Sustainability and Energy Efficiency by Ciaran O'Connor

‘Not for what it is, but what else it is’

‘Ní mar a shíltear a bhítear’

‘Non pour ce qu'il est, mais pour ce qu'il est d'autre’

‘No para lo que es, pero lo que además es’

‘Nicht nur was es ist, sondern was noch es ist’

‘Niet voor wat het is, maar wat het nog meer is’

‘Nie za to czym jest, lecz za to czym jest

ponadto’ Views of ‘Patio de los Naranjos’ (Orange Courtyard), Seville, Spain

The key relationship is between Us and Our World

a. It’s Urgent, Global and Local.

b. It must address Social, Environmental, Economic, Qualitative issues.

c. Keep it Simple but not Simplistic.

SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY:

NEARLY ZERO ENERGY BUILDINGS 2017

THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Green Orthodoxy V Dialogue

Doomsday ‘Prophets’ V Economic Progress

Woolly Jumpers V Green Technologies

Woolly Thinking V Real R&D

Eco Bling V Sustainable solutions

Citation V Synthesis

Image V Essence

Fascination V Imagination

An Imaginative and Critical Capacity is Crucial



Imagine a world

without Amsterdam

and Venice ….

Yet a 21st Century

E.I.S. would say ‘NO’

because of their

flood plain and

estuary locations …..

Yet for 9-10

centuries

Amsterdam and

Venice have inspired

us …..

We need to capture

the Elusive as well

as the Apparent.



OPW Experience

In 1996 the OPW in association with the European Commission Directorate General

XVII for Energy jointly published ‘Green Design; Sustainable Building for Ireland’.



Principles of EU Procurement

COMPETITION + ENVIRONMENT FAIRNESS +

Green Public Procurement

essentially adds a third

dimension to the fairness

and competition EU

requirement.



Principles of Sustainability

ENVIRONMENT

SOCIETY

SUSTAINABILITY

GPP

GPP aims to

strengthen the interaction

between

economic, environmental

and social needs

to arrive at more

holistically sustainable

buildings.



SUSTAINABLE DESIGN …

• seeks to design, construct and operate buildings to reduce negative impact on the internal (micro) and external (macro) environment and the consumption of natural resources.

• is an integrated, synergistic approach, which must be adopted for all phases of the building lifecycle.

• results in an optimal balance of

• cost,

• environmental,

• societal,

• human benefits.



The main issues that are an integral part

of the design and construction of the

Building can be categorised as follows;

1. Resource Issues

2. Energy

3. Water

4. Materials

5. Building Life Cycle and

Whole Life



ENVIRONMENT AND BUILDING PERFORMANCE

OPW is committed to incorporating principles of sustainable design and energy efficiency into all of its building projects in line with:

• Government Policy on Sustainable Design and its commitments to international agreements,

• The National Biodiversity Plan,

• Government Policy on Architecture,

• Nearly Zero regulations 2018.



• reflects the project stages as

set out in the OPW

Architectural Services ISO

system,

• makes the designer or supplier

of a building aware of the issues

involved

• to be verified at every stage.

OPW GREEN AUDIT PLAN



Impacts Considered Types of impacts:

Five different impacts have been identified for consideration under GPP.

Each of these is associated with a specific overall objective:

TRANSPORT

Minimise impact on, and ideally enhance, the ecological value of

the site

Minimise excessive use of potable water

Minimise the embodied impacts of materials and promote

efficient use of materials

Minimise primary energy use in the operation of the building and

associated ghg emissions

Minimise transport emissions from journeys to and from the

building, and demands on transport infrastructure

MATERIALS

WATER

ENERGY

ECOLOGY



:: Design Team Restoration & Refurbishment

Site Selection :: Procurement

Design & Construction :: Design Team

Operation :: Facilities Management

Staged Guidance



Example:

:: Design Team Restoration & Refurbishment

Site Selection :: Procurement

Design & Construction :: Design Team

Operation :: Facilities Management

Procurement of buildings with minimum Building Energy Rating

of B3 from 2012 and A3 from 2015.

Design to achieve a whole building energy efficiency in

compliance with PART L (Consumption of Fuel and Energy for

Buildings other than dwellings) of the Building Regulations.

Ongoing energy management via Building Management Systems

and recording of energy use in Display Energy Certificate (DEC).

Develop refurbishment strategy to secure greatest increase in

Building Energy Rating while respecting the technical issues

associated with the upgrading of existing buildings. i,e interstitial

condensation, ventilation, etc.

Energy Use



Core Criteria:

“Core criteria are those suitable for use by any contracting

authority across the Member States, and address the key

environmental impacts. They are designed to be used with

minimum additional verification effort or cost increases.”

CORE AND COMPREHENSIVE CRITERIA

Comprehensive Criteria:

“Comprehensive criteria are for those who wish to purchase the

best environmental products available on the market. These

may require additional verification effort or some increase in

purchase cost compared to competing options fulfilling the same

function.”



Design Life of Building Elements

Principal Element Life Expectancy (years)

Substructure 75

Superstructure / Inaccessible Components 75

Buried Services / Components difficult to access or replace 30

Major Replaceable Components 20

Building Services 25

IT Services 10

External Works 30

Finishes 15

Fitting and Furniture 10



SAMPLE PROJECT

The National Centre for Science and

Discovery,

Kilmainham, Dublin

DESIGN OBJECTIVES

• Minimisation of energy demands.

• Application of renewable energy

sources.

• Efficient use of energy on-site.

• Minimisation of water consumption.

• Compliance with the National Climate

Change Strategy.



• The orientation of the building

• Minimisation of solar gain

• Natural stack ventilation

• High levels of thermal insulation

• High thermal mass structure used

• Heat recovery system

• Solar hot water collectors

• Natural lighting utilised to maximum

practical extent

• High performance glazing

• Lifetime adaptable design

• Minimisation of waste

• Green materials and components

• All aspects of biodiversity

• Energy efficient boiler and chiller plant

• Energy efficient light fittings

• Quality of construction

• Sustainable operation

• Landscaped green roof

Key design elements adopted to improve energy efficiency, internal comfort

and running costs of this building were:

Section through the museum building illustrating green design principles

GREEN DESIGN PRINCIPLES

A shadow analysis

was undertaken to quantify the effects of the

surrounding buildings on the solar gains that could be

expected inside the museum. This helped prove that there

was minimal direct sunlight entering the building and also

assisted in the calculation of the diffused light that could be expected to enter the building.

A 3-dimensional view of the Shadow Analysis of

the Museum

MINIMISATION OF SOLAR GAINS

Particular consideration was

given to the orientation of the building facades,

to the sun path and prevailing winds as

they have a significant impact

on internal comfort, passive building

design measures and running costs.

SHADOW ANALYSIS

Still shots extracted from the shadow analysis to demonstrate that the building

designed orientation combined with the height of adjacent buildings have minimised

solar heat gain in the museum throughout the whole day.

Sun shade diagram at 10am Sun shade diagram at 11am Sun shade diagram at 12pm

Sun shade diagram at 4pm Sun shade diagram at 2pm Sun shade diagram at 1pm

The orientation of the building and the site layout is being used to improve energy efficiency by ensuring

natural ventilation.

Example of Computation Fluid Dynamic (CFD) Analysis Simulation of Airflow Velocities at a height of 1m

NATURAL VENTILATION

There will be a minimum cooling demand in hot weather because a night cooling strategy is being implemented that uses the building’s mass as a thermal store.

NIGHT-COOLING OF THE BUILDING STRUCTURE

Example of Heat Recovery Cycle for the Ventilation Plant

Solar Thermal Panels on the roof of the upper level plant

room will provide the entire requirement for hot water in

the summer and also in the late spring and early autumn.

Examples of Solar Thermal Panels

Heat Recovery Systems are being

designed into all ventilation plant so as to

recover heat energy from the exhaust air.

This recovered energy will be used to

temper the fresh supply air into the

space.

SOLAR THERMAL PANELS / HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEMS

The OPW has many years experience

with the implementation of BMS systems

and their manipulation which leads to

large energy savings when incorporated

into a Monitoring and Targeting (M&T)

strategy of energy usage.

A sophisticated BMS

• will control and monitor the

performance of the high efficiency

heating, cooling and ventilation

systems and allow the heating of the

space to be regulated.

• will allow the building to act like an

intelligent building.

• will be programmed to automatically

open window/ louvers on the

external skin when the internal

temperature sensors reaches a

predetermined temperature.

BUILDING MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM (BMS)

The building will be fitted with

an Energy Monitoring System

(EMS), which

•will constantly monitor both

electrical and fuel consumption

•will log consumption on a

“real time” basis and collect the

data onto a centralised

database.

•The data will be accessible

over the Internet, making the

energy performance of the

building easy to benchmark

against buildings of similar

function and size.

Example of Possible BMS & EMS Building Electrical

Load Profile Comparison Graphs

ENERGY MONITORING SYSTEM (EMS)

HIGH PERFORMANCE GLAZING

• All solar gaining elevations i.e. to South,

East and West Elevations will have low-

emissivity glass to help reduce solar heat

gain and heat loss.

• Windows will be designed to achieve a

minimum overall u-value as per guidance

of current regulations.

It is OPW’s policy that the

building be constructed to

achieve the highest level of

air tightness and hence

minimise uncontrolled air

infiltration, consequentially

there will be reductions in the

energy used in heating and

cooling.

The building will be constructed

to the relevant European and

International Standards (BS EN

ISO 9972:2015 Thermal

performance of buildings –

Determination of Air

Permeability of Buildings –

Fan Pressurization Method),

and to achieve Best Practice

results when tested on

completion.

BUILDING AIR TIGHTNESS

MATERIALS

Where possible, the design of

buildings shall incorporate more

sustainable materials.

In the selection of materials,

consideration should be given to

their energy intensity or

‘embodied’ energy and the

environmental impact of such

materials in manufacture,

delivery and use.

Consideration should also be

given at the design stage to

local sourcing and recycling of

building components.



• Contractors are required to demonstrate their compliance with the OPW’s

timber sustainability requirements. Such compliance should be demonstrated

by credible evidence of verification which shows that the timber used is both

legal and sustainable.

• Existing commercial certification

systems; CSA, FSC, PEFC, and SFI

• F.L.E.G.T: EU illegal logging action plan

• C.I.T.I.E.S: Endangered species list

• Other sources and forms of proof and

verification may be submitted to

demonstrate compliance and should

take the form of ‘verification of

source’ under the terms of the EU

procurement policies; appropriate chain

of custody standard, requirements for

protection of endangered species and

independent assurances of sustainable

forestry practices.



1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Legislative Context for Green

Public Procurement

1.2 Procurement Procedures

1.3 Ambitions and Approach of GPP

for Construction

1.4 How to Use this Document

1.5 General Principles of

Sustainability


OUTLINE FOR GREEN PROCUREMENT FOR CONSTRUCTION

2.0 SITE & PROPERTY PROCUREMENT

2.1 Overview of Application of MEAT

Reports and Scoring Matrix |

Application to Different Property Types

2.2 Assessment of Property and Land

Planning | Financial | Brief

Requirements | Environment

2.3 Environmental Assessment

Methods

Ecological Value | Transport & Utility

Connections | Natural Site Resources

3.0 PROCUREMENT OF CONSULTANCY

AND CONTRACTOR SERVICES

3.1 Design Team Consultants

3.2 Contractor



4.0 DESIGN

4.1 Site and Climate Responsive Design

MacroClimate | MicroClimate

4.2 Indoor Environment and Thermal Comfort

Thermal Comfort | Air Quality | Occupant Health

4.3 Design Strategies

Active & Passive Measures | Ventilation | Solar

Gain | Thermal Mass

4.4 Detailing

Principles | Thermal Bridging | Air-Tightness |

Moisture Penetration | Services

4.5 Design Tools

Simulation & Calculation Software | Publication

4.6 Integration with Project Work Stages

Planning | Tender | Construction



5.0 ECOLOGY

5.1 Land Use &

Habitats

Brown/ Greenfield |

Flora & fauna |

maintaining existing

habitats | landscaping

5.2 Water & Waste

Flood risk/ avoidance |

attenuation ponds |

SUDS | groundwater

5.3 Transport

cycle facilities |

government sustainable

transport policy



6.0 ENERGY

6.1 Overview of BER and DEC

BER | DEC

6.2 Designing to Minimise

Energy Demand

Heat | Air Handling |

Lighting | Appliances |

Building Management

6.3 Designing to Maximise

Energy Supply Efficiency

On-Site Renewables |

Fossil Fuels | Efficient

Services Design



7.0 MATERIALS

7.1 Assessment Criteria

Overview of long-term strategy |

Assessment methodologies |

Environmental impacts

7.2 Guidance on Material Choice

for Building Elements

External Completions |

Internal Completions |

Structure | Finishes |

Services | Fit-Out | Landscape

7.3 Guidance on Specification for

Specific Materials

Concrete| Timber | Masonry |

Structural Steel | Insulation |

Paints | Adhesives & Mastics



8.0 REFURBISHMENT

8.1 Developing a Strategy for Refurbishment

Understanding Existing Building | Complete, Partial & Phased Strategies

8.2 Reducing Energy Use to Improve DEC Rating

Alterations to the Building Fabric | Alterations to Building Services

8.3 Non-Energy Saving Refurbishment Works

Design | Site Ecology | Site Utilities | Materials



9.0 ENFORCEMENT & AUDITING

9.1 Enforcement

9.2 Design Team Checklists

9.3 Contractor Checklists

10.0 REFERENCES

10.1 Glossary

10.2 Standards

10.3 References

10.4 Recommended Literature




OPW Architectural Services’

experience

will provide

new and precise specifications

based on

clear and verifiable

environmental criteria

and be

EU compatible.

(Treaties, Directives, Case Law)

