Current Practice
Presently most building
designs are a compromise between proven experience and what the owner desires
as the primary function of the building.
If the owners desire is too make a business headquarters with the function
of making a quick profit, minimizing construction cost may be a priority. For a building which is
statement of the company’s high standing position within their industry,
emphasis is usually focused on the architectural aspects of the building, where the owner plans to occupy the space for a long time, running
costs may be paramount.
However, as it stands running costs are generally passed on to the
owner of the building. Thus running costs are unlikely to be a design priority to
construction industry professionals bearing in mind that they are generally
astute business people who are primarily concerned with the economics of the
project, who will listen to facts and figures if they make good business sense.
There will generally be little concern for energy efficient design and
decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Construction
industry professionals generally want to know project cost and how profit can
be maximised, if energy efficiency is to be incorporated into building design
on the request of the owner, those involved in construction will want to know
how the added design, engineering, and construction costs will be paid. As a result
if any energy efficient technologies are to be included they must be financially viable and appeal in business terms,
unfortunately many technologies are not at present economically feasible, for
example Building Integrated PV’s. This view was consolidated through discussion
with HLM Architects. For example some
appealing business terms could be companies promoting a green image to the
community, making the building easier to site due to lower water use
requirements. All of these issues translate directly into business logic.
Future
Trends
Construction industry professionals are being forced
to take a greater interest in energy efficient design and reducing greenhouse
gas emissions as greater levels of sustainability are required due to new
building regulations which require greater levels of insulation to reduce heat
losses and It is becoming within building owners interest to invest in energy
efficiency measures as there are currently Tax penalties for the use of
grid-generated electricity. The inclusion of energy efficient technologies
which may have higher design and installation cost must be as mentioned above,
financially viable and appealing on business terms.
BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY DRIVERS