building a house? make it green!

Description:
BUILDING A “GREEN HOUSE"
by Gigie Cruz
(an abrdiged, featurized version of this was published on the front page of Inquirer)

Greening our houses


A recently released report by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) shows unequivocal proof that the earth is indeed getting hotter. Climate patterns have extremely changed as a consequence of rising carbon dioxide due to the burning of fossil fuels. Government and non-government organizations are aggressively promoting alternatives to address what is considered to be one of the major environmental dilemmas of our time. However, climate change should be addressed along with pollution in air, water and ground.



Greening begins at home



One of the things that we can do, in response to the changing temperatures and the warming of the planet, is to make positive and eco-friendly changes to the spaces that we inhabit. Despite the undeniable consequences of climate change however, green building initiatives have not merited much attention from the public. “Green-ness” of a building is perceived important only by those involved in the environmental movement and seen by others as a mere fashion trend.


The romance between architecture and environmental concerns is nothing new. Our relationship with nature has been a defining factor throughout architectural history as climate, site, topography, and culture have always been considered when designing houses and other structures. In fact, our very own “bahay-kubo” could be one of the most environment-friendly structures considering our climate and topography. This wouldn’t mean limiting the way we design our houses, we should at the least take the positive features of this simple and energy-efficient architectural wonder and apply appropriate technology to make it adaptable to what we need.

Ingredients:
Site Planning & Climate Considerations


Climate influences the way shelters and structures are designed. Immense ingenuity must be applied to provide comfort and convenience to our daily lives.


Good site planning is very crucial to maximize and control climatic forces. It is necessary to study the direction of sun and wind so we can take advantage of these natural gifts. Important considerations should be done on the basis of the natural characteristics of a site such as topography, wind direction, presence of water and other natural elements.


Grow trees and plants to provide cooling effect. Trees and plants also act as sound buffer especially when your vicinity is rather busy. If you have the opportunity, grow your own vegetable garden for self-sufficiency.


Consider planting bamboo, a fast growing canopy which can be used to re-green degraded lands.
According to the Environmental Bamboo Foundation in Indonesia, bamboos release 35% more oxygen compared to other trees. Some species can even arrest 12 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare. Incorporating bamboos in your landscape design would not only control light intensity but will also protect you from ultraviolet rays exposure. Having a tensile strength of 28,000 pounds per square inch, bamboo is considered to be one of the strongest building materials. Using bamboo as an alternative to timber would help protect our rainforests.11BAMBOO PROTECTS THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE AIR WE BREATHE < http://www.bamboocentral.org/index1.htm> Plant and grow your own home by using bamboo!


Design & Energy Efficiency


Carefully designing your house will reduce energy consumption and wastage of resources during construction and demolition. Design your home based on your needs and daily activities. Areas should be properly situated to provide the most comfortable internal conditions.


To avoid switching your lights during daylight, place commonly used spaces in areas where sunlight is most abundant. Face openings towards the east to maximize morning sun. Sunlight during this time is not too hot and too harsh, therefore preventing extreme heat from entering your house. Where and when the sun is harsh, smaller windows should be installed. Ensuring indirect penetration of sunlight into the room by providing canopies, trellises and awnings, reduces temperature.


Skylights can also help reduce reliance to artificial light sources. This is commonly installed in areas like staircases, kitchens, bathrooms, and sometimes in living rooms. However, it is never advisable to install skylights in artificially ventilated or air conditioned areas. Using a skylight will defeat the purpose of energy consumption if you have to lower the thermostat just to keep the area cool.


In hotter areas, try to accelerate airflow across spaces to induce cooling. This can be achieved by putting bigger windows and doorways where wind flows naturally. Rooms with higher ceilings ensure better air circulations, although some homeowners opt for lower ceilings to conserve energy utilized by air conditioning systems.




Green building materials


The manufacture and transportation of building materials contribute to the energy efficiency of a building. Choose building materials manufactured with less energy. Locally manufactured materials are transported with less energy compared to imported ones. Natural materials usually undergo less industrial processes; it’s not only energy efficient but also free from unwanted chemical substances. Go for locally manufactured materials as much as you can. Energy consumed during transportation sometimes outweigh the environment-friendliness of a product.


Patronize recycled and reused products when available. Visit shops along Dapitan St. in Manila that offer used building materials like used lumber, steel grills, doors, windows and even housing accessories at budget prices. Use your creativity when designing your house.


Occupants’ health and well being should not be jeopardized at any cost. Make sure that building materials used during construction are safe to both health and environment. Read the labels of the materials you are planning to avoid unwanted exposure to any toxic substances.


Given the presence of cancer-causing phthalates, PVC is considered to be the most toxic of all plastic products. It creates problems in its entire lifecycle - manufacturing, use and disposal. PVC however, is the second most commonly used plastic and is often used for water pipes, tiles, door and window sidings, wallpaper, electric cables, etc. The good news is, alternatives to PVC do exist and are now being promoted around the world to prevent danger to health and the environment. Germany for example has committed to the gradual phase out of soft PVC, recognizing the toxicity of PVC products.


Apply lead-free and scent-free paints to lessen your exposure to chemical substances. Since paints are not necessarily toxic-free, make sure that you wear proper protection when using it. Proper disposal and storage of paint cans are also necessary.




Environmental Building Systems


Solar energy is one of the most popular and abundant forms of renewable energy. Tapping solar energy can be done with or without undergoing technical processes. Harnessing solar energy to produce electricity involves the conversion of solar radiation using photovoltaic systems. Photovoltaic systems have been installed in different parts of the Philippines to showcase the viability of this energy source – communities as far as Tawi-Tawi, Cagayan and Apo Island in Negros have benefited from this unlimited energy source.


Solar water heaters are now being offered as an alternative to conventional shower heaters. According to a report published by Greenpeace Canada, using a water-saving showerhead combined with a solar boiler reduces energy consumption to some 950 kWh heat (gas or oil), or almost 10 times less than when an electric boiler is used with a traditional shower head!



Directions:
When nature calls, respond naturally


Since it is predicted that climate change will cause water scarcity, it is equally important to incorporate water conservation efforts in our households. When we push our flush button, we automatically consume 5-6 gallons of water. If you feel guilty seeing clean water going down the drain, when nature calls, you can respond naturally.
There are low-flush water closets available to allow users to choose the amount of water when flushing. Users have the option to use flush water in half or full.
Another alternative is a system called “separating toilet22 The 3rd International Ecocity and Ecovillage Conference, “Village Wisdom/Future Cities.” Edited by Richard Register and Bradley Peeks. 1997 by Ecocity Builders. Alonzo Press, Hayward, California.” where the water closet is appropriately designed to collect urine and feces in 2 different compartments. Flushing urine would require less water than faeces.
Composting toilets were conceptualized to reduce dependence on water to process our body wastes. Compost toilet transforms fecal waste into compost. Feces will be covered with soil until it matures and is ready to be harvested as fertilizers.
If you find these alternatives too complicated, putting a gallon of water (in a container) inside your water tank would somehow save a gallon every time you flush.


Because our country is blessed with much rainfall, think of installing a rainwater harvesting system to maximize this resource. Collected water can be used for cleaning, flushing, laundry or watering of our plants. Keep the container properly covered and maintained to keep away mosquitoes.


Water conservation does not stop here. Study the natural flow of drainage water to avoid installation of unnecessary water pumps to drain rain or greywater. Greywater is water generated from all domestic processes like washing dishes, laundry and bathing, except toilet water. It is sometimes further reused for flushing toilets or landscape irrigation. Hazardous and other chemical substances should be discarded properly and should never contaminate your greywater especially if you’re planning to reuse them. Install waste water treatment by putting multilevel natural filters – pebbles, gravel, grass and plants to screen contaminants before it is released to our waterways. Check out < http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/buildersguide/index.htm > for an idea of the installation.


A perfect example of such system is implemented at the Center for Ecozoic Living and Learning facility in Silang, Cavite. CELL, a project of the Columban Fathers, successfully incorporated this innovative waste water system in their training haven. The center has also installed a system for collecting methane gas from decomposing feces for water heating

The absence of an appropriate sewerage and waste water treatment facility in our communities contributes to the contamination and death of many of our major rivers and other water bodies like the Manila Bay. Redesigning our current drainage and sewerage systems is very important to prevent further contamination of our rivers and seas.


It’s not waste until it’s wasted


Solid waste management is often ignored in designing houses and establishments. Managing waste in an ecological way is given less importance since it involves something we have discarded. What most of us don’t know is that source reduction and recycling can result in big energy savings. Reusing and recycling significantly reduce demand for raw materials and energy inputs when manufacturing new products, therefore conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gases or GHG emissions.33 Anne Choate, Lauren Pederson, Jeremy Scharfenberg, ICF Consulting, Washington DC Henry Ferland, “Waste Management and Energy Savings: Benefits by the Numbers” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC]


A research done in the US shows that making new aluminium cans from used cans takes 95 percent less energy. 20 recycled cans can be made with the energy needed to produce 1 can using virgin ore. If you consume 1 can of your favourite drink a day, recycling this can would save enough energy to let you light a 100-watt bulb for four hours or watch TV for 3 hours.44 http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=aluminum/facts.asp
Of course, recycling our cans don’t give us an excuse to consume more electricity. Turn on appliances or your favourite electronic gadget only when necessary.


Kitchen and garden wastes when mixed and brought to a landfill creates methane, a greenhouse gas, therefore contributing to climate change. Composting kitchen and garden waste is far better for the environment than landfilling and contributes positively to curbing climate change.




Creating Eco-Communities


The lack of proper urban and regional planning should be addressed immediately to prevent further pollution. We have been too fascinated with modern technology, which has aggravated our dependence on fossil fuel. Our society has become excessively consumeristic that we have failed to sustain our relationship with the environment.


Communities and cities should be designed in a manner that will improve our relationship with nature. Decentralizing urban and economic centers will address traffic jams and people’s dependence on fuel consumption. We should create recreational and green spaces that will allow our cities to breathe and grow in a healthy manner. Parks, footpaths and bike lanes should be incorporated in city and rural planning. This will lessen automobile usage and encourage near total human mobility. Trees and plants should be planted along our major thoroughfares to lessen extreme heat and air pollution.


Designing green is a marriage of architecture and the environment. Architect David Lloyd Jones, author of Architecture and Environment: Bioclimatic Building Design said “Dialogue between architecture and nature is as old as architecture itself.” A structure can only work efficiently after careful evaluation and incorporation of natural forces in the planning and design. Only the sincere recognition of current threats will make significant changes to how we connect with our environment. Let us learn from our past mistakes and start working for a healthy and ecologically conscious community.


References:


Amado de Jesus, What is green architecture? http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=64144


Anne Choate, Lauren Pederson, Jeremy Scharfenberg, ICF Consulting, Washington DC Henry Ferland, “Waste Management and Energy Savings: Benefits by the Numbers” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC]


David Lloyd Jones, Architecture and the Environment: Bioclimatic Building Design
1998 The Overlook Press, Peter Mayer Publishers, Inc, NY 12498


< http://www.bamboocentral.org/index1.htm >
< http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=lib&a=aluminum/facts.asp >
< http://www.oasisdesign.net/greywater/buildersguide/index.htm >


The 3rd International Ecocity and Ecovillage Conference, “Village Wisdom/Future Cities.” Edited by Richard Register and Bradley Peeks. 1997 by Ecocity Builders. Alonzo Press, Hayward, California.

Acknowledgment to Arch. Zoe Mariola Tigas for sharing her views.