug out of the ground as coal is wasted before it can do any useful work. An ordinary incandescent light bulb loses 90% of its energy as heat, using only 10% to produce light. The gasoline you put in your car loses 85% of its energy to combustion friction, and idling, while only 15% of the energy is used to actually more the weight of the car and the passengers.” (Page 167) 

Through harvesting energy for fossil fuels and such we are changing the global environment and making the future climates impossible to predict. To help save energy before it can be wasted simple design strategies can be done to optimize the use of energy. Buildings use the largest amount of energy in the world and produce the most GHG in return. To minimize this design strategies can help to lower the amount of energy a building needs. For example placing windows strategically to capture light but not heat in the summer and to help warm the building in winter. In order to create buildings that are more friendly to the environment, each one needs to be tailored specifically to its surroundings. Buildings could be designed with passive strategies which rely strictly on good design and do not require additional energy. 1

2) Passive Design Strategies to minimize energy use

Is the Use of Renewable Energy Sources an Answer to the Problems of Global Warming and Pollution?- When global warming first appeared, many people thought it was just a myth and chose not to believe it. Once it was realized that fossil fuels are causing global warming, no prevention was in place to replace it because fossil fuels are very cheap. Global Warming and the use of fossil fuels is becoming a big problem today and many of us think that using renewable energy to replace fossil fuels will solve the problem of global warming. People think this because scientists boast about how good these renewable sources are but yet have no evidence to support this knowledge. Because renewable energy sources are still fairly new, not many studies have been conducted on them to find out their impacts on the earth. This article reports that Geothermal plants reduce the production of CO2, however produce methane instead, which is 25 times that of CO2 , this means that the plants are producing double the CO2 equivalent. These renewable energy sources look good and like they are working because they produce little CO2, but in return produce more harmful chemicals. In the past people used renewable energy wisely, with no harm to the world, such as air drying clothes, bathing in water warmed by the sun, etc. Solar is the largest renewable energy source today and can be used to warm and heat things to create energy, however water is needed in order to cool it back down. The way solar power is captured could be with Central receivers, however this is a very dangerous process to people and to the environment. Also they release more GHGs then fossil fuels, plus cost more, increase environmental degradation and they alter nearby climates.  People need to seriously consider the consequences for using renewable energy because its use it becoming more popular, even without much knowledge of its consequences.3

4) How Central Receivers (Solar Panels) Work 

5) Image of Central Reciever

Class Discussion- 
What is renewable energy? 
-Energy attained from solar, wind and water which are natural resources and naturally occurring phenomenons. 
-Energy is unsustainable and cannot be created or destroyed

What is more important, being efficient in how we collect energy and how buildings operate or retake the energy we use?
-How we collect energy cannot be left up to society 
-We should encourage people to use less energy, we all have to work together
-There is tons of information on sustainable energy out there but yet people choose not to listen and we still have many problems, why? Could educating about ecology and design be implemented in a younger age, growing children to think about these things their whole lives? 
-Education could not be the problem, the society as a whole, or regions that use extensive amounts of energy, do not realize or understand the value of energy. In Europe energy costs more therefore causing them to be more efficient with the amounts they use, in order to save money. 
-When people are young you could basically tell ghost stories to children about wasting energy and scare them to make them permanently believe and know that wasting energy is bad. 
-We need to make people understand the effects of over using energy and what effects it has on the earth instead of just telling them it is bad. 
-People do not understand the extent that they are harming and damaging the earth with overuse of energy, they generally do not realize or care until they are older and paying for the energy themselves or when they are wiser. 
-If people think energy sources are now renewable and are told it is no longer bad to use it because it comes from a renewable resource, then nothing will change, they will continue to use the same amount of energy and not change but now think they are doing the earth a favour by using a different source for their energy production. 

What can you do today as an individual to relieve energy intake?
-turn off lights during the day when their is daylight or when you leave the room, walk and take public transportation systems, unplug appliances and things when they are not in use. 
-People are also not educated enough on what uses energy and how much products use. 
-There is always something anyone can do to help reduce energy demand, maybe this generation is too accustomed to this way of life and will never change, but that does not mean we cant raise future generations better and to be better. 
-We need to remember that change is the first step and it is always the hardest part. 
-People are generally lazy and choose convince over saving energy because there are no direct impacts on them and they do not directly see the good in if they do change. Therefore unless peoples lives are somehow improved, they will have no motivation to change. Personally after this seminar class I tried to start being more efficient about my energy usage and it is extremely hard and it is frustrating, especially when I cannot figure out why something isn't working because I unplugged it and it never is unplugged. Change is the hardest part and slowly it will happen, it just takes time. I am feeling better about myself now because I am helping the earth, it is a very small portion but it does help. 
-In some places prices do go up in energy, but the peoples energy usage does not decrease because they do these things because they have to, they do not have a choice, unless prices are through the roof, change may not come. Also raising prices can severely impact the less well off. 
-Designers can come into this process by designing better so people do not have to change. 
-Also when you pay for energy you could add in the cost or show people how much damage they cause to the earth. 

Based on the individual changes, how do you think this will affect the corporation in terms of producers and gathers? And how will this affect society?
-It is up to us as individuals to expect that 
-Maybe corporations this we don't care because no one tells them? 
-If everyone uses less energy, then these corporations do not need to create as much energy, also if they have a choice between a sustainable energy production system or a damaging one and more go for sustainability, then possibly the bad companies will change the way they produce energy to being green too. The will not get good business unless they go green so they will not have a choice. 
-Also there are ways people can produce energy for free at home that are ecologically friendly. 
-We need to make sure we elect the right people and make sure our government is doing the best things for us. In Winnipeg a new type of electric car is banned that is very economical, for what reasons? It is aloud in BC and in other regions, so why not here? Is this really an example of our government doing the best for us? 

Personal Reflection- Throughout out learning and reading about ways that energy could be saved, I realized that I personally do not know much about how much energy is being wasted and what actually uses how much energy. I never knew that a phone charger produces the same amount of energy when it is plugged in whether your phone is attached or not, also that light bulbs lose 90% of their energy as heat and only 10% creates light. These small numbers I have learned have caused me to look at things differently and do what I can to help the earth. There are some things I will not give up like always having my cellphone on or using public transportation always, but I now try to make small changes which who knows in the future could lead to big changes. This process has made me realize though that if I do not know all these facts, then probably many people also do not know. Educating people more about this type of problem I think could greatly impact people. Also starting it at a younger age and scaring children, which I know is mean but scaring them into thinking wasting energy is horrible could be not such a horrible thing for the future. 

1) Sarte, Bry. S. Sustainable Infrastructure- The Guide to Green Engineering and Design

2) Robertson, Craig. Smarter Homes, "Design Overview." Last modified 2013. Accessed April 1, 2013. http://www.smarterhomes.org.nz/design/design-overview/.

3) Abbasi, Tasneem, and S.A Abbasi. "Is the Use of Renewable Energy Sources an Answer to the Problems of Global Warming and Pollution?."Environmental Science and Technology . 42. no. 2 (2012): 22-154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2010.498754 (accessed April 1, 2013). 

4) Kaplan, George, M. Builditsolar.com, "Understanding Solar Connectors." Last modified Unknown . Accessed April 1, 2013. http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/Concentrating/SOLRCONC.HTM.

5) Meisen, Peter . Global Energy Network Institute, "The Solar Energy Potential of North Africa-Middle East vs. the Nuclear option." Last modified Unknown . Accessed April 1, 2013. http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/research/solar-energy-potential-of-mena/Solar-Energy-Potential-of-North-Africa-Middle-East.pdf.