Discussion
Buildings have a substantial share of total energy consumed worldwide, therefore profoundly impacting the environment. Among all sources of greenhouse gas emissions, evidence shows that the building sector is a major global contributor. According to the estimation of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council, the building sector, comprising residential and commercial buildings, contributes to 23 % of emissions compared to 5.6% of industrial processes. In order to address this challenge and realize the greenhouse emission reduction opportunities in building sectors, the study identified one major strategy. That is a policy instrument and voluntary tool for reducing GHG emissions from buildings known as Building Sustainability Index (BASIX).
Building Sustainability Index is a web-based mandatory assessment tool that sets measurable energy and water-saving targets for all residential development in the state (Enshassi, Kochendoerfer, and Al Ghoul,2016). The tool contributes to shaping Australian residential development towards a lower carbon and more sustainable future. This tool can be used to monitor building water performance. According to the data, the score in the project is about 27%, which is less than the water target mark. However, the reduction target for water consumption varies in NSW from 40% of the benchmark value due to fixtures, landscape, and alternative water. Therefore, the BASIX tool can be used to set postcode-specific targets for water and energy savings and the maximum heating as well as cooling loads for the proposed project. Energy and water consumptions are estimated for each of the individual dwellings and common and the central systems based on data supplied by the users on the web interface.
When analyzing potential solutions, building thermal comfort is also very significant to this sector. In this part, our group focused on enhancing thermal comfort performance by making the scoring pass (Gagnon, Gosselin, and Decker, 2018). This is because heating and cooling loads are estimated for each dwelling for thermal comfort assessment. To pass the thermal section, both heating and cooling loads must not exceed BASIX caps. Thermal comfort can be increased in various ways, including the use of thicker insulation materials.
In order to improve the project’s energy performance, aspects such as heating and cooling, ventilation, hot water, lighting, and other electrical appliances should be considered because they accost to about 37% of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, cooking and cooking contributes to about 7% and 10% of the project’s greenhouse gas emissions. Based on the data, adjusting the efficiency of these appliances can reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. When working on such a project, the benefit to cost ratio can be adopted as a decision-making criterion. The benefit can be calculated from the financial value obtained from water and electricity savings, carbon dioxide reduction, and saving from infrastructure spending.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In summary, upgrading the efficiency of building energy and water use can minimize carbon dioxide emissions while reducing environmental damage and attaining sustainable development. BASIX tool has outstanding performance in terms of integration when implemented as part of the planning system, ensuring that its achievements reduce energy and water consumption for residential buildings. The solutions involved in this approach include building thermal comfort, water, and energy performance. Moving forward, the BASIX should utilize DIY solutions for assessing thermal comfort parts, helping the users reduce the professional project costs. Sustainability is a very important issue in the design of BASIX; therefore, materials such as housing diversity should be included in the tool as an additional sustainable index in the future. Finally, the BASIX project address should match the utility connections for ongoing monitoring and reporting purposes, and data input should always be checked and updated.
References
Enshassi, A., Kochendoerfer, B., & Al Ghoul, H. (2016). Factors affecting sustainable performance of construction projects during project life cycle phases. International Journal of Sustainable Construction Engineering and Technology, 7(1).
Gagnon, R., Gosselin, L., & Decker, S. (2018). Sensitivity analysis of energy performance and thermal comfort throughout building design process. Energy and Buildings, 164, 278- 294.