Green engineering concepts for cooling homes – Aarush Maheshwari – 12th grade at Daly college
20 percent of the of total electricity use worldwide is currently responsible for cooling of buildings. With an average of 272kWh of energy being consumed per capita worldwide just for the cooling of buildings. Which adds up to nearly 247.52 kg of carbon dioxide being released if we account for the emission factor for coal. For comparison this is nearly 15-20% for the total per capita energy usage globally. These alarming statistics clearly show us the need for sustainable ways for cooling of buildings which is an expense that we can reduce by changing the ways we design our buildings.
How you may ask? Well the answer is integrating simple concepts of green engineering into the design of your building to reduce reliance on mechanical cooling. Adding in some simple measures such as cross ventilation for building by strategically placing windows allowing for vents to improve flow of air, using reflective light coloured materials for roofing that absorb less heat and reflect off the sunlight keeping the interior cool, mainly using thermally insulating materials in walls, roofs, and floors that reduce heat transfer such measures will keep the interior warm in the winter and cool in the summers, adding physical shaders like curtains to stop sunlight entering and heating the interior, and a new trend of green roofs that involve planting vegetation on roofs that absorb sunlight and provide insulation reducing heat entering the building and keeping interiors significantly cooler these are some principles that if applied correctly can significantly reduce our reliance on high energy using appliances like air conditioners and heaters making the building more sustainable and energy efficient over its lifetime.
Now you may ask that even if we integrate such measure in our designs how much do they actually affect our cooling inside and is it even worth it in long run well here’s a surprising statistic that a building using a green roof for example recorded indoor temperatures roughly 1.5 degrees Celsius lower than the outdoor temperatures and coming to the costs the energy reduction to cooling using such measures inevitably means that sustainable and green building eventually pays for itself in the long run by reducing electricity bills by nearly 20-30% depending on how the extent of which its used which natural ventilation reducing bills by nearly 30-40% and building orientation by nearly 20-30%. Such numbers clearly show that even though there may be a higher up front cost in the long run it will all even out. Not only thinking about the costs but the environmental benefits as well like reducing carbon emissions due to energy production mean that green engineering is a highly useful concept that should be mandated in all future buildings.
By 2050 temperatures are expected to rise by 3-4 degrees Celsius and will continue to rise with record high temperatures being measures in 2024 it is without a doubt that critical steps need to be taken to reduce this disturbing rate of temperature increase. And with this the energy consumption for cooling of homes will increase at unprecedented rates leading to larger carbon emissions and global warming making matters worse. Green engineering is a step in the right direction and is the need of the hour as it leads us to communities relying lower and lower on already depleting non renewable and highly polluting energy sources and steering us into sustainable future.
About Aarush Maheshwari : Hello everyone I am Aarush Maheshwari studying in the 12th grade at Daly college with a passion for construction and sustainable designs. I love watching sports in my free time along with funny sitcoms. I hope this article helps gain knowledge into the rather untouched world of green engineering and how it can be extremely useful to preserve resources and nature.
