ENG3415 Sustainability

and Green Life

Lecture 5 – Sustainable Building in
Hong Kong

Lesson Intended Learning

Outcome
 Lesson Intended Learning Outcome
 evaluate the principles and issues involved in the
maintenance, development and design of the built
environment, which is responsive to the needs of
communities, society and the environment.
 outline the solutions to solve those sustainability
and environmental issues that may be
encountered in daily life.

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Definition of Green Building
 Definition of Sustainable Buildings
 a building that provides the specified building
performance requirements while minimizing
disturbance to and improving the functioning of
local, regional, and global ecosystems both during
and after its construction and specified service
life …... A green building optimizes efficiencies in
resource management and operational
performance, and, minimizes risks to human
health and the environment.”

Definition of Sustainable
Building
 Hong Kong Green Building Council
 "A sustainable building provides a quality living
amenity for its users and neighbours in terms of
social, environmental and economic aspects
while minimizing environmental impact at the local,
regional and global levels throughout its full life
cycle."
Definition of Sustainable
Building
 Viewed from a life-cycle approach, the fundamental
principles and objectives of green building are to:
 Minimize natural resource consumption (materials and
energy) throughout the total building life cycle;
 Minimize pollution and environmental releases throughout
the total building life cycle;
 Protect the ecological (natural) environment;
 Create a healthy, comfortable, non-hazardous space;
 Incorporate quality, function, and performance consistent
with the objective of the building; and
 Balance environmental performance with cost and
economic performance

Potential Benefits of a Green

Building
 A green building project must have clear and
measurable benefits for the variety of stakeholders
involved. Protecting the environment is certainly
one of the primary benefits
 More and more evidence demonstrates that other
benefits are possible and that these can provide
additional incentives for “building green,” such as
 Reduced life-cycle costs, including
 First costs / Capital costs ;
 Operating costs (energy, maintenance, repair); and
 Renovation, demolition, disposal costs
Potential Benefits of a Green
Building
 Reduced risk and liability (avoided costs)
 A better building offering, including:
 Energy efficiency;
 Improved lighting;
 Improved comfort; and
 Healthier indoor environment
 Improved occupant productivity
 Increased stakeholder understanding and
awareness of environmental issues and
considerations as a result of the experience
 Potential identification of opportunities for new
products, designs, and approaches

Importance of Green Building

 Green building is a movement dedicated to the transformation
of practice in the design, construction, and operation of built
environments
 To reduce the negative impacts of built environments while
creating healthy, comfortable, and economically prosperous
places for people to live, work, and play
 The popular term “green building” encompasses the collection
of processes, institutions, and individuals that serve to assess
current practice, identify opportunities for improvement,
develop and deploy tools, and provide independent review
and recognition of results.
 The green building community has diversified from its origins
in the architecture and engineering professions to encompass
the full range of professionals involved in lifecycle of built
environments
Green Building Assessment
Standards & Methods– BEAM
PLUS

http://www.beamsociety.org.hk
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Green Building Certification –

BEAM PLUS
 BEAM “Sustainable building is in priority order,
safe, healthy, comfortable, functional, and
efficient.”
 Building Environmental Assessment Method
(BEAM PLUS) is a guideline to raising the
initiative to assess, improve, certify and label the
environmental performance of buildings;
 Receive a BEAM PLUS certificate and rating of
either Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum,
according to their performance

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BEAM PLUS – Characteristics
 Hong Kong industry's initiative to measure, improve, certify
and label the whole-life environmental sustainability of
buildings
 A comprehensive standard and supporting process covering
all building types, including mixed use complexes, both new
and existing;
 A means by which to benchmark and improve performance;
 A voluntary scheme developed in partnership with, and
adopted by the industry, at a level that makes it one of the
leading schemes in the world;
 A driver for and means by which to assure healthier, higher
quality, more durable, efficient, and environmentally
sustainable working and living environments
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BEAM PLUS – Aims

 Enhance the quality of buildings
 Stimulate demand for more sustainable buildings;
 Provide a common set of performance;
 Reduce the environmental impacts
 Ensure that environmental considerations

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BEAM PLUS – Assessment
 key aspects of building performance
 hygiene, health, comfort, and amenity;
 land use, site impacts and transport;
 use of materials, recycling, and waste
management;
 water quality, conservation and recycling; and
 energy efficiency, conservation and management

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BEAM PLUS – Assessment

 Various performance aspects covered are
grouped within the following categories

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Site Aspects (SA)
 Location and design of the building
 Emissions from the site
 Site management

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Materials Aspects (MA)

 Selection of materials
 Efficient use of materials
 Waste disposal and recycling

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Energy Use (EU)
 energy sources and building services systems and
equipment
 adopts a computational approach to determining the
dominant energy uses, plus additional features
known to have impact on overall performance
 annual CO2 emissions or energy use
 energy efficient systems and equipment
 energy management

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Water Use (WU)

 Quality and features that improve utilization
and reduce effluent
 water quality
 water conservation and
 effluent discharges

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Indoor Environmental Quality
(IEQ)
 Building performance that impact on the health,
comfort or well-being of the occupants, as well as
aspects of performance that improve quality and
functionality
 safety
 hygiene
 indoor air quality and ventilation
 thermal comfort
 lighting
 acoustics and noise
 building amenities

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Innovations and Additions (IA)

 Encouraged to submit proposals for the award of
credits for aspects not covered elsewhere in BEAM
Plus
 Do not necessarily justify credit
 Criteria
 Innovative Techniques
 Performance Enhancements
 BEAM Professional

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Credit Weightings and Overall
Grade – New Buildings
 Relative number of credits given for compliance with a
particular aspect
 A weighting over each environmental performance
category has been assigned to reflect its importance and
global trends

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Credit Weightings and Overall

Grade – Existing Buildings

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Determination of Overall Grade
 Overall Assessment Grade is determined by
the percentage (%) of the applicable credits
gained under each performance category and
its weighting factor
 Site Aspects, Materials Aspects and Water
Use will not differ significantly for the different
buildings that make up a building complex

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Determination of Overall Grade

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New Buildings – Site Aspects
(Analysis)
 Minimum Landscape Area (pre-requisite)
 Contaminated Land
 Local Transport
 Neighbourhood Amenities
 Site Design Appraisal
 Ecological Impact
 Cultural Heritage
 Landscaping and Planters
 Microclimate around Buildings
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New Buildings – Site Aspects

(Development)
 Neighbourhood Daylight Access
 Environmental Management Plan
 Air Pollution during Construction
 Noise during Construction
 Water Pollution during Construction
 Noise from Building Equipment
 Light Pollution

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Sustainable Site Design
 The most environmentally sound development is
one that disturbs as little of the existing site as
possible. Therefore, sites suitable for commercial
building should ideally be located within or
adjacent to existing commercial environments.
 Building projects also require connections to mass
transit, vehicular infrastructure, and utility and
telecommunication networks. Sound site planning
and building design should consider locating
building-support services in common corridors, or
siting a building to take advantage of existing
service networks.

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New Buildings – Materials

Aspects
 Timber Used for Temporary Works (pre-requisite)
 Use of Non-CFC Based Refrigerants (pre-
requisite)
 Construction / Demolition Waste Management
Plan (pre-requisite)
 Waste Recycle Facilities (pre-requisite)
 Building Reuse
 Modular and Standardized Design
 Prefabrication

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New Buildings – Materials
Aspects
 Adaptability and Deconstruction
 Rapidly Renewable Materials
 Sustainable Forest Products
 Recycled Materials
 Ozone Depleting Substances
 Regionally Manufactured Materials
 Demolition Waste Reduction
 Construction Waste Reduction
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Sustainable Materials
 consider the materials during its life from
cradle to grave

Process
Acquisition

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Disposal
Requirement sustainability
materials Selection
 Finishes and materials should have low toxicity to
protect indoor air quality.
 Energy-efficient products are key to meeting green
building objectives and balancing integrated
systems.
 Recycled products should be used whenever
possible to conserve natural resources.
 Sustainability harvested products help to protect
natural ecosystems.

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Design for Construction stage

 The design and construction of housing have
consider:
 environmental consciousness
 quality
 durability
 adaptability
 efficient use of resources

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Design for Deconstruction
(DfD) Stage
 Proper DfD can enhance the quality and the
amount of material that can be reused and
recycled
 With good planning, one can transform a
building at it end of its useful life into a
material source of a new building

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Example of Sustainable
Materials
 Recycled & Reused Concrete & Brick
 Steel
 Recycled Board and partition
 Recycled Flooring

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Deconstruction Method
 Re-using and recycling building materials is a great
approach to sustainable energy
 Prevent "close the loop"
 The greatest barrier hindering the design for
deconstruction and reuse/recycling of reclaimed
materials and products as follows:
 The cost includes the additional time involved for the
deconstruction;
 The difficulty of costing the re-used materials which will be
used on different projects;
 The damage caused by poorly designed assemblies and
connectors; and
 Limited flexibility of the reclaimed element.
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New Buildings – Energy Use

 Minimum Energy Performance (pre-requisite)
 Reduction of CO2 Emission
 Peak Electricity Demand Reduction
 Embodied Energy in Building Structural
Elements
 Ventilation Systems in Car Parks
 Lighting System in Car Parks

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New Buildings – Energy Use
 Renewable Energy Systems
 Air-conditioning Units
 Clothes Drying Facilities
 Energy Efficient Appliances
 Testing and Commissioning
 Operation and Maintenance
 Metering and Monitoring
 Energy Efficient Building Layout
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New Buildings – Water Use

 Water Quality Survey (pre-requisite)
 Minimum Water Saving Performance (pre-requisite)
 Annual Water Use
 Monitoring and Control
 Water Efficient Irrigation
 Water Recycling
 Water Efficient Appliances
 Effluent Discharge to Foul Sewers

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New Buildings – Indoor
Environmental Quality
 IAQ in Car Parks
 Increased Ventilation
 Background Ventilation
 Localized Ventilation
 Ventilation in Common Areas
 Thermal Comfort in Air-conditioned Premises
 Thermal Comfort in Naturally Ventilated
Premises
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New Buildings – Indoor

Environmental Quality
 Natural Lighting
 Interior Lighting in Normally Occupied Areas
 Interior Lighting in Areas Not Normally Occupied
 Room Acoustics
 Noise Isolation
 Background Noise
 Access for Persons with Disability
 Amenity Features

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Existing Buildings – Site
Aspects
 Environmental Purchasing Plan (pre-requisite)
 BEAM Certified Building
 Noise from Building Equipment
 Light Pollution
 Health, Safety and Environmental Management
 Environmental Purchasing Practices
 Building and Site Operation and Maintenance
 Building Services Operation and Maintenance
 Staffing and Resources
 User Guidance
 Green Cleaning
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Existing Buildings – Materials

Aspects
 Use of Non-CFC Based Refrigerants (pre-requisite)
 Waste Recycle Facilities
 Building Reuse
 Modular and Standardized Design
 Adaptability and Deconstruction
 Rapidly Renewable Materials
 Sustainable Forest Products
 Ozone Depleting Substances
 Waste Management
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Existing Buildings – Energy
Use
 Minimum Energy Performance (pre-requisite)
 Reduction of CO2 Emission
 Peak Electricity Demand Reduction
 Ventilation Systems in Car Parks
 Lighting System in Car Parks
 Renewable Energy Systems
 Air-conditioning Units
 Energy Efficient Appliances
 Testing and Commissioning
 Metering and Monitoring
 Energy Management
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Existing Buildings – Water Use

 Water Quality Survey (pre-requisite)
 Minimum Water Saving Performance (pre-requisite)
 Water Conservation Plan (pre-requisite)
 Annual Water Use
 Monitoring and Control
 Water Use for Irrigation
 Water Recycling
 Water Audit
 Effluent Discharge to Foul Sewers
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Existing Buildings – Indoor
Environmental Quality
 Minimum Ventilation Performance (pre-requisite)
 Security
 Plumbing and Drainage
 Biological Contamination
 Waste Disposal Facilities
 Integrated Pest Management
 Construction IAQ Management
 Outdoor Sources of Air Pollution
 Indoor Sources of Air Pollution
 IAQ in Car Parks
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Existing Buildings – Indoor

Environmental Quality
 Interior Lighting in Normally Occupied Areas
 Interior Lighting in Areas Not Normally
Occupied
 Room Acoustics
 Noise Isolation
 Background Noise
 Access for Persons with Disability
 Amenity Features
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Sustainable Construction for
Building
 Why needed?
 Limitation in resources on earth, e.g. water,
land, energy
 Beyond a certain point the assimilative
capacity of the earth can be exceeded and
permanently damaged

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Making Decision for

Sustainability
 Integration of ecological, socio-economic,
and institutional elements was recognized as
perhaps the key feature of any planning or
management activity related to sustainable
development
 Sustainability vs Environmental
Protection, any difference?

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Traditional vs Sustainable
Criteria
 For construction industry, two classic
sustainability criteria:
 Minimize resource depletion
 Prevent environmental degradation
 Provide a healthy environment to directly connect the human
occupant to environmental choices
 The last criterion connects extensive efforts to provide good
indoor environment (pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, fertilizers)
with the first two sustainability criteria

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Issues of Sustainable
Construction
 To establish evaluation tools

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Issues of Sustainable
Construction
 Construction operations consume energy, created
substantial noise, and can cause significant damage
and produce large quantities of waste
 Changes in process are needed to protect the
environment during these operations
 Life cycle operation must carry forward the intent of
design, maintain performance of system and
renovating and retrofitting in the same sustainable
mode
 Deconstruction or demolition of the building, should
result in a source of materials for new construction
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Principles for Sustainable

Construction

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 GREEN BUILDING FEATURES
AND PASSIVE DESIGN
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Green Features – Green

Roofing
 A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or
completely covered with vegetation and a growing
medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane
 It may also include additional layers such as a root
barrier and drainage and irrigation systems
 The term ‘green roof’ may also be used to indicate
roofs that use some form of ‘green’ technology, such
as a cool roof, a roof with solar thermal collectors or
photovoltaic cells
 Rooftop ponds are another form of green roofs which
are used to treat greywater

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Green Features – Green
Roofing
 Also known as “living roofs”, green roofs serve several
purposes for a building, such as absorbing rainwater,
providing insulation, creating a habitat for wildlife, and
helping to lower urban air temperatures and combat
the heat island effect
 There are two types of green roofs: intensive roofs,
which are thicker and can support a wider variety of
plants but are heavier and require more maintenance,
and extensive roofs, which are covered in a light layer
of vegetation and are lighter than an intensive green
roof
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Green Roofing – Benefits

 Reduce heating (by adding mass and thermal resistance
value)
 Reduce cooling (by evaporative cooling) loads on a building
by fifty to ninety percent
 Reduce stormwater runoff
 Natural Habitat Creation
 Filter pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air which helps
lower disease rates such as asthma
 Filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater
 Help to insulate a building for sound; the soil helps to block
lower frequencies and the plants block higher frequencies
 If installed correctly many living roofs can contribute to green
building points
 Agricultural space
 Control of noise pollution – reduce sound levels indoors 56
 Green Roofing –
Disadvantages
 Higher initial cost
 Some existing buildings cannot be retrofitted with certain
kinds of green roof because of the weight load of the
substrate and vegetation exceeds permitted static loading.
 Higher demands on the waterproofing system of the structure
both because water is retained on the roof and due to the
possibility of roots penetrating the waterproof membrane
 For some, maintenance costs could be higher, but some
types of green roof have little or no ongoing cost
 It is true that installing adequate waterproofing systems and
root barriers can increase the initial cost of the roof, however,
due to the fact that a green roof protects the waterproofing
membrane from the elements, particularly UV light, the life
expectancy of the membranes is doubled or even tripled,
leading to recovered initial cost differentials 57

Green Roof Components

Essential: adequate loading, waterproofing Source: Urbis Limited

and growing media 58
 Two Types of Green Roof

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Source: Urbis Limited

Diamond Hill Crematorium

Rehabilitation Block at
Tuen Mun Hospital
Phase II

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Retrofit Green Roof –
Consideration
 Roof Area
 Structural loading
 Wind, shade: Influence plant selection
 Visibility
 Existing drainage system
 Water availability
 Existing Condition of Waterproofing and Planned
Maintenance Cycle
 Accessibility – for works implementation, future maintenance
and management, and public use
 Associated works e.g. addition of safety barriers, hard
landscape works, relocation of utilities etc.
 Commitment on future maintenance and management
61

Green Features – Vertical

Greening

Source: Urbis Limited

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Vertical Greening – Benefits
 Ecological
 Moderate temperature extremes
 thermal insulation to building
 modify temperature and relative humidity to the site
 Filtration of dust pollutants
 Noise reduction
 Enhancement of biological diversity
 Visual
 Cityscape enhancement
63

Wetland Park
Source: Urbis Limited

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 Deep Bay Link
Source: Urbis Limited
65

Vertical Greening in HK

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Green Features – Solar Panel
 A solar panel (photovoltaic module or photovoltaic
panel) is a packaged interconnected assembly of
solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells
 Used as a component of a larger photovoltaic
system to generate and supply electricity in
commercial and residential applications
 Because a single solar panel can only produce a
limited amount of power, many installations contain
several panels. This is known as a photovoltaic
array
67

Green Features – Solar Panel

 Solar panels use light energy (photons) from the sun
to generate electricity through the photovoltaic effect
 Commonly use wafer-based crystalline silicon cells
 Most solar panels are rigid, but semi-flexible ones
are available, based on thin-film cells
 Protected from mechanical damage during
manufacture, transport, installation and use
 Protected from moisture, which corrodes metal
contacts and interconnections

68
EMSD Headquarters at Kowloon Bay

69

Hybrid photovoltaic–thermal solar system

- Photovoltaic systems (PV) that convert solar energy directly into
electrical energy.

- Thermal systems (T) that convert solar energy into thermal energy.

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Flat-Plate Collector for thermal applications

Main components
1. Glazing panel - transparent material (glass, plastic etc.) that allows transmission of solar
radiation from the sun, but blocks long-wavelength infrared radiation from the
absorber).
2. Absorber - painted black or coated with selective absorptive coating.
3. Tubes - to allow flow of heat transfer fluid to collect heat from the absorber.
71
4. Insulation - to prevent heat loss through the back of the collector.

Solar Gravity system

(thermo-syphon system)
Flow of water driven by buoyancy force, since cold water is
heavier than warm water.

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Pumped solar thermal system with heat
exchangers
Fluid in solar collector can be water or other fluids. A boiler is used
as a backup heater, it will operate in case the solar heating is not
enough.
Heat storage tank (heat exchanger) can be placed lower than the
solar collector.

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Solar thermal system for hot water

and hot air
The solar heat can be used to provide both heating for water
and space heating simultaneously. Pumps are used since the
heat storage is below the solar collector. A boiler is used to
supplement the solar heating.

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Passive Solar Buildings
 ‘Passive solar building' is a qualitative term
describing a building that significantly utilizes solar
gains to reduce heating and possibly cooling energy
consumption based on natural energy flows ( (non-
mechanical means, e.g. radiation, conduction and
natural convection
 Forced convection based on mechanical means
such as pumps and fans is not expected to play a
major role in the heat transfer processes
 ‘Passive building' is often employed to emphasize
utilization of passive energy flows both in heating
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and cooling

Passive Solar Design

Techniques
 Basic requirements and principles:
 Transmission and/or absorption of the maximum
possible quantity of solar radiation during winter so as
to minimize or reduce to zero the heating energy
consumption
 Utilization of received solar gains to cover
instantaneous heating load and storage of the
remainder in embodied thermal mass or specially built
thermal storage devices
 Reduction of heat losses to the environment through
use of the appropriate amount of insulation and
windows with high solar heat gain factor 76
Passive Solar Design
Techniques
 Shading control devices or strategically planted
deciduous trees to exclude unwanted solar gains,
which would create an additional cooling load
 Utilization of natural ventilation to transfer heat from
hot zones to cool zones in winter and for natural
cooling in the summer (evaporative cooling)
 Utilization of solar radiation for daylighting; this
requires measures for effective distribution of daylight
onto the work plane

77

Passive Solar Design

Techniques
 Development of integrated building envelope devices
such as windows which include photovoltaic panels as
shading devices, or roofs with photovoltaic panels; the
dual role of these elements for electric power
production and for exclusion of thermal gains
increases their cost-effectiveness
 Integration of passive solar systems with the active
heating/cooling air conditioning systems both in the
design and operation stages of the building

78
Passive Solar Design
 A key aspect of passive solar design is
choice of the following design parameters:
 fenestration area, orientation and type
 amount of insulation
 shading devices – type, locations and areas
 effective thermal storage (insulated from the
exterior environment) amount and type (sensible
– such as concrete in the building envelope with
exterior insulation, or latent – such as phase-
change materials)
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Passive Solar Heating

 Solar radiation transferred to buildings affected by angle
of incidence, facing surfaces orientation and materials
used for building envelope
 Materials with high heat storage capacity such as
concrete and brick heat up and cool down relatively
slowly
 Thermal insulating materials such as glass fibre and
foam form poor heat stores and diffuse heat very badly
 Categories of passive solar heating systems
 Direct gain system

 Indirect gain system

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Direct Gain System
 Solar energy being introduced
directly into the space through
ordinary fenestration
 The space acts as both thermal
collector and thermal storage
 It must also contain storage
capacity to absorb excessive
daytime heat gain for later
release at night or on overcast
days
 Choice of window area, type
and quantity of thermal mass
81

Direct Gain System

 Such a system has sun-facing glazing which can gain heat and
provide other functions such as light and views
 Floor, walls, and/or ceilings are constructed with materials capable
of storing heat
 Thermal storage materials are typically masonry or water
 Even with thermal storage, direct gain usually have relatively large
temperature fluctuations (6-17oC) in cold areas
 A properly designed direct gain system can have an efficiency of 30-
75%
 Advantage: simple to design and build, no heat transfer devices
required, inexpensive
 Disadvantage: require well-designed shading systems to reduce
unwanted solar gains in summer, large areas of glazing create glare
during the day 82
Indirect Gain System
 It places a thermal storage mass between the sun and
the occupied space
 The sunlight first strikes the thermal mass, where it is
absorbed, stored, and then slowly transferred into the
space
 The thermal mass is usually dark colored and has a
glazed surface in the exterior face to create a small
greenhouse effect reducing heat losses to outdoors
 Classified to 3 types:
1. Thermal storage wall
2. Roof pond
3. Greenhouse/sunspace 83

1. Thermal Storage Wall

 Usually constructed of masonry
 Absorbs sunlight, causing the surface
of masonry to warm up and then
conducts it through to the occupied
space
 Wall should be 15-30cm thick for
optimum performance
 There is time delay between
irradiation in the wall on a sunny day
and occurrence of peak temperature
inside the space enclosed
 Thermal fluctuations inside the space
is almost eliminated if thicker wall
(~60cm)
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1. Thermal Storage Wall
 The outside surface of the wall is usually a glazed surface painted
black or some dark color
 Glazed surface on the exterior keeps longwave radiation from being
lost to outside
 Glazed surface towards the exterior of thermal mass separated by
10-15cm or more for maintenance
 Vents at the top and bottom of the wall may be added to circulate
room air between the glazing and the wall (Trombe wall)
 Overall efficiency of thermal storage wall is about 30-45%
 Advantages: no glare problem, temperature fluctuation in living
space lower than direct gain system
 Disadvantages: have to integrate the system architecturally during
design, one glazed and one mass wall required, no view or
daylighting with thermal wall, provide access for cleaning 85

2. Roof Pond
 Thermal mass in a roof pond
consists of enclosed waterbeds
located horizontally above an un-
insulated ceiling of a building
 Waterbeds are supported by the roof
structure, usually metal deck
 In winter, during daytime the mass is
exposed to direct solar heat gain,
heats up and transmits the heat by
conduction to ceiling and radiates to
the space below
 At night, insulation covers warmed
water and reduces heat loss to
exterior and transfers stored heat to
interior 86
2. Roof Pond
 In summer, the ponds are covered during the day to insulate
them from the sun and heat
 The insulation is then removed at night to allow the ponds to
be cooled by natural convection and night sky radiation
 In this way, the storage mass stays warm in the winter and
cool in the summer
 Insulation panels are manipulated mechanically with
electronic motors
 Usually, roof ponds can provide relatively stable indoor
temperature (3-4oC)
 Efficiency about 30-45%

87

3. Greenhouse / Sunspaces
 Isolated gain system which combine
direct and indirect gain
 Attached sunspace with a glazed
enclosure built on equatorial-facing
façade of building
 Masonry wall forms a partition
between the sunspace and the rest
of the house, can provide sufficient
thermal mass to store absorbed heat
and release later
 A thermal wall located between the
sunspace and the occupied space
also receives direct sunlight and
transmits the heat to the adjacent
space (occupied) 88
3. Greenhouse / Sunspaces
 Heated air from the sunspace may also be vented to the
occupied space
 During the night convection flows are blocked by closing
dampers in the vents, reducing heat transfer between
sunspace and the interior space
 Thermal wall releases some of its stored heat to the sunspace
at night to help maintain plant life
 Efficiency may be as high as 60-75%
 However, only about 10-30% of the incident solar energy is
supplied to the occupied space
 The remainder is used for heating the sunspace
 Overheating and overcooling of sunspace may occur during
daytime and nighttime respectively 89

Passive Cooling
 Cooling accounts for the most energy use in buildings,
especially in tropic/subtropic areas
 When two air masses have different temperatures, their
densities and pressures are also different and hence
give rise to movement of air from denser (cooler) zone to
less dense (warmer) one

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1. Natural Ventilation
 Natural ventilation is the
movement of air into and out of a
space through openings such as
windows and doors intentionally
without using powered ventilators
 It can provide both fresh air
ventilation and a cooling effect by
replacing hot interior air (heated
by sun) with cool outside air
(relatively cooler than the heated
air)

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1. Natural Ventilation
 Two techniques can be used for natural ventilation: wind
effect and stack effect (chimney effect or gravity ventilation)
 openings for natural ventilation may include windows, doors,
skylights, roof ventilators, or specially designed inlet or outlet
openings
 In a chimney system, the chimney, when heated by sunlight,
creates an updraft that pulls a breeze through the building
 Ventilation rate affected by height difference between inlet
and outlet, and temperature difference between incoming and
outgoing air

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2. Evaporative Cooling
 Direct evaporative cooling system, air
is cooled by evaporation of water,
then cooled air is introduced to
building to cool the space
 Cool tower with wetted pads at the
top or ‘showers’
 Hot air enters the top of tower and
passes the pads, cools, become
denser, and drops to the base of
tower
 Base of tower is connected to the
inside of space and thus cools it
 Excess water is collected at bottom
and recirculated with a pump
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3. Roof Pond
 Installation of shaded water
pond above uninsulated roof
 Indirect evaporative cooling
system
 During daytime, roof pond is
covered and shaded to block
solar radiation and reduce
heat gains from outside
while it absorbs energy from
inside of building
 heat is transferred and
stored in water pond which 94
acts as heat sink
3. Roof Pond
 Insulation above water is open during night time, water is
exposed and cooled by evaporation
 Water is also cooled by night sky radiation – warm objects
directly exposed to the sky radiate their heat out to the sky at
night
 Spraying water onto the waterbeds to take advantage of
evaporative cooling can substantially improve the system
performance in dry climates but helps only slightly in humid
climate
 Heat from interior of building is transferred to exterior
 Advantage: interior space cooled without elevation of
humidity, thus maintaining thermal comfort in humid climates
 Disadvantage: a clear sky is needed to maximize radiant loss95

Passive Lighting
 Daylighting design involves provision of natural
daylighting in the interiors of buildings to reduce daytime
use of electric lights
 Daylighting is the practice of bringing light into a building
interior and distributing it in a way that provides more
desirable and better-quality illumination than artificial
light sources
 Reduces the need for electrical light sources
 Cutting down on electricity use and its associated costs
and pollution
 Daylighting also provides changes in light intensity,
color, and views that help support worker productivity
 Avoids excessive thermal gains and excessive
brightness resulting from direct sunlight, which can
impair vision and cause discomfort 96
Passive Lighting
 Benefits
 Saving in energy use and
consequent environmental
damage
 Provide healthier and pleasant
living conditions by uniform spread
of natural light
 Examples
 Atrium
 Sawtooth roof or clerestory lighting
 Reflective blinds or shading
systems
97

Reference List
 Architectural Services Department, HKSAR Government. Sustainable Building
Design in Architectural Services Department.
 Athienitis A.K. and Santamouris M. (2002). Thermal Analysis and Design of
Passive Solar Buildings. James & James, London.
 BEAM Society, HKGBC. (2012). BEAM Plus for New Building, Version: 1.2.
 BEAM Society, HKGBC. (2012). BEAM Plus for Existing Building, Version: 1.2.
 BEAM Society. (2013). http://www.beamsociety.org.hk
 Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
(2011). Green Building Design III. (Presentation)
 Hong Kong Green Building Council. (2013). http://www.hkgbc.org.hk
 Melet, Ed. (1999). Sustainable Architectural Design. James & James, London.
 Pablo La Roche. (2011). Carbon-Neutral Architectural Design. CRC Press.
 U.S. Green Building Council. (2013). http://www.usgbc.org

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