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Media Release

February 19 2008

When is green really green and how do we move towards an ecological society?

3rd International Solar Cities Congress 2008

Eco-friendly housingWhat is the impact of human behaviour on the energy performance of buildings, when is green really green, how do we move towards an ecological society and how can we meet reduced carbon emissions targets are topics being addressed by researchers from the University of South Australia at the International Solar Cities Congress being held at the Adelaide Convention Centre this week.

4.00 pm Tuesday 19 February 2008
 Dr Martin Belusko, Research Fellow in School of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
Impact of variation in behaviour pattern and weather data on building energy performance

Building models are commonly used to evaluate, predict and design energy efficient residential buildings. Buildings with high energy efficiency are often characterised by high levels of insulation with and without high levels of internal thermal mass. But the thermal efficiency of a building is strongly affected by the weather data and behaviour of the occupants.
Using EnergyPlus, three building designs are modelled in a mild temperature climate and the impact of the variation in weather data and occupancy profiles are investigated. The designs include a standard building, a highly insulated lightweight design, and a heavyweight building. Upon examination, the heavyweight design was continually the most efficient and its ranking did not change but the absolute energy demand and the relative energy demand between building designs varied considerably by at least plus and minus 24 per cent. Dr Belusko concluded that comparing designs with marginal differences in energy performance was meaningless and proposes that building performance be presented as a range, as opposed to a single value.

Dr Martin Belusko can be contacted on 8302 3767 email martin.belusko@unisa.edu.au

4.00 pm Tuesday 19 February 2008
 Dr Jon Kellett, senior lecturer in the School of Natural and Built Environments
Carbon profiling – an analysis of methods for establishing the local emissions baseline

State government driven carbon emission reduction targets brings with it the need for local target setting, with targets based on good quality estimates of energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions, along with viable assumptions about reduction potential at the local level. There is a growing requirement for good quality emissions data at local council levels.
While energy and greenhouse gas emissions baseline data are generally available at the national level, with Australian greenhouse gas inventories established at federal and state levels, locally, it is difficult to establish emissions profiles. While emissions profiles have been produced for a large number of local council areas in Australia, this analysis often does not reflect local characteristics and conditions, since it is derived from higher level data. Dr Kellett examines a range of approaches for estimating local greenhouse gas emissions profiles using three alternative methods in the City of Playford, South Australia and Manningham City Council, Victoria. His aim is to test each approach and compare the results in order to arrive at reliable emissions profiles that reflect local conditions.

Dr Jon Kellett can be contacted on 8302 1701 email jon.kellett@unisa.edu.au

4.15 pm Tuesday 19 February 2008
 Martin Freney, lecturer in Louis Laybourne-Smith School of Architecture and Design
Evolving towards an ecological society

Rapidly declining oil reserves and climate change threaten our modern industrial societies. The masses on earth are consuming and polluting more than ever. Water is becoming scarce and other species are disappearing at an alarming rate. Are we next on the hit list?
Not necessarily, according to Freney.
“By reinventing ourselves and our surroundings, we have a chance to reverse the current trends towards an ecological disaster,” Freney said. “As individuals we can make a difference. Refusing that which is not ecological and ethical must become our way of life,” he said.
Freney describes one solution by the inventor of the Earthship concept, a “green” building technique, Michael Reynolds. By combining principals of permaculture and passive solar architecture, Reynolds has evolved a design for human shelter constructed from “indigenous materials of the 21st Century”. It harvests its own positive impact on damaged land as the by-products of the Earthship rejuvenate the environment and a substantial amount of fresh, organic food can be manufactured within the Earthship. Solar cities of Earthships have been conceived and a solar suburb has recently been approved in Brighton, England.
Freney examines societal change as an option for our future using the work of innovative thinkers, designers and architects to demonstrate how we can evolve – ecologically.

Martin Freney can be contacted on 8302 0271 email martin.freney@unisa.edu.au

4.15 pm Tuesday 19 February 2008
 Alexander William Walker, industrial design lecturer at Louis Laybourne-Smith School of Architecture and Design
When is green really green: Challenging assumptions through the application of life cycle assessment

In recent decades environmental awareness has increased concerning the impact that human activity is having on both natural and built environments. Increasing pressure is being placed on organisations to recognise, analyse and report on the environmental impacts of products and services that they are creating. In selecting and specifying building materials, material specifiers require objective, reliable and comprehensive data detailing the environmental impacts of materials and processes. Considerable attention is being placed on materials used in building in the form of green building materials and products, and while the green star rating is commendable, it raises many questions. What makes a particular material or product green and how do we evaluate the relative greenness of different products? In an ideal world the ecological impacts of all materials and processes would be fully defined, so that the specifier could see which material was environmentally better. “This is important as the cities we create today may become future-hospitable or future-hostile,” Walker said. “The longer buildings are designed to last, the more critical it is to ensure that we are not creating a damaging inheritance that could ultimately undermine our social and economic welfare. The cities that we design and build today will either continue to send us along a path of dangerous over-consumption or begin to drive our generation and the next towards true sustainability.”

Alexander Walker can be contacted on 0422 092 563 email sandy.walker@unisa.edu.au

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