CVE80010 Principles of Sustainability: Greenhouse Gas Emission

The figure above shows the typical floors plan of a semidetached house where 4 people occupy. The postcode of the area is 30XY. Where, X is the 3rd digit of your student ID and Y is the 4th digit of your student ID. [The postcode is – 3015].

The detail construction of the building is presented in the table below:

Ceiling Height 2.7 m

External Wall Timber/weatherboard with no insulation.

Floor Suspended slab with enclosed subfloor, mostly carpet Coverings and no insulation.

Roof type Attic with R 2.0 insulation

The dimensions of the windows are as follows:

W2, W3, W4 Height = 1500 mm, Width = 1800 mm

W6 Height = 900 mm, Width = 1800 mm

W1 Height = 2100 mm, Width = 5100 mm

W5 Height = 900 mm, Width = 600 mm

All the windows have Aluminium frame clear single glazing and have Holland blinds with no external shading. In all windows, there are large gaps between the window frame and the wall. The external doors also have large gaps. The building has two exhaust fans: in the kitchen and bathroom. They are not sealed.

The heating system of the house is natural gas feuled. The system is ducted, very old with 1-star rating. The condition of the duct is very poor and has not been inspected recently. The heating system runs every day during winter from 6 pm to 12 am to warm the bedrooms and lounge area although everyone stays in the Lounge area from 6 pm to 10 pm and then goes to bedrooms. The heating thermostat is set at 20_C. Although after 10 pm 15_C is the recommended set point for bedrooms, the occupants of this house do not follow it.

The cooling system of the house is non-ducted air-conditioner. The system is also very old with 1- star rating. On average, the air-conditioner is operated for 2 hours during the day and 2 hours during night to cool down the bedrooms and Lounge area during summer period. 

Transport 

All occupants use their own vehicle (Small car, Annual km 15000, Typical Petrol, Auto, and Year 2003) to drive to work in different offices at Melbourne CBD although those offices are easily accessible by public transport.

Air Travel 

All of them travel to Sydney, Brisbane or Adelaide once in a year in economy class.

Hot Water 

The hot water system of the house is electric medium and has no solar boost. 

Washing Machine 

It is a typical top loader, 7 kg capacity, hot and cold tape, 1-star energy rating and was manufactured on 1997. They normally run it 4 times a week on high water program. The temperature of the hot water is around 40*C.

Dishwasher 

It is a standard one, small capacity, 3-star energy rating, 2-star water rating and was manufactured on 2003. They use it 5-9 times a week on rinse/hold program. The dishwasher only uses cold water.

Hand Dishwashing 

They don’t use hot water to rinse the dishes.

Bathing 

In total, the occupants of the household take 15-25 showers a week. Average shower time is 10 minutes. The showerheads are unrated.

Clothes Dryer 

There is no cloth dryer in this house.

Lighting 

The house has 18 low voltage halogen lights throughout the house. During a typical summer and winter days, those lights are ON for 3 and 6 hours respectively. The power of the halogen lights are 40 watts and can provide 14 lumens of light per watt. The requirement of the house is around 150 lumens per m2. 

Refrigeration 

Normal compressor, one door, capacity 300 litres, 2-star rating and year of production is 1992.

Cooking

The house has gas burners which use natural gas. No information is available about the usage. They also have a microwave. 

Other Appliances 

There are 4 small laptops. Each of them is used 4 hours a day. There is a 50inch LCD TV in the lounge room which runs 4 hours per day.

You do not need to consider Food and Shopping and waste. 

In your report, provide the inputs in the Australian Greenhouse calculator and the final report of greenhouse gas emission of the existing house. Then provide the screenshots of all suggested changes followed by justifications of each suggestion. Then provide the screenshot of the final report of greenhouse gas emission of the improved house.

Introduction:

Green House gas emissions calculations and related recommendations to restrict the emissions of GHG for domestic utility makes up the core discussion of the current report.  Australian Green house gas emissions calculator is employed in the current case for the sake of evaluation of the emissions and to make relevant calculations in this regard. In the current discussion a domestic energy utility station (domestic house) selected and the energy consumption patterns are analyzed and changes are proposed to reduce the energy consumption in the house, the typical recommendations made in the report for the sake of energy conservation are provided with necessary energy calculations and the evidential support for the recommendations. Also provided are the literature based references for the facts and the figures mentioned in this context. Australian GHG emissions analysis calculator is used to estimate the emissions for this case study.

Overview of the energy utility Station:

Details of the house for which the emission analysis is performed:

The house described in the current report is a location for 4 people to stay in. In total the house has about 6 windows. 2 bed rooms,  1 bath room, 1 laundry and 1 lounge room. The ceiling height of the room is about 2.7 meters; the exterior of the house is not insulated. There is carpet covering provided as well the roof is with R2.0 insulation(EPA).

The dimensions of the selected windows of the detached house are as follows,

Location of the house:

The said house is located in the post code of the region =3015

Area of the house (From the floor plan) is around 70 square metres.

Details of the windows:

Aluminium frame, single glazing as well as clear Holland blinds makes up the windows.

Observations:

There are large gaps between the window frames and the walls.

Also there large gaps between the window doors as well(Sartori,2007,P.250).

Exhaust fans:

One in the kitchen and the other in the bathroom.

Heating System:

The type of the energy consumption is natural gas type.

The method of operation is ducted.

The system is quite old with 1 star rating(Bloom,2011,P.125). 

Observations:

The duct conditions of the heating system are very poor – there is no proper inspection taking place(Perez-Lombard et al., 2008,P.397).

Also the temperature controls are not being employed properly.

Inspite of keeping the temperature control of the thermostat at 15 degree Celsius the actual temperature control for the bed room and the lounge are kept just at 20 degree Celsius (Even after 10PM).

Also the control is applied to the bed rooms as well as the lounge rooms from 6PM to 12AM, eventhough actually people will be sleeping in the bedroom only after 10PM and till then they will be staying there in the lounge room itself.

In the total winter season the duct will be operated from 6PM to 12AM.

The efficiency of the system is quite poor – it is only 1 star rated.

Cooling system

The cooling system employed for the house will be operational only in the summer season.

The energy rating of the cooling system is again 1 star rated.

During the entire summer season the cooling system will be operating 2 hours over night time and again 2 hours during the day time.

Transport

Occupants are not using the transport systems effectively, rather than using the public transport systems available in the region, using their own vehicles like small cars, Annual Km 15000 as well as Typical petrol, Auto and 2003 year cars. The distance of travel of the people in the house is different for different people. Typically they are travelling within the Melbourne CBD for their offices(Barrero,2008,P.35).

Air Transport:

Once in year, each of them travelling to the cities in the country like Sydney, Brisbane or Adelaide in economy class.

Hot water

Hot water in the house is being supplied by the electric boost-up means there is no usage of the solar heating system(Boyle,2004) for the sake of heating applications. Electrical energy being higher grade thermal energy a renewable energy solution like solar energy based water heating can be a viable option for the sake of room heating requirements(Kok et al,2011,P.80).

Washing machine

The washing machine in use is a top loader type of machine. 7 kg capacity and the hot and cold tape type. Energy star rating of the machine is only 1 star rating. It is purchased in 1997. Being used for about 4 times in a week and the hot water being consumed to the washing machine is being done at a temperature of about 40 degree Celsius (Turner,2008,P.40).

Dish Water

The dishwater being employed in the house is a 3 star rated one for energy and 2 star rating for water. Also it is manufactured in the year 2003. Typical usage of the device will be about 5 to 9 times a week. The dish water as of now is using only cold water.

Hand Dishwashing

As such there is no any energy supply being employed and also there is no any hot water being used for the sake of hand dish washing.

Bathing:

Total numbers of showers in a week are about 15-25 and there is no rating available for the shower.

Average shower time is about 10 minutes.

Clothes Dryer

No clothe dryer being employed in the house.

Lighting

The house has about 18 low voltage halogen lights in the house.

In summer they will be on for about 3 hours

In winter they will be on for about 6 hours.

The power of the halogen light is 40 watts

The intensity of the light generated is about 14 lumens of light for every one watt.

The house lumen requirement is 150 lumens per square meter of the space(Ronda,2007).

Refrigeration

Compressor is normal compressor

The refrigerator is one door type

Capacity is 300 litres

It is 2 star rating

Year of manufacturing is 1992.

Cooking

As of now there is no much information available about cooking. However the house has a micro-oven as well have gas burners operating on natural gas.

Other Appliances:

There are about 4 small laptops in the house

Each of the laptop operates for about 4 hours a day

There is a 50’ LED TV in the lounge room and will operate about 4 hours a day.

Food, shopping and wastage is not being considered.

Green house gas emission calculations based on the given data:

Transport

With small car and with typical average annual travel of 15,000km the emissions will be 3.863 tons of ghg.

Air transport

For the given economy travel for once in year, the ghg emissions will be 0.106 tons of ghg.

Heating and cooling

With existing models of the building and heating and cooling systems the emissions will be about 3.412 tons of ghg

Hot water

For typical electrical mode water heating system emissions will be about 1.581 tons of ghg

Lighting

With the presence of 18 low voltage halgen lights and with 40 w of power rating the actual emissions will be about 1.497 tons of ghg.

Refrigeration

With normal compressor and one door operation the total emissions will be about 1.481 tons of ghg.

Cooking

With natural gas fuel based main cooker and micro wave system based auxiliary cooker the emissions are,

Other appliances

For LCD television with 4 hours of usage emissions will be about 0.478 tons of ghg

Total estimation of the emissions based on the actual scenario of the building:

Green gas emissions and the estimation of the savings with the suggested changes:

From public transport usage the total ghg will be about 0.07 tons of GHG.

From air travel the total ghg will 0.106 tons of ghg, they will become totally zero if the travels are restricted.

Heating and cooling perspective:

Following changes can be imposed to restrict the emissions.

Gaps in the doors can be weather stripped.

Floor can be changed to concrete mode.

Floor can be insulated back to R3.0 to restrict the heat loss.

Roof insulation can be increased to R3.0

Wood open fire can be employed for heating rather than natural gas fuelled system.

Star rating of heater also can be increased.

Air conditioner rating can be increased to 5 star

External walls can be provided with insulation of R3.0

With all the above proposed changes, the emissions will come down to 0.205t of ghg.

Refrigerator can be changed to the 6 star rating

Lighting

By changing to 11 number of lighting systems the actual emissions can be restricted to only 0.915 tons of ghg.

Hot water

Hot water if changed to the solar energy mode the total emissions will be reduced to 0.381tons of ghg.

Refrigerator

If changed from normal compressor to LPG mode the new emissions will be 0.100 tons of ghg (Fatough, 2006, P.1600). provided the model is changed to newest model 2009+ and the rating is the best possible (6 star).

Cooking

Main cooker can be based on wood stove and the auxiliary cooker can be bench top type to reduce the total emissions to 0.183 tons of ghg.

Other appliances

If television is changed to the projector type with about 4 hours of the operation time the total emissions will be restricted to about 0.369 tons of ghg.

Hence the total emissions as per the new changes incorporated will be,

Note: Food, shopping and durable wastage or not considered.

Graph

Also the graph indicates the comparative demonstration of the GHG emissions with green house emissions, which looks competitive. 

Further Discussion and Recommendations:

(i)As per the actual recommendations implemented in the given utility station it is possible to have as high as 8.164 tons of ghg emissions saving per every year. Typical suggestions consisted usage of more efficient energy appliances, 5 star and 6 star energy appliances. Also the models are recommended to get updated for the sake of better energy utility requirements.

(ii) The air conditioner present in the system if is changed from the normal compressor type of operation to that of LPG there is considerable savings in the total emissions possible from that model.

(iii)Lighting systems as of now are using more number of halogen lights than required in accordance with the estimation of lumens for the house, hence reducing the total number of the lightings in accordance with the actual light luminous requirements will be having considerable impact on the total emissions savings in the house.

(iv)Transport is preferable to change over from the personal car mode to the public transport like public bus or tram car for the entire daily requirements and this will  be having considerable impact on the total emissions savings.

(v) Also if the total cooking system is changed to the wooden stove there will be savings in the ghg emissions also the auxiliary cooker can be wooden bench type of stove for the sake emissions savings.

(vI)Other appliances like television if operated like a projector can give better emissions savings on annual basis of operations.

(VII) Other observations like using better dishwasher with higher energy rating and restricting the number of rinses per week will contribute to the betterment of the emissions levels.

(VIII) washing machine can be replaced with better energy rating as well as a new model type. Also the hot water to be employed in the washing machine required to be solar water heating based, this in turn will reduce the total emissions from the device.

(IX) Hot water boost to the solar water heating system will eliminate the total emissions in this direction.

(X) Air travel if restricted then it will further reduce the emissions due to the air travel to 0 tons of ghg.

(XI) Proposed air conditioner can be with higher energy star rating  to increase the performance level and to reduce the total tons of ghg emissions.

Conclusion:

There is much to do to reduce the total ghg emission reduction from this house, the total emissions can be reduced by employing better energy star rated appliances, using secondary grade thermal energy resources like wood stove and wood fire for cooking and heating applications, also there can savings in the emissions if the building architecture is also improved for better insulation as well as to reduce the gaps between the aluminium frame and the walls as well as the gaps in the doors and the windows of the wall. All this will reduce the overall ghg emission in the house on annual basis. Further efficient usage of the heating systems, like only using the heating for the premises where the occupants are present in . Also using the system only to required temperature levels, not for excess heating and excess cooling will reduce the corresponding heating and cooling loads. Also if the lighting systems are employed only when required, like if occupancy sensor based lighting systems if employed the total emissions can be restricted much further to make the location more suitable for efficient emission control requirements.

References:

Anon., n.d. [Online] Available at: https://www.epa.vic.gov.au/AGC/calculator/index.html

Barrero, R., Van Mierlo, J. and Tackoen, X., 2008. Energy savings in public transport. IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, 3(3), pp.26-36.

Bloom, B., Nobe, M. and Nobe, M., 2011. Valuing green home designs: A study of ENERGY STAR® homes. Journal of Sustainable Real Estate, 3(1), pp.109-126.

Boyle, G. ed., 2004. Renewable energy (Vol. 328). Oxford: OXFORD university press.

Fatouh, M. and El Kafafy, M., 2006. Experimental evaluation of a domestic refrigerator working with LPG. Applied thermal engineering, 26(14), pp.1593-1603.

Kok, N., McGraw, M. and Quigley, J.M., 2011. The diffusion of energy efficiency in building. The American Economic Review, 101(3), pp.77-82.

Pérez-Lombard, L., Ortiz, J. and Pout, C., 2008. A review on buildings energy consumption information. Energy and buildings, 40(3), pp.394-398.

Ronda, C.R. ed., 2007. Luminescence: from theory to applications. John Wiley & Sons.

Sartori, I. and Hestnes, A.G., 2007. Energy use in the life cycle of conventional and low-energy buildings: A review article. Energy and buildings, 39(3), pp.249-257.

Turner, C. and Frankel, M., 2008. Energy performanceof LEED for new construction buildings. New Buildings Institute, 4, pp.1-42.