“Color blocking, the technique of using contrasting blocks of color, is the perfect way to give your home a fresh splash of color.“
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Color blocking
Color blocking is beyond fashion now and we can see it more in home design. Do you want to add fresh and modern pop of color to your room, kitchen or even bathroom? Do you need some hint? Text your question and I would be more than happy to help you on your design.
“Color blocking, the technique of using contrasting blocks of color, is the perfect way to give your home a fresh splash of color.“
“Color blocking, the technique of using contrasting blocks of color, is the perfect way to give your home a fresh splash of color.“
Monday, July 21, 2014
7 Interior Design Mistakes in American Home
Number 1# Toilet rug
Toilet rugs are cut to fit around the toilet
and sometimes have the carpet-like matching seat cover. Please get rid of them
immediately and use a rectangular real rug.
Number 2# Your home is not a showroom
Do not try to match everything in your room. All pink or
purple is just for catalogs and companies to sell furniture not the design.
They give you an idea of what you might have in
your house but you need to design it by yourself. Chose your color and touch
the room with it. Text me your room picture and let me help you with your
design.
Number 3# Big furniture
Remember showrooms are much bigger than your house and
furniture look smaller in big space. Measure your room and be realistic when
you buy any furniture piece for your space. It is better even if you have a
layout of your space when you go shopping.
Number 4# Color and pattern everywhere
Use pattern and color with conscious in your home. Too
many colors make your home busy and crowded and too many patterns make it
distracting to people.
Number 5# Too many accessories
It is understandable that you have too many stuff and
things to decorate your house but do not need to have it all out.Store them
for a bit and change your decoration every six months to give a new and fresh
look to your house. You can make them as a small group and change your design
when you get bored of the existing one.
Number 6# Fake flowers
Fake flowers and plants are a huge mistake.They get
dusty and do not bring any value or life into your house. If you think fresh
flower is expensive there are more alternative. Put lemon, orange or pomegranate
in a bowl or use some dried material like curly willow or woolen yarn
for a fresh look.
Number 7# Photos and more photos
Some people are really attached to their photos and have
a difficult time giving up of them on their walls or table. Are you one of
them? Use photo album. Get nice albums, organize your pictures based on event
or time and arrange them on a bookshelf. Also, same as accessories you replace
the old one on the wall with a new one every six months.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
TIP of the Day: Be Modern,Canvas on the wall
Put big canvases painted with nice painting to brighten blank walls.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Friday, July 18, 2014
First “Zero-Waste” Supermarket
Did you know that the average American is still producing nearly 3 pounds of trash every day? That is a monumental amount of trash! Where does that trash go? READ MORE HERE: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2014/07/13/soon-germany-will-open-its-first-zero-waste-supermarket/
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Renovation in Paris
Architect Pierre Yovanovitch renovated his own Paris apartment, where a fireplace surround in acid-treated iron and an oil on canvas by Marc Quinn anchor the living room.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Trick...
Kick Your Traditional Coffee Table to the Curb.
The most versatile coffee table you'll ever own is an ottoman topped with a tray.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
How to Chose Color...
Pick the perfect color scheme to enhance your mood at home. Plus, discover how color plays with your emotions, and how to manipulate color to your and your interior's advantage.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Pearl River Tower
It is amazing to see how the headquarters of the Tobacco Company in Guangzhou was feeling responsible about our planet and selected a sustainable design over seven design firms from four countries. The new city of Guangzhou is located at the north end of the Pearl River delta in China. It is the capital and the sub-provincial city with economic, scientific, political, and cultural life. This ancient city, with more than 2, 800 years of history, was the best place to build a modern structure within a peaceful natural setting to show the beautiful side of the contrast between modern and traditional architecture.
The Pearl River Tower is a skyscraper that is under construction in Guangzhou, China. The intended office complex, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), consists of 303 meters and 69 floors, starting in 2006 and planned for completion in autumn 2009. The tower has the possibility of being one of the most environmentally friendly buildings. This building not only has an incredible aesthetically, but also has special energy conservation and arguably it will become China's first zero-energy skyscraper in 2009.
Roger Frechette, Director of MEP Engineering, and Russell Gilchrist claim this net-zero-energy skyscraper can generate more energy than it uses. As a fact, it will use three natural power sources to get its energy; sun, water and wind. In addition, the structure is being designed with energy conservation mentality and designers attempt to create an environmentally friendly building by including solar and wind turbines, humidity and rainwater collectors in the structure.
The goal of the design was to make an incredible ultra green tower with the most sustainability as possible. This mentality causes some major design mechanism in the building as follows: First, for reducing the structure’s energy use, designers decided to rotate the structure to the east and take an advantage of sunlight while the late-day sun on the large, southern horizontal contact are minimized. Second, four wind turbines -two per each floor- were designed on two mechanical floors to convert the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy. The wind turbines use the current winds from the south, which create the negative pressure at the north side. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill estimate the turbines will generate 15 times more electricity than a usual wind generator. Third, double layer curtain-walls prevent gaining heat in the south side of the building. Fourth, “a radiant cooling system allows for the buildings HVAC system to be 1/5 the normal size, and also improves indoor air quality since the air is not recycled within the building.” In addition, it gives the possibility for the building to save extra space in each floor and to have 5 more floors at the end. Sixth, the mainly attractive characteristic of the building is a financial part. Between the decreased costs with due attention to lower energy requires and additional space which is available for rental this building is an economy construction to build.
The Pearl River Tower has lots of benefits behind its amazing look. Sustainable building, or power independency, will save the expenses of energy in long term such as the price of coal, power electricity, nuclear energy and other alternative sources. They leave a lighter footprint on the earth as well as accumulate the natural sources. It will help pollution and make our planet a better place to live. By incorporating the most recent technology on the building this will obtain the attention of corporations around the world and encourage them to use the same system.
When Roger Frechette, director of m/e/p sustainable engineering at SOM said “We knew the tower was going to get built with or without us, so we felt we might as well design it and make it as sustainable as possible,” he made a good statement about their work since it is a responsibility of all people to save the natural sources and grid energy. As a fact, this modern building has this possibility to take a big step in commercial building design and it can be a good example and model for future building. I personally think an architect can learn from this design and cut the costs of the building to the lower range by using the natural forces, this way we can guarantee that people of all range will get more familiar with the advantage of green design and the philosophy behind it and as soon as we can imagine they will start using that.
The Pearl River Tower is a skyscraper that is under construction in Guangzhou, China. The intended office complex, designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), consists of 303 meters and 69 floors, starting in 2006 and planned for completion in autumn 2009. The tower has the possibility of being one of the most environmentally friendly buildings. This building not only has an incredible aesthetically, but also has special energy conservation and arguably it will become China's first zero-energy skyscraper in 2009.
Roger Frechette, Director of MEP Engineering, and Russell Gilchrist claim this net-zero-energy skyscraper can generate more energy than it uses. As a fact, it will use three natural power sources to get its energy; sun, water and wind. In addition, the structure is being designed with energy conservation mentality and designers attempt to create an environmentally friendly building by including solar and wind turbines, humidity and rainwater collectors in the structure.
The goal of the design was to make an incredible ultra green tower with the most sustainability as possible. This mentality causes some major design mechanism in the building as follows: First, for reducing the structure’s energy use, designers decided to rotate the structure to the east and take an advantage of sunlight while the late-day sun on the large, southern horizontal contact are minimized. Second, four wind turbines -two per each floor- were designed on two mechanical floors to convert the kinetic energy in wind into mechanical energy. The wind turbines use the current winds from the south, which create the negative pressure at the north side. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill estimate the turbines will generate 15 times more electricity than a usual wind generator. Third, double layer curtain-walls prevent gaining heat in the south side of the building. Fourth, “a radiant cooling system allows for the buildings HVAC system to be 1/5 the normal size, and also improves indoor air quality since the air is not recycled within the building.” In addition, it gives the possibility for the building to save extra space in each floor and to have 5 more floors at the end. Sixth, the mainly attractive characteristic of the building is a financial part. Between the decreased costs with due attention to lower energy requires and additional space which is available for rental this building is an economy construction to build.
The Pearl River Tower has lots of benefits behind its amazing look. Sustainable building, or power independency, will save the expenses of energy in long term such as the price of coal, power electricity, nuclear energy and other alternative sources. They leave a lighter footprint on the earth as well as accumulate the natural sources. It will help pollution and make our planet a better place to live. By incorporating the most recent technology on the building this will obtain the attention of corporations around the world and encourage them to use the same system.
When Roger Frechette, director of m/e/p sustainable engineering at SOM said “We knew the tower was going to get built with or without us, so we felt we might as well design it and make it as sustainable as possible,” he made a good statement about their work since it is a responsibility of all people to save the natural sources and grid energy. As a fact, this modern building has this possibility to take a big step in commercial building design and it can be a good example and model for future building. I personally think an architect can learn from this design and cut the costs of the building to the lower range by using the natural forces, this way we can guarantee that people of all range will get more familiar with the advantage of green design and the philosophy behind it and as soon as we can imagine they will start using that.
Ecological Footprint Quiz
Numerous people like me have never paid attention to the term “Ecological Footprint”. In fact, I had no idea what the term exactly meant and consequently did not know what my social responsibilities to the world are. When I took the quiz and saw the result I was shocked “IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 5.3 PLANETS”. I started to think over my life style. How many miles I drive every day to school? How many hours I use my computer at home per day? How many minutes I am in the shower? Why I do not use locally grown vegetables and fruits? I waited for a couple of days before taking the next quiz. I wanted to be more realistic and implement some of the changes that were recommended in the website and also gain some experience with my new lifestyle before taking the exam again. Although I had made some improvements the result was still below my expectations. “IF EVERYONE LIVED LIKE YOU, WE WOULD NEED 2.7 PLANETS”. This taught me that, there are still several changes that I need to make in my life to use the available resources more efficiently. Perhaps, one of the most important things in our life is to feel more responsible about our environment. In addition, we all need to find a way to help keep and maintain the natural resources in our surrounding instead of wasting and damaging them. I personally think reducing the ecological footprint and acting economically is not as hard as we may think. It is a good idea to start from small things in our life to make big changes.
Controlling heating and cooling system is a simple approach to reduce energy consumption. We use our natural resources faster than they can be generated. I would not support a Stone Age way of life, but we can further utilize passive systems using natural forces such as wind, solar, etc to heat and cool our residences. Keeping windows closed and using thick curtain is also suggested for cold days and vice versa. Combination of solar energy with other types of heating system can dramatically decrease the level of energy loss. In other hand, by using solar systems we truly can save hundreds of dollars and be part of environment conservation family.
Using of compact florescent lamps (CFLs) is a simple idea to save more energy too. They last much longer than other lamp and use less energy. A recent research by the City of Phoenix shows that replacing at least one bulb with CFL’s in 571000 homes and businesses in the Phoenix metropolitan will cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 251 million pounds over the life of the bulb. It will also reduce energy consumption by more than 159 million Kwh and results in $16 million saving in energy costs (per year). The conserved energy would be enough to light 91,000 homes for a year.
Some plastic bags are not recyclable and they cause an irreversible damage to environment. They take too long to decompose and fill up landfills. Several grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s and Sprouts offer reusable bags for shopping. This is a practical method to stay away from plastics bags. As a good example plastic bags are not offered in grocery store in Europe which encourages people to use reusable bags.
To produce papers for magazines, newspapers, bank statements, etc, valuable natural resources such as trees have to be used. Nowadays, technology can help prevent wasting papers and provide a more efficient and eco-friendly way to exchange information and limit our use of paper. Most banks and big companies provide online services without charge and the customers can receive and review their statements online or via email instead of paper statements. It is understandable that not everyone may be able to access or use these services but their contribution to papers and magazines recycling is still valuable.
Producing more organic food (to eliminate the addition of pesticide, antibiotic, etc to the soil) would result in a healthier lifestyle and also help keep the soil cleaner. Adding more vegetarian meals to our daily diets would also result in a healthier lifestyle. In fact, there are lots of substitutes for meat that could replace it without causing lack of vitamins or proteins in the body. Supporting local farms and markets, purchasing unpacked, unprocessed, organic and sustainable grown are other practical ideas to help the planet and ourselves.
In addition, one of the most important changes we can make in our personal life is to be more efficient in commuting. Riding on a bus, train, or other public transportation means, biking and walking (if possible) are some of the changes we can consider to include in our daily life.
As a matter of fact we waste more natural resources than the earth provides us and it is not late to change our behavior. It takes hundreds or even thousands years for our planet to regenerate the resources that we are consuming. “If everybody lives like me, we would need more planets” is a heartbreaking truth. In fact we are spending resources faster than they are produced.
In the couple of day gap between two quizzes I attempted to consider some of those changes in my habits and everyday life. Although the quiz result was still showing that I need to do more I was already feeling more useful to myself and the community. Using bus and walking to school was a brilliant plan. To stop wasting plastic bags in my grocery shopping I bought two reusable shopping bags and added an extra trash can for paper recycling. I switched some of the old light bulbs with CFL’s to save more energy and money. In addition, I started to practice some new habits in my life such as optimizing the amount of water used during the shower and laundry time.
This quiz and my research about it had a big influence on my perspective in using natural resources. My philosophy is everyone can make positive impact to the planet and change it to a greener place to live. It is amazing to realize that how making small changes to our lives and habits can lead us to a better utilization of resources. Beside that, we are responsible for the next generations. As a big gift to them and the world we can educate them the recycling process and how to appreciate and respect the nature and try to use the resources more efficiently.
Controlling heating and cooling system is a simple approach to reduce energy consumption. We use our natural resources faster than they can be generated. I would not support a Stone Age way of life, but we can further utilize passive systems using natural forces such as wind, solar, etc to heat and cool our residences. Keeping windows closed and using thick curtain is also suggested for cold days and vice versa. Combination of solar energy with other types of heating system can dramatically decrease the level of energy loss. In other hand, by using solar systems we truly can save hundreds of dollars and be part of environment conservation family.
Using of compact florescent lamps (CFLs) is a simple idea to save more energy too. They last much longer than other lamp and use less energy. A recent research by the City of Phoenix shows that replacing at least one bulb with CFL’s in 571000 homes and businesses in the Phoenix metropolitan will cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 251 million pounds over the life of the bulb. It will also reduce energy consumption by more than 159 million Kwh and results in $16 million saving in energy costs (per year). The conserved energy would be enough to light 91,000 homes for a year.
Some plastic bags are not recyclable and they cause an irreversible damage to environment. They take too long to decompose and fill up landfills. Several grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s and Sprouts offer reusable bags for shopping. This is a practical method to stay away from plastics bags. As a good example plastic bags are not offered in grocery store in Europe which encourages people to use reusable bags.
To produce papers for magazines, newspapers, bank statements, etc, valuable natural resources such as trees have to be used. Nowadays, technology can help prevent wasting papers and provide a more efficient and eco-friendly way to exchange information and limit our use of paper. Most banks and big companies provide online services without charge and the customers can receive and review their statements online or via email instead of paper statements. It is understandable that not everyone may be able to access or use these services but their contribution to papers and magazines recycling is still valuable.
Producing more organic food (to eliminate the addition of pesticide, antibiotic, etc to the soil) would result in a healthier lifestyle and also help keep the soil cleaner. Adding more vegetarian meals to our daily diets would also result in a healthier lifestyle. In fact, there are lots of substitutes for meat that could replace it without causing lack of vitamins or proteins in the body. Supporting local farms and markets, purchasing unpacked, unprocessed, organic and sustainable grown are other practical ideas to help the planet and ourselves.
In addition, one of the most important changes we can make in our personal life is to be more efficient in commuting. Riding on a bus, train, or other public transportation means, biking and walking (if possible) are some of the changes we can consider to include in our daily life.
As a matter of fact we waste more natural resources than the earth provides us and it is not late to change our behavior. It takes hundreds or even thousands years for our planet to regenerate the resources that we are consuming. “If everybody lives like me, we would need more planets” is a heartbreaking truth. In fact we are spending resources faster than they are produced.
In the couple of day gap between two quizzes I attempted to consider some of those changes in my habits and everyday life. Although the quiz result was still showing that I need to do more I was already feeling more useful to myself and the community. Using bus and walking to school was a brilliant plan. To stop wasting plastic bags in my grocery shopping I bought two reusable shopping bags and added an extra trash can for paper recycling. I switched some of the old light bulbs with CFL’s to save more energy and money. In addition, I started to practice some new habits in my life such as optimizing the amount of water used during the shower and laundry time.
This quiz and my research about it had a big influence on my perspective in using natural resources. My philosophy is everyone can make positive impact to the planet and change it to a greener place to live. It is amazing to realize that how making small changes to our lives and habits can lead us to a better utilization of resources. Beside that, we are responsible for the next generations. As a big gift to them and the world we can educate them the recycling process and how to appreciate and respect the nature and try to use the resources more efficiently.
Phoenix Green Building Expo
The 10th annual Green Building Expo in Scottsdale was held on Oct 5-6th. The event was very well-organized and many companies with different disciplines had participated in this expo. The diversified range of companies attended this event helped us learn further about various green building techniques and environmentally low-impact products for structure, exterior and interior building design. Our visit to this event was mainly intended to find potential construction methods or materials appropriate for our current design studio project. This project is a single story prefab building that is going to be constructed on 18’x12’ footprint in Tempe area.
The Icynene Insulation System booth – a company well-known for its soft foam insulation – was the company that its simple but innovative green design approach really caught my attention. Richard, a representative of the Icynene Insulation System who was explaining the advantages of their products to the enthusiastic crowd was also impressed with the attention their products had received in this expo. He said "It is excellent to see how communities are learning from this event and I get really happy when people especially students come here to educate themselves and others about green design."
Over the course of time, almost all building materials have evolved gradually and today it is almost impossible to think of any type of building material that has not been improved. Among all these, insulation is no exception. Looking back in the last century one can find a wide variety of materials people have used for insulation means. Some of the most common ones can be named as cellulose, fiberglass, sheep's wool and polyicynene and polyurethane which are oil-based materials. Although some of these are derived through green processes, some of these are available in large (such as sheep’s wool). The Icynene Insulation System is a high-quality insulation that is developed by merging building science technology with design performance. It is a soft spray-in-place, light density, expanding foam insulation that acts both as insulation and air barrier. It takes the shape of where it is contained and offers a custom fit every time it is installed because it expands 100 times its initial volume. One of the great advantages of this insulation is its capability to deliver improved sound control while providing superior control of air leakage. On top of all, it is environmentally-friendly, non-toxic, and formaldehyde free.
With the current growth in the number of homeowners and further focus on providing more reliable and sustainable energy saving solutions, Icynene is a healthier alternative to conventional insulation. It provides the protective barrier preventing allergenic and dust from entering the home by completely sealing the building envelope. This water-based product also contains none of the harmful chemical and gasses often associated with traditional insulations such as fiberglass. By minimizing air infiltration it also reduces the amount of airborne moisture that can result in mold.
It not only makes a healthier home but also a quieter home. Traffic, neighborhood activities and plumbing runs can be the sources of annoying and unwanted sounds that can intrude into our living spaces, thwarting comfort and enjoyment. By acting as a sound barrier and sealing the building envelope against unwanted sounds, it effectively minimizes airborne sounds in the mid range frequency and it is perfect for limiting noises from plumbing runs, road, home theater and playrooms.
Energy efficiency can often be associated with green design. With Icynene, energy cost savings can be as high as 50% compared to the conventional insulations. Furthermore, the elimination of the random air leakage allows homes that utilize Icynene to maintain the same heating and cooling performance while potentially reducing the cost of HVAC equipment. In addition, since this technique is easy to implement the labor and materials normally required to achieve a properly sealed building envelope are no longer necessary.
After visiting the Icynene Insulation System booth and learning about this fabulous solution, I have decided to apply it as a base insulation in my prefab building and employ this concept to have a healthier, quieter, greener and more economical home. This can also help saving energy and resources.
The Icynene Insulation System booth – a company well-known for its soft foam insulation – was the company that its simple but innovative green design approach really caught my attention. Richard, a representative of the Icynene Insulation System who was explaining the advantages of their products to the enthusiastic crowd was also impressed with the attention their products had received in this expo. He said "It is excellent to see how communities are learning from this event and I get really happy when people especially students come here to educate themselves and others about green design."
Over the course of time, almost all building materials have evolved gradually and today it is almost impossible to think of any type of building material that has not been improved. Among all these, insulation is no exception. Looking back in the last century one can find a wide variety of materials people have used for insulation means. Some of the most common ones can be named as cellulose, fiberglass, sheep's wool and polyicynene and polyurethane which are oil-based materials. Although some of these are derived through green processes, some of these are available in large (such as sheep’s wool). The Icynene Insulation System is a high-quality insulation that is developed by merging building science technology with design performance. It is a soft spray-in-place, light density, expanding foam insulation that acts both as insulation and air barrier. It takes the shape of where it is contained and offers a custom fit every time it is installed because it expands 100 times its initial volume. One of the great advantages of this insulation is its capability to deliver improved sound control while providing superior control of air leakage. On top of all, it is environmentally-friendly, non-toxic, and formaldehyde free.
With the current growth in the number of homeowners and further focus on providing more reliable and sustainable energy saving solutions, Icynene is a healthier alternative to conventional insulation. It provides the protective barrier preventing allergenic and dust from entering the home by completely sealing the building envelope. This water-based product also contains none of the harmful chemical and gasses often associated with traditional insulations such as fiberglass. By minimizing air infiltration it also reduces the amount of airborne moisture that can result in mold.
It not only makes a healthier home but also a quieter home. Traffic, neighborhood activities and plumbing runs can be the sources of annoying and unwanted sounds that can intrude into our living spaces, thwarting comfort and enjoyment. By acting as a sound barrier and sealing the building envelope against unwanted sounds, it effectively minimizes airborne sounds in the mid range frequency and it is perfect for limiting noises from plumbing runs, road, home theater and playrooms.
Energy efficiency can often be associated with green design. With Icynene, energy cost savings can be as high as 50% compared to the conventional insulations. Furthermore, the elimination of the random air leakage allows homes that utilize Icynene to maintain the same heating and cooling performance while potentially reducing the cost of HVAC equipment. In addition, since this technique is easy to implement the labor and materials normally required to achieve a properly sealed building envelope are no longer necessary.
After visiting the Icynene Insulation System booth and learning about this fabulous solution, I have decided to apply it as a base insulation in my prefab building and employ this concept to have a healthier, quieter, greener and more economical home. This can also help saving energy and resources.
AUDUBON HOUSE
Green Building is a documentary movie about the Audubon house and how a dedicated team of architects, environmentalists, engineers, research scientists, and interior designers recycled this significant 100-year old building and reduced the energy utilization to 52% of that used in a comparable office building. It is amazing to see how a group of experts accomplished to make a big difference in the structure by adding some changes to the actual building such as natural light and highly resourceful electrical light for lighting the office spaces, nontoxic paints for the wall and recycled newsprint for flooring. They produced a better and healthier environment for people, wildlife, and the earth's natural resources and developed a good workplace model for future. The movie points to several improvements in Audubon House that can be also implemented in my studio project which is a residential units in Tempe area with 2000 square foot in each unit.
The first and most notable area of improvement is in energy efficiency that can be achieved by making use of enhanced natural light and highly urbanized lighting system. Full-size windows on the Northern and Western sides of the building allow large quantities of natural daylight into the living area. Use of light colors for furnishing and interior surfaces increase reflectance of natural light and can help this pheromone further. The “Task/Ambient” lighting system for living room and bedrooms introduce soft background light to the room and wherever focused light is needed task lighting can be implemented. In the bathroom, T8 Triphosphor fluorescent lamps bring in the light with natural tone and insignificant heat.
Decreasing pollution and making a healthier environment is another major challenge that should be considered for any design. By using gas fired absorption heathers/coolers, creation of sulfur dioxide can be prevented while about 60% reduction in nitrogen oxides creation can be achieved compared to similar units that use other sources of energy. In addition, for reducing electricity demand for cooling system applying for an on-site energy source, gas, during the summer is a great opportunity that can be explored.
Another key takeaway of this documentary was the importance of recycling and protecting resources in the nature. The first step to gain this goal in my project is to switch to recycled material instead of the regular material. Many materials such as steel, wood, concrete, masonry are sent out for recycling and can be used after reprocessing. Homosote sub is a new type of wallboard developed from recycled paper which is designed to be used for flooring and it is made from 60% recycled newsprint. One interesting idea for kitchen flooring is to use reprocessed tiles that are recycled from light bulbs. Recycled plastic bottles can be used for bathroom countertops and also reprocessed gypsum and newsprint for wall.
Although the Audubon House was an office building most of change that they made during the renovation can be used for residential building as well. As a result of my research I further discovered that being green and contributing to greener architecture design is a continuous daily task that we should all take part in to make the world a better place. By doing some research and using the right material for the structures one can have a significant impact on our surrounding.
The first and most notable area of improvement is in energy efficiency that can be achieved by making use of enhanced natural light and highly urbanized lighting system. Full-size windows on the Northern and Western sides of the building allow large quantities of natural daylight into the living area. Use of light colors for furnishing and interior surfaces increase reflectance of natural light and can help this pheromone further. The “Task/Ambient” lighting system for living room and bedrooms introduce soft background light to the room and wherever focused light is needed task lighting can be implemented. In the bathroom, T8 Triphosphor fluorescent lamps bring in the light with natural tone and insignificant heat.
Decreasing pollution and making a healthier environment is another major challenge that should be considered for any design. By using gas fired absorption heathers/coolers, creation of sulfur dioxide can be prevented while about 60% reduction in nitrogen oxides creation can be achieved compared to similar units that use other sources of energy. In addition, for reducing electricity demand for cooling system applying for an on-site energy source, gas, during the summer is a great opportunity that can be explored.
Another key takeaway of this documentary was the importance of recycling and protecting resources in the nature. The first step to gain this goal in my project is to switch to recycled material instead of the regular material. Many materials such as steel, wood, concrete, masonry are sent out for recycling and can be used after reprocessing. Homosote sub is a new type of wallboard developed from recycled paper which is designed to be used for flooring and it is made from 60% recycled newsprint. One interesting idea for kitchen flooring is to use reprocessed tiles that are recycled from light bulbs. Recycled plastic bottles can be used for bathroom countertops and also reprocessed gypsum and newsprint for wall.
Although the Audubon House was an office building most of change that they made during the renovation can be used for residential building as well. As a result of my research I further discovered that being green and contributing to greener architecture design is a continuous daily task that we should all take part in to make the world a better place. By doing some research and using the right material for the structures one can have a significant impact on our surrounding.
USA 20 Years from Now ...
” The future is not a result of choices among alternative paths offered by the present, but a place that is created--created first in the mind and will, created next in activity. The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating.”
America has reached a big milestone in its history. Last week the last fuel refinery in the US was closed and all the workers in the Texas Petrochemical Refinery were offered a redeployment package. With the training that they have been going through in the past couple of years, all these people are hopeful to establish a new career elsewhere. Although the fuel production from oil and subsequently the fossil fuel emission is coming to an end, there are still some refineries that use oil to produce necessary ingredients for plastics. The scientific methods developed to recycle plastics have helped reduce the plastic production significantly. Most cars now have solar cells built in their body that absorbs and stores solar energy. More than 50% of the cars in the country are using solar or electricity as their main energy resource and the other half are hydrogen cars. About five years ago the only US car manufacturer offered to replace gasoline engines with hydrogen ones at no cost. Starting Jan 2030 no gasoline car will be allowed on the streets of major cities. It is astounding to see how far America has come in the last years. Majority of states are now establishing laws to reduce the amount of plastic-base components. In the last few years scientists have bumped up their activities to come up with an intelligent material that replaces plastic and can recycle itself into the environment with no impact. Many reckless and irresponsible behaviors in the past few decades have had an enormous irreversible impact on the global environment. During the last few decades, the sea levels have raised significantly that eventually forced some cities like New York city to abandon many areas of the city and the city center which used to be Manhattan has moved about 10 miles inland. Food shortage still remains a big concern for the world. Since the scientific researches in the last twenty years proved that use of many chemicals to produce more crops can result in many health issues for people, the focus in the last ten years has been to move more toward organic products. With the increase in the life expectancy and better health services the population of the world will reach 8 billion in the next month. Cure of cancer and AIDS has been some of the biggest achievements of scientists in the last century. It is remarkable to notice the changes world has been going through in the last 10-15 years. Many lands that used to be used for farming are now filled with skyscrapers. The advancements in the technology has helped many deserts to become crop producible but the water shortage for these lands is what many scientists are trying to address. To optimize the use of water in the farms, most farmers now have intelligent drip systems that minimize the use of water. In order to mitigate the risks of food shortage, congress is drafting a bill that can make more lands available for farming.
Many scientists believe that with the improvements that started about two decades ago the world is still trying to find its new equilibrium state. The extinction of many wildlife species has resulted in a dramatic change in the ecosystem. One of the major changes in the US in recent years has been the culture of consumption. Looking at the start of this century one would notice that US has dropped out of the list of top 50 polluters of the world. This has been a result of effective policies and change of culture that has been adapted. Americans have also been able to better distinguish between what they really need in their life vs what they want. With the enhancements in the public transportations use of personal cars for daily commuting has significantly dropped in the last decade. Availability of public transportation at almost no cost, lack of parking spots in many populated areas and heavy traffic have led most people to limit their use of cars in most urban areas of the country. Diversity is still a big success factor in the US economy. Even the rural areas of the country now consist of different ethnicities. In twenty years (by 2050) the Hispanic population of the country will exceed the white population. It was not long ago that people used to immigrate to US in order to seek and build a better life. The recent report by the US Census Bureau shows that the number of Americans immigrating to other countries has increased rapidly in the last ten years. The same report indicates that the main reasons for the immigration of the Americans are to get away from the industrial world and also to look for better economic benefits. In most urban areas of the country, the non-white population of the working people exceeds the number of white workers. More than 40% of the country is now bilingual in contrast to 9% of the population in 2005. Many areas of the country that was once considered to be rural are now urbanized. The proportion of the developed land base has almost doubled to 10% in about 20 years (in contrast to 5% in 2005). The population of Los Angeles metropolitan area has quadrupled in a quarter of a century.
The increase in the urban area population and also the diverse culture of the people living in these areas has posed new challenges to the city officials. To name some transportation, food and environmental concerns have been a few of these. With the recent improvements in the public transportation city officials have been able to effectively address the transportation. Use of green resources such as hydrogen, solar and wind and limiting the use of personal cars has also helped better control the traffic and also carbon footprint on the planet. Food that is still being produced mainly in the heartland and west coast is shipped to the cities using green transportation means. People have become more conscious and pay more attention to what they eat and have chosen a healthier life style. Most homes in the urban areas generate some of the energy they use employing solar cells that are installed on the roofs. By state law in many different areas, all newly developed houses are now required to comply with the new rules to use the insulations that have smaller heat transfer rates in the roof and walls. This will result in less energy loss from the building.
Recycling has also become an important part of everybody’s life. The teachings at schools to recycle more effectively are now paying off. People keep plastics, papers, glass and metals in separate containers and each one of these items gets recycled and used in one form or the other. Many cities even recycle organic materials and process them to produce fertilizers which will be eventually used in farms. Use of bottled water has dropped significantly and people tend to use reusable water bottles.
The technology advances in the communication systems has allowed many companies to offer their employees telecommute several days of the week. This has also helped reduce commuting between work and home. Comparing the size of cars with what it used to be less than two decades ago, one can notice how smaller the cars have gotten. Although this has required a serious effort to change people’s culture, it surely has been worthwhile since they consume less energy and also better fit into the big city lifestyles.
Reducing the use of fossil fuels to produce energy has been one of the biggest milestones our country has achieved in the past two decades thanks to the great researchers all around the world. Many major metropolitan areas now have solar panels installed in different locations. Even some small towns are now replacing the asphalts on the street with a new material that can absorb energy from sun and transform it to electricity. Use of tidal energy has also become very common in many coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. These cities can now produce all their consumed energy through wind, solar and wave resources.
The recent developments in the electricity storage technologies have also helped power plants to store energy and feed it into the system when needed. Using these technologies some solar power plants can still feed the stored electrical energy into the system even during cloudy days. Many urban residents are also using thermal reservoir for heating and cooling of their homes or the water. These reservoirs simply store the heat during the day with a minimum energy loss. This energy can be used during the night to heat up the water or the house. The same concept applies to cold temperatures. Also with the new conductive materials the energy loss during electricity transfer has dropped significantly. Many medical research activity conducted all around the world showed that wireless transfer of electrical energy by creating magnetic fields can have a negative impact and put human’s health and wellness at risk.
Nuclear power plants remain a major source of electricity production. The number of these plants has increased significantly in the last twenty years. However, due to the nuclear waste disposal issues, the negative impact of radiation on human and also the high risk of explosion or leak of radioactive material these power plants have not gained the popularity as was expected. Hydroelectric energy remains a major and reliable renewable energy resource. However, its share compare to the other energy resources is still slim since the flowing water resources are limited. Steam-electric power plants account for some portions of the electricity generation. These units now mainly consume clean-coal technology. A new proposal by government requires all fossil fuel based plants to be replaced by a renewable energy resource by 2050.
America has been through lots of challenges during past decades. Several initiatives and years of hard work by many different individuals and communities have helped US to totally abandon its dependence on foreign oil and also reduce the CO2 emission significantly. With the steps taken in the past few years the global warming trend has finally reversed and everybody has become a better citizen of the world. People have become more aware of the man-made threats to the nature and world and act more responsibly. Now it is our generation’s term to pave the road for the next generation and hand them a world better than what was handed to us. There are still challenges to face. These challenges are not only maintaining the world but also trying to improve it and make it better for the generations to come.
Messie’s Lecture in ASU
Lecture was really interesting. Footprint of the nature was visible in all of his works especially when he was talking about frozen earth as a mold, using the beams with the same color of the landscape trees and having the skylight in the shower. He is very passionate about his work and honest about what he is doing and you can see this excitement in his designs. About digital world, I have had Jason Griffiths as a studio instructor last semester and he was giving us the lecture about digital world during the semester. I had to learn Rhino for my final project but I never deeply believed on digital methodologies to create building forms. In the lecture today I could really see the future of the design and how we can have our original ideas and push it to the unique design with technology. Also, I was fascinated with the way he builds things with his hands and experiences the new material in his design.
Gabby Shawcross’s lecture at ASU
Gabby Shawcross’ lecture was different in many ways than other lectures I have been to. In the first few minutes of the lecture two main questions popped in my mind. How sustainable their projects are? And also whether they used light in their design as an ornament or not? Although I got lots of good information from this lecture these questions are still unanswered for me.
At the end of the lecture I was certain that they picked light as a communication tool to make a connection between spaces and people. I believe that is what many architects attempt to achieve in their designs. For example Memory Project in London's Southbank is all about people, spaces and the relationship between them. It is a fascinating idea especially the ability to walk back to the earlier time of the day. Inside the structure, thermal cameras can detect people and show the surrounding of the building in a particular time as a function of people’s position with respect to the screen.
They are also very creative in using light features as an architectural tool. I think by listening to his lecture we could really observe their design philosophy. Also in some projects like Aeolian Tower, and Wind to Light I realized that there is a lot of usable energy in the nature that is not being used appropriately and has lots of potentials to be utilized in our day to day life.
At the end of the lecture I was certain that they picked light as a communication tool to make a connection between spaces and people. I believe that is what many architects attempt to achieve in their designs. For example Memory Project in London's Southbank is all about people, spaces and the relationship between them. It is a fascinating idea especially the ability to walk back to the earlier time of the day. Inside the structure, thermal cameras can detect people and show the surrounding of the building in a particular time as a function of people’s position with respect to the screen.
They are also very creative in using light features as an architectural tool. I think by listening to his lecture we could really observe their design philosophy. Also in some projects like Aeolian Tower, and Wind to Light I realized that there is a lot of usable energy in the nature that is not being used appropriately and has lots of potentials to be utilized in our day to day life.
Usman Haque and Omar Khan’s lecture
Although the Usman Haque and Omar Khan’s lecture was really interesting I had a hard time understanding the motivation behind their projects. For example “Open Burble” design by Usman Haque included of many white helium balloons attached together with a cell phone receiver inside each balloon. These cell phones were connected to colored lights separately. When people on the ground were calling a particular receiver inside one of the balloons, that balloon’s color was changing. It looks bright and incredible but what is his philosophy behind it? He didn’t provide any reason for coordinating and designing any of his work. Most of his design was excellent and flashy to watch for the first time and get excited with technology but nothing more than this. It was more about watching a new computer game with different colors and fancy look. “Moving Columns” by Omar Khan was another example of this absence of purpose. Depending on the level of carbon dioxide in the air, these columns were moving up or down. However, the reason behind using CO2 was not really clear. Why he didn’t use oxygen instead? On the other hand, Usman’s presentation was really nice but it did not discuss the philosophy and function of their design.
Eddie and Neal Jones
The lecture by Eddie and Neal Jones was incredible especially after a long day in studio and struggling with my project. I have a difficulty to solve the circulation in my studio project and at the end of the day I was almost losing my confidence and my patience. He started his lecture by telling a true story. The story was about his life and how he was working on his projects as a student with passion and creativity. During the lecture I was taking notes of his life lessons. In each project that he described you could see the philosophy behind each building design. “What does each building want to be?” Where landscape begins and ends and does it even have a beginning and ending or not?
Eddie Jones mentioned the beauty of a literal garden and in his projects landscaping was combined with buildings and one could not make a border between them. Everything that he did was followed by his final comment. “Never stop caring.” The passion and consideration for architecture in their designs were truly noticeable. He gave me plenty of positive energy and forced me to look at my project as a new opportunity to show my interest in architecture and to believe in my creativity.
Eddie Jones mentioned the beauty of a literal garden and in his projects landscaping was combined with buildings and one could not make a border between them. Everything that he did was followed by his final comment. “Never stop caring.” The passion and consideration for architecture in their designs were truly noticeable. He gave me plenty of positive energy and forced me to look at my project as a new opportunity to show my interest in architecture and to believe in my creativity.
Stephen Ehrlich
Tonight’s lecture was one of the best spring lecture series. I really enjoyed Stephen Ehrlich’s projects. Creative, clean and programmatic design was some of the main features of his designs. Culture and community needs were two different elements that helped him develop his experience through design. Inspiration was another important key for him that he utilized in his projects. In most of his work the footprints of the inspiration was noticeable. In one of his projects he got his inspiration from the color of the tree in the site which was amazing. His design process to me was similar to this: He got the plain idea, mixed it with culture, formed it with architectural scheme, added modern look to it, added inspiration, some more material and then design is ready.
The only thing that raised question in my mind was the budgeting. He didn’t talk about the budget and to me in most of his work budget was not an issue. In this economy I really want to see how he can apply his unique ideas to low income housing or tight budget projects?
The only thing that raised question in my mind was the budgeting. He didn’t talk about the budget and to me in most of his work budget was not an issue. In this economy I really want to see how he can apply his unique ideas to low income housing or tight budget projects?
Why it is important to use numbers in planning and policy debate?
Planning and policy debate is basically attached to the numbers and often questions can make a better explanation by numbers. When people are not aware of the amount of energy they use in a day the influence of using extra energy in the community will be harder to recognize for them. In addition by numbers they will have a better view of the amount of the each energy source in surrounding and the cost of it. One of our goals is decrease energy consumption in the world and to achieve this target it is better to use simple and acceptable numbers.
Simple numbers are more understandable, memorable and easier to compare information together. Apply the adjective instead of numbers will confuse public about reality. For example use “huge” as an alternative of actual amount. Using the acceptable number is as important as using simple numbers. Employ a huge number especially when it is not necessarily can be meaningless to the public. For example “American buys 2.6 billion napkin boxes per year” is not inform people but “Switching your gas and electricity supplier could save you up to $340 a year” is more real and practical.
Since sometimes numbers are selected to impress, change the fact, arguments or scare people instead of educating them using number when it is not a need can bring distrust to community. For instance in a climate when public don’t pay attention to numbers mass communication media such as news papers, radio and companies can provide wrong information.
Different questions about renewable energy, climate change, dioxide pollution and energy crisis are easier to explain with numbers. Some questions are: can people make a difference in the energy crisis by biking or walking instead of driving a car? How much energy efficiency will increase by using fluorescent lighting and LED lighting (Light Emitting Diode) instead of regular lighting? How much carbon dioxide pollution will reduce by changing our life style to advanced technology like hybrid car?
Simple numbers are more understandable, memorable and easier to compare information together. Apply the adjective instead of numbers will confuse public about reality. For example use “huge” as an alternative of actual amount. Using the acceptable number is as important as using simple numbers. Employ a huge number especially when it is not necessarily can be meaningless to the public. For example “American buys 2.6 billion napkin boxes per year” is not inform people but “Switching your gas and electricity supplier could save you up to $340 a year” is more real and practical.
Since sometimes numbers are selected to impress, change the fact, arguments or scare people instead of educating them using number when it is not a need can bring distrust to community. For instance in a climate when public don’t pay attention to numbers mass communication media such as news papers, radio and companies can provide wrong information.
Different questions about renewable energy, climate change, dioxide pollution and energy crisis are easier to explain with numbers. Some questions are: can people make a difference in the energy crisis by biking or walking instead of driving a car? How much energy efficiency will increase by using fluorescent lighting and LED lighting (Light Emitting Diode) instead of regular lighting? How much carbon dioxide pollution will reduce by changing our life style to advanced technology like hybrid car?
Climate change motivation...
Climate change bring different question to peoples mind. What is the definition of the climate change? Is it the certain countries inaccuracy? What is the responcibility of the public? And how individuals can help? Although climate change is not a short term change and it happened over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years in current decade is become a huge intricate for the world. Some people even believe that climate change like global warming is out of control and no one has power to change the fact.
The climate-change motivation is have a discussion in three things. First “human fossil fuel burning causes carbon dioxide concentrations to rise, Second carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and third increasing the greenhouse effect increases average global temperatures (and has many other effects).”
Carbon dioxide was rising during the time (1000AD to the present) but after the Industrial Revolution from (1800AD to 2000AD) the increase rate has been exponential. It started increasing when James Watt introduced his steam engine to the society. At the same time British coal production started to go up as well. Coal production was used to create iron, to build and power transportation system like ships and locomotive and to heat up houses. The usage of the coal production was growing extraordinarily. For example in the 30 years from 1769 to 1800, yearly use of coal production doubled and then in 1830 it had doubled again and then in 20 years later doubled again and still continues. It was not just happening in England, in other countries same thing was starting after industrial revolution. In producing CO2 emissions oil production is slightly less effective than the coal.
Since people were successful by doubling or tripling CO2 concentration lot of things will be changed in the future. First increasing the intensity of the sun by 2%, second global temperature goes up almost 3 ◦C. third “the Greenland icecap would gradually melt, and, over a period of few 100 years, sea-level would rise by about 7 meters.” The last and not least is changing the ecosystem for humans, animals and plants.
The climate-change motivation is have a discussion in three things. First “human fossil fuel burning causes carbon dioxide concentrations to rise, Second carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and third increasing the greenhouse effect increases average global temperatures (and has many other effects).”
Carbon dioxide was rising during the time (1000AD to the present) but after the Industrial Revolution from (1800AD to 2000AD) the increase rate has been exponential. It started increasing when James Watt introduced his steam engine to the society. At the same time British coal production started to go up as well. Coal production was used to create iron, to build and power transportation system like ships and locomotive and to heat up houses. The usage of the coal production was growing extraordinarily. For example in the 30 years from 1769 to 1800, yearly use of coal production doubled and then in 1830 it had doubled again and then in 20 years later doubled again and still continues. It was not just happening in England, in other countries same thing was starting after industrial revolution. In producing CO2 emissions oil production is slightly less effective than the coal.
Since people were successful by doubling or tripling CO2 concentration lot of things will be changed in the future. First increasing the intensity of the sun by 2%, second global temperature goes up almost 3 ◦C. third “the Greenland icecap would gradually melt, and, over a period of few 100 years, sea-level would rise by about 7 meters.” The last and not least is changing the ecosystem for humans, animals and plants.
Sustainable design...
01. The First Law of Thermodynamics is energy into the system = useful energy which is delivered + wasted energy. Energy efficiency is useful energy out divided by energy input. By achieve a bigger number from this calculation we increase our efficiency. For example by using a compacts fluorescent bulb in the house we can increase the efficiency
02. Buildings consume over 40% of the total energy and it is growing fast than we can imagine, this number by 2030 will enlarge to 55%. Current model for home use 190 thousand joules per square meter and the best prototype is 11 thousand joules per square meter which can make a big deference in saving energy. Most primary energy uses in US are lighting (for commercial sector 25.2% and residential sector 6.8%) and space heating and water heating (for residential sector 39.8%, 16.9% and commercial sector 32.4%).But climate make a big difference. For example in Phoenix area air conditioning has a bigger number compare to space heating. Data from US department of energy and Hunn Chapter 01.
03. ENERGY STAR Program is a program which “voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products in order to achieve long-lasting market transformation.” It is cover the entire building sector like office equipment, residential, new homes, commercial buildings, major appliances, home electronics, windows and also residential and commercial lighting.
04. LEED Green Building Rating System which is a national standard for sustainable buildings. It is Some LEED certification standards are New construction and major renovation projects (NC), Existing building operations (EB), Commercial interiors projects (CI), Core and shell projects (CS), Homes (H) and Neighborhood development (ND)
05. Simulation Programs is a building thermal simulation which allows us to model a building before or after renovations. Also give a chance to architects and designers to try different energy alternatives, compare them and use the best option. It is more economical and less time consuming.
06. HVAC = Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning. HVAC systems help to control the climate and humidity and keep dwellers comfortable by regulating the temperature and air flow.
02. Buildings consume over 40% of the total energy and it is growing fast than we can imagine, this number by 2030 will enlarge to 55%. Current model for home use 190 thousand joules per square meter and the best prototype is 11 thousand joules per square meter which can make a big deference in saving energy. Most primary energy uses in US are lighting (for commercial sector 25.2% and residential sector 6.8%) and space heating and water heating (for residential sector 39.8%, 16.9% and commercial sector 32.4%).But climate make a big difference. For example in Phoenix area air conditioning has a bigger number compare to space heating. Data from US department of energy and Hunn Chapter 01.
03. ENERGY STAR Program is a program which “voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products in order to achieve long-lasting market transformation.” It is cover the entire building sector like office equipment, residential, new homes, commercial buildings, major appliances, home electronics, windows and also residential and commercial lighting.
04. LEED Green Building Rating System which is a national standard for sustainable buildings. It is Some LEED certification standards are New construction and major renovation projects (NC), Existing building operations (EB), Commercial interiors projects (CI), Core and shell projects (CS), Homes (H) and Neighborhood development (ND)
05. Simulation Programs is a building thermal simulation which allows us to model a building before or after renovations. Also give a chance to architects and designers to try different energy alternatives, compare them and use the best option. It is more economical and less time consuming.
06. HVAC = Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning. HVAC systems help to control the climate and humidity and keep dwellers comfortable by regulating the temperature and air flow.
ENERGY STAR
It is a worldwide standard program which created by United State Department of Energy and United State Environmental Protection Agency. This program is planned to recognize and promote energy efficiency of products, reduce greenhouse gas emission, reduce global warming gases, protect the environment, save money and energy for consumers around the world. This standard start working at 1992 in the United State by labeled computer and monitor and then they extended their service by labeling the additional office products, residential and commercial heating equipment, residential air conditioning, home electronics, and lighting products. Since the success of this program in United State was more than community expected, numerous European countries decided to adopt it as well. Due to the research any equipment which meets the standard and gain Energy Star Logo can save 20% to 30% on energy usages on average.
The Energy Star designed to use for residential, industrial and commercial. In fact using the service for residential can save at least a third on families’ energy bill and also for business can create twice the saving. For example last year Americans saved $19 billion on their utility bills plus improved home comfort. In addition they gained even more benefits such as tax credit from state and federal, avoid greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment. ENERGY STAR could effectively delivered energy to businesses, owners, designers and organization and saved money for them. Also influenced companies to use more efficient product such as fluorescent lighting, LED lighting (Light Emitting Diode) and low standby energy use. Fluorescent lighting uses 70% less energy than other lights and lasts up to more than ten times longer than normal incandescent lights.
One of the popular services of Energy Star is for entertainment sector. Probably we never imagine that saving energy will be a possibility when we go to museums, theater, stadium or convention center. ES has online tools and resources for entertainment industry and guides them to greener environment. Quick Reference Guide to Benchmarking, Webinars, and news articles about managing energy and being green are some of their tools. St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium and Virginia Beach Convention Center are two good examples of this service.
In the last decade energy prices turn to be a hot topic and a main alarm for community and also finding a trustable standard was not easy. Energy building by labeling equipment with better performance for each business and organization could open a new chapter in energy efficiency and cost savings. It brought a better product for better world.
The Energy Star designed to use for residential, industrial and commercial. In fact using the service for residential can save at least a third on families’ energy bill and also for business can create twice the saving. For example last year Americans saved $19 billion on their utility bills plus improved home comfort. In addition they gained even more benefits such as tax credit from state and federal, avoid greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment. ENERGY STAR could effectively delivered energy to businesses, owners, designers and organization and saved money for them. Also influenced companies to use more efficient product such as fluorescent lighting, LED lighting (Light Emitting Diode) and low standby energy use. Fluorescent lighting uses 70% less energy than other lights and lasts up to more than ten times longer than normal incandescent lights.
One of the popular services of Energy Star is for entertainment sector. Probably we never imagine that saving energy will be a possibility when we go to museums, theater, stadium or convention center. ES has online tools and resources for entertainment industry and guides them to greener environment. Quick Reference Guide to Benchmarking, Webinars, and news articles about managing energy and being green are some of their tools. St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium and Virginia Beach Convention Center are two good examples of this service.
In the last decade energy prices turn to be a hot topic and a main alarm for community and also finding a trustable standard was not easy. Energy building by labeling equipment with better performance for each business and organization could open a new chapter in energy efficiency and cost savings. It brought a better product for better world.
LEED
LEED or The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a global standard green building certification system which offers a new standard for environment friendly and sustainable design. It developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in United States at 1994 and provides a service to architects, engineers, developers, building owners and other industry leaders. It is also covers the building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. LEED has a different certification standard such as new construction and major renovation projects, existing building operations, commercial interiors projects, core and shell projects, homes and neighborhood development.
Comparing LEED certified building to other building which built base on building code; LEED regularly use resources more efficiently than others and frequently offers more eco friendly option to environment. Building types in LEED are includes offices, retail and service establishments, institutional buildings such as libraries, schools, museums and religious institutions and also hotels and residential buildings. LEED system provides the service to all 50 states of the United States and 91 countries and more than 40.000 projects are contributing.
LEED service works base on points. In face, “there are 100 possible base points plus 6 points for innovation in design and 4 points for regional priority”. Some of the categories are sustainable site 26 possible points, water efficiency 5 points, materials and resources 14 points, indoor environmental quality 15 points. Also each section divided by smaller option. For instance sustainable site has some option such as construction activity pollution prevention plan which is required, site selection 1 point, storm water manegment 2 points, reduse heat island 2 points, light pollution reduction 1 point and etc… By adding points building can be qualify for four special level of certification including Certified - 40-49 points, Silver - 50-59 points, Gold - 60-79 points, Platinum - 80 points and above. It is really user friendly service and after submitting an application online with documents and requirements consumer pay registration and certification fees and certification is going to process and decided by the Green Building Council.
Buildings including residential and commercial are account for 40% of energy usage and CO2 emissions and designing an eco friendly building is necessarily in our decade. Thus it brings a big responsibility to architects and other people who are involved in building industry. By having a good standard certification system architects could achieve their goals which is using less energy, water efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, CO2 emissions reduction and gaining healthier environment for all community.
Comparing LEED certified building to other building which built base on building code; LEED regularly use resources more efficiently than others and frequently offers more eco friendly option to environment. Building types in LEED are includes offices, retail and service establishments, institutional buildings such as libraries, schools, museums and religious institutions and also hotels and residential buildings. LEED system provides the service to all 50 states of the United States and 91 countries and more than 40.000 projects are contributing.
LEED service works base on points. In face, “there are 100 possible base points plus 6 points for innovation in design and 4 points for regional priority”. Some of the categories are sustainable site 26 possible points, water efficiency 5 points, materials and resources 14 points, indoor environmental quality 15 points. Also each section divided by smaller option. For instance sustainable site has some option such as construction activity pollution prevention plan which is required, site selection 1 point, storm water manegment 2 points, reduse heat island 2 points, light pollution reduction 1 point and etc… By adding points building can be qualify for four special level of certification including Certified - 40-49 points, Silver - 50-59 points, Gold - 60-79 points, Platinum - 80 points and above. It is really user friendly service and after submitting an application online with documents and requirements consumer pay registration and certification fees and certification is going to process and decided by the Green Building Council.
Buildings including residential and commercial are account for 40% of energy usage and CO2 emissions and designing an eco friendly building is necessarily in our decade. Thus it brings a big responsibility to architects and other people who are involved in building industry. By having a good standard certification system architects could achieve their goals which is using less energy, water efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, CO2 emissions reduction and gaining healthier environment for all community.
HVAC
The question is what HVAC is and why as an architect we need to be familiar with this system. Basically HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning and it is essentially heating and cooling systems in the building.
Choose the HVAC is the first priority in building system and use the right one which is size-appropriate to the building type is really important because achieve the high level of efficiency and human comfort is a main key in buildings. In addition, maintenance service and set up the accurate system, volume of the system not simple task for designers and architect. For example use the heating system which is too large or too small for the residential project will give an inefficient system that cost more money in long term of period. Also big air conditioner will make an uncomfortable climate inside the building plus extra cost to run. It is even more important for commercial building such as museum, aquarium, office building and skyscrapers because base on the size of the users of the building HVAC system have to be energy efficient and functional and it is also has to offer a healthy and safe place to consumers.
The main job of HVAC system is to control room humidity and temperature. Since the uncomfortable place can influence people’s abilities successful control of those factors will minimize health related problems. High humidity reduces strength in human body which typically causes tiredness as well as “hypothermia, heat stroke, and hyperpyrexia”.
HVAC system has different jobs. Heating job is important in maintaining room temperature especially during colder climate. There are two different type of heating system such as local and central. Central more frequently used because it is economical and safe. Ventilation job is the process of changing air in public or private spaces. It manages temperature and eliminates humidity, smoke, dust, extra heat and bacteria. It let carbon dioxide to go out and oxygen to get inside and make sure the air is circulating and people are getting fresh and clean air. The air-conditioning system and refrigeration job is managed the both heat and ventilation. It works base on the proccess of radiation, convection, and conduction. It means by removing the heat from the area make the place more pleasant for indoor user.
Choose the HVAC is the first priority in building system and use the right one which is size-appropriate to the building type is really important because achieve the high level of efficiency and human comfort is a main key in buildings. In addition, maintenance service and set up the accurate system, volume of the system not simple task for designers and architect. For example use the heating system which is too large or too small for the residential project will give an inefficient system that cost more money in long term of period. Also big air conditioner will make an uncomfortable climate inside the building plus extra cost to run. It is even more important for commercial building such as museum, aquarium, office building and skyscrapers because base on the size of the users of the building HVAC system have to be energy efficient and functional and it is also has to offer a healthy and safe place to consumers.
The main job of HVAC system is to control room humidity and temperature. Since the uncomfortable place can influence people’s abilities successful control of those factors will minimize health related problems. High humidity reduces strength in human body which typically causes tiredness as well as “hypothermia, heat stroke, and hyperpyrexia”.
HVAC system has different jobs. Heating job is important in maintaining room temperature especially during colder climate. There are two different type of heating system such as local and central. Central more frequently used because it is economical and safe. Ventilation job is the process of changing air in public or private spaces. It manages temperature and eliminates humidity, smoke, dust, extra heat and bacteria. It let carbon dioxide to go out and oxygen to get inside and make sure the air is circulating and people are getting fresh and clean air. The air-conditioning system and refrigeration job is managed the both heat and ventilation. It works base on the proccess of radiation, convection, and conduction. It means by removing the heat from the area make the place more pleasant for indoor user.
Computer Modeling Simulation
Although computer simulation in building is a main key for the study of energy efficiency in buildings first thing to consider is understand the definition of the computer simulation. Computer simulation is create a model of a theoretical physical system, complete this model on a digital computer program, analyze the output, compare the result and finally choose the best option which can give the most efficient result.
Inside the overall task of simulation there are three main sub-fields such as “model design, model execution and model analysis.” Simulation has a principle of leaning by practicing. To learn about the system is better to first build a model then operate this model. The use of simulation is an activity that is as natural as a child who role plays. Children understand the world around them by simulating. The majority of their connections with other people, animals, objects and their environment are based on learn by practice as well as make a mistake and gain experience. For instance they don’t know by pouring the sugar on the table they can build a sugar cone until they experience it. It is an opportunity that nature gave them to use their natural ability to learn during process. As an adult some of these childlike manners are lost during the time but it brings back to us through computer simulation design. In fact computer simulation is the electronic equivalent of role playing and it serves to drive synthetic environments and virtual worlds.
Simulation and modeling can be directly use as a design tool for any type of building and it has become essential part of many designs. It is a powerful and significant tool because offers a way to understand and explore different alternatives in design, plans and/or policies. Also it is less expensive, time-consuming and more practical to work with. Main advantage of simulation is before a building constructed it will allow the designers to optimize the energy use and efficiency of the building. During the design process designers have a chance to ask different question about the project like What if? Or how about this instead of that? These questions give them the opportunity to make changes as much as they want instead of changing the actual system.
In addition, for the exciting structures simulation could become a very helpful tool with the urge to improve efficiency of the buildings. Designers can model exciting building and try to optimize the energy use by varying different parameters in the structure such as window location, insulation materials, materials used for shading, lighting system, HVAC and air conditioning. Designers can monitor or measurer the impact of these changes on the overall energy efficiency and recommend changes to be implemented in the structure. With the recent development in the analysis and design tools modelers are able to correlate the simulation results with data collected from the actual structure. This has filled the gap between analyses and experiment.
Modeling process is a connection between designer, computer model, input data, and output result. Since many aspects of models need a fair conclusion designer and the model should be strongly connected to each other. As an example in the design process designer make an individual decision about which data is essential to use, how much detail need to be involved during the process and how to make the model more efficient and useful for public. In each particular project designer take time and effort to understand and recognize the limitation inherent in the model formulation, identify the errors, make a correction in details, calculation their response and obtain the best result.
Each model is generally designed for the specific project because in each project designer build the model based on the information and data on that specific situation and condition which is not similar to other circumstance. Sometimes the final result is not what a designer expected and it is fixable by comparison between simulation results. Also designer can check the result in different programs to get the most reasonable answer. After comparing the result in the simulation process designer need to replaced the exciting program to the better program if “better data is existing, more precise or more revealing analysis is performed on the data and an alternative formulation data provides as much insight with as much precision and more efficiently (lower data requirement or faster computational speed)”.
In the simulation programs the level of details of a model is a subject to concern. The model is worked based on variety detail and existing data which is really important in the modeling. Different programs give an opportunity to designers to add different type of detail during modeling but they should consider how much and what sort of detail they need to put in. Adding up the incorrect details to the process will change the numbers in the report and the result will not be practical at the end. The inclusion of extra detail can mislead the people because in some cases it shows that model is too expensive to use or need too much data requirement. Another duty of designer is collect all available data for the project because model can not create an outstanding result if data information does not exist or it is not completed. Also need to remember that if data were updated during the time of the design process it is a designer responsibility to replace or update the old information with new data.
Design process in meaning is similar to the meaning of investigation during design. If two designers attack a same challenge although they would naturally start from different points and process by dissimilar way they reach the same conclusion at the end. But during the design process both designers need to consider the all options such as R values, insulation, and door and window area and building construction.
Model should not be similar to a container that we just add information into it. The value of the model is dependent on the quality of the data, the way of designer using it and the amount of the details. It is good to remember that in design process first requirement for modelers is patient because sometimes the result of the work is disappointing and designers need to redo the all process of the design, add additional data to the program or compare data’s to get a better result. In general designers have three source of difficulty during their design process including:” experimental error (or noise), confusion of correlation with causation and complexity of the effects studies.”
If modelers consider some basic principles in modeling they make the design process simpler. “Model simple, think complicated” which means model doesn’t need to be as complicated as actuality and designers can think complex during process and have a simple final model. It seems little bit confusing because knowing how much simple or complicated the model needs to be is not an easy option to manage and some experience would be helpful. “Start small and add” is a second principle. The third principle is “dividing and conquers, avoid super large models”. As Pidd – professor of management science in the management school of Lancaster University- recommended in his paper, this is a common advice given to all modeler who is trying to understand how a complicated system operates. Designer should be stay away from falling in love with data and try to be realistic about them is another principle. The last principle for designers is “model building may feel like modeling through. “
Simulation system design in each project is developed by different alternative. In passive solar system simulations are developed by conduction, convection, and radiation relationship which describe the heat flow rate occurring in a building. In simulation some loads are more complicated to estimate than others. For instance, cooling load in passive solar system is more difficult loads to estimate compare to heating loads on both small (hourly) and large (annually) scale. The reason is “first, the difference between indoor and outdoor air temperature is typically smaller in cooling application so that the effect of solar radiation absorption on building surfaces is significant. Second, the ambient temperature may oscillate around the desired indoor temperature causing building thermal capacitance effects to be important. Third, the significant portion of the cooling load may result from the removal of water vapor from the air.”
In computer simulation it is really difficult to control the all parts of the design process and no matter how sophisticated a computer model becomes many limitation remains and they arise from the numbers of aspects. The mathematical imperfection that exits in the solution process, the difficulty of accurately modeling impacts and the rough calculation of complex modeling structure are some example of these limitation computers modeling in the building design process.
Design tool for building generally is classified as simulation or correlations. Simulations provide information on system performance over short (hourly) intervals of time. Correlations offer estimate of long term (monthly or annual). One of the best ways to establish a most excellent building design is to use simulation directly as a design tool. With a correct formulated simulation program and sufficient meteorological data every thing can be estimated and predicted. Simulation programs have a big variety in design field and they are available to community to use. However architect, engineers, designers and others who need to use the modeling program are more comfortable to use some programs that give them more options to play around during the design process, simpler to use, user friendly with more economical price.
Simulation programmers provide several suggestions to new designers to help them to accomplish a better design in the less period of the time. Planning a high-quality of process is as important as a planning a computer design. The model produced should be documented and maintained and be available to all designers to compare the result with each other and use the best available option. Superior contact with other designer is required because understanding and communication would develop across design group boundaries. Be cautious about each small detail which is involved in the design process since wrong number can lead the result to the wrong direction. The design should be carefully "partitioned" in the design process since it is easier to manage for later design groups. Even if it is possible for a small group of people to design and build out the entire project at the architectural level it is not possible at later levels of design.
Inside the overall task of simulation there are three main sub-fields such as “model design, model execution and model analysis.” Simulation has a principle of leaning by practicing. To learn about the system is better to first build a model then operate this model. The use of simulation is an activity that is as natural as a child who role plays. Children understand the world around them by simulating. The majority of their connections with other people, animals, objects and their environment are based on learn by practice as well as make a mistake and gain experience. For instance they don’t know by pouring the sugar on the table they can build a sugar cone until they experience it. It is an opportunity that nature gave them to use their natural ability to learn during process. As an adult some of these childlike manners are lost during the time but it brings back to us through computer simulation design. In fact computer simulation is the electronic equivalent of role playing and it serves to drive synthetic environments and virtual worlds.
Simulation and modeling can be directly use as a design tool for any type of building and it has become essential part of many designs. It is a powerful and significant tool because offers a way to understand and explore different alternatives in design, plans and/or policies. Also it is less expensive, time-consuming and more practical to work with. Main advantage of simulation is before a building constructed it will allow the designers to optimize the energy use and efficiency of the building. During the design process designers have a chance to ask different question about the project like What if? Or how about this instead of that? These questions give them the opportunity to make changes as much as they want instead of changing the actual system.
In addition, for the exciting structures simulation could become a very helpful tool with the urge to improve efficiency of the buildings. Designers can model exciting building and try to optimize the energy use by varying different parameters in the structure such as window location, insulation materials, materials used for shading, lighting system, HVAC and air conditioning. Designers can monitor or measurer the impact of these changes on the overall energy efficiency and recommend changes to be implemented in the structure. With the recent development in the analysis and design tools modelers are able to correlate the simulation results with data collected from the actual structure. This has filled the gap between analyses and experiment.
Modeling process is a connection between designer, computer model, input data, and output result. Since many aspects of models need a fair conclusion designer and the model should be strongly connected to each other. As an example in the design process designer make an individual decision about which data is essential to use, how much detail need to be involved during the process and how to make the model more efficient and useful for public. In each particular project designer take time and effort to understand and recognize the limitation inherent in the model formulation, identify the errors, make a correction in details, calculation their response and obtain the best result.
Each model is generally designed for the specific project because in each project designer build the model based on the information and data on that specific situation and condition which is not similar to other circumstance. Sometimes the final result is not what a designer expected and it is fixable by comparison between simulation results. Also designer can check the result in different programs to get the most reasonable answer. After comparing the result in the simulation process designer need to replaced the exciting program to the better program if “better data is existing, more precise or more revealing analysis is performed on the data and an alternative formulation data provides as much insight with as much precision and more efficiently (lower data requirement or faster computational speed)”.
In the simulation programs the level of details of a model is a subject to concern. The model is worked based on variety detail and existing data which is really important in the modeling. Different programs give an opportunity to designers to add different type of detail during modeling but they should consider how much and what sort of detail they need to put in. Adding up the incorrect details to the process will change the numbers in the report and the result will not be practical at the end. The inclusion of extra detail can mislead the people because in some cases it shows that model is too expensive to use or need too much data requirement. Another duty of designer is collect all available data for the project because model can not create an outstanding result if data information does not exist or it is not completed. Also need to remember that if data were updated during the time of the design process it is a designer responsibility to replace or update the old information with new data.
Design process in meaning is similar to the meaning of investigation during design. If two designers attack a same challenge although they would naturally start from different points and process by dissimilar way they reach the same conclusion at the end. But during the design process both designers need to consider the all options such as R values, insulation, and door and window area and building construction.
Model should not be similar to a container that we just add information into it. The value of the model is dependent on the quality of the data, the way of designer using it and the amount of the details. It is good to remember that in design process first requirement for modelers is patient because sometimes the result of the work is disappointing and designers need to redo the all process of the design, add additional data to the program or compare data’s to get a better result. In general designers have three source of difficulty during their design process including:” experimental error (or noise), confusion of correlation with causation and complexity of the effects studies.”
If modelers consider some basic principles in modeling they make the design process simpler. “Model simple, think complicated” which means model doesn’t need to be as complicated as actuality and designers can think complex during process and have a simple final model. It seems little bit confusing because knowing how much simple or complicated the model needs to be is not an easy option to manage and some experience would be helpful. “Start small and add” is a second principle. The third principle is “dividing and conquers, avoid super large models”. As Pidd – professor of management science in the management school of Lancaster University- recommended in his paper, this is a common advice given to all modeler who is trying to understand how a complicated system operates. Designer should be stay away from falling in love with data and try to be realistic about them is another principle. The last principle for designers is “model building may feel like modeling through. “
Simulation system design in each project is developed by different alternative. In passive solar system simulations are developed by conduction, convection, and radiation relationship which describe the heat flow rate occurring in a building. In simulation some loads are more complicated to estimate than others. For instance, cooling load in passive solar system is more difficult loads to estimate compare to heating loads on both small (hourly) and large (annually) scale. The reason is “first, the difference between indoor and outdoor air temperature is typically smaller in cooling application so that the effect of solar radiation absorption on building surfaces is significant. Second, the ambient temperature may oscillate around the desired indoor temperature causing building thermal capacitance effects to be important. Third, the significant portion of the cooling load may result from the removal of water vapor from the air.”
In computer simulation it is really difficult to control the all parts of the design process and no matter how sophisticated a computer model becomes many limitation remains and they arise from the numbers of aspects. The mathematical imperfection that exits in the solution process, the difficulty of accurately modeling impacts and the rough calculation of complex modeling structure are some example of these limitation computers modeling in the building design process.
Design tool for building generally is classified as simulation or correlations. Simulations provide information on system performance over short (hourly) intervals of time. Correlations offer estimate of long term (monthly or annual). One of the best ways to establish a most excellent building design is to use simulation directly as a design tool. With a correct formulated simulation program and sufficient meteorological data every thing can be estimated and predicted. Simulation programs have a big variety in design field and they are available to community to use. However architect, engineers, designers and others who need to use the modeling program are more comfortable to use some programs that give them more options to play around during the design process, simpler to use, user friendly with more economical price.
Simulation programmers provide several suggestions to new designers to help them to accomplish a better design in the less period of the time. Planning a high-quality of process is as important as a planning a computer design. The model produced should be documented and maintained and be available to all designers to compare the result with each other and use the best available option. Superior contact with other designer is required because understanding and communication would develop across design group boundaries. Be cautious about each small detail which is involved in the design process since wrong number can lead the result to the wrong direction. The design should be carefully "partitioned" in the design process since it is easier to manage for later design groups. Even if it is possible for a small group of people to design and build out the entire project at the architectural level it is not possible at later levels of design.
Guest Lecture Christopher Davey
The lecture started with two important points. First what are the renewable energy resources and what is the Enviro Mission in the 21 century. Renewable energy is energy produced from natural resources like sunlight, wind, rain, soil. “In 2006 around 18% of global final energy consumption came from renewable energy resources plus 13% from traditional biomass (wood-burning). The next largest renewable source is hydroelectricity which presents 3% of global energy consumption and 15% of global electricity generation. The Enviro Mission Global Solar is a tower developer who is established network of global partners and doing projects underway in the southwest. One of their big projects is a solar updraft tower power generating station recognized as “Solar Tower Buronga” in Buronga, New South Wales which started in 2001.” The height of the tower will be approximately twice as the world’s tallest structure.
The renewable energy resources have different benefits included 100% green resources with zero water, zero emission, zero fossil fuel, more reliable cost, more flexibility on hours to operate and site flexibility. Some of the technologies in renewable energy are nuclear, wind, photovoltaic and solar power. But need to consider that on top of the advantage they have disadvantage. Although nuclear power has a very high capital costs it has long development lifecycle and politically sensitive. Wind power doesn’t have a storage capability and really unreliable but the caption cost is moderate on that. Photovoltaic also has an extremely high caption cost with very expensive to install, expensive to storage and it just can operate 4 to 6 hours per day. Finally solar power is not economical in storage with high caption cost and can just operate 6 to 8 hours per day.
The attractive part in the lecture was solar tower section. Solar tower is a projected type of renewable-energy power plant. In fact it is a combination of three old and established technologies like chimney outcome, greenhouse outcome, and wind turbines. The producing skill of the solar tower mainly depends on two different factors. First the size of the tower such as collector size and chimney height and second the volume of air which needs to get warmed to run up to the chimney.
The solar tower has a big advantage over wind powers and other solar producer. The solar tower is based on no wind program and can work 24 hours and 7 days a week. They are also low costs with sustainable energy (zero water and fossil fuel use), it has more than 75 life expectation, integrates with variety of heat forms storage (hot air can be stored inside the collector region to be used to warm the air later on.) and being eco-energy for the 21st century. In addition, in our era solar tower can be a major motivated option in energy projects since it has lots of advantages compare to other developments.
The renewable energy resources have different benefits included 100% green resources with zero water, zero emission, zero fossil fuel, more reliable cost, more flexibility on hours to operate and site flexibility. Some of the technologies in renewable energy are nuclear, wind, photovoltaic and solar power. But need to consider that on top of the advantage they have disadvantage. Although nuclear power has a very high capital costs it has long development lifecycle and politically sensitive. Wind power doesn’t have a storage capability and really unreliable but the caption cost is moderate on that. Photovoltaic also has an extremely high caption cost with very expensive to install, expensive to storage and it just can operate 4 to 6 hours per day. Finally solar power is not economical in storage with high caption cost and can just operate 6 to 8 hours per day.
The attractive part in the lecture was solar tower section. Solar tower is a projected type of renewable-energy power plant. In fact it is a combination of three old and established technologies like chimney outcome, greenhouse outcome, and wind turbines. The producing skill of the solar tower mainly depends on two different factors. First the size of the tower such as collector size and chimney height and second the volume of air which needs to get warmed to run up to the chimney.
The solar tower has a big advantage over wind powers and other solar producer. The solar tower is based on no wind program and can work 24 hours and 7 days a week. They are also low costs with sustainable energy (zero water and fossil fuel use), it has more than 75 life expectation, integrates with variety of heat forms storage (hot air can be stored inside the collector region to be used to warm the air later on.) and being eco-energy for the 21st century. In addition, in our era solar tower can be a major motivated option in energy projects since it has lots of advantages compare to other developments.
Subsidizing Corn‐Based Ethanol
It is clear that scientists think the corn based ethanol is a very unfortunate policy because first, it offers a small amount of net energy after we consider the amount of the energy for production. As a fact, more energy we loss to make ethanol from grain than the combustion of ethanol produces. Second, using corn for fuel will raise food costs in the community. Third, ethanol has a negative balance power. “Ethanol from corn and wood biomass requires 29%, 50%, and 57% more energy” to create the ethanol than the energy restricted within the fuel. “Adding up the energy costs of corn production and its conversion to ethanol, 131,000 Btu are needed to make one gallon of ethanol. One gallon of ethanol has an energy value of only 77,000 Btu”
Unfortunately federal and state are disagreed and claimed that in Brazil people productively use sugar cane based ethanol. But the fact is sugar cane ethanol is more efficient -produces more net energy- and it made of waste left over after the extraction of sugar and also would not affect the food prices in society. The whole discussion about corn based ethanol brings two questions in the public minds. How federal and state public policies are -regarding to the issue- connected to the farming sector? And then how farmers assisted state and federal election campaigns to gain this?
Since the ethanol production requires a big quantity of energy and the majority energy in the country is created from coal the small reduction in CO2 and other polluting emissions from burning ethanol versus gasoline will be more than standard by the power needed to produce the ethanol. Also “ethanol produced has a small energy yield per hectare”. Therefore, it needs a large quantity of land to produce a significant amount of ethanol. Consider that the “20% of the whole corn crop was used to create ethanol, and it offset only 1% of US oil use” in 2008.
The majority of economic studies show that the manufacture of the corn to ethanol- if we believe the costs of environmental- it will damages our environment more than we can visualize. For example, soiling in the corn farming is a very difficult work to achieve. It is involved with “nitrogen fertilizer and petroleum-based pesticides”. Another consideration for ethanol is necessitating the farm to water. Water is limited in the country specially places close to the corn farm. As we mentioned before since corn can count as a food, ethanol production is increasing food prices like meat, milk, eggs and other grocery product because is about “70 percent of corn grain is fed to livestock and poultry in the United States”. For sure this change will attack the economy in the Unites States other parts of the world. Finally, although we want to be optimistic and wish that the all transportation services in the United States get the service with hundred percent of ethanol in the reality we will need to grow the corn feedstock all over on our land area and corn will cover nearly the total places in the United States.
But it is a big difference between the algae and corn based ethanol. For example since the country require the enormous oil needs the algae farms would take only about 15,000 square miles to produce sufficient biodiesel to meet our transportation requirements and it is possible in actuality. In fact each algae farm can be just 120 miles by 120 miles with less than 50 algae farms with only 300 square miles each to get the goal reach. Also algae is more economical and renewable as well as it will not going to displace food crop. In addition, algae are truly easier to handle than other resources since it does not require the level of filtering or titrating. In conclusion it is a desire that users learn how to make algae bio diesel for themselves at home or other places. Then they can to be more responsible for their own energy requirements and stop waiting for big energy corporations to deliver energy to them.
Unfortunately federal and state are disagreed and claimed that in Brazil people productively use sugar cane based ethanol. But the fact is sugar cane ethanol is more efficient -produces more net energy- and it made of waste left over after the extraction of sugar and also would not affect the food prices in society. The whole discussion about corn based ethanol brings two questions in the public minds. How federal and state public policies are -regarding to the issue- connected to the farming sector? And then how farmers assisted state and federal election campaigns to gain this?
Since the ethanol production requires a big quantity of energy and the majority energy in the country is created from coal the small reduction in CO2 and other polluting emissions from burning ethanol versus gasoline will be more than standard by the power needed to produce the ethanol. Also “ethanol produced has a small energy yield per hectare”. Therefore, it needs a large quantity of land to produce a significant amount of ethanol. Consider that the “20% of the whole corn crop was used to create ethanol, and it offset only 1% of US oil use” in 2008.
The majority of economic studies show that the manufacture of the corn to ethanol- if we believe the costs of environmental- it will damages our environment more than we can visualize. For example, soiling in the corn farming is a very difficult work to achieve. It is involved with “nitrogen fertilizer and petroleum-based pesticides”. Another consideration for ethanol is necessitating the farm to water. Water is limited in the country specially places close to the corn farm. As we mentioned before since corn can count as a food, ethanol production is increasing food prices like meat, milk, eggs and other grocery product because is about “70 percent of corn grain is fed to livestock and poultry in the United States”. For sure this change will attack the economy in the Unites States other parts of the world. Finally, although we want to be optimistic and wish that the all transportation services in the United States get the service with hundred percent of ethanol in the reality we will need to grow the corn feedstock all over on our land area and corn will cover nearly the total places in the United States.
But it is a big difference between the algae and corn based ethanol. For example since the country require the enormous oil needs the algae farms would take only about 15,000 square miles to produce sufficient biodiesel to meet our transportation requirements and it is possible in actuality. In fact each algae farm can be just 120 miles by 120 miles with less than 50 algae farms with only 300 square miles each to get the goal reach. Also algae is more economical and renewable as well as it will not going to displace food crop. In addition, algae are truly easier to handle than other resources since it does not require the level of filtering or titrating. In conclusion it is a desire that users learn how to make algae bio diesel for themselves at home or other places. Then they can to be more responsible for their own energy requirements and stop waiting for big energy corporations to deliver energy to them.
Different Types of Solar Thermal Collectors
Flat plate collectors
Flat-plate solar collector is one type of the solar collectors. The other major types are evacuated tube collectors and batch solar heaters. It is the most familiar solar collectors to use in solar water-heating systems and mostly use for homes and small office buildings for solar space heating. It is basically included of “an insulated metal box with a glass or plastic cover (the glazing) and a dark-colored absorber plate.”
- Tubular collectors
Different principals of evacuated tubular calculator are heat pipe evacuated tubular calculator and all glass evacuated tubular calculator. The simplest modules are made of two connected tube. The selective surface on the outer side of the inner tube is vacuumed incased. The fluid to extract heat must be passed in and out at the same end of the inner tube. One major of disadvantage of this collector compare to others is the necessity of using cylindrical shape.
- Compound parabolic collectors
If we want to stay away from the need of keeping the collector aperture pointed to the sun we are able to simply use compound parabolic collector. We can collect and concentrate solar energy from multiple directions to the one point. By using this technique when the sun moves across the sky we can accept and concentrate the solar thermal energy all day.
- Parabolic concentrators
Increasing solar energy capture can be reached by employing longer curved reflectors to take larger areas for sunshine and redirect that solar energy to a smaller center. The parabolic collectors can produce more solar energies at the focal plane or focal line. Because of the geometry and aperture of the collector it must directly face the sun to avoid loss of collection efficiency and maintain the location so the collector need complex and expensive mechanical tracking devices to keep it pointed to the sun all the time.
- Dish concentrators
Dish concentrators using parabolic dish formed mirrors to focus the received solar radiation onto a receiver that is situated at the focal point of the dish. The fluid in the receiver is heated to very high temperatures and then used to generate electricity in a small sterling engine which is attached to the receiver. Parabolic dish systems are the most efficient of all solar technologies “at approximately 25% efficient compare to around 20% for other solar thermal technologies.”
- Heliostat fields
The middle receiver solar power plant is composed to the lots of independently stirred mirrors which is called heliostat. They are focusing the solar radiation onto a tower mounted receiver. The amount of the energy which is received all depends on three different things. “First the characteristic angles of individual heliostats, second the incidence angle of the sun rays striking individual heliostats and the third the blocking and shading effect of each heliostat.”
Flat-plate solar collector is one type of the solar collectors. The other major types are evacuated tube collectors and batch solar heaters. It is the most familiar solar collectors to use in solar water-heating systems and mostly use for homes and small office buildings for solar space heating. It is basically included of “an insulated metal box with a glass or plastic cover (the glazing) and a dark-colored absorber plate.”
- Tubular collectors
Different principals of evacuated tubular calculator are heat pipe evacuated tubular calculator and all glass evacuated tubular calculator. The simplest modules are made of two connected tube. The selective surface on the outer side of the inner tube is vacuumed incased. The fluid to extract heat must be passed in and out at the same end of the inner tube. One major of disadvantage of this collector compare to others is the necessity of using cylindrical shape.
- Compound parabolic collectors
If we want to stay away from the need of keeping the collector aperture pointed to the sun we are able to simply use compound parabolic collector. We can collect and concentrate solar energy from multiple directions to the one point. By using this technique when the sun moves across the sky we can accept and concentrate the solar thermal energy all day.
- Parabolic concentrators
Increasing solar energy capture can be reached by employing longer curved reflectors to take larger areas for sunshine and redirect that solar energy to a smaller center. The parabolic collectors can produce more solar energies at the focal plane or focal line. Because of the geometry and aperture of the collector it must directly face the sun to avoid loss of collection efficiency and maintain the location so the collector need complex and expensive mechanical tracking devices to keep it pointed to the sun all the time.
- Dish concentrators
Dish concentrators using parabolic dish formed mirrors to focus the received solar radiation onto a receiver that is situated at the focal point of the dish. The fluid in the receiver is heated to very high temperatures and then used to generate electricity in a small sterling engine which is attached to the receiver. Parabolic dish systems are the most efficient of all solar technologies “at approximately 25% efficient compare to around 20% for other solar thermal technologies.”
- Heliostat fields
The middle receiver solar power plant is composed to the lots of independently stirred mirrors which is called heliostat. They are focusing the solar radiation onto a tower mounted receiver. The amount of the energy which is received all depends on three different things. “First the characteristic angles of individual heliostats, second the incidence angle of the sun rays striking individual heliostats and the third the blocking and shading effect of each heliostat.”
Different Types of Solar Thermal Power Production
- Parabolic troughs systems
Parabolic trough system use a bended trough which reflects the direct solar radiation onto a pipe containing a fluid which is called a receiver, absorber or collector running the length of the trough above the reflectors. The trough is parabolic in one direction and straight in the other direction. For change of position of the sun perpendicular to the receiver the trough tilts so that the direct radiation remains focused on the receiver. One advantage of parabolic trough systems is their potential for storing solar thermal energy to use during non-solar periods and to dispatch when it's needed most.
- Paraboloid or dish systems
The advantage of a dish system is that it can achieve much higher temperatures due to the higher concentration of light. Higher temperatures lead to better conversion to electricity and the dish system is very efficient on this point. However, there are also some disadvantages. Heat to electricity conversion requires moving parts and those results in maintenance. In general, a centralized approach for this conversion is better than the decentralized concept in the dish design. Second the heavy engine is part of the moving structure which requires a rigid frame and strong tracking system. Furthermore, parabolic mirrors are used instead of flat mirrors and tracking must be dual-axis.
- Power tower systems
The advantage of this design above the parabolic trough design is the higher temperature as well. Thermal energy at higher temperatures can be converted to electricity more efficiently and can be more cheaply stored for later use. in addition, there is less need to flatten the ground area. In principle a power tower can be built on a hillside. Mirrors can be flat and plumbing is concentrated in the tower. The disadvantage is that each mirror must have its own dual-axis control while in the parabolic trough design one axis can be shared for a large array of mirrors.
- Solar chimneys
Solar chimney often referred to as a thermal chimney. It is a new method of improving the natural ventilation of buildings by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy. A simple description of a solar chimney is that of a vertical shaft utilizing solar energy to enhance the natural stack ventilation through a building. The solar chimney can work better by adding a tremble wall. The advantage of this design is that the system may be reversed during the cold season, providing solar heating instead. Another advantage is the collector can use all solar radiation, both direct and diffused. Also Due to the heat storage system the solar chimney will operate 24h on pure solar energy. Consider that the building materials needed for solar chimneys, mainly concrete and glass and they are available everywhere.
Parabolic trough system use a bended trough which reflects the direct solar radiation onto a pipe containing a fluid which is called a receiver, absorber or collector running the length of the trough above the reflectors. The trough is parabolic in one direction and straight in the other direction. For change of position of the sun perpendicular to the receiver the trough tilts so that the direct radiation remains focused on the receiver. One advantage of parabolic trough systems is their potential for storing solar thermal energy to use during non-solar periods and to dispatch when it's needed most.
- Paraboloid or dish systems
The advantage of a dish system is that it can achieve much higher temperatures due to the higher concentration of light. Higher temperatures lead to better conversion to electricity and the dish system is very efficient on this point. However, there are also some disadvantages. Heat to electricity conversion requires moving parts and those results in maintenance. In general, a centralized approach for this conversion is better than the decentralized concept in the dish design. Second the heavy engine is part of the moving structure which requires a rigid frame and strong tracking system. Furthermore, parabolic mirrors are used instead of flat mirrors and tracking must be dual-axis.
- Power tower systems
The advantage of this design above the parabolic trough design is the higher temperature as well. Thermal energy at higher temperatures can be converted to electricity more efficiently and can be more cheaply stored for later use. in addition, there is less need to flatten the ground area. In principle a power tower can be built on a hillside. Mirrors can be flat and plumbing is concentrated in the tower. The disadvantage is that each mirror must have its own dual-axis control while in the parabolic trough design one axis can be shared for a large array of mirrors.
- Solar chimneys
Solar chimney often referred to as a thermal chimney. It is a new method of improving the natural ventilation of buildings by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy. A simple description of a solar chimney is that of a vertical shaft utilizing solar energy to enhance the natural stack ventilation through a building. The solar chimney can work better by adding a tremble wall. The advantage of this design is that the system may be reversed during the cold season, providing solar heating instead. Another advantage is the collector can use all solar radiation, both direct and diffused. Also Due to the heat storage system the solar chimney will operate 24h on pure solar energy. Consider that the building materials needed for solar chimneys, mainly concrete and glass and they are available everywhere.
Guest Lecture - Ronald Roedel
The important part of the lecture was about structure of the solar cells and its operation. The main thing was about optical radiation which got absorb by the solar cells and the result creates active charged particle then particles will transferred by the solar.
Basically photons get collected by sunlight which we can call it "packets" of the sun energy. When solar cells were hit by photons the huge mass are get absorbed or reflected the quantity of high-energy photons will blow right away but most of the time they are get absorbed or reflected. While absorbing happened to a photon its energy is transported to a semiconductor. When an adequate amount of energy is transported the atom can run away from its regular position to the different position. Meanwhile the electron makes a hole to shape. Each photon with sufficient energy will usually give a way one electron plus one hole.
Each solar cell has three different and energetic layers. First “a top junction layer (made of the N-type semiconductor) second an absorber layer (which called the P-N junction) and third a back junction layer (made of the P-type semiconductor)”. But what is the P-N junction? In the P-N junction the cell includes its individual built-in electric field. This electric field offers the voltage which is necessarily to power electrons and holes by light absorption to run in their own instructions. In fact, it will direct the electrons to the N-type area, and the holes to the P-type area. Whether we offer an outer current path, electrons will run from side to side this pathway to their original area to join with holes the electric field send there. The electron surge offers the current and the electric field make a voltage. With both current path and voltage we can produce power.
Part of the lecture was about The Doping Model, The Fermi level (the chemical potential) and power and efficiency in the solar cell. About efficiency based on my research on the internet triple-junction compound solar cell can gain more efficiency than other product-around 35.8%. It is not similar to other silicon-based solar cells which normally used in solar panels for the home or office buildings. This product made from compounds “including indium and gallium”. Compound solar cells usually used on space satellites and they are costly to make.
Solar cells have three different generations. First Generation is “Silicon, second generation is Thin Film Structures which included Amorphous Silicon, III-V Solar Cells, II-VI Solar Cells, I-III-VI2 Solar Cells and organic Solar Cells and the third generation is Structures that exceed the single PN-junction thermodynamic conversion limit”.
The conclusion of the lecture was more concentrated on the Silicon. It is clear that the Silicon is the best and it will be the best for ever. Also second generation of solar cells provide a miniature competition to Silicon however this is momentary and third Generation of the solar cells are hardly challenging to make itself to the better position but technologically it is not possible.
Basically photons get collected by sunlight which we can call it "packets" of the sun energy. When solar cells were hit by photons the huge mass are get absorbed or reflected the quantity of high-energy photons will blow right away but most of the time they are get absorbed or reflected. While absorbing happened to a photon its energy is transported to a semiconductor. When an adequate amount of energy is transported the atom can run away from its regular position to the different position. Meanwhile the electron makes a hole to shape. Each photon with sufficient energy will usually give a way one electron plus one hole.
Each solar cell has three different and energetic layers. First “a top junction layer (made of the N-type semiconductor) second an absorber layer (which called the P-N junction) and third a back junction layer (made of the P-type semiconductor)”. But what is the P-N junction? In the P-N junction the cell includes its individual built-in electric field. This electric field offers the voltage which is necessarily to power electrons and holes by light absorption to run in their own instructions. In fact, it will direct the electrons to the N-type area, and the holes to the P-type area. Whether we offer an outer current path, electrons will run from side to side this pathway to their original area to join with holes the electric field send there. The electron surge offers the current and the electric field make a voltage. With both current path and voltage we can produce power.
Part of the lecture was about The Doping Model, The Fermi level (the chemical potential) and power and efficiency in the solar cell. About efficiency based on my research on the internet triple-junction compound solar cell can gain more efficiency than other product-around 35.8%. It is not similar to other silicon-based solar cells which normally used in solar panels for the home or office buildings. This product made from compounds “including indium and gallium”. Compound solar cells usually used on space satellites and they are costly to make.
Solar cells have three different generations. First Generation is “Silicon, second generation is Thin Film Structures which included Amorphous Silicon, III-V Solar Cells, II-VI Solar Cells, I-III-VI2 Solar Cells and organic Solar Cells and the third generation is Structures that exceed the single PN-junction thermodynamic conversion limit”.
The conclusion of the lecture was more concentrated on the Silicon. It is clear that the Silicon is the best and it will be the best for ever. Also second generation of solar cells provide a miniature competition to Silicon however this is momentary and third Generation of the solar cells are hardly challenging to make itself to the better position but technologically it is not possible.
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