Srinivasan, R S (2011) Re(de)fining net zero energy: Maximizing renewable resource use through emergy analysis of environmental building design. PhD thesis, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract
The notion that raw materials for building construction are plentiful and can be extracted "at will" from Earth's geobiosphere, and that these materials do not undergo any degradation or related deterioration in energy performance while in use is alarming and entirely inaccurate. For these reasons, a particular building, like an organism or an ecosystem must seek self-sustenance for its design to prevail in competition with other building designs in a time with limited availability of energy and materials Self- organization of systems to maximize useful power is the key to self-sustenance. To this extent, Net Zero Energy (NZE) buildings achieve a net annual energy balance in their operations. However, approaching a NZE building goal based on current definitions is flawed for two principal reasons — they only deal with energy quantities required for operations and related emissions, and they do not establish a threshold which ensures that buildings are optimized for reduced consumption before renewable systems are integrated to obtain an energy balance. Current definitions and calculations of net energy do not include the energy flows from the sun, wind, rain, and geological cycles and so- forth from the beginning. This dissertation develops a method to maximize renewable resource use through emergy (spelled with an "m") analysis to close the gap between current approaches to environmental building design and the over-arching goal of creating buildings that contribute to the sustainability of the geobiosphere. The objective of this study is to assess the performance of built systems and identify the maximum potential bounds for renewable resource substitution within the building process. This study proposes using a "Renewable Emergy Balance" (REB) in environmental building design as a tool to maximize renewable resource use through disinvestment of all non-renewable resources that may be substituted with renewable resources. REB buildings preserve a high standing by optimizing buildings over their entire life-span from formation-extractionmanufacturing to maintenance and operation cycles. If such an approach were adopted, it would expand conscious decision-making and, possibly, lead to a paradigm shift in the way non-renewable resources are used in the manufacturing of building materials, which is currently of interest, but remains unchecked.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Braham, W W |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building design; building process; competition; deterioration; energy performance; manufacturing; sustainability |
| Index terms: | competition, sun, building material, decision-making, degradation, renewable resources, energy performance, net zero, rain, dissertation, consumption, building construction, building process, deterioration, paradigm, building design |
| Subjects: | market analysis, building materials, environmental resource management, research dissemination and communication, climate science, education and knowledge transfer, building construction, consumer economics, material degradation and durability, architectural design, decision analysis, energy systems |
| Topics: | Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Sustainability, Construction Materials, Site Management, Construction Technology, Design Practice, Risk Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here