Civil Engineers, Stewards to the Environment, Through Green Building and Renewable Energy

• Traditional building practices and energy sources we used to do :• Guided by short term economic considerations • little concern to the environment.• Damage to the environment.

• Solution:• Includes but not limited to innovative Green building designs and

renewable energy sources that help civil engineers comply to their duty as steward of the environment

Green Buildings

• Design Considerations:• Reduce energy consumption through innovative green designs.• Better ambient air (indoor and outdoor)• Lower and wiser usage of materials.• Positive economical impact• Positive social impact• Minimize space loss.• Better management of water.

Ways To Implement :•Minimize space loss through architectural designs. Reduce the dead zones in the building, and make use of every m2 of space. •Allow sunlight to enter inside the building to reduce the use of lighting.•Recycle the wastewater in a small treatment plant located in the basement and use the water for irrigation purposes and car washing. •Use energy saving glass panels in high rise building example double or triple glazed windows, Low-emissivity glass. This reduces the need for heating or cooling using electric generators thus reducing energy consumption.

•Collect rain water falling on the building’s roof or impervious areas, and use it for irrigation thus benefiting from it and returning it to the water cycle.•Plant trees and flowers all over the building.•Use eco-friendly materials, example: paints that do not emit volatile gases, green walls. LED lamps. EPA certified construction materials.•Continuous green maintenance along the life of the building.

Ways to Implement

Green Certification

There are different rating & certification programs around the world for Green Buildings. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. (USA)BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) ( Britian)Arz Certification.(Lebanon)

- A building must get a certification from a recognized green certification agency to be formally accepted as a green building.

Examples of Certified Green Buildings in lebanon

•American University of Beirut - IOEC Building, Lebanon•Beirut City Centre Mall - Hazmieh, Lebanon•Résidences La Brocéliande – Lebanon•International College Elementary School - Beirut, Lebanon

In general the construction of friendly buildings may be expensive on the short run, involving new technologies new appliances tend to be more costly. Depending on the complexity of works done the price of a Green Building concept may increase from 0 to 20% weighted to a conventional design. But usually green buildings yield 10 times as much over the entire life of the building. The efficiency in using the utilities results in more savings in money which leads to a decrease in energy bills.

Cost of new building

Policies&Regulations•Any building to be constructed after a certain date to have at least 10 % greem area( trees and flowers) in the vicinity of the building.•Any building that is designed and eventually constructed on an environmentally friendly basis( be certified by a certifying agency) with have its taxes for the government reduced a certain percentage depending on the degree of sustainability, and this regulation shall be an incentive for developers to go green. •The government will Lower Taxes on companies producing solar energy panels and support the prices of these panels so that customers will be encouraged to buy such devices and put them on their roofs.•- Have a Public speaking with concerned authorities ( manucipalities, stakeholders, people) •And professionals and discuss the socio-economical impacts of this project. ( mandatory).

Renewable Resources

Any energy resource that is naturally regenerated over a short time scale and derived directly from the sun (such as thermal, photochemical, and photoelectric), indirectly from the sun (such as wind, hydropower, and photosynthetic energy stored in biomass), or from other natural movements and mechanisms of the environment (such as geothermal and tidal energy). Renewable energy does not include energy resources derived from fossil fuels, waste products from fossil sources, or waste products from inorganic sources.Some main type of renewable energy are: Solar energy, Geothermal energy, Wind energy, Hydroelectrical energy.

Overview:

Solar Energy Solar energy is an energy source that involves tapping the radiant light energy that is emitted by the sun and converting it into electricity. Solar energy is a form of clean energy, The solar panels used to produce electrical of chemical energy use the energy from the sun radiations to convert it to electrical or chemical energy. This is a green way to produce energy.

Examples

Beirut River Solar Snake

Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy refers to the energy that is generated and stored in the earth. This energy is derived from the heat that is obtained in the earth's core. Geothermal energy is a clean source of energy and its wells releases very small amount of greenhouse gases compared to the amount of greenhouse gases that are released by the burning of fossil fuels.

Wind MillsForm of energy conversion  in which turbines convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be used for power.

Wind Mills Wind mills could be used in the areas where there is high speed of wind .For example the Beqaa region in Lebanon where the wind reaches more than 120 km/h in winter time. Wind Mills could be installed on the top of the buildings or even in open land where wind reaches its maximum speed. This is used in Copenhagen in Denmark the first green city of the world.

Hydro Electrical Power Plants

Governments could put a strategy to collect the runoff water in order to be used in producing power or even in agriculture . This is done by constructing dams and using hydroelectrical turbines to convert the energy in the water to electricity.

Qaraoun’s LakeQaraoun sLake is an artificial lake or reservoir located in the southern region of the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon. It is 61-metre-high (200 ft) concrete-faced rockfill dam (the largest dam in Lebanon) in the middle reaches of the Litani River. The reservoir has been used for hydropower generation (190 megawatts), domestic water supply, and for irrigation of 27,500 hectares (68,000 acres).

Nahr Ibrahim Dam

Bared and Nahr Ibrahim have an installed capacity of respectively 17 and 33 MW. All the hydropower units are between 40 and 70 years old and are in need of renovation. The Master Plan for EDL, developed by Electricité de France with funding from the Government of France, proposes an additional 120 MW hydropower generation, mainly coming from the extension of existing installations and some new run-of-river projects.

 

POLICIES&REGULATIONS• Government should have a policy to achieve a percentage its total energy

production as renewable. Example : by year 2020 40% of the existing thermal electric plants should be substituted by renewable sources.

• Loans should be given to municipalities to implement wind farms, solar panel systems, Dams or other renewable energy sources.

• International affiliations between countries to implement a plan for renewable energy worldwide.

• Renewable energy sources example wind farms can be used as a touristic site.

• We can have people invest in renewable energy and benefit from an interest rate on the money just like in a bank. Individuals will invest with the government and the government will give them bonds that gain interest and use their money for renewable energy.

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These Projects in Lebanon provide a milestone for the beginning of a sustainable, renewable energy era, additional projects should be implemented to have our demand energy fulfilled by renewable energy sources.Although on the short run renewable energy sources can seem costly and ineffective. But on the long run the return on investment is much higher, also the benefits on the environment is major.

RESULTS

These graphs show the positive impacts of constructing green building on the environment rather than an ordinary building.

RESULTS

CONCLUSIONAccording to the result of our study, we understood what Green Buildings are and we

reached some important findings as follows.

• By applying Green Building designs , we can improve the appearance and quality of urban environment while increasing sense of comfort for people who stay indoors.

• Green Buildings are not just about architectural design. The Green Building material plays an important role in the Green Buildings. Architectural design plus the architectural material based on the concept of Green Buildings are capable of better saving the earth. This trend is a great benefit to our environment, and this situation is what we love to see.

• Sustainable infrastructure makes us live friendly with our environment

• Sustainable energy sources should be our future energy

• We should make green changes in order to get rewarded by the environment through lesser typhoons, global warming, and other humans caused natural disaster.

References