Eco-Minimalism Getting the Priorities Right
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Cover story Eco-minimalism getting the priorities right This article came about as the result of two separate thinkpieces echnology is often applied unthink- being developed simul- ingly or inappropriately, and suddenly T our patch is awash with it. Albert The Granada House - Built in 1975 as the taneously by each Einstein said: “Things should be as simple focus of a television series “House for the Future” - With 13 programmes @ one as possible - but no simpler." of the authors. Both technology a week, the house ended up It is so much easier to sell a product looking like a Christmas tree. The solar of them have a long than a process. Never mind the science roof contributed 2% to the annual energy - let’s cut straight to the technology. So input - with heat recovery from the cooker track record of living outstripping everything else - because as well as having the usual carpetbag- the building was superinsulated. (Howard and working with green gers out with their one-size-fits-all, old Liddell was a consultant to the programme products and technologies - re-sprayed and worked on the house with the TV team. design and technology Architect Don Wilson). green, we also have a new bag of goodies and are confronted in that urgently we should start to question. Technical fixes their daily business with Not least because those now interested The most prevalent current eco-clichéd what they have come in behaving more sustainably, who we technology is the photovoltaic. As far as would wish to influence, are daunted and we have been able to establish (after some to see as a number confused in equal measure by the perceived considerable delving and seeking of inde- of ‘eco-clichés’ which complication of something which, although pendent advice) the best available and non complex, should remain inherently clear and partisan estimate of financial payback is 50 can get in the way of simple - Ecological Design and Sustainable years, (does this take into account the pv good, efficient and Construction. grants? -ed.) more common are those that The most ubiquitous sustainability cliché run into hundreds. Ah but .... goes the truly environmentally of all is probably the one about solutions argument ..... once we get bulk demand sound solutions. This being "holistic". It is also probably the and a couple of technological breakthroughs most ignored. What’s needed is to identify the price will come tumbling down. Almost is their plea for some the nature of the problem and undertake too cheap to meter perhaps ....? commonsense thinking effective analysis first, then apply good The authors have yet to see a PV roofed to precede design and quality scientific thinking, without pre- building where the potential for more empting the solution. economic demand side measures has been specification deci- It is not unusual for clients to arrive with fully tapped. Whilst the sexy PVs sit on the sions that cost time, off-the-peg technology as a starting point roof, nothing is done about the phantom for their brief. Photovoltaics currently lead electrical loads of the cordless phone, hi- effort, energy and ulti- the field, closely followed by reed-beds fi, cooker clock, wall clock, TV, video, etc. mately reputations if and then combined heat and power. It There is, for example, a £5 circuit available used to be heat pumps. It is not unusual that will make the fax machine only come on not properly grounded. for clients to start their conversations with when the phone rings. One of the authors Howard Liddell and the suggestion that a heat pump would be has saved half the annual output of his a good idea, even before defining what it is experimental PV with this gismo alone. Nick Grant pique our that they wish to do. If a heat pump is the Then reed-beds - the problem with these consciences.... answer, what on earth is the question? glibly recommended treatment solutions 10 Building for a Future Winter 2002/03 Reproduced with permission of the Green Building Press www.newbuilder.co.uk No further reproduction without permission eco-minimalism is that they are seen as inherently green, regardless of context. The term 'reed beds' covers a wide range of technologies that can be both economic and ecological in the right situation. However their green image often leads to inappropriate specification where, for example, the public sewer or a subsurface irrigation system might have been better. What about greywater recycling for WC Dunning - Straw bale office in Perthshire Tressour Wood House - House of the Year flushing? Similar water savings can be made - with a turf roof at client insistence 1993 - the unheated conservatory was by water efficiency measures but without - conceded when they agreed to grow incorporated into the stairwell - mezzanine strawberries on it. Membrane is latex based. at the landing. This meant that the tempera- the considerable financial and ecological (Gaia) ture regime could vary according to outdoor cost and ongoing maintenance burden. climate and the sitting area would only be Domestic greywater recycling seems inher- Local materials used when comfortable. (Gaia) ently flawed and yet continues to attract What are these - in the city centre? We funding for research and trials usually at presume that the logic is that embodied the expense of eco-minimalist alternatives. energy is strictly related to travel distance. If you live in a dry climate then direct reuse More often than not the industrial process- for irrigation makes sense especially if it ing of materials is the highest component can be achieved passively without pumps of embodied impact. Over the building’s and filters. lifetime, durability, toxicity and efficiency Then there are heat pumps. If the coef- (e.g. energy or water) are likely to be far ficient of performance of a heat pump does more important than the usually, relatively not rise above 4:1 (3:1 is more common) minor impact of initial transport distance. whilst the cost of electricity against gas is 5:1 then, until tariffs change, it is neither Etcetera an economic nor an environmentally There is a similar discussion to be had Windmill House Skive, Denmark - the beneficial technology in most, current UK on many other off-the-peg, one-size-fits- house was one of 9 different experimental circumstances - (they make sense in hydro- all eco-technology solutions, and they will eco-technology houses built in 1977. The windmill became redundant very soon after powered Norway for example). all benefit from project specific review. See commissioning due to excess vibration in the Combined heat and power (CHP) is table below. house. totally scale and context dependent. The >>>>> most appropriate condition for the exploita- tion of waste heat from the generation of electricity is where there is a known and constant 24 / 365 demand - as in hospitals Technical fix Side effects or swimming pools. The critical period Photovoltaics - financial pay back better than 50 years? otherwise is when there is an electrical Heat pumps. 4:1 - versus tariffs electricity-gas @ 5:1 demand but no equivalent and balanced (CHP) - combined heat and power - context dependent. Hot water in summer? requirement for the waste heat in summer. Conservatory (semi climatic zone) - 70% have heaters in? Embodied energy? Hence it has a value mostly as a base load Small windmills - heat churn or storage/battery system? in a hybrid scheme. Active solar collectors - longevity v. pay back period? Most turf roofs are actually plastic Condensing boilers - cheap ones don’t condense. Too Big? roofs with turf on top. They usually add District heating - specific to context, layout and form significant weight to the roof, which then Reed-beds - Issue of context requires additional structural support (ie Grey water recycling - expensive, - who looks after it? more resources than a conventional roof). Living machines - high energy costs, expensive As with many of the items outlined here we Turf roofs - heavier, plastic DPM, furtive aesthetic have been known to build them under client Recycled materials - strength, certification, embodied toxicity? insistence, and after long discussions. Local materials - is it the most appropriate benign material for the job? Reproduced with permission of the Green Building Press www.newbuilder.co.uk No further reproduction without permission Building for a Future Winter 2002/03 Cover story This may appear to be a litany of criti- Manchester or Glasgow for example, the every stage of the process. cism of eco-technology solutions. It is not. need to consider how we might reduce the All of the above will have some circum- demand for the chemical and energy rich stance some time where they have a valid filtration of water to drinking standard is case to make for consideration. But this an issue which is becoming more pressing. article is a plea for common sense and It is easy to achieve cost effective reduction rigour to prevail, and for each solution to in the amount of potable water we simply be the result of clear, efficient and realistic flush away. Also simple is the management analysis. If it makes sound environmental of surface water so that it does not enter and economic sense - then use it, but if it is the drainage system (or flood plains) and merely an unresearched gimmick and it does cause problems at the treatment end. Surely not actually save the planet, save money or we can incorporate these routinely into Leslie Court Fairfield, Perth - Fairfield is generally contribute to the environmental designs (e.g. via SUDS- Sustainable Urban shortlisted for the World Habitat awards. The Sunscoop on phase 7 is based on perma- agenda, then why do it? Drainage Systems). culture principles.