The Designer’s role as Environmental Advocate
by Rachel Ravitch
One of the ways that the building industry contributes to climate change is through energy consumption.
“More than 76% of all U.S. electricity use and more than 40% of all U.S. energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are used to provide comfortable, well-lit, residential and commercial buildings—and to provide space conditioning and lighting for industrial buildings. Successfully meeting priority technology goals for performance and cost will make it possible to significantly reduce this energy use by 2030 in spite of forecasted growth in population and business activity.” - via US Dept. of Energy
Energy consumption is another key point in taking on the building industry’s role in climate change which, thanks to the innovation of LEDs, is now largely just produced by heating and cooling structures. There are some incredible innovations both new and old in heating and cooling we can look toward that drastically reduce the amount of energy required to heat and cool structures.
District Heating
“Geothermal District Heating (GeoDH) is the use of geothermal energy (i.e. the energy stored in form of heat below the earth’s surface) to heat individual and commercial buildings, as well as for industry, through a distribution network.The ‘hot’ GeoDH markets in Europe are in France (Paris, and renewed activity in the Aquitaine basin), Germany (Munich) and Hungary, but it is important to always underline that geothermal DH systems can be installed in all European countries. In recent times, there have been new entrants to the market: The Netherlands, Spain (Madrid), UK (Newcastle) etc. By 2020, nearly all states in Europe will have GeoDH.”
“University of Washington operates a central power plant of five natural gas boilers that supply steam heat, chilled water air condition, compressed air, and emergency power to all the buildings on the main campus and medical center…Not only can district energy systems be electrified to take advantage of a non-carbon power grid, but it can use heat and energy generated by power generating and industrial processes–like you see with Amazon’s data center waste energy system–that typically goes uncaptured.”
“District heating has long been used in Europe, as well as on some U.S. college and other campuses. These systems typically have a central plant that burns natural gas to heat water, which then is circulated to the various buildings. To achieve zero carbon emissions, the latest strategy uses a design known as an ambient temperature loop that simultaneously and efficiently both heats and cools different buildings. This concept was first developed for the Whistler Olympic Village in British Columbia.”
Passive House Design
“Passive houses and buildings are extremely comfortable in all seasons. That's because there are no drafts, temperature variance is extremely narrow (even near doors and windows), and active, balanced ventilation makes for superb indoor air quality. And yes, passive house owners open their doors and windows just as they would in a conventional home.”
“A passive house is a voluntary set of building standards that aim to create houses and other structures that are comfortable and healthy yet consume very little energy. This is achieved via five principles: continuous insulation, airtight construction, optimized windows, balanced ventilation, and minimal mechanical. In this country, the Passive House Alliance helps teach, certify, and spread the word: its goal is to “make passive building mainstream.” ”
While most states have already implemented energy standards for new and substantially renovated structures in the US, there is the problem of energy production itself. As of 2019, only 5% of US energy production is from renewable sources. In Washington state and across the West coast our governments have long touted our dams as providing “Clean Energy” however dams cause massive devastation to habitats. We now know that biodiversity is hugely important to climate stability. The reason we have the weather patterns that allow for seasons which in turns allows for agricultural production is all thanks to biodiversity. As we lose biodiversity, we lose critical links that maintain the Earth’s balance including the climate. Washington state has made huge strides in removing dams and many private landowners have received Federal grants in Washington state and throughout the country to remove dams and restore salmon runs.
All of the above solutions present a specific dilemma - they have not yet been broadly implemented in the US. Enter the designer’s role as advocate for the environment. In addition to designing structures to meet the changing demands of the Energy and Building codes, we must push our governments to do more to transition to renewable energy sources and to ensure that our energy sources limit their environmental impact.
Here are some ways that you can support local efforts to convert our state’s energy to methods that promote biodiversity and limit (or better yet - eliminate) carbon production from energy production.
Support the Washington Strong Act: “Washington STRONG authorizes a 10-year series of “green” bonds, which could unlock more than $16 billion for direct investment and has the potential to create upwards of 150,000 jobs by providing much-needed local stimulus with a focus on rural economic development and frontline communities. These recovery bonds will be financed by a per-ton price on carbon, imposed once at the time and place of the first sale or use. The proposal has been carefully constructed to minimize the impact on agricultural sectors, moderate and low-income households, and energy intensive and trade exposed businesses. Washington STRONG will generate a sustainable funding stream needed to finance a resilient recovery and transition Washington to a clean economy.”
https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2021/01/13/new-push-state-prioritize-climate-and-environmental-justice
https://earthministry.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/WA-Strong-FAQ.pdf
https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/lekanoff/2020/12/07/lekanoff-shewmake-and-lovelett-announce-the-washington-strong-recovery-bond-program/
Support the removal of dams from the Snake River: “Salmon are the spiritual and cultural icon of the Pacific Northwest and a critical component of the Northwest’s economy. Unfortunately, these magnificent fish are teetering on the brink of extinction. The loss of salmon, a keystone species, has devastated ecosystems, native cultures, and fishing communities across the region. Scientists say that the Snake River, the largest tributary and historically the most prolific producer of salmon in the Columbia River Basin, holds the largest potential for restoring salmon to healthy, harvestable numbers. To accomplish this, removing four dams on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington is essential along with increasing flow over downstream dams.”
Support the implementation of Offshore Wind Energy: The Netherlands is a world leader in implementing carbon neutral energy solutions and has already successfully implemented a strong offshore wind production program. The Biden administration is launching a huge initiative to increase the amount of energy gained from offshore wind technology in the US. “The Departments of Interior (DOI), Energy (DOE), and Commerce (DOC) are announcing a shared goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind in the United States by 2030, while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use. Meeting this target will trigger more than $12 billion per year in capital investment in projects on both U.S. coasts, create tens of thousands of good-paying, union jobs, with more than 44,000 workers employed in offshore wind by 2030 and nearly 33,000 additional jobs in communities supported by offshore wind activity. It will also generate enough power to meet the demand of more than 10 million American homes for a year, and avoid 78 million metric tons of CO2 emissions.” - Biden Administration Fact Sheet on Offshore Wind Energy production