ECM446 – Construction Technology

W13A - GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Prepared By:
Prof Madya Dr Mohd Ariff Jamaludin
 WEEK 13
LEARNING OUTCOME

At the end of week 14 lectures, student will be able to:

1. Describe what is Green Technology, Green

Construction and Green Building (CO1; CO3)

2. Identify the various Green Technology (i.e. system,

machines, devices, appliances etc.), Green
Construction Practices and characteristics of Green
Building (CO4).
Defining Green Technology

It is also known as sustainable technology

It is a technology that takes into account the long- and
short-term impact it has on the environment.
This means that the technology is environmentally friendly.
It is concern with matters such as:
a. Energy efficiency,
b. Recycling,
c. Health and safety,
d. Renewable resources,
e. Conservation of nature (natural environment and
resources)
The main goal of green technology is to conserve nature,
and to remedy the negative impact that humans have on
nature.
Green Construction Technology
Green construction technology requires the efficient use of
resources (energy, water and materials). while reducing impacts
on human health and the environment.
Green construction technology ensures that wastes is
minimised, resources are used efficiently and impact on the
environment is minimal at every stage during the construction.
The constructed buildings or structures also operate with
minimal waste, efficient use of resources and minimal harm to
the environment.
Green Building
A green building is a building that is environmentally responsible
and is resource efficient throughout its whole life cycle.
This means that the way It is operated and used does not cause
harm to the environment, resources are efficiently used (use less
to get max benefit), and minimal waste.
Benefits or Advantages of Green Technology:

1. It does not emit anything harmful to the environment.

2. It gives more benefits to investors in the long run in
certain areas, as green technology has become popular
as consumers are becoming more environment
conscious.
3. It provide more employments, also more job opportunities
for experts.
4. It requires less cost for maintenance. This reduces
operating cost and hence overall cost on the long run.
5. No shortage of vital resources such as water and
electricity, as it uses renewable natural resources.
i.e. solar energy and wind turbines.
6. It will slow down effects of global warming due to
reduction in CO2 emissions. i.e. low carbon emission
machines.
Benefits or advantages of Green Technology
(continued):

7. Design to use resources more efficiently. i.e. energy

saving lightings.
8. Tax rewards (incentives) i.e. tax reductions for green
buildings.
Selective Clearing of Construction Sites

One of the efforts in green construction can be

implemented early in the construction process.

This is to do a selective site clearing.

Resources such as trees, water source (lakes and

ponds) are selectively not removed.
These resources will later be part of a green lung for
either recreation or watershed areas.
This helps to add value to the developed properties.

Structures that have heritage values (have a story) are

also selectively not removed.
These can later be a source for tourist attraction or as a
monument for future generation to remember.
 KL Forest Eco-Park, Jalan
Raja Chulan, Kuala
Lumpur.
(The only natural rainforest
in the world that is in a city.
It is in the center of KL).

Arlington Business Park,

Theale, England.
(Floating business park)
 Application of Green Technology
1. Recycling
Green technology helps manage and recycle waste materials.
It allows recycle materials to be used for purposes such as:
a. Fertilizers, i.e compost
b. Fuels from waste, i.e methane gas
c. Recycled and reuse materials for furniture
d. Recycled and reuse materials for building components.
e. Recycled and reuse metals, i.e. steel, aluminium and tin
(containers) have been used to produce building
components.
Green technology can be used for waste management, waste
incineration, and more. Potentially, this technology can be
improved to be installed in the basement of buildings/homes.
 Composting Plant
-Fertilizer for
landscaping.
-Home version of
clean composting
system is possible.

Recycling Plant (Berlin based

Alba Group)
-Recycling lightweight
packagings to produce
secondary plastic resins that
in turn are used to produce
engineered materials for
building components.
2. Purifying of Water
Green technology can be used to purify water.
Through the use of various technologies people can be
provided with clean drinking water. Perhaps a built-in purifying
system for buildings.

3. Purifying the Air

The automobiles, factories, etc. are emitting a lot of carbon that
is detrimental to the planet.
Green technology helps to reduce carbon emission and purify
the air. This allows people and other living things to breathe
properly. Therefore, environmental friendly; a) machines and
equipment for construction industry, b) devices and appliances
for the operation and use of buildings.
THESE SYSTEMS BE INSTALLED IN BUILDINGS

Salt Water Treatment

A windmill is a structure used

to harness the power of the
wind for purposes like grinding
grain, pumping water, and
generating electricity.

Water Filtration System

4. Conserving Energy
Energy can be conserved through the use of green technology.
Green technology enable people to use environment friendly
devices and appliances (eco-devices and eco-appliances)
These devices and appliances are able to use less electricity
and fuel, or use sources of energy that are renewable.
The use of electric cars is on the rise, especially in the UK. Can
all construction machines be operated by electricity or other
green resources i.e. solar, bio-fuel etc.
While installation of such devices, namely solar panels, might
be expensive for some people, but the benefits it offers with
regards to reducing bill expenses are tremendous.
Skylights in
Roofs for
natural lightings

Natural
ventilations:
Gaps and pipes
to allow
passages for
air flow (natural
cooling)
Insulating a House: This is normally done for buildings in
temperate countries. Insulation materials are normally placed
within the walls and ceilings. Insulating a house allows a
building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve
and maintain a comfortable temperature inside the house.

Thermal Insulation Coatings: Instead of insulating materials

within walls and ceilings, coatings are applied on the surfaces
of walls, ceilings and roof tops.

Installing LED lighting or natural skylight reduces the amount

of energy required to light up spaces.
LED Lights - Energy saving lights Solar water heaters

Thermal Reflective Roof

Wind powered exhaust fans.
- Heat from sunlight is
- Removes trapped hot air from under
reflected away from roof.
the roof.
Install a Solar Energy Collectors to Generate Electricity

Solar panels, or photovoltaic cells lead to reduce pollution and

lower electricity expenses. Solar cells directly converts energy
from natural light into electrical energy using photovoltaics
batteries.
Generating electricity from solar energy results in less
consumption of fossil fuels, as well as the reduction of pollution
and greenhouse gas emissions.

Other solar panels, there are new spray-on photovoltaic film

using perovskites that have the potential to convert regular
window glass to solar collectors
Install a Solar Water Heater
Installing a solar water heater can be expensive. However,
the costs associated with the installation of a solar water
heater are actually recovered much faster than the costs
associated with using photovoltaic technology for power
generation.
This is due to the increased efficiency of solar water heating
systems, as well as their reduced operational (running) cost
when compared to the cost of a large solar energy system
required for powering a home.
Install a Wind Generator

These generators comes with huge windmill farms found

offshore, in the hills and in the windswept plains of many
countries.
These wind generators can also be installed in buildings.

The costs of a home wind generator vary greatly. Some have

built their own wind generators with off-the-shelf parts from
their local hardware stores. Others have purchased kits or
paid for professional installation to supplement the power
purchased from their local electrical grid.

The power production capability of a home wind generator

varies about as much as the initial expense. Many kit based
generators will produce only enough power to offset 10-15%
of your home energy costs.
 Buildings with Wind Turbines

Strata Tower, South Bahrain World Trade Centre.

London.
 Homes with Wind Turbines.

Roof mounted wind turbine.

Wall mounted wind turbine.

Install a Rainwater Harvesting System

Rain collector systems are extremely simple mechanical

systems that connect to a gutter system or other rooftop
water collection network and store rain water in a barrel or
reservoir for later use (like watering plants, flushing toilets,
and irrigation).

Other renewable energy sources include:

▪ hydro,
▪ biomass, and
▪ Geothermal.

Unfortunately, these renewable energy are not currently

be exploited at adequate levels to replace non-renewable
sources such as coal and petroleum-based resources .
Saving Energy Through Passive Building Design

Rain water harvesting

system

▪ Glass windows and walls

-Natural Lights.
▪ High Ceiling – Cooling
effect
5. Rejuvenating Ecosystems
a. Green technology is also being used to breathe life into
ecosystems that have sustained a lot of damage due to
human involvement.
Through the use of green technology trees are replanted,
waste is managed and recycled.
This ensures that the affected ecosystem is able to start
again, and this time remain conserved. This helps to
ensure that a lot of plant and animal species don’t go
extinct.

b. As green technology is not harmful to nature, it conserve

nature.
The majority of energy efficiency applications are
undertaken with the goal of:
1. Resource conservation,
2. Climate protection, and
3. Cost savings.
Energy efficiency is about providing a better
understanding of how and where energy is being
consumed and using this data to make effective
adjustments to energy consumption
Saving Energy Through Passive Building Design

Natural Air circulation and ventilation

DOUBLE SKIN FACADE
Aspen Art Meseum, Colorado, USA.
by Shigeru Ban Architects
(Perforated Arrangement of Bricks)

Jerome L. Greene Science Center,

Columbia University, New York City,
designed by Renzo Piano Building
Workshop and SOM (Glass)

The Kooyong House, Melbourne, Australia

by Matt Gibson Architecture (Timber Slats)
Double Skin Facade Space/Cavity between the building and
façade
As with other types of double skin facades:
▪ This space acts as insulation for both high
and low temperature against extreme
temperatures, winds, and sound.
In winter, sunlight preheat the air in the
cavity.
In summer, the double skin protects (shade)
building from excessive sunlight.
At night, cool air in the cavity cools the
building
▪ It improves the building's thermal
insulation.
▪ This space can vary between 20 cm to a
few meters.
Source:
https://www.archdaily.com/922897/ho
w-do-double-skin-facades-work
Challenges or disadvantages of Green
Technology:

1. Initial investment or implementation cost is very high.

2. People are still not familiar with the technology and
hence will take time to adopt it for larger population.
3. The technology is still evolving and many of the
products are at R&D stage. Hence people are unaware
of performance results.
4. Lack of skilled human resources are available to install
or implement the green technology based products or
systems.
5. In most of the countries policies have not been
finalized for the green technology based systems.
Green Materials

Source of materials for manufacture of green

building materials :
a. Renewable materials. i,e forest timbers (forest
plantation) and agriculture biomass (fibres)
b. Recycle materials, i.e. recycled glass and
plastics, or
c. Reuse materials, i.e. old timbers, old plumbing
and doors.

1. Wool Bricks

● Add wool to natural polymer from seaweed with

clay to produce bricks.
● 37% more strength than burnt clay bricks.
● Resistant to cold and wet climates.
2. Sustainable Concrete
● Three different mixed:
● Crushed glass and concrete.
● Wood chip, slag (byproduct of steel manufacturing)
and concrete.
● Slag and concrete.
Absorbs and traps carbon dioxide as part of its
drying and hardening process. Thus, making it not
only less CO2 intensive than traditional concrete,
but actually carbon neutral
● low emission of CO2 in its manufacture.

3. Solar Tiles
● Protects the building.
● Absorbs energy from the sun.
4. Insulation Paper
● Made from recycled newspaper and cardboards..
● Filled with chemical foam.
● Insect and fire resistant when treated.

5. Triple-Glazed Windows
● Super efficient.
● Stop heat from entering building.
● Stop direct sunlight.

6. Engineered Timbers

● GluLams (Glue Laminated Timbers).

● Cross Laminated Timbers (CLT).
● Laminated Veneer Lumbers (LVL),
● Oriented Strand Board (OSB).
● Structural Insulated Panels (SIP).
7. Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) and Wood
Plastic Composites (WPC)
● Fibre can be any natural fibres such as wood, bamboo,
recycled papers, rice straws and husks, oil palm
biomass, flax, or jut etc.
● Polymer or plastics can be HDPE, PE, PET or PP etc.

8. Eco-Friendly Bars
● Replacing steel bars with bamboos.
.
GREEN
ENGINEERED
TIMBERS
TECHNOLOGY

a. Enable the use of:

• Small logs. Parallam Strand
• Wood wastes. GluLams
Lumber (PSL)
• Agricultural
biomass.
• Non-wood fibres
such as bamboo,
flax and jut.
b. Enable the
production of
wider and/or
longer pieces
of timber.
Cross Laminated Timber Structural Insulated Panel
(CLT) (SIP)
9. Bamboo Boards
● Hardboards, Particleboards, and Medium density
fibreboard from bamboo.
.
10. Fibre Reinforced Concrete (FRC).
● can be made from sawdust, wood chip or wood fibre mixed
with concrete.
● Since it is lighter than concrete, it reduces transportation
emissions,
● The FRC both reuses a waste product and replaces some of
the energy-intensive components of traditional concrete.
● FRC are produced in the form of Bricks, blocks and pavers.

11. Ash Concrete

● Uses fly-Ash instead of traditional cement.
● By using fly ash, a by-product of burning coal, oil palm
bio-mass, 97 percent of traditional components in concrete
can be replaced with recycled material.
End of Lectures………..
Are you able to:

1. Describe what is Green Technology, Green

Construction and Green Building (CO1; CO3)

2. Identify the various Green Technology (i.e.

system, machines, devices, appliances etc.),
Green Construction Practices and
characteristics of Green Building (CO4).