Assignment title: Information
CSM80002 - Environmental Sustainability in Construction © 2016
Assignment 2
Development of Sustainable Home with Net Zero
Carbon Emission
(60% of final score)
Due on 1 NovCSM80002 - Environmental Sustainability in Construction © 2016
Project: Re-design Your Home into a Net Zero
Carbon Emission Building
1. Project Objectives
– The project gives you an opportunity to build 'Your Home (YH)' similar to your current home
and 'Re-designed Home (RH)' to meet 'net-zero-emission' at the same location you would like.
Note: YH can be the building where you now live or any existing residential building at any location.
– Compare your RH with your YH on the aspects of energy, emissions, cost and benefit;
– 'Net-zero-emission' requires that the sum of
• embodied carbon of construction materials
• carbon emissions related to construction and maintenance (replacement),
• daily energy consumptions,
• emission related to wastes and disposals
is completely offset by your on-site renewable energy supply over a period of the service life of
buildings (e.g. 40 years);
– The development strategies may include minimising construction material consumptions by
recycling and reuse, more energy efficient buildings, together with the use of renewable
energy;
2. Assignment Requirements
– 2.1 Review low/zero-carbon design technology
1) selection of low carbon construction materials,
2) innovative construction process,
3) management of energy consumption and consumption behaviour,
4) renewable energy;
5) recycle and reuse.
Note: Minimum 10 references must be provided to substantiate your review of each subject required
above (2 for each of above subjects) .
Next pageCSM80002 - Environmental Sustainability in Construction © 2016
– 2.2 YH Details
Note: Estimation of an amount of construction materials and relevant carbon emissions
is NOT required in this section, but should be done in section 2.4
• Develop a building design or select a house from the provided base house models
(similar to your current home), and detail location, building type, floor plan, building
surroundings of YH
• Detail construction materials for YH
• Detail construction process for YH
• Detail heating/cooling, hot water, and appliances of YH
– 2.3 Detail RH to meet 'net-zero-emission', given at the same location, same building type,
same floor plan, and same building surroundings
Note: Estimation of an amount of construction materials and relevant carbon emissions
is NOT required in this section, but should be done in section 2.4
• Your selection of construction materials for RH with minimum embodied carbon
emissions
• Your selection of construction materials for RH, which require less
maintenance/replacement (durable) over its service life
• Your approach to reuse and recycle construction materials for RH
• Your selection of construction process that has less carbon emissions for RH
• Your energy management design to reduce energy consumption for
heating/cooling,
• Your energy management design to reduce energy consumption for hot water, and
appliances
• Your selection of on-site renewable energy (design details should be included in
section 2.5
Next pageCSM80002 - Environmental Sustainability in Construction © 2016
– 2.4 Estimate the annual and total carbon emission over the service life of YH and RH
(e.g. 40 years), and compare them
• Estimate embodied carbon (EC) emission of YH and RH
– construction materials.
Note: Reuse and recycle may reduce additional embodied carbon emission during
renovation, but residual embodied carbon emission of reused or recycled
construction materials should not be ignored.
– Estimate carbon emission related to the construction of YH and RH.
– Estimate carbon emission related to maintenance (e.g. replacement of
building structures or elements over the service life of YH and RH)
– Estimate carbon emission from wastes of your rebuilt/redesigned home.
Note: ICE Table included in your 'learning materials' in Blackboard could be used
for the assessment of embodied carbon, but be aware of its limitations.
• Estimate operating carbon emission in relation to the daily usage for hot water,
and all appliances of YH and RH.
Note: Daily usage could be estimated based on the hours of usage of each appliance,.
• Estimate operating carbon emission in relation to the daily usage for heating and
cooling of YH and RH.
– Apply your design or the selected house model in Section 2.2 to develop YH
and RH Models for the simulation using EnergyPlus
Note: building materials, orientation, window design etc should be added through
EnergyPlus before simulation could be run
– Estimate energy consumption and corresponding carbon emission for
heating and cooling
Note: a better design of insulation, window, and roof etc could reduce energy
consumption significantly.
• Summarise the changes(reduction/increase percentage) in carbon emissions as a
result of redesign on the aspect of material consumption, maintenance, operating
and wastes as well as their total.
Next pageCSM80002 - Environmental Sustainability in Construction © 2016
– 2.5 Use HOMER to design on-site renewable energy supply to achieve 'net-zero-energy' over the
service life of RH (e.g. 40 years)
• Develop and describe HOMER Model by using the design option described in section 2.3 for
your renewable energy system of RH
• Provide the details of the inputs of climate, daily energy consumption and parameters of your
renewable systems for HOMER (You may report the screenshots of Homer window)
• Provide the details of cost information including grid electricity cost (if it is connected to RH),
renewable system cost, buyback price of renewable energy, and discount rate (4%)
• Detail and explain HOMER outputs of your design
• Evaluate the "net-zero-energy" criteria for the life cycle of the RH
Note: embodied energy, operational and maintenance energy and waste should be considered over the 40
year service life of RH
– 2.6 Estimate cost and benefit (e.g. energy saving) of RH in comparison with YH
• Estimate annual cost/benefit, and summaries them in a table or diagram.
– The cost is a result of implementation to achieve the benefit. For example, the cost
includes capitals for improvement of energy efficiency and implementation of lowcarbon technology as well as renewable energy technology in RH, and the benefit
includes the energy saving.
• Estimate the total cost and benefit in a present value, and the corresponding benefit/cost ratio.
– The present value of future cost/benefit is discounted at 4%
• Estimate the payback period of your investment in the renewable energy as well as any
measures to improve energy efficiency and implement low-carbon technology in RH.
– 2.7 Discuss the feasibility and challenges of implementing RH, and the ways to overcome the
challenges.CSM80002 - Environmental Sustainability in Construction © 2016
Marking Criteria
• Address all
requirements of the
assignment (90%).
• Technical Writing
(10%)
Title
Summary (or abstract)
Introduction
Chapters to address all
requirements (can be
multiple chapters with
multiple sub-sections)
Conclusion and
discussion
References