PASSIVE HOUSE DESIGN, CLIMATOLOGY, THERMAL

COMFORT,VISUAL COMFORT,ACOUSTIC Sustainable building design: UNIT 2

COMFORT,CARBON FOOTPRINT,SOLAR Pavithra S MTech
REFLECTANCE INDEX
 PASSIVE HOUSE DESIGN
➢Passive House is considered the most rigorous
voluntary energy-based standard in the design
and construction industry today.
➢Consuming up to 90% less heating and cooling
energy than conventional buildings, and
applicable to almost any building type or design.
➢ The Passive House high-performance building
standard is the only internationally recognized,
proven, science-based energy standard in
construction delivering this level of
performance.
➢A passive house is a voluntary set of building
standards that aim to create houses and other
structures that are comfortable and healthy yet
consume very little energy. This is achieved via
five principles: continuous insulation, airtight
construction, optimized windows, balanced
ventilation, and minimal mechanical.
5 PRINCIPLES OF PASSIVE DESIGN HOUSE
Fundamental to the energy efficiency of these buildings, the following five principles are
central to Passive House design and construction:
1) super insulated envelopes,
2) airtight construction,
3) high-performance glazing,
4) thermal-bridge-free detailing,
5) heat recovery ventilation.
All these key principles are linked to and impact each other in the design. No one
principle can be neglected without having a negative impact on the rest. To effectively
create a Passive House building, the design should be looked at holistically to incorporate
all five design principles.
➢It was developed by Swedish structural engineer Bo Adamson and German physicist
Wolfgang Feist initially as a conversation in 1988;
➢the series of research projects that followed led to the principles and recommended
performance goals.
➢Adamson and Feist were based in Europe, but their studies began by investigating
North American projects of the 1970s that were responding to the oil embargo.
➢ One of the seminal projects they looked at was the Saskatchewan Conservation
House, which helped pioneer energy-efficient housing and led the way to building
standards.
Do passive houses need heating?
They do, but much less heating than a standard house in the same climate. If a house
is airtight and well insulated, the indoor environment will remain warmer (or cooler)
for longer—much like a good thermos that maintains the temperature of whatever
you put in it.
DO PASSIVE HOUSES LOOK ALIKE?
No, they aren’t bound to any specific style,
➢ but they have defining features, such as thick walls (which allow for super insulation) and
triple-glazed windows. Design-wise they take many forms, from traditional to modern and
from simple to complex.

What are other qualities that define passive houses????

❑Passive houses are notably comfortable:
1.The interior temperature doesn’t fluctuate from month to month, and
there are no drafts. They’re very quiet thanks to their insulation and
windows.
2.They’re also clean because the air is filtered.
WHAT ARE PASSIVE HOUSES BUILT FROM?
➢Many are built from structural insulated panels, known as SIPs, a composite like a
sandwich cookie that serves as framing, insulation, and exterior sheathing all in one.
There are several options for both the SIP “cookie” and the “filling.”
➢The outer layers can be oriented strand board (OSB), metal, plywood, or even
Sheetrock.
➢The core is a thermally insulating plastic foam of various types. Building with SIPs
means that there are fewer components.
➢ The panels are 8 or 10 feet wide by up to 20 feet long. The joints are taped on both
sides and the screw holes are filled with spray foam.
➢The importance of a continuous envelope without leaks is directly related to
airtightness: in reducing the number of joints and components, air leaks are
reduced. The biggest sources of air leaks in conventional buildings is windows and
doors. Passive house windows and doors have, among other thing, better seals and
door sweeps.
 HOW DOES AIRTIGHTNESS IMPACT ENERGY
EFFICIENCY?
➢When a house is airtight, the indoor environment can be maintained without having the air
conditioner or heater run as often.
➢ If a house is leaky, it’s like having a window open with the air conditioner running.
➢(That said, you don’t have to live sealed shut: You can leave windows and doors open in a
passive house.)
 What about damp and mold? How does a passive
house stay healthy?
➢
The key is a balanced ventilation system, such as an HRV (Heat Recovery Ventilation) or ERV
(Energy Recovery Ventilation).
➢With balanced ventilation, fresh air entering the building is equal to the exhaust air exiting it.
(The air flows need to be balanced so that the air inside the house doesn’t get pressurized,
which would lead to an increase in air infiltration.)
➢ An HRV and ERV recover and transfer the temperature of the exhaust air to the incoming fresh
air by having the paths of the two types of air cross in separate channels.
➢ In the winter, the interior air warms up the cool exterior air. The incoming fresh air is filtered.
➢Additionally, humidity is treated by HRVs and ERVs differently.
➢HRVs maintain the humidity level of the interior.
➢ ERVs remove the humidity of the interior air.
➢HRVs are better suited for dry environments.
➢ ERVs are better suited for damp environments, like where our house is in New York
State.
➢ In layman’s terms, again consider a thermos analogy: when a house is poorly
insulated, you can get condensation inside, which can lead to mold—just like ice
water in a glass sweating on the outside. But if you put ice water in an insulated
vessel, the cold from the inside won’t impact the outside.

Are passive house materials environmentally

correct?
Not necessarily:
SIPs are made with crude oil and other questionable chemicals, but their insulating
value is unmatched.
The energy saved in using these materials outweighs the environmental impact of the
production of these products.
The Passive House Standard is concerned with how efficiently the building functions
for the life of the building.
➢If buildings account for about one-third of the energy consumed in the United States
and the average life span of a typical structure is 120 years, then reducing the energy
draw by buildings can have a substantial impact.
➢ Passive houses tend to be well built and durable.

Is building a passive house more expensive than a

standard house?
➢Yes,
➢passive house construction is estimated to cost 10 to 15 percent more than standard
building costs. Perhaps by slashing energy costs, passive houses save owners
considerably over time.
PASSIVE HOUSES OFTEN GETS CONFUSED WITH PASSIVE SOLAR
DESIGN (COLLECTING AND USING ENERGY FROM THE SUN TO
WARM AND COOL THE HOUSE). ARE THE TWO RELATED?
➢Concepts of passive heating and cooling are part of the toolkit available to achieve passive
house performance standards.
➢The earliest projects studied by Adamson and Feist relied more heavily on passive solar
heating methods, but the window technology of the 1970s and 80s was a liability: they
allowed the sun to heat interior surfaces and were also leaky and transmitted the exterior
temperature directly to the interior, which is no longer the case.
➢The name stuck, even though passive heating is only one part of the equation.

What’s the most challenging part of building a passive house?

It’s being rigorous with the installation details that you need to achieve the performance
standard. You can spend a lot of time and money making energy-efficient choices, but if they
aren’t installed well, it’s wasted effort.
 CLIMATOLOGY
➢Climatology, or sometimes known as climate science, is the study
of the Earth's weather patterns and the systems that cause them.
From the ocean oscillations to trade winds, pressure systems that
drives temperature, airborne particles that influence local
conditions and even the phases of the moon and Earth's wobble all
affect the climate (1).
➢DEFINITION: The word “climatology” comes, as may scientific
words and terms do, from the Greek. Klima means “zone” or “area”
and “logia” means “study”. This means that climatology is the
“study of zones” although in reality it is much more complicated
than that.
➢since it became clear that human actions are damaging the
environment and changing the climate, it has become much more
prominent nationally and internationally with most government
departments in most countries having responsibilities to mitigate
or prepare for climate change scenario.
➢Climatology is not meteorology;
➢both concern weather patterns and their causes and effects, but differ in
many ways although they will be interested in each other's data.
➢ Climate science examines long-term patterns and trends
whereas meteorologists examine short-term weather patterns and their
impact,
➢ climatologists study long-term trends such as temperature change,
water and ice levels, cloud cover, flood and drought patterns, and
their long-term, long-range impact on various topographies and
globally.
•Meteorology is what the weather is doing now whereas climatology is what
you expect to see
•Meteorology is short-term effects and results, climatology is long-term
consequences
•Meteorology concerns small areas; climatology concerns much larger
areas, or global results
➢Even how they use equipment differs. Satellites, for example, are used in
meteorology to track weather systems and to monitor atmospheric fronts
to predict what the weather will do next.
➢Climatologists use different data sets from satellites - temperatures at
various levels through the atmosphere and at ground level, for
example, or mapping energy flows and noticing changes that could affect
local climate
 THE HUMAN IMPACTS ON CLIMATE
➢climatology is not just about the natural variations in the short, medium or
long term, it's primarily concerned today with the human impact on climate
change and the various “forcings” that are already causing problems.
➢ Most of the following issues have impacted the climate since the Industrial
Revolution in the 19th century and arguably started before that.
•Greenhouse Gases
•Deforestation
Greenhouse Gases

➢Greenhouse gases are so-called because their abundance leads to a “greenhouse effect”. Greenhouses are
glass buildings used to houseplants that require humidity and shelter from the elements. By nature, they are
warmer and more humid than a garden. The effect on the global environment is similar. The greenhouse
gases are methane, water vapor, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide .
➢Water Vapor creates a feedback - precipitation and cloud cover increases, leading to higher temperatures,
but also creates more rainfall which can cool surfaces but can lead to flooding in some areas.
➢Nitrous Oxide is a byproduct of agricultural processes. It received much attention in the 1980s with so-
called acid rain, but the reduction in this does not mean N2O is no longer a threat
➢Methane is a natural gas and one burnt as fuel in many parts of the world, but it too increases air density
and the greenhouse effect. The impact is proportionally high considering the low levels of the gas in the
atmosphere
➢Carbon dioxide is the best-known and most important of all greenhouse gases, it is released through
several natural processes but also industrial actions - one of the biggest impacting factors since the
Industrial Revolution
➢Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are now heavily regulated since it was discovered how much their release was
damaging the ozone layer - the gas level protecting the planet from the sun's most harmful rays
Deforestation
➢Cutting down tree canopies without replacing it passively increases climate
change by the simple fact that trees and other vegetation are carbon sinks .
➢ The fewer sinks we have, the faster carbon emissions will accumulate in the
atmosphere and it seems deforestation is increasing despite international efforts
to slow it down and replace more trees than we are cutting down.
➢ Some of this carbon is heading for the oceans which is now absorbing much
more carbon than it has done for a very long time.
➢This is leading to ocean acidification and coral bleaching which is upsetting the
delicate balance of marine ecosystems , reducing ocean life that has come to rely
on coral reefs to survive.
THERMAL COMFORT
Thermal comfort:
“that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal
environment”. In simple words, is the comfortable condition where a person is
not feeling too hot or too cold.
➢The Health and Safety Executive estimates that reasonable comfort can be
established when a minimum of 80% indoor occupants are feeling comfortable
with the thermal environment.
➢Achieving thermal comfort through sustainable design involves the careful
balancing of interdependent factors, including orientation, thermal mass,
glazing, shading and ventilation.
What Influences Thermal Comfort in Buildings?
Thermal comfort is a cumulative effect resulting from a series of environmental and personal
factors.

Environmental factors include :

•Air temperature — The air contact temperature measured by the dry bulb temperature (DBT)
•Air velocity (AV) — The air contact velocity measured in m/s
•Radiant temperature (RT) — The temperature of a person’s surroundings; generally expressed
as mean radiant temperature (MRT) which is a weighted average of the temperature of the
surfaces surrounding a person and any strong mono-directional radiation, such as the solar
radiation
•Relative humidity (RH) — The ratio between the current amount of vapor in the air and the
maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold at that air temperature, expressed as a
percentage
Personal factors are also important and are independent of the environment:
•Clothing — Clothes insulate a person from exchanging heat with the surrounding air
and surfaces.
•Metabolic heat — The heat produced by physical activity. Usually, a person who
stays still feels cooler than those who are moving.
There are other contributing factors that could be considered such as the availability
of drinks and food, acclimatization device, or health status of the individual.
 VISUAL COMFORT
➢Visual comfort is characterized by a
sufficient amount of natural light
(and, secondly, artificial light), good
glare control, and access to views of
the outdoors.
➢Just like thermal comfort, acoustic
comfort, and air quality, visual
comfort should be a major
consideration when designing
buildings that promote occupant
wellness.
 ACOUSTIC COMFORT

➢Workspace comfort is a combination of factors that includes daylighting and electric lighting, indoor
environmental quality, temperature, and acoustics.
➢ The assault on ears in the workplace can come from traffic noise outside, mechanical equipment in
adjacent spaces, and copiers, phones, and voices within the workspace.
➢Though there are some differences in the acoustical requirements of offices, classrooms, and
conference rooms, several common noise problems affect these occupancies:
Too much noise outside the building entering the space
Too much noise from adjacent spaces, and
Lack of sound control within the space itself
➢Noise in these occupancies is typically not at a high enough level to be harmful to human
hearing. Rather, the noise is distracting from concentration on work or study and provides less
than ideal working and learning environments
HOW TO ADDRESS THE NOISE ISSUE AT WORKPLACE?
For each of the covered workplace occupancies,
1. address the sources of acoustical problems
2. offer design guidance to control the acoustical problems
3. identify accepted acoustical criteria, and
4. describe the value of acoustic comfort to the employee.
Site Selection:
A satisfactory indoor acoustical environment actually starts by knowing what is going on outdoors. Follow
these guidelines when selecting a site for an office building or educational facility:
➢Avoid sites in high noise areas—airfields, highways, factories, and railways.
➢Ensure compatibility with existing facilities—do not site a school in an industrial area,
Determine what else is planned for the site in the future. Your building may be the first one built, but if future
buildings are acoustically incompatible with yours, significant remediation measures may be necessary to
return the interior sound environment to an acceptable level.
When the site is predetermined and is too noisy for an office building or educational facility:
1. incorporate appropriate sound control measures
2. avoid through-the-wall, package terminal air conditioners (PTAC)
3. orient quiet spaces away from outside noise sources.
➢To protect the spaces in a building from noise from a nearby highway or railway, lay out the building so that
restrooms, mechanical and electrical equipment rooms, and other less noise-sensitive spaces are adjacent to
the roadway. When designing a campus near high noise activity, locate gymnasiums and other less noise-
sensitive facilities closer to the noise source and place buildings needing quiet surroundings in the shadow of
those facilities.
➢As always, while siting for noise control, incorporate sustainable site planning into the decision-making
process.
➢It is more likely for a project to remain within budget if opportunities are sought to apply a single design
approach to achieve multiple design objectives.
➢For example, an earth berm with low-growth, drought-tolerant plants can act as a noise barrier from
highway traffic, meet sustainable development principles, and help meet security requirements for standoff
distance from buildings.
Glazing:
Windows and glazing are key elements of the building envelope. These elements must allow daylight to enter the space, reject
heat and glare, control sound and, for some projects, be blast resistant. The extent of windows and glazing, and their size and
location are decisions that must be made in the project concept phase to ensure proper windows and glazing are chosen. Keep
in mind that multiple glazing types are likely for many projects based on the building orientation, proximity of intrusive noise
sources, and vulnerability assessments and risk analysis

(A)Open Office Environments and Teaming Spaces:

Contributors to unacceptable noise in the workspace include indiscriminate use of speakerphones, low partition heights, ringing
phones, noisy copy machines, and office chatter.
Solutions:
Locate teaming spaces and open office environments away from reception areas and other high traffic areas not associated
with these spaces.
Specify acoustical ceilings with a noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of 0.75.
Choose systems furniture with a 60 inch minimum height and have sound absorbing surfaces on both sides.
Avoid placing lighting fixtures directly over partitions—they reflect sound to adjacent work areas.
Locate printers/copiers in separate rooms away from offices and provide separate ventilation to minimize ozone in the
workspace.
The ideal office environment should give workers individual control of temperature, lighting, and acoustics in their personal
workspace.
(B) Conference Rooms and Private Offices
Though conference rooms and private offices have stationary partitions from the floor to the suspended acoustical ceiling, acoustical problems can still occur.
Most workplace environments should have quiet havens—places where private conversations can occur without being heard in adjacent rooms or passageways for
employee matters, contract negotiations, classified discussions, etc.
Some problems that occur in private offices:
1. inability to have private discussions
2. can hear sounds through partitions
3. too noisy in room
4. can hear sounds from air return registers

Sound can travel over partition walls and through the suspended acoustical ceiling. To be an effective sound barrier between rooms, partitions need to extend to the
structural deck.
Solutions:
Extend walls from floor to structural deck above.
Insulate partition cavity/increase partition sound transmission class (STC).
Specify NRC of 0.75 for ceiling tiles.
Employ ducted air return system.
Do not locate mechanical equipment rooms next to offices and conference rooms.
STC values for various occupancies can be found in UFC 3-450-01 Noise and Vibration Control and Architectural Graphic Standards.
Classrooms:
Classrooms are environments designated for learning, not just for school-age children, but for adult education as well.
Classrooms have become multimedia communications environments, further increasing the importance of classroom acoustics.
Good acoustics for learning support easy verbal communication, which requires low noise levels and very little reverberation. In
the past, classrooms may have been constructed without adequate consideration of sound acoustical principles. Sources of noise
hampering students' concentration include:
outside of the school (vehicular traffic and aircraft flyover)
the hallways (foot traffic and conversation)
other classrooms (amplified sound systems and inadequate partition sound transmission loss)
mechanical equipment (compressors, boilers, and ventilation systems), and
inside the classroom itself (reverberation).
To reduce noise from adjoining classrooms, do not have doors adjacent to each other or have doors directly across from each
other. Rather, offset the door locations to extend the sound travel path from one classroom to the next. This strategy works well
with conference rooms and private offices as well.
The Acoustical Society of America (ASA) recognized the value of a high-quality acoustical learning environment. The results of
their efforts led to the publication of ANSI/ASA S12.60 American National Standard Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design
Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools. This Standard provides acoustical performance criteria, design requirements, and
design guidelines for new school classrooms and other learning spaces. The standard may be applied when practicable to the
major renovation of existing classrooms.
Fire Safety
Be sure acoustical materials meet applicable fire resistance requirements. Do not use bedding or
packing foam as sound absorbers—they are not the same as tested acoustical foam. See the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Station nightclub fire investigation.
Directional sound is a relatively new technology in fire safety. It is an audible means to lead people
to safety. The varying tones and intensities coming from directional sound devices offer easy-to-
understand cues for finding the ways out.
Advantages of directional sounders:
• can lead people of all languages to exit
• audible clues can direct people with visual impairments
• especially helpful in smoke-filled environments
• upward or downward sweeping tones alert occupants to go up or down stairways to exit building
 GREEN BUILDING CARBON FOOTPRINT
➢A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, such as
carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), expressed in equivalent
tons of CO2.
➢It is associated with the activities of an individual, a community, an organisation, a process, a product or
service, or an event, among other things.
➢Individual carbon footprint can thus be termed as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced by our
personal actions such as transportation, household activities, clothing and food.
➢A product’s carbon footprint measures the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions from its life cycle –
from raw material extraction and production to the final use by consumers including recycling or disposal.
➢A company’s carbon footprint determines the greenhouse gas emissions from across its operations,
including power generation used in building structures, industrial activities, and machinery and equipment.
➢The carbon footprint of a country considers the greenhouse gas emissions from total energy and material
utilisation, plants and other carbon sequestrations, as well as indirect and direct emissions from import
and export processes.
HOW CAN CARBON FOOTPRINT HELP US COMBATING CLIMATE
CHANGE?
➢The carbon footprint is a valuable tool for measuring the contribution to climate change by an
individual, organizations, products and services, and more. For example, by computing the industrial
carbon footprint, an industry can better understand its major sources of emissions and find ways to
minimise them.
Some of the biggest advantages of measuring a company’s carbon footprint:
➢Assist you in understanding the key emissions sources in your organization.
➢It enables you to dive deep into your company’s activities and identify the most important challenges as
well as opportunities.
➢It facilitates stakeholder participation.
➢It enables you to become more conscious of your consumption and contribute to making more responsible
decisions.
➢To be competitive in the marketplace, you must implement sustainable carbon-reduction strategies.
➢Estimating a company’s carbon footprint can help to improve the reliability and veracity of the data used
for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) sustainability reporting
SOLAR REFLECTANCE INDEX
The Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) is an essential metric for evaluating roofing
materials. It indicates a roof surface’s ability to return solar energy to the
atmosphere. Here’s how it works:
1.Solar Reflectance (SR): This represents the fraction of solar energy reflected by the
roof surface. SR values range from 0 to 1, with 1 being the most reflective.
2.Thermal Emittance (TE): TE measures the roof surface’s ability to radiate heat. Like
SR, TE values also range from 0 to 1.
3.Calculating SRI: The SRI combines SR and TE into a single value. It’s determined
using a formula that compares the calculated surface temperature of the material
with those of standard white and black materials under specified conditions.
❑A higher SRI indicates a cooler roof surface, especially on sunny days.
❑Using materials with higher SRI values can enhance building occupant comfort and
reduce air conditioning use.
➢Remember, SRI values enable comparisons across different roofing products,
regardless of material type. Most SRI values fall between 0 and 100, with
approximately 98% of weathered products falling within this range1. So, when
choosing roofing materials, consider their SRI to keep things cool!
 UNIT 3:CONSTRUCTION SITE
DEVELOPMENT
Developing a construction site for sustainable building design involves several key practices and
principles aimed at minimizing environmental impact and promoting resource efficiency. Here are some
essential strategies:
1. Site Selection and Planning
•Reuse Existing Structures: Whenever possible, repurpose existing buildings to reduce the need for new
construction.
•Brownfield and Greyfield Sites: Choose previously developed sites to avoid disturbing undeveloped
land1.
2. Low Impact Development (LID)
•Stormwater Management: Implement strategies to manage stormwater at its source, such as permeable
pavements, green roofs, and rain gardens2.
•Rainwater Harvesting: Collect and reuse rainwater for landscaping and other non-potable uses3.
3. Sustainable Materials
•Local and Recycled Materials: Use materials that are locally sourced and
have recycled content to reduce transportation emissions and resource
extraction3.
•Green Building Materials: Opt for materials like bamboo, recycled steel, and
straw bales that have a lower environmental impact3.
4. Energy Efficiency
•Renewable Energy Sources: Incorporate solar panels, wind turbines, and
other renewable energy systems to reduce reliance on fossil fuels3.
•Energy-Efficient Design: Utilize passive solar design, high-performance
insulation, and energy-efficient windows to minimize energy consumption4.
•5. Waste Reduction
•Construction Waste Management: Implement practices to reduce, reuse, and
recycle construction waste5.
•Modular and Prefabricated Construction: Use modular and prefabricated
components to minimize waste and improve construction efficiency6.
•6. Biodiversity and Landscaping
•Native Plants: Use native plants in landscaping to support local biodiversity
and reduce water usage7.
•Green Spaces: Incorporate green spaces and rooftop gardens to enhance
urban biodiversity and provide recreational areas2.
•7. Water Conservation

•Water-Efficient Fixtures: Install low-flow toilets, faucets, and showerheads

to reduce water consumption3.

•Greywater Systems: Implement greywater recycling systems to reuse water

from sinks and showers for irrigation3.

•By integrating these sustainable practices into construction site

development, you can significantly reduce the environmental impact of your
building projects and contribute to a more sustainable future.