Friday, September 09, 2011
Caroline has finished her report on
the Architecture of (Net) Zero Emissions Housing.
Caroline was delighted to be awarded one of the 2009 Byera
Hadley Travelling Scholarships to consider the architecture of
(net) zero emissions housing. Her key motivation was to develop a
broad understanding of the regulatory, technical and design aspects
such architecture occurring in various parts of the world, and see
if they might be appropriate for Australia.
Broadly speaking, net zero emissions housing aims to result in
net zero energy consumption and net zero carbon emissions annually.
The definitions mainly vary around the boundaries of what is
included in the calculations.
Can and should Australia look towards the idea of net zero
emissions housing? And if so, what are the major issues particular
to Australia that should be considered? The places and people she
visited were chosen for reasons of excellence in their own right
and relevance to Australia with regards to climate and culture.
During Caroline's research it was pointed out that she should
change the title of her research to the Architecture of
Net Zero Emissions Housing. This focuses
on the outcome of annual energy use, recognising that most houses
are part of larger systems to which they sometimes contribute, and
at other times take from. She became convinced that achieving
net zero emissions over the year is a
more sustainable and achievable objective in the urban world in
which most of us live.
Even while undertaking the research, the situations in various
countries were changing and will continue to adapt to their diverse
environmental, economic and political situations. There are also
many countries that she was not able to visit in the time she had.
Her report is therefore not a complete compendium on the subject,
but does give a strong flavour of what is happening in a number of
key areas in the world, relevant to Australia.
As a result of her research, Caroline has been convinced that
Australia is very well placed to be able to achieve net zero
emissions for its housing.
Caroline believes this will be essential in the provision of
affordable, comfortable housing in a low carbon future; a well
trained workforce with exportable skills; a building industry able
to compete in a global economy; and the development of effective
renewable energy systems.
She believes that we will need to regulate to achieve net zero
emissions housing. This regulation will need to be carefully
designed to anticipate and deal with the many complexities that
surround this issue.
The overarching framework for regulation should be designed to
equitably account for the collective impact of the emissions over
the life of a building, including those resulting from operational
and embodied energy. The issue of household transport energy is one
being discussed in car-reliant America, and seems relevant (and
difficult!) here in Australia.
In order to achieve net zero emissions, renewable energy needs
to be provided for the energy use that cannot be avoided. Caroline
believes this should be required to be provided on-site or
near-site, as the costs for doing this will help prioritise energy
efficient construction. Regulations need to encourage and enable
the successful installation of renewable energy options in these
locations, with more work to be done on assisting in the provision
of collective solutions.
It is critical that the solutions for zero emissions are
applicable at all levels of the housing supply chain - most
particularly for those on lower incomes. When considering what
"affordable" means, we need to consider all the costs that
contribute to the weekly bills - mortgage / rent; energy; water;
transport; and food. This is particularly relevant to the
development of more compact urban planning to support this
direction.
The ability to operate a house with net zero emissions is
ultimately down to the people who occupy them. People need to
choose to live in more efficient houses
and be willing and
able to operate them in their most
optimal way. Architects need to design and develop desirable homes,
that are spatially and thermally efficient, and that are intuitive
and clear in their operation. Good design seems to be the most
important investment to be made in order to create a sustainable
future, and enabling this needs to be embedded in all regulation to
do with the built environment.
The outcomes of the research and discussions with key
individuals raised a number of ideas that have prompted Caroline to
think about and refine how we practice architecture - both
regarding how we work and how we design. This is an important work
in progress that she hopes to continue to develop over the coming
years.