The Goal: Zero Greenhouse Gas Building, A Manifesto
Getting to the right vision, and expressing it simply, is not easy. Zero Green House Gas Emissions (GHG) is the right vision for us, because it says what we need to accomplish most succintly.
1.) Do we care about all Green House Gases? Yes. Therefore we need to stop burning gas entirely, starting now. The forthcoming Climate Change policy for Ontario contains provivsions to accomplish this.
2. On-site or off-site Energy Production? Making zero GHG can be accomplished in different ways using renewable energy generation, but it can also be accomplished via energy efficiency improvements — i.e doing energy retro-fits to existing buildings to increase their insulative value. We must ask: is the cost of building nuclear plants/solar farms and transmitting the electricity to consumers more or less than the cost of each building owner adding more insulation to their homes? We have to ensure that we don’t simply move the problem of Zero GHG onto the back of others, i.e “it will be solved out there on the grid.. by someone”.
3. Do we count embodied energy? Yes, but that is 5-15% of the energy buildings use in Canada — the remainder being used by the daily, monthly, and yearly operation of the buidings. The heating, cooling, lighting, and other plug loads account for the remaining 95-85%, so we need to focus appropriately! Some of this operational energy load can be reduced through educating occupants on energy efficient practices, but the remainder needs to come from envelope upgrades, window replacements, and more efficient use of solar thermal and shading.
4. Do we cover our buildings in plants? Plants and trees can help create micro-climates around our buildings. Studies have found, and you can test this yourself by going into the shade in summer, that deciduous trees and vines can lower temperatures around buildings by 10+ degrees Celsius. Green roof’s are often an example of “green washing” in so far as the proposed benefits may be outweight by the cost of the materials. Far more important then Green Roofs is the use of plants and trees to create micro-climates. Trees and Plants also embody and sequester carbon, clean the air, remove pollutants, refresh our minds, and can be used to grow food.
Symbolic gestures will not win this battle: we need to focus on eliminating GHG from all aspects of our buildings and ultimately our lives. At Coolearth we strive to make sustainable, eco-friendly projects and we work with clients to bring this about.