At the very Basic level, we can say that, a sustainable house is one that has a significantly lower impact on the environment than a standard building.
This can be achieved with two key strategies:-
1. Reducing the amount of energy needed for the construction
2. Minimizing the building's reliance on energy once it is occupied.
How to achieve the first Strategy?
:) By selecting the materials that require little energy to extract or produce.
These are often natural resources such as Timber, Clay and Stones.
The sustainable home can also employ renewable, salvaged or recycled components that doesn't deplete the world's natural resources. There can be used local materials thereby reducing the carbon emitted during transportation and creating contextual buildings that express the local vernacular. Materials to be employed economically if smaller quantities are used. then less energy is needed for their extraction, production and transportation.
Chemical finishes should be avoided, as these require large amounts of energy to produce and release harmful fumes, degrading air quality.
Site impact
should be kept minimum, to help to support existing biodiversity and reducing the need for intrusive foundation work. This can be achieved by preventing unnecessary demolition of existing buildings, or by reducing the waste created during construction.The second strategy is about cutting energy consumption in the finished building.
For this it is important to include thermally massive materials, which store and release heat energy gradually over time. This will help to regulate the internal temperature of house. Insulation helps to keep a house cool in summer and trap heat inside in the winter. Solar energy can be gained by south facing glazing whereas use of protective shades gives a passive means to avoid excess heat in summer. Best use of natural daylight and using low-energy light fixtures when artificial lighting is required will save energy. Natural ventilation can be gained by manually operated doors and windows or by integrated ventilation system. Similarly rain water can be harvested or sewage water can be treated for reuse in gardens or toilets. Incorporation of solar panels, wind turbines on the roofs and garden can gain some energy too.
Important last thing is that the sustainable design should also allow the safe dismantaling and as much possible recycling of the materials used in the construction.
There can be enormous ways to design considering the above strategies.... Lets see what we can achieve in this frame which is becoming more and more necessary to adapt.
