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From Green Building to Green Community

by Dr Edward CY Yiu Associate Professor, Dept of Geography of Resource Management,

Chinese University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong 2013

Urban Planning and Sustainable Cities BSocSci Administration and Public Management, CityU

Date: 25 Nov. 2014

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Introduction

Global Warming

• IPCC (2014)

Sustainable Development

• UN (1987)

Green Buildings

• 1980s

Zero Carbon Building

• 2000s

Carbon Neutral City

• Masdar initiative 2005

Green Community

• Yiu and Campos (2014)

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Why Green ? • The Greener, the Healthier and the Smarter

– hospital stays reduced by 8.5% when patients were in rooms with window-views of nature

– a 41% reduction in average length of stay for gynaecology patients in sunlit rooms over patients in dull rooms

– Controlling exposure to indoor environmental factors, such as carbon monoxide, dust, and pollen, could prevent more than 65% of asthma cases among elementary school-age children

– the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress over a year by as much as 25%.

– annual electricity bill for households is down by 25 per cent

http://www.worldgbc.org/files/1513/6690/5994/

WGBWeek_2013_-_Greener_Buildings_Better_Places_Healthier_People.pdf

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If NOT Green, then?

• Landfills full;

• Global warming;

• Flooding;

• Heat Island;

• Pollution;

• Diseases;

• Disasters?...

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IPCC 2014 • It is not about how to prevent drastic change of climate, • But it is now about how to mitigate! • It is time to take immediate and effective actions!!

http://www.ipcc.ch/

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What Are Green Buildings?

• A Green Building is designed to:

– [sustainably] use of energy, water and other resources;

– reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation; and

– protecting occupant health and improving productivity.

• by this definition, very few buildings are GREEN!.

Amended from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (October 28, 2009).

Green Building Basic Information. Retrieved Decem\ ber 10, 2009,

from http://www.epa.gov/greenbuilding/pubs/about.htm

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The Greenest Building?

"The Greenest Building in the Netherlands 2012" - no external fuel, electricity, water or sewage. - no consumption of fossil fuel or nuclear energy; - no consumption of extra water; - no discharge of waste or sewage;

• Energy (electricity, fuel)

• Water

• Food

• Materials

• Products Resources

IN

• Consumption

• Waste

City • Water Drained

• Gas Exhausted

• Kitchen Wastes

• Recyclable Wastes

• Other Solid Wastes

Wastes OUT

Rely on a lot of Resources Inputs

and Disposition of Outputs

Traditional City Model

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What is Sustainable?

• The Brundtland Commission of the United Nations (1987) defines “sustainable development" as:

– "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

United Nations General Assembly (March 20, 1987).

"Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development:

Our Common Future; Chapter 2: Towards Sustainable Development.

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How to Achieve Sustainability?

•Reduce consumption of resources is the best way:

•- it reduces waste, pollution, and retains more materials for future use.

•Reuse and Recycle are limited to physical matters only. •because Energy CANNOT be reused/recycled/recovered!

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How to Achieve Sustainability?

•Reuse and Recycle: •Different city got very different distributions of wastes. •Some recyclable materials are not recycled, due to COSTS

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Why Energy CANNOT be Reused/Recycled?

• The Second Law of Thermodynamics (also known as the Law of Increased Entropy): – the entropy of an isolated system

never decreases, because an isolated system spontaneously evolves towards thermodynamic equilibrium; i.e.

– Usable energy is converted into unusable energy. Thus, usable energy is irretrievably lost in the form of unusable energy.

http://www.allaboutscience.org/second-law-of-thermodynamics.htm

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How to use energy sustainably?

• Reduce, Produce, Store – Produce >= Consume;

– by non-fossil fuel / non-nuclear sources of energy;

– by natural renewable sources of energy: solar, wind, water, tidal, geothermal, and other non-polluting sources.

• i.e. Zero Carbon Buildings (ZCBs) / Energy Plus Buildings (EPBs)

http://www.allaboutscience.org/second-law-of-thermodynamics.htm

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What is a ZCB? • Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) is

– a building with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually.

– Buildings that produce a surplus of energy over the year may be called "energy-plus buildings.

^ US Department of Energy

•Energy consumption of WHAT? •Total Environment Costing (TEC)? ISO 14001? •How about energy consumption for the materials production, construction and dumping?

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3 different definitions of Zero Carbon Buildings

• 3 standard definitions of ZCB:

– a) Zero carbon dioxide emission for all;

– b) Offset of operating energy consumed from the grid by on-site renewable energy generation with grid-feed-in; or

– c) Offset embodied energy of its construction process and major structural materials.

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UK – Zero Carbon House

• The UK government announced a Zero Carbon House Law (Carbon Dioxide neutral houses) to be achieved in 2016;

• A task force has been set up to pave the road for.

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UAE – Carbon Neutral City

• the Masdar initiative - a carbon-neutral, car-free, 1,482 acre sustainable city powered by the sun, in United Arab Emirates;

• The development project is expected to be completed by 2023, at an estimated cost of $22bn, designed by Norman Foster.

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HK – the 1st ZCB

• CIC has built the first Zero Carbon Building in Hong Kong in 2012 (Kowloon Bay);

• GFA: 14,700sm

• Site Areas: 1,400sm

• Height: 2 storey

• Use: Exhibition and Education Centre.

GHG emission reduction by on-site renewable

energy: 8,250 tonnes (over 50 years)

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ZCB HK - Design

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ZCB HK - Renewable Energy

• photovoltaic panels

• biodiesel generation system

• large scale use of biodiesel made from waste cooking oil

• greenery coverage > 60% of the site

• Building Management System with smart control

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An Atlas of Pollution

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Global Footprints

• The Carbon Footprint (per capita carbon dioxide emission intensity) of HK: 5.5 tonnes/person/year

• Weather is mild, city is densely developed, public transportation is convenient, etc.

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/6131/economics/list-of-co2-emissions-per-capita/

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• WWF-Hong Kong’s “Hong Kong Ecological Footprint Report 2013”:

• "Hong Kong people are living beyond the Earth’s limits. 2.6 Earths are needed if everyone lived the lifestyle of Hong Kong people."

Are we really doing a good job?

Biocapacity Ecological footprint 2008

Hong Kong 0.03 global ha per person

4.7 global ha per person

http://awsassets.wwfhk.panda.org/downloads/hong_kong_ecological_footprint_report_2013.pdf

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• Daily Solid Waste (2011 HK) is 8996 tons;

• Daily Domestic Kitchen Waste is 2528 tons (28%);

Are we really doing a good job? (inter-city comparisons)

2010 Taiwan South Korea Hong Kong

Kitchen Waste / Person / Day

0.2kg 0.3kg 0.4kg

Are we really doing a good job? (performance over time)

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HK Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013-2022

26 http://www.enb.gov.hk/en/files/WastePlan-E.pdf

Rubbish disposal fee likely to be

$1 a bag in 2016

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"For households, they would

need to purchase pre-paid

rubbish bags for dumping

waste," said Council for

Sustainable Development

chairman Bernard Charnwut

Chan yesterday

Standard Friday, February 21, 2014

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Legislations on Green Buildings

• Enhancing Energy Efficiency in Buildings – Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance (BEEO) Cap.

610, effective from 21 September 2012 – newly constructed buildings and major retrofitting

works should comply with the the design standards of the Building Energy Code (BEC) on the 4 key types of building services installation, namely, air-conditioning installation, lighting installation, electrical installation and lift and escalator installation

– energy audit for the 4 key types of central building services installation therein in accordance with the Energy Audit Code (EAC) is required every 10 years.

http://www.beeo.emsd.gov.hk/en/pee/BEC_2012.pdf

http://www.beeo.emsd.gov.hk/en/mibec_beeo.html

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Benchmarking or Target-comparing?

• Friends of the Earth’s award: – Parkview was the second biggest

saver, with 500,000kWh saved …

• It may simply because of the extravagance last year;

• Shall we compare with the benchmark / a reference building or previous years’ consumptions?

• EMSD’s (2007) codes of practice accept a performance-based approach in energy savings, where a reference building is compared with!

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University - A Big Spender • EMSD's homepage

(http://ecib.emsd.gov.hk/en/indicator_cmc.htm) provides a local benchmark and indicators on energy consumed per unit floor area per annum in MJ/sm/annum;

Building / Benchmarks MJ/sm/yr

Hotel 898

Universities in Hong Kong 752

Secondary College 214

The PassivHaus Standard 432

The AECB Carbon Lite GOLD Standards 209

Ireland Building Energy Rating – “A” Rated 180

• Energy (electricity, fuel)

• Water

• Food

• Materials

• Products Resources

IN

• Consumption

• Waste

City • Water Drained

• Gas Exhausted

• Kitchen Wastes

• Recyclable Wastes

• Other Solid Wastes

Wastes OUT

Rely on a lot of Resources Inputs

and Disposition of Outputs

Traditional City Model

Reduce Waste / Recycle

Reduction

Reuse

Recycle

15 items

Collect Kitchen

Wastes Collect Rain

Water

Solar

Energy

Education &

Training

Information &

Measurements

Competitions

and Awards

Energy

Saving Farming Fertilizers

Cleansing Cleansing

Liquid

Sharing

Economy

Empowerment

& Cooperation

Green scape

Reduce Pollution

At Source

Reduce Waste

from Source

Residents’

Participations

Food Self-

Sufficiency

Reduce Inputs

Reduce Wastes

A Green Housing Estate Scheme

Reducing Wastes, Reducing Purchases

It saves

29,232 litres of

Cleansing Liquid

Sharing Economy

It saves

914 books

and 167 items

In 2014

Sharing: Books, Toys, Sports Equipment, Furniture, Baby Stuffs, Musical Instruments, Electrical Appliances

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15 Recyclable Items

Carbon Powder Cartridges

Rechargable Batteries

Construction Materials

Producer Responsibility

From 2004 to 2013, it saves 9,011,934 Kwh electricity (7,570t CO2)

It saves 47.5 % electricity consumption

Energy Saving

Energy Saving

LED

Transformer

Lift Control System

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Reduce 114.4t Domestic Wastes

Reduction of Wastes

43% landscape area (3 ha)

No. of trees = 479 (absorb

11,017t CO2/yr)

Vertical green walls

Greenery

Zero

Energy

Water

Food

Waste

A Four-Zero Scheme

Yiu, C.Y. and Castro Campo, B. (2013) A Novel Planning Model for

Approaching a Zero-Food and Zero-Waste Community, ISSF Conference

on Sustainable Green Intelligent Buildings,

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Smart Grids

• Currently, sockets can only output electricity, not the other way round;

• Users cannot be manufacturers of electricity; • Monopoly results in inefficiency. • Smart grids allow selling electricity by users to

the electricity grid of the district. • Offsetting GHG becomes possible.

http://blog.yahoo.com/ecyyiuu/articles/85088

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可持續發展方向 A Sustainable Model of Green

Community 個人

Individuals

建築物 Buildings

社區 Community

城市 City

國家 / 國際 Country / Global

零碳 Zero-energy (CO2)

零水 Zero-water

零食 Zero-food

零廢 Zero-waste

零料 Zero-material

五層五零可持續發展方向

5-level, 5-zeros

sustainability model Yiu, C.Y. and Campos, B. (2013) A Novel Planning Model for Approaching a Zero-Food

and Zero-Waste Community, Int’l Conference on ISSF2014, HK

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自給之城 A Self-Sufficient City

單位 UOM

社區 Community 40 公頃 ha

人口 Population 10,000 人 pers

平均密度 Ave Density 25,000 人/平方公里

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建築物佔地 Footprint Area

方程 sym 數量 Qty 單位 UOM

座數 Blocks b 25 座

層數 Storey f 20 層

每層單位數 Units/f u 8 單位

每間樓面面積 Size/u a 100 平方米sm

單位總數 Units U=bfu 4,000 間

建築物佔地 Footprint FP=bua 20,000 平方米sm

總樓面面積 GFA GFA=aU 400,000 平方米sm

每單位平均人數 Pers/u p 2.5 人

總人口 Population P=pU 10,000 人

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自給城住宅用地 Land Area for Residential

方程 數量 單位

地積比 plot ratio FAR 5 -

總住宅土地面積 Footprint

A=GFA/FAR 80,000 平方米

覆蓋率 site coverage

SC=FP/A 25 %

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用地規劃 Land Use Planning

土地用途規劃 面積 (公頃 ha) %

住宅 Res 8 20

商業 Com 6 15

公共 GIC 4 10

開放空間 Open Space 4 10

農地 Agr 8 20

其他 (包括道路)

Others (incl. roads)

10 25

共 Total 40 100

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食物自給比 Food Self-Sufficiency Ratio

數量 Qty 單位 UOM

每年每公頃農地平均蔬菜產出 Vege Production/yr/ha

20,000 公斤 kg

每年每人平均消耗蔬菜量 Vege Consumption/yr/pers

100 公斤 kg

社區人口 Population 10,000 人 pers

全自給需地 Required Farmland (10,000x100/20,000)

50 公頃 ha

農地面積 Farmland Area 8 公頃 ha

8公頃農地自給比 Vege SS rate

16 %

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廚餘自給比 Kitchen Waste Self-Sufficiency Ratio

數量 Qty 單位 UOM

每年每公頃農地平均消耗廚餘量 Kitchen Waste Absorbed/yr/ha

36,000 公斤 kg

每年每人平均廚餘量 Kitchen Waste Generated/yr/pers

182.5 公斤 kg

社區人口 Population 10,000 人 pers

全自給需地 Farmland Required (10,000x182.5/36,000)

50 公頃 ha

農地面積 Farmland Area 8 公頃 ha

8公頃農地廚餘自給比 Kitchen Waste SS rate

16 %

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The End

comments are welcome. Enquiries to:

ecyyiu@cuhk.edu.hk