REDUCING ENERGY USED IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

For the issues involved in trying to reduce the amount of energy you would use in constructing a building (rather than in the use of a constructed building) have a look at the energy in construction PowerPoint. A simple explanation of embodied energy is given at http://www.sda-uk.org/materials/principles/embodied_energy.htm .The Australian site gives lots of useful ideas on embodied energy http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/technical/fs31.htm

You will probably find the issues self-explanatory but you should ask yourself the following questions

• How can I design and make a building that uses the least possible amount of energy in the extraction of the materials I intend to use?
• How can I design and make a building that uses the least amount of energy in the processing of the material into a form useful for building (e.g. a brick, a concrete block, insulation)
• Can I use materials that will have travelled the shortest possible distance to get to the building site?
• Can I use methods of construction that don’t use energy unnecessarily?