Buildings

Introduction

Buildings use around 17.5% of global energy to power commercial and residential buildings, not including the energy needed to gather, ship and combine the materials for these buildings.

We can make an enormous dent in global emissions by picking eco-friendly materials, reducing shipping distances, and creating sustainable buildings that fit their climates including the new varying extremes.

When buildings are lost to wild fires, hurricanes, floods, and other destructive events, this only adds to the environmental burden, so building strong homes can further help reduce our impact.

Retrofitting Existing Buildings

Mining and deforestation, not to mention all the energy and shipping associated with new construction can make up a huge percentage of a building's emissions and footprint. One way to reduce this impact is to avoid (as much as possible) knocking down old buildings to build newer ones, since even eco-friendly designs to have a negative impact.

One major example is high rise buildings which are often blown up since they are expensive to maintain, and difficult to renovate. As a growing percentage of sky scrapers remain under-utilized since Covid, while homelessness rates climb, cities are beginning to turn to rezoning, so that the balance of homes vs offices can better serve their populations.

Germany Has Solved the Empty Skyscraper Problem 

9:15 minute video shows off new elevator technology keeping business and home life separate in the same buildings.

Energy Use

Energy use of buildings is one of the biggest ways they impact our planet.

Energy is used to mine for and harvest building materials, then more is used in the shipping and building process.

After the building process, humanity uses around 17.5% of global energy to power commercial and residential buildings.

We then use more energy just to heat and cool buildings year round, as well as less energy intensive activities such as heating water, powering lights and various appliances.

By adjusting the way we build (and retrofit), we can significantly reduce our energy use. Some top methods include:

Insulation

R-Values of Insulations & Building Matrials

"Insulation level are specified by R-Value. R-Value is a measure of insulation’s ability to resist heat traveling through it. The higher the R-Value the better the thermal performance of the insulation." - EnergyStar: Insulation R-Values


Hemp

Lifespan: "As long as the building exists and the hemp block is protected by a finish (plaster, brick, etc.) it will not degrade and its technical performance will remain intact." - ISOHEMP Natural Building

Pros: Non-toxic, high insulation properties, 

Living Spaces

Living space size and layout have a huge impact on energy use. Larger spaces require much more energy to artificially heat or cool. 

Two-story (or higher), open layout buildings are also very inefficient as any warm air in the winter imediately goes upstairs causing heaters to overwork while trying to keep the downstairs at a comfortable temperature, and consequently the upstairs can easily overheat. Similarly in the summer, an air conditioner can make the downstairs feel icy while the upstairs swelters. 

One way to retroactively ease this issue, is to cover anystairways to help keep the warmed or cooled air where it is needed. However if the open layout consists of two+ story tall rooms, this method will probably have no effect.

Water Reclamation

Many people don't realize that pumping water uses energy, and many treatment methods also use energy. To help reduce the energy needed, and help save water while we're at it, we can include water capture and reuse systems in and around our homes.

Click the Gardening/Landscaping button to learn more about topics such as rooftop gardens, rain gardens, xeriscaping and more. All of these can work alone or together to help capture and save water. They can even help prevent flood damage!

Types of Building

Aircrete

Cement produces a huge amount of CO2 and is a terrible insulator, but aircrete uses soap bubbles to reduce the amount of cement needed, while boosting the sound and heat insulation properties.

Building Amazing Dome Homes with Aircrete – A Beginner Friendly & Cost Effective Material

13:19 minute video discusses hoe these buildings are made, what's so special about the bricks used, and some of the challenges/opportunities concerning permitting.

Brick

Cob

Earthships

Rammed Earth

Types of Roofing

Roof Gardens

These can consist of patios with potted plants, or be entirely covered in growing medium and have plants growing directly in the substrate.

When combined with solar roof panels, living plants can reduce the ambient roof temperature, helping the panels work more efficiently even during heatwaves. In return the panels can help shade the plants, reducing their watering needs.

Slate

Sod Roof

"A sod roof, or turf roof, is a traditional Scandinavian type of green roof covered with sod on top of several layers of birch bark on gently sloping wooden roof boards. Until the late 19th century, it was the most common roof on rural log houses in Norway and large parts of the rest of Scandinavia. Its distribution roughly corresponds to the distribution of the log building technique in the vernacular architecture of Finland and the Scandinavian peninsula. The load of approximately 250 kg per m2 of a sod roof is an advantage because it helps to compress the logs and make the walls more draught-proof. In winter the total load may well increase to 400 or 500 kg per m2 because of snow.[1] Sod is also a reasonably efficient insulator in a cold climate. The birch bark underneath ensures that the roof will be waterproof.

The term ‘sod roof’ is somewhat misleading, as the active, water-tight element of the roof is birch bark. The main purpose of the sod is to hold the birch bark in place. The roof might just as well have been called a "birch bark roof", but its grassy outward appearance is the reason for its name in Scandinavian languages: Norwegian and Swedish torvtak, Icelandic torfþak."

Thatched Roof

"Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (Cladium mariscus), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed—trapping air—thatching also functions as insulation. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries, usually with low-cost local vegetation. By contrast, in some developed countries it is the choice of some affluent people who desire a rustic look for their home, would like a more ecologically friendly roof, or who have purchased an originally thatched abode. "

Education Opportunities

This section offers general education opportunities, though they haven't been verified, so always remember to use common sense and do your own research before making an investment.

For more specific education opportunities, such as learning to build or design Earthships, then visit the Earthship page to find organizations which specifically offer such courses and workshops.

North America

Canada

Nicaragua 

USA

Resources

Aircrete

Organizations

International

North America

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New York

Grants & Funding

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USA

Connecticut