The Use of Green Design Rules and Processes - Essay Example

?Are the Government in Northern Ireland doing enough to promote green design and technology to home owners carrying out domestic renovation work? Literature Review The use of green design rules and processes when carrying out domestic renovation work has been commonly related to the economic benefits that the green technology would offer to homeowners. Of course, the effects of green technology on the environment are also taken into consideration by homeowners who proceed to domestic renovation work using relevant green technology. The support provided by the government regarding the promotion of green design is not quite clear. The authorities that monitor the construction sector in Northern Ireland have published a series of rules referring to the standards applied on buildings, which are constructed or renovated using green design. These issues are analytically discussed below; emphasis is given on the avoidance of the government to provide specific incentives to homeowners for using green design technology. It is proved that the government of Northern Ireland has the willingness to promote the green design and the green building; however, its relevant initiatives often fail to meet the above target because of one of the following reasons: a) they are not completed successfully, or b) they are not made known to the people who are not aware that specific practices need to be introduced in domestic renovation works. Indeed, it has been proved that people in Northern Ireland are not appropriately informed on their country’s initiatives and rules in regard to the green design and the green building. The target on which the country’s government should focus is not just the increase of the volume of its legislative work – referring especially to green design and green building – but also on the improvement of its communication with the people. 1. Driving factors behind the government’s strategic position in relation to encouraging green design. The government of Northern Ireland has been actively involved in efforts for promoting sustainability and green design – being influenced rather from the relevant practices of the UK government. As for the characteristics of the government’s position towards the green design and the green building, these can be identified – among other activities and statements, as analyzed in the sections that follow – in the proposals of the members of the government for the update of the Building Regulations – so that ‘the use of renewable energy to become compulsory in all new builds from 2008’ (Mongabay 2006). The initiatives of the government of Northern Ireland for the promotion of green design have been emerged – among other reasons - because of the increase of global warming and the need for saving energy in households across the country. This need is highlighted in a report published in 2007; in the specific report it is noted that ‘Green Party Irish government ministers’ (BBC News, 2007) highlighted the need for the establishment of ‘an element of renewable energy such as solar power or biomass heating’ (BBC News, 2007) in homes across Ireland. The above proposal has been one of the various activities developed by the Irish government in regard to the promotion of green design and green technology; it must be noted here though that the relevant projects are often influenced by the British green design – which is, in any case, based on the rules of sustainability. The activities of the government of Northern Ireland in the particular sector, i.e. the promotion of green design and green technology, are presented below. As for the driving factors of these initiatives, these could be described as follows: a) the need for aligning the national policies with the similar policies of other countries worldwide; b) the need for reducing the energy consumed by households across the country; the green design and the green technology can provide a major part (about the 2/3) of the daily energy needs of a household – as also explained in the section 3 below where relevant systems available to homeowners are presented, c) the need for decreasing the pollution caused to the environment (referring mostly to the air and water) because of activities developed in households. Furthermore, the support of the government to the green design schemes will show the willingness of the members of the government to follow the similar practices of other states, i.e. to promote cooperation in the international community. 2. Presentation and analysis of the governments current approaches and policies in relation to encouraging green design for domestic construction. The promotion of green design and green technology for domestic construction by the government of Northern Ireland is based on the following approach: a) emphasis has been given primarily to sustainability and green building in general, b) furthermore, the benefits of green design in construction has been made clear to the public through relevant construction projects; an indicative example is ‘the Loguestown Green Coleraine Development, a site including 53 homes built using green design and green technology’ (Construction News Portal, 2010). In the ceremony held in the context of the completion of the above project, the Environment Minister emphasized on the government’s efforts (particularly of the Ministry of Environment) ‘to tackle climate change and reduce the levels of carbon emitted in Northern Ireland’ (Construction News Portal, 2010). In 28 September 2010 the government of Northern Ireland approved the target for ‘increasing the production of renewable energy at the level of 40% up by 2020’ (Ecolocalizer, 2010). The above project is quite ambitious; however, it would be feasible if it is adequately supported – especially financially but also in terms of staff involved. The above commitment of the Northern Ireland government is an indication of its willingness to promote sustainability; it is assumed that similar willingness exist in regard to the promotion of green design and green technology sectors. The above fact is proved through the relevant statement of ‘J. Kitchen (Head of the Sustainable Development Commission in Northern Ireland) who highlighted the importance of embedding sustainable development principles within the design and use of our buildings’ (Sustainable Development Commission, Northern Ireland, 2011). At the next level, the positive performance of the country in regard to the management of energy is reflected in the statement of energy minister A. Foster, who noted that Northern Ireland is quite close in order to achieve the target of 12%, which refers to the desired level of renewable energy (Ecolocalizer 2010). Reference should be also made to the ‘renewable energy Household Programme’ (Mongabay, 2006) introduced by the government in 2006 aiming to support the renovation of about 4,000 households in accordance with the principles of the green design. It is made clear in the above initiatives that not all of them are related to the house renovation sector; rather they refer to the promotion of sustainability and green design in general; however, even under these terms, the house renovation s also benefited – indirectly. In order for these initiatives to achieve their target, i.e. to support the increase of green design and technology across the Northern Ireland, it is necessary that their elements are made known to the local people – who, at least for the time, it seems not to be aware on the benefits of the green design and the green technology (see section 4 below). 3. Analysis of current green design trends and technology in relation to domestic renovation work. The use of green design and green technology in the domestic renovation work has been increased in most countries worldwide. It should be noted that the involvement of green design/ technology in the activities of the particular sector can have various forms – in accordance with the resources available, the willingness of the homeowner to proceed to extensive alterations of his house following the rules of the green design and the trends held in regard to green design/ technology in a particular area – referring to the phenomenon that green design and technology are highly developed in one country while in another country – even neighbouring – green design and technology are not adequately promoted. Examples of green technology plans available to homeowners in Northern Ireland are presented below; these plans have been designed for serving the relevant needs of people in other countries – however, these plans could be successfully introduced in Northern Ireland under the terms that the staff involved is appropriately skilled and that the resources required (funds, technology) are available. An example of a system based on the rules of green technology is presented in Figure 1 – Appendix, where the parts of the system are made clear; the above system is known as ‘Geothermal system’ and it is used for the limitation of energy required for the heating needs of buildings. The particular system has a series of benefits – compared to the conventional heating systems – including: ‘reduced noise, minimal maintenance and improved indoor air quality’ (Colorado Geothermal Drilling, 2011). Reference is made to the specific system at the level it can be also used in houses across Northern Ireland for helping towards the limitation of energy spent on heating. Relevant plans have been also introduced regarding other parts of buildings: for instance, the drainage system, which can be designed in such way that the pollution of the environment is minimized (CIRIA, Sustainable Drainage Systems, 2011). Another system based on green technology is the solar PV System which is particularly valuable for producing electricity; the specific system, an example of which is presented in Figure 2 – Appendix, can be used in industrial units but also, and mostly, in houses – as the performance of the system in terms of the volume of energy produced are rather low (per unit). The above system is able to generate ‘1,700-2,500 kWh (units) per annum’ (Homebuilding & Renovating, 2011); though it cannot respond to the total energy needs of a house – these needs have been estimated to 3,300kWh annually – still, it is a valuable tool for generating the major part of a house’s energy. It should be noted that certain of the systems based on green technology can perform well only in the context of a house – for instance, the solar system for the production of energy mentioned above but also the system for the heating of water presented in Figure 3, Appendix. The above system – as also the other systems described above – can be implemented in a house even in the context of its renovation (WSE Technologies, 2011); in other words, all these systems do not refer just to new buildings but also to older ones. 4. Presentation of the extent of home owners knowledge and investment in design and technology innovation. As noted above, the government of Northern Ireland has developed a series of initiatives aiming to promote green design and green building in households across the country; the willingness of the government to achieve the above target is reflected to the relevant statements of its members – as presented above, in section 2. However, it should be noted that homeowners across the country are not fully informed on the particular project; in fact, it seems that a lot of homeowners ignore the potentials of green energy schemes in regard to the save of energy. The above problem is made clear through the following facts: a) the willingness of people in Northern Ireland to participate in green design and green building programs is limited at such point that the government has to identify methods for attract the interest of the locals on the particular subject; an indicative example is the development of a site with eco friendly homes – already mentioned previously, in section 2; the specific site included 53 homes and was considered as an exceptional piece of work indicating the value of green design and green technology; there is no reference in the relevant report to the potential buyers of these homes; it is not made clear that the locals showed interest in acquiring a home within the particular site; reference is made just to the benefits and the advantages of the particular houses (Construction News Portal, 2010) – a photo of these houses is available in Figure 4, Appendix; b) the development of projects which are based on the principles of green design requires the use of a high number of employees – especially if the relevant project is developed nationwide; however, no such issue can be identified in Northern Ireland. It seems that the renovation work using energy design rules is still limited – as in UK also (UK Green Building Council, 2011), c) the number of green buildings across Ireland is rather low – taking into consideration the fact that a relevant contest has been introduced – referring to the ‘RSPB-RTPI’s Sustainable Planning Award’ (RSPB, 2010). On the other hand, the Code for Sustainable Homes adopted by the government of Northern Ireland is mandatory – in terms of the requirements set for each new house across the country. However, in accordance with Syms (2010) the term mandatory has the following sense: the buyer of each house should check whether the specific house meets all the energy-standards requirements, as set by the above Code. In any case, homeowners who are interested in developing home renovation work using the rules of green design and green building can submit their questions in the ‘Sustainable Development Commission’ (Great Britain, Parliament, 2010). The limited interest of people in Northern Ireland on the green design and the green energy is also highlighted in the study of McDonagh et al. (2009); in the above study it is mentioned that the Arena Network, one of the leading organizations supporting sustainable – related initiatives has a limited presence in Northern Ireland; it is noted that the role of the above organization has been limited to the provision of information on green design and green building. A similar issue is highlighted in the study of Carmona et al. (1987); it is made clear that there is a high availability of information in organizations across Northern Ireland in regard to green design and green building; however, the level at which people have been convinced on the benefits of green technology and green design is not clear yet. The importance of sustainability in the everyday life of people in Northern Ireland can be made clear through the statistics presented in a relevant report – Northern Ireland Environmental Statistics; in accordance with that report, the actions taken by households in Northern Ireland to protect the environment were estimated to 2,471 (for 2008/2009), reduced from 2003/2004 when they were estimated to 2,535 (Northern Ireland Environmental Statistics); it is clear that the environmental concerns of the people across the country have been reduced – even if a different result would be expected. It is perhaps the pressure from the global crisis that led to such result. In accordance with the relevant figures, the limited interest of people across Northern Ireland on green design and green building would be considered as rather expected – taking into considerations their environmental concerns. Moreover, the practices followed by organizations of the private sector for informing the homeowners across Ireland should be changed; an issue of misleading of consumers who are interested in green design and green building is highlighted in a relevant report of the Belfast Telegraph (2010) – reference is made to the statistics presented to the customers in regard to the performance of the solar panels. 5. Effectiveness of the existing approach and recommendations for improvements. The efforts made currently by the government of Northern Ireland regarding the promotion of green design and green technology in house renovation are expected to be influenced by the following factors: a) the support provided to the relevant projects/ schemes up to their completion, i.e. not just currently but, mostly, during their development, b) the global economic conditions. Indeed, the recession could negatively affect the efforts for the development of green design and green technology in the house sector of Northern Ireland; the first signs of this problem have been already appeared; in accordance with a report published in the Belfast Telegraph, the country’s major union, the Unite, increased its pressures on the government regarding ‘the country’s social housing building programme’ (Belfast Telegraph, 2009) because of the existence of a waiting list of 50,000 people with emergent housing needs (Belfast Telegraph, 2009). The main problem regarding the government’s policies in the housing sector seems to be the delays in the provision of funds required for covering the relevant needs of the local population – as indicatively described above. The above problem would have severe impact on the efforts of the government to locate the funds required for the promotion of green design and green technology. It cannot be doubted that the identification of the funds for responding to the emergent housing needs of citizens have to be set as a priority; then the promotion of green design and green technology would be supported by the government taking into consideration the following facts: a) green technology is continuously updated; green technology which is considered as of high performance can become one of moderate performance in just 1-2 months, b) the perceptions of people on green design and green technology need to be alternated; the relevant processes and technology would not be regarded as an extremely costly building solution but rather as an indispensable part of the building/ renovation process of any house; the change in existing perceptions of people on green design and green technology could be achieved by appropriate explanations and clarifications made known to the public through the media and the press; in any case, an immediate increase in the interest of people on green design and green technology cannot be expected; rather, a gradual change in the beliefs of people on such technology would be monitored if appropriate governmental initiatives – as explained above – were developed. References A. Books Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Energy and Climate Change Committee (2010) Low carbon technologies in a green economy: fourth report of session 2009-10, Vol. 2: Oral and written evidence. The Stationery Office McDonagh, J., Varley, T., Shortall, S. (2009) A living countryside?: the politics of sustainable development in rural Ireland. Ashgate Publishing OECD (2008) OECD Economic Surveys: Ireland 2008. OECD Publishing Punter, J., Carmona, M. (1997) The design dimension of planning: theory, content, and best practice for design policies. Taylor & Francis Syms, P. (2010) Land, Development and Design. John Wiley and Sons B. 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No. 259 of 2008), available from http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,19069,en.pdf CIRIA, Sustainable Drainage Systems, 2011, available from http://www.ciria.org.uk/suds/publications.htm Colorado Geothermal Drilling, 2011, Green Heat, available from http://cogeothermal.com/green-heat.html Construction News Portal, December 2010, Northern Ireland's eco friendly private development achieves A Grade in its Energy Performance Certificate assessment, available from http://www.constructionnewsportal.com/Construction_article7386.html Construct Ireland, 2011, available from http://www.constructireland.ie/ Draft Building Regulations 2010, available from http://www.environ.ie/en/Legislation/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,23657,en.pdf Ecolocalizer, 2010, Northern Ireland Plans to Hit 40% Renewable Energy by 2020, available from http://ecolocalizer.com/2010/09/29/northern-ireland-plans-to-hit-40-renewable-energy-by-2020/ Environment and Energy Management, 2010, Green Awards Scheme For Irish Buildings, available from http://enviroireland.com/?tag=green-building Green New Deal for Northern Ireland, 2010, available from http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/ni_gnd_housing_package.pdf Homebuilding & Renovating, 2011, Green Technology: Solar PV for Electricity, available from http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/feature/green-technology/solar-pv Mongabay, 2006, Northern Ireland mandates green energy for new buildings Northern Ireland Office, available from http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0725-ireland.html NBS, 2011, Low carbon buildings – standards, assessment systems, tools, available from http://www.thenbs.com/topics/Environment/articles/lowCarbonBuildings.asp Northern Ireland Executive, 2011, Northern Ireland's first 'A Grade' eco friendly private development welcomed by Poots, available from http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/index/media-centre/news-departments/news-doe/news-releases-doe-november-2010/news-doe-251110-northern-irelands-first.htm Northern Ireland Executive, 2009, Ritchie welcomes Minister Gormley at 'green' home, available from http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/index/media-centre/news-departments/news-dsd/news-dsd-december-2009/news-dsd-07122009-ritchie-welcomes-minister.htm Northern Ireland Office, 2006, Northern Ireland leading the way on green energy, available from http://www.nio.gov.uk/media-detail.htm?newsID=13365 Planet Forward, December 2010, Green home construction in Northern Ireland provides exceptional energy results, available from http://planetforward.ca/blog/green-home-construction-in-northern-ireland-provides-exceptional-energy-results/ Richard, M. (2008) Northern Ireland: Renewable Energy for All New Buildings in 2008?, available from http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08/ireland_renewab.php RSPB, 2010, Last call to be Northern Ireland's greenest building, available from http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.aspx?view=print&id=265653 Sustainable Development Commission, Northern Ireland, 2011, available from http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/northern_ireland.php UK Green Building Council, 2011, available from http://www.ukgbc.org/site/news/show-news-details?id=201 WSE Technologies, 2011, Solar Domestic Hot Water System, available from http://www.wsetech.com/solarwaterdomestic.php Appendix Figure 1 – A geothermal system – available in the context of green design and green technology (Source: http://cogeothermal.com/green-heat.html) Figure 2 – Solar PV – used for the production of electricity (Source: Homebuilding & Renovating, 2011) Figure 3 – Solar system for the heating of water – for domestic use (source: http://www.wsetech.com/solarwaterdomestic.php) Figure 4 – Eco friendly houses in Caraman, Northern Ireland (Source: http://planetforward.ca/blog/green-home-construction-in-northern-ireland-provides-exceptional-energy-results/) Read More