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4 Stepping Stones to Sustainability for New Construction Firms

Posted on by dishanth
4 Stepping Stones to Sustainability for New Construction Firms

4 Stepping Stones to Sustainability for New Construction Firms

The construction industry has a well-deserved reputation for being an environmental polluter. It has gotten away with ungreen practices because the other sectors are just as dirty, if not more. However, climate change has made the world less tolerant of environmentally unsound organizations. Governments have joined the sustainability movement, so the writing is on the wall for maladaptive enterprises.

Many firms are slow to adopt greener practices, but the influx of startups can accelerate the sector’s sustainability transformation. New design-build firms, general contracting businesses, and subcontractors are better positioned to embrace eco-friendly initiatives.

The corporate culture is still a blank canvas, so start fresh with these four tips.

 

  1. Go Digital

Technological adoption and sustainability go hand in hand. Outdated methods and crude tools limit your ability to overcome your blind spots and find opportunities to operate more sustainably. Investing in digital technologies is necessary to address your pain points and streamline your processes.

Which innovations should you prioritize? There are numerous excellent candidates:

  • Mobile devices and messaging tools can harness cloud computing’s potential to promote remote resource access and foster interconnectedness. The interplay between these technologies will break down the usual communication barriers, making it easy to keep everybody on the same page.
  • Computer-aided design, building information modeling, and construction management programs streamline processes. They have unique functions but digitize data so you can review information more granularly. Analytics programs can reveal insights to solve problems that harm the environment, like surplus inventory and rework.
  • LiDAR and camera-equipped drones, wearable Internet of Things devices, and telematics systems can collect data on almost anything. They can help you precisely and accurately scan the landscape to minimize disturbance on existing ecosystems, quantify worker performance to identify and correct wasteful habits and keep tabs on equipment usage.
  • Bots automate tedious tasks, allowing you to conduct construction work more efficiently. Robotic arm 3D printers and bricklayers can help you complete projects faster and decrease material waste.

Construction has been slow to innovate primarily due to employee hesitance. Feeling intimidated by innovative solutions and receiving inadequate technical support are some of the usual baggage crews carry. Budget for training and continuous learning, as technologically savvy workers feel comfortable with innovations and can maximize their tools to run your business more sustainably.

 

  1. Be Circular

Circularity promotes using renewable, reclaimed or recycled materials, reusing or repurposing items, recovering salvageable materials, and designing structures with easily recoverable components. Such practices aim to leave the remaining virgin resources untouched because logging, mining and quarrying have considerable environmental consequences. These extraction methods destroy natural habitats, displace wildlife, eradicate biodiversity, pollute soil, water and air, and reduce natural carbon sinks.

Considering the planet’s finite resources, the construction industry has to switch from the linear to the circular model sooner rather than later. Otherwise, the sector will face crippling supply chain disruptions, which can result in project delays and loss of profits. How do you join the circular economy?

  • Buy reclaimed, recycled and repurposed construction supplies: Try doing so whenever you can to help conserve virgin resources.
  • Choose vendors carefully: Circular suppliers engaging in unethical practices practice greenwashing, not sustainability. Exercise due diligence to ensure your supply chain partners are as green as they claim to be to avoid enriching environmentally damaging businesses.
  • Select used equipment over new products: Purchasing pre-owned tools, machines and vehicles is sustainable because they’re already around. Ordering brand-new assets incentivizes manufacturers to build more products, potentially using newly extracted raw materials. Plus, pre-owned models save you money because used items cost less, less downtime is necessary for training and replacement parts are usually cheaper.
  • Put a premium on prefabrication: Prefab construction minimizes waste since it’s easier to control material usage when building components off-site in a factory-controlled environment. More importantly, construction modules lend themselves to deconstruction, simplifying dismantling and material recovery for reuse or resale.

 

  1. Emit Less

Decarbonize your operations at every turn. Switching from diesel to electric is one of the best ways to do so. Powering your assets with nothing but electricity eliminates air and noise pollution on-site.

Running on electricity doesn’t automatically translate to fewer greenhouse gas emissions. In 2023, fossil fuels produced 60% of the electricity generated in the United States. The nation’s power mix will be cleaner once green hydrogen becomes ubiquitous, so operating electric construction assets will be even more eco-friendly in the future.

If upgrading to electric equipment doesn’t make sense for you, adopting renewable diesel is the next best thing. This alternative fuel is chemically identical to fossil-derived diesel, so you can use it on your existing assets without modifying anything. Renewable diesel releases fewer climate change gasses because it burns cleaner.

Furthermore, localize your supply chain. Ships are responsible for 3% of all greenhouse gasses linked to human activities globally. Ordering materials from overseas will increase your construction firm’s carbon footprint, but transporting domestically sourced materials involves fewer emissions. It’s also logically simple because they cover less ground and avoid Customs and Border Protection. As a bonus, you enjoy shorter lead times.

Make it a mission to have a lean mindset. A lean construction philosophy aims to cut waste at every chance, minimizing idle time and redundant processes that drive up greenhouse gas emissions.

 

  1. Look Ahead

Sustainability isn’t an objective — it’s a purpose. It’s a never-ending pursuit, so always seek new ways to run your construction firm in an environmentally friendly way.

Lack of knowledge about emerging technologies is among the limiting factors in innovating. Curiosity is the antidote to ignorance, so keep up with the hottest trends in eco-building. Transparent wood, superabsorbent hydrogel, luminescent cement, 3D-printed soil structures, biodegradable polyurethane foam and plasma rock are some of the most promising innovations.

Most promising eco-friendly construction solutions take a lot of development before becoming ready for sale — and only a few ultimately gain mainstream acceptance. Although many ingenious ideas don’t pan out, be ahead of the curve. Use them to inspire regenerative and climate-resilient building designs that positively impact the environment for decades.

 

Take Small Steps Toward Sustainability

These four strategies only scratch the surface of what you do to be a force for good in the sector’s sustainability transformation. Strive to be more eco-friendly as you grow and you’ll establish a solid reputation as a green construction business.

 

 

 

 

Source   Happy Eco News 

Recycling Cigarette Butts into Asphalt

Posted on by dishanth
Recycling Cigarette Butts into Asphalt

Cigarette butts are the most littered item worldwide. Over 4.5 trillion cigarette butts pollute our environment every year. They do not easily biodegrade and are full of chemicals that are toxic to the wildlife that may ingest them. They are small individually, but they add up to a big problem. A waste management company in Bratislava, Slovakia, has found a new way of recycling cigarette butts, and that is by transforming cigarette butts into asphalt.

The environmental effect of cigarettes

More than 6 trillion cigarettes are smoked yearly around the world. You are probably familiar with how cigarettes cause air pollution due to the burning of tobacco, which releases harmful chemicals into the air. But did you know the butts from cigarettes are the most common form of personal litter in the world?

In the world total, cigarette butts make up more than one-third of litter. While cigarette butts may look like cotton, they are made of plastic fibers which are tightly packed together. And because they are made from man-made materials, they won’t organically break down into the environment.

Moreover, because cigarette butts are made of toxic chemicals when they are disposed of improperly, these chemicals (such as nicotine, lead, cadmium, and arsenic) will leach into the environment. The toxic chemicals can find their way into rivers, lakes, and oceans, harming aquatic life and contaminating water sources. There is also a risk of wildlife mistaking cigarette butts for food, accidentally injesting them.

Transforming cigarette butts into asphalt

A municipal waste management company in Bratislava, Slovakia, is pioneering a new way of recycling cigarette butts. At the end of 2023, the company trialed special containers designed to collect standard cigarette filters and those found in modern heated tobacco devices like vapes. And placed them around the city.

In collaboration with companies SPAK-EKO and EcoButt, the Bratislava City Council will be recycling cigarette butts to use the discarded materials to create asphalt for roads. Once the filters have been collected from the specialized bins, they will undergo a cleaning process to remove toxins and any residual tobacco. The cleaned filters are composed of cellulose acetate from the filters, which are then transformed into fine fibers. The fibers are mixed with traditional asphalt materials, which help with the asphalt’s durability and longevity.

The final product can be used just like conventional asphalt for creating new roads or repairing existing ones.

This isn’t the first time Slovakia is recycling cigarette butts into asphalt to be used on their roads. Their first cigarette filter road is located in  Ziar and Hronom and was the first in the world.

With this program, cities in Slovakia can encourage people not only to stop throwing their cigarette butts on the ground, where they will do harm to the environment. But this project can also show people how they can participate in sustainable urban development.

Recycling cigarette butts into asphalt can also help reduce the environmental impact of the construction industry. The production of asphalt involves heating and mixing aggregates with bitumen, a petroleum-based binder. This process releases greenhouse gases and other air pollutants, contributing to air quality issues and climate change.

Rainwater runoff from asphalt surfaces can carry pollutants, such as oil, heavy metals, and chemicals from vehicle exhaust, into waterways, potentially contaminating aquatic ecosystems. Recycling cigarette butts in the asphalt may help absorb and reduce many of these environmental harms and could change how we construct our roads.

Cigarettes might not be disappearing in the very near future, but we can find ways to make them less damaging to our planet and help cities be a little cleaner. Providing users with these specialized cigarette butt bins is one way to keep cigarette butts off the ground and out of our waters. And repurposing these butts is one way we can support a circular model and reuse and repurpose our resources.

Slovakia has a very innovative plan, and we hope it catches on around the world.

 

 

 

 

Source   Happy Eco News

How the World’s Whitest Paint Can Reduce Energy Use

Posted on by dishanth
How the World’s Whitest Paint Can Reduce Energy Use

Scientists have long understood the climate and energy efficiency benefits of reflective white paints. Now, engineers at Purdue University have created the world’s whitest paint that reflects more than 98% of sunlight, leaving all other paints appearing grey by comparison. As demand for sustainable solutions grows globally, this innovation promises greener buildings and cities by passively lowering carbon emissions and energy use.

The world’s whitest paint formulation was reportedly completed in early 2021. While initially produced for research applications at Purdue, press releases indicate Perdue intends to optimize and commercialize the product for widespread availability as early as late 2023. This rapid early adoption timeline speaks to the hunger for market-viable incremental gains in cooling efficiency as global temperatures continue rising.

With the formulas and methods published openly, it remains to be seen whether alternate whitest paint variants may emerge from other research teams or commercial producers, sparking a global race toward passive cooling innovation. Even moderate cooling boosts from white paint could incentivize entities like major cities to begin budgeting for wide-scale reflective surface projects within the decade.

Applying the world’s whitest paint to building rooftops and envelopes can reduce their surface temperatures by over 20°C compared to conventional options. By reflecting rather than absorbing heat, the broad deployment of the world’s whitest paint could mitigate the phenomenon of urban heat islands, where dense cityscapes absorb and radiate increased warmth. Modeling suggests summer city temperatures could decrease by over 2°C using this approach.

The development of a highly reflective and renewable calcium carbonate-based paint offers an innovative solution to excessive urban heating. As climate change brings more frequent and intense heat waves, the cooling potential of reflective white surfaces will grow increasingly impactful. Deploying this paint across a city’s building stock can lower indoor and outdoor temperatures while cutting air conditioning demands as well. Transitioning rooftops from heat-trapping dark colors to the whitest paint formula could become a climate resilience strategy for communities worldwide.

Looking beyond buildings, custom reflective paints and paving materials show similar potential for cooling everything from vehicles to sidewalks to transit shelters. An urban landscape covered with maximum heat reflection could compound cooling benefits compared to white rooftops alone. More research into expanding high-albedo surfaces across the built environment will further quantify the associated quality of life and emissions reductions. Simple shifts in surfaces and materials at scale could make future cities markedly more livable.

The world’s whitest paint keeps surfaces cool to the touch, even in the hottest environments. Compared to the air temperature at mid-afternoon, a surface painted with the world’s whitest paint can be several degrees cooler than regular white paint. At night, the difference is even more pronounced, up to 19 degrees.

The corresponding drop in air conditioning electricity demand is equally significant from an emissions reduction perspective. Studies by the US Environmental Protection Agency show cool roofs can reduce a building’s annual air conditioning requirements by 10-30%. The increased grid energy efficiency will provide critical flexibility for integrating renewable energy sources as part of essential decarbonization efforts across the power sector.

While the world’s whitest paint’s exceptional solar performance will justify further optimization before mass production, its imminent commercial arrival heralds a shift in leveraging incremental materials innovation. The compound benefits of collective small-scale action represent meaningful progress, offering pragmatic climate hope. If cool paint alone makes summers more bearable, our combined creative efforts focused first on the possibly more than the ideal may yet brighten prospects for sustainable living.

With vision and patience, Perdue’s ultra-white paint is but a glimpse of a future where green cities are dotted with communities that thrive in the hotter world they’ve warded off, one roof at a time.

 

 

 

 

Source  Happy Eco News

Coffee Biochar Concrete Carbon Sequestration

Posted on by dishanth
Coffee Biochar Concrete Carbon Sequestration

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks worldwide; on average, 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed each year. As a result, approximately 18 million tonnes of coffee grounds are produced annually. Coffee grounds can be used for a variety of purposes. It can be used to fertilize your garden or added to compost. Coffee grounds can neutralize odors, can be used to exfoliate your skin, tenderize meats, and many other uses.

Despite all of these amazing uses for coffee grounds, the reality is that most of the coffee grounds produced actually end up in landfills; about 75% in fact. Rotting coffee grounds generate methane, a powerful greenhouse gas contributing to warming. Rotting coffee grounds also emit carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and ammonia. While there have been programs from coffee shops that will donate their coffee grounds to customers to use in their gardens (Starbucks has been part of the Grounds for Your Garden program since 1995), but most coffee shops are not implementing these initiatives.

Researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in Australia have found a way to use coffee grounds on a larger scale and to eliminate the risk of them ending up in landfills. And that is to use coffee biochar concrete in the construction industry.

The researchers have developed concrete that is almost 30 percent stronger than traditional concrete by mixing in coffee-derived biochar. The coffee biochar was created using a low-energy process called pyrolysis. The organic waste is heated to 350 degrees Celsius without oxygen to avoid the risk of generating carbon dioxide. Under pyrolysis, organic molecules vibrate and break down into smaller components, creating biochar. This is a similar process that is used to roast unused beans to enhance their taste, except without the use of oxygen.

In coffee biochar concrete, about 15 percent of the sand they would use to make concrete is replaced with the coffee biochar, thus creating new concrete. The coffee biochar is finer than sand, and its porous qualities help to bind to organic material. Reducing the total use of sand in concrete will minimize the construction industry’s environmental footprint. It is said that over 50 billion metric tons of natural sand are used annually in construction. Sand mining significantly stresses ecosystems, including riverbeds and riverbanks, coffee biochar concrete can relieve some of that pressure on the environment.

The cement industry is the third largest source of industrial air pollution, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. Moreover, cement currently accounts for around 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Turning coffee- biochar into concrete will reduce the construction industry’s reliance on continuous mining of natural resources, making the industry more sustainable.

When introduced into concrete mixtures, the coffee biochar concrete was found to act as a microscopic carbon repository within the concrete matrix. The alkaline conditions within hardened concrete enable biochar to mineralize and firmly bind carbon dioxide into its structure over time. Concrete containing even a small percentage of spent coffee biochar was shown to sequester meaningful quantities of CO2 from the curing process and surrounding environment.

Utilizing waste coffee grounds to synthesize biochar for carbon sequestration could offer a sustainable way to offset concrete’s sizable carbon footprint while giving new purpose to spent grounds. With further research, coffee biochar concrete could provide a feasible carbon capture pathway for the construction industry.

The researchers estimate that if all the waste grounds produced in Australia annually could be converted into coffee biochar, it would amount to roughly 22,500 tonnes. Compare that to the 28 million tonnes of sand that are required to produce over 72 million tonnes of cement concrete in Australia. Just think: Australia has over 13 thousand coffee shops, whereas the United States has over 38 thousand coffee shops. If this project expands outside of Australia, coffee biochar concrete could significantly impact the environment and waste.

The research on coffee biochar concrete is still in the early stages; there is still a lot of testing to be done, but it shows that there are innovative and unique ways to reduce and repurpose organic landfill waste. Once the researchers can account for things like durability, the researchers will collaborate with local councils on future infrastructure projects, including the construction of walkways and pavements. Just think, we are one step closer to adding sustainability into the construction industry and one step closer to walking on coffee biochar concrete!

 

 

 

 

Source   Happy Eco News

Low Carbon 3D Printed Homes – Lower Cost too

Posted on by dishanth
Low Carbon 3D Printed Homes – Lower Cost too

An emerging application of 3D printing technology is fabricating entire homes through additive manufacturing. Early adopters demonstrate that 3D printing residential buildings carry significantly lower embedded carbon than conventional construction methods.

By optimizing materials and printing processes, 3D home printing could provide affordable, efficient, low-carbon housing to growing populations if adopted at scale.

Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing builds structures by depositing materials layer by layer according to digital models. Concrete is typically extruded through a moving print nozzle onto a substrate, hardening upon deposition to gradually form walls and roofs of low carbon 3D printed homes.

Companies pioneering low carbon 3D printed homes include Icon, SQ4D, and Mighty Buildings. Their printed concrete or polymer designs streamline manual labor of framing, insulation, and finishing. Architectural designs are also easier to customize versus cookie-cutter manufactured units.

But the sustainability benefits are among the most significant advantages over current construction. Architect Sam Ruben, an early adopter of 3D printing for eco-homes, states that 3D printing can reduce lifecycle emissions by over 50% compared to standard building techniques.

Part of the savings comes from more efficient material usage. Conventional construction methods are wasteful, generating excessive scrap materials that go to landfills—3D printing deposits only the needed amount layer-by-layer, eliminating waste.

Printing also allows easier integration of recycled components like crushed concrete aggregate into prints, diverting waste streams. And lightweight printed structures require less embedded energy to transport modules. Optimized print geometries better retain heat as well.

But the biggest factor is speed – printed homes can be move-in ready in days rather than weeks or months. A standard SQ4D home prints in just 8-12 hours of machine time. Accelerated production means less energy consumed over the total construction period.

And speed has financial benefits, too, reducing the logistical costs of prolonged projects. Combined with simplified labor, 3D printing can cut estimated construction expenses up to 30%. Those cost savings make printed homes more accessible to low-income groups while stimulating large-scale adoption.

To quantify benefits, Mighty Buildings completed a life cycle assessment comparing their printed composite polymer dwellings against conventional homes. They estimated their product cut emissions by over one-third during materials and construction. Waste production dropped by over 80%.

Such data helped the company achieve third-party verified EPD declarations certifying their low carbon 3D printed homes. Mighty Buildings believes printed homes could eliminate over 440 million tons of carbon emissions if comprising 40% of California’s housing needs by 2030.

Despite advantages, barriers remain to limit widespread 3D printed housing. Printed buildings still require finishing like plumbing, electrical, windows, and roofing. Developing integrated printing around and including those elements will maximize benefits.

High upfront printer costs also impede adoption, though expected to fall with scaling. And building codes need updates to cover novel printed structures despite proven duribility. Some jurisdictions like California are pioneering efforts to add low carbon 3D printed homes as approved models in housing codes.

But if technical and regulatory hurdles are resolved, additive construction could offer meaningful emissions cuts. With global populations projected to add 2 billion new urban dwellers by 2050, low carbon 3D printed homes may become a go-to sustainable building technique, especially in growing developing countries.

The urgent need for dense, low-carbon housing solutions to accommodate global populations makes 3D printing’s advantages stand out. Printed homes advance from gimmick to viable strategy against climate change.

Eco-conscious homebuyers on a budget have a new choice – low carbon 3D printed homes made from low-carbon cement. A new housing tract in Round Top, Texas has introduced small dwellings printed using concrete that produces just 8% of the carbon emissions of traditional Portland cement manufacturing.

Habitat for Humanity last year unveiled its first low carbon 3D printed home in Williamsburg, Virginia. The project represented Habitat for Humanity’s first completed 3D printed home in the country.

By combining 3D printing techniques with more sustainable cement mixtures, homebuilders can reduce the carbon footprints of affordable printed housing even further.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source  Happy Eco News

Transparent Solar Panels: a Powerful Alternative to Glass

Posted on by dishanth
Transparent Solar Panels: a Powerful Alternative to Glass

In the foreseeable future, transparent solar panels hold the potential to take the place of conventional windows, although several challenges must first be overcome. Transparent solar panels are crafted from materials that permit visible light to pass through while capturing the sun’s energy to generate electricity. This unique feature grants them an aesthetically pleasing advantage over traditional, bulky, and opaque solar panels.

However, the best technologies still have lower efficiency than their traditional counterparts, resulting in lower electricity generation per square meter. Moreover, the cost exceeds that of traditional ones, making them less economically viable for the majority of consumers.

Transparent solar panels are made of a transparent material, such as titanium dioxide or amorphous silicon. These materials allow visible light to pass through while still absorbing some of the energy to generate electricity. This makes transparent solar panels more aesthetically pleasing than traditional solar panels, which can be bulky and opaque.

They are still in the early stages of development, but they have the potential to revolutionize the way we generate electricity. They could be used to power buildings, cars, and other devices without taking up any extra space. For example, transparent solar panels could be used to create solar-powered windows that would allow natural light to enter a building while also generating electricity. They could also be used to create solar-powered car roofs or windows that charge the car’s battery whenever it is exposed to sunlight.

 

They will make economic sense in larger applications despite their lower power-generating capacity. For example, a large high-rise building with good solar exposure could have all the windows facing the sun made with solar panels instead of glass. On a large surface area, this would provide a significant amount of power to run the systems in the building. When combined with high-efficiency LED lighting, regeneration from elevators, and energy storage, the building could become energy neutral or even a net producer.

 

Numerous companies are vigorously working on enhancing the efficiency and affordability of glass solar panel windows. Successful advancements in this direction could potentially position transparent solar panels as a practical alternative to traditional windows in the future.

Here are some companies actively involved in developing transparent solar panels:

  1. SolarWindow Technologies: Pioneering the field, SolarWindow Technologies has created a transparent solar panel utilizing a thin film of titanium dioxide. This material absorbs sunlight and converts it into electricity. The company claims its transparent solar panel boasts 90% transparency and has the capacity to generate up to 10 watts of electricity per square meter.
  2. PolySolar is a company that specializes in the development and manufacturing of transparent solar panels. PolySolar’s transparent solar panels are made of a thin film of cadmium telluride (CdTe), which is a semiconductor material. CdTe is a very efficient material for absorbing sunlight and converting it into electricity. PolySolar’s transparent solar panels are also very transparent, allowing up to 80% of visible light to pass through.
  3. Onyx Solar is a company that specializes in the development and manufacturing of transparent solar panels. Onyx Solar’s transparent solar panels are made of a thin film of amorphous silicon (a-Si), which is a semiconductor material. a-Si is a very transparent material, allowing up to 80% of visible light to pass through.

These companies represent just a glimpse of the ongoing efforts to develop solar panel windows. With continued research and development, it remains promising that glass solar panels will eventually emerge as a compelling option for replacing windows in the future.

 

 

 

 

Source  Happy Eco News

Building with Cannabis: a Hempcrete Construction Hotel

Posted on by dishanth
Building with Cannabis: a Hempcrete Construction Hotel

Imagine a world where buildings are not only sustainable but also contribute to the fight against climate change; hempcrete construction might be the key. A world where construction materials come from renewable sources and have minimal environmental impact. In this post, we will explore the fascinating world of hempcrete construction and take a closer look at one groundbreaking project: the 12-story Hemp Hotel in South Africa, set to open its doors in 2024.

Why Hempcrete Construction?
Why choose hempcrete construction? Hempcrete is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional building materials. It is made from a mixture of the inner woody core of the hemp plant, known as the hurd, and a lime-based binder. This combination creates a lightweight material with excellent thermal insulation properties.

Hempcrete also has exceptional breathability, allowing moisture to pass through without causing damage or mold growth. This natural ventilation helps regulate indoor humidity levels and promotes healthier living environments.

Another advantage of hempcrete is its fire resistance. Due to the high content of mineralized cellulose fibers in the hemp stalks, it can withstand extreme temperatures more effectively than conventional building materials.

Best of all, hemp plants grow rapidly and require minimal water and pesticides compared to other crops used in construction materials. They absorb carbon dioxide during their growth cycle, and sequester it in the building, making hempcrete a carbon-negative choice for builders.

Choosing hempcrete construction means opting for an environmentally friendly solution that offers superior insulation properties, increased durability against fire hazards, improved indoor air quality due to breathability advantages, and supports sustainable agricultural practices.

The Hemp Hotel, South Africa 2024

We have seen many homes built with Hempcrete Construction, but not as many commercial buildings. For all the same reasons that hempcrete construction makes sense in residential applications, it may be even more beneficial in commercial applications. For example, a stunning 12-story hotel made entirely from hempcrete is becoming a reality in South Africa. Set to open its doors in 2024, the Hemp Hotel is set to revolutionize the hospitality industry with its sustainable and eco-friendly construction.

Located in Cape Town, this groundbreaking project, built by Hempcrete Construction experts Afrimat Hemp, aims to showcase the incredible versatility and durability of hempcrete as a building material. Hempcrete is made by mixing hemp fibers with lime and water, creating a lightweight yet incredibly strong substance that is both fire-resistant and highly insulating.

But what makes the Hemp Hotel truly unique is not just its construction materials – it’s also about promoting sustainability throughout every aspect of its design. From energy-efficient lighting systems to rainwater harvesting, this hotel will be an example of environmental consciousness.

Not only will guests have the opportunity to experience luxury accommodation while reducing their carbon footprint, but they’ll also gain insight into how we can build more sustainably for future generations.

Other Hempcrete Applications

Aside from residential and commercial buildings, hempcrete has a wide range of applications. Its versatility and eco-friendly nature make it a promising material for various projects.

  1. Infrastructure: Hempcrete can be used in the construction of bridges, roads, and other infrastructure projects. Its lightweight yet strong properties make it an ideal choice for these applications.
  2. Agricultural Structures: Greenhouses, barns, and storage facilities can also be built using hempcrete. The breathable nature of the material creates an optimal environment for plants while providing insulation against extreme temperatures.
  3. Public Spaces: Hempcrete’s sustainability can benefit parks, pavilions, and public restrooms. Not only does it offer durability and low maintenance requirements, but it also contributes to creating healthier environments for visitors.
  4. Artistic Installations: As a creative medium, hempcrete offers endless possibilities for artists and designers to explore their imagination. Sculptures, installations, or even furniture pieces made with this unique material add an element of sustainability to art exhibitions or public spaces.
  5. Retrofitting Existing Buildings: Instead of demolishing old structures that do not meet modern energy efficiency standards, retrofitting them with hempcrete can significantly improve their thermal performance while maintaining their historical value.

The potential uses of hempcrete are vast and exciting! As more people become aware of its benefits as a sustainable building material, we can expect to see further innovation in its application across different industries.

The rise of sustainable construction practices has paved the way for innovative solutions like hempcrete. The Hemp Hotel in South Africa showcases not only the beauty and functionality of this remarkable material but also serves as inspiration for future projects around the world. With more emphasis on environmentally conscious building methods, we can create spaces that benefit people and the planet alike.

 

 

 

 

Source  Happy Eco News

Using Bio-Based Materials to Build Cities

Posted on by dishanth
Using Bio-Based Materials to Build Cities

Did you know about 56% of the world’s population live in cities? The population numbers of urban dwellers are expected to double by 2050 when nearly 7 out of 10 people will live in cities. Cities are polluted due to industrial and motorized transport systems that rely on fossil fuels. The infrastructure that makes up cities is also constructed with carbon-intensive materials. As a result, cities account for over 70% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

We can’t eliminate these systems that make up our cities, but we can use bio-based materials to make them more sustainable. Carbon emissions could be significantly reduced if just a small percentage of new infrastructure in cities is constructed using sustainable bio-based materials. Moreover, these new buildings could also boost carbon storage and help us reach net zero.

Bio-based materials are catching on in the construction industry. They are materials that grow or are a natural part of the biosphere. Bio-based materials include Timber, straw, hemp, cork, clay, and earth. Besides being honest, these bio-based materials are renewable and have a lower, neutral, or negative embodied energy and carbon than traditional construction materials. Timber, for example, has around three times less embodied carbon than steel and over five times less than concrete.

The construction industry accounts for more than 39% of energy and process-related global carbon emissions. Using timber for building, it can store carbon rather than emit it. The Stockholm Wood City will be built in Sickla, Sweden, and is said to be the world’s biggest wooden city. Wooden construction means a significantly reduced climate impact during the construction phase and the whole life cycle. It also has a faster and quieter construction process.

Another bio-based material emerging in the construction industry is algae. Algae are being used in building facades as a sustainable way to generate heat and biomass for various purposes. The algae act like double glazing, but there is water and algae instead of air between the two panes. The algae will also absorb carbon dioxide and insulate the structure.

Hempcrete is a composite material made from hemp hurds, lime, and water. It is a strong, lightweight, and fire-resistant material that can be used for a variety of building applications, such as walls, floors, and roofs. Hempcrete is considered to be a carbon-negative bio-based material. It absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it produces during its production and use. Further, the production of hempcrete also requires less energy than the production of traditional building materials, such as concrete.

Because hempcrete is a good insulator, it can help to keep buildings cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. This means that less energy is needed to heat and cool buildings, which reduces the amount of carbon dioxide that is emitted into the atmosphere.

Kenaf is a type of fiber that is made from the stems of the kenaf plant. It is a strong, durable, and lightweight fiber that can be used to make a variety of building materials, such as bricks, panels, and insulation.

Miscanthus is a type of grass that is grown for its biomass. It can be used to make a variety of building materials, such as boards, panels, and insulation.

Other benefits of using bio-based materials in the construction industry are that it helps to stimulate local economies, job creation, biodiversity and reforestation efforts. Using natural materials can help provide affordable and sustainable housing at scale.

While getting the entire construction industry on board with bio-based materials is challenging, some countries are trying to ensure this becomes the norm. The French government has ruled that any public construction financed by the state must contain at least 50% bio-based materials. Amsterdam requires that 20% of the city’s housing projects be constructed with bio-based materials starting in 2025.

As cities and population sizes grow, we will see a rise in carbon emissions. If the construction industry turns to using bio-based materials, there is a chance that we will see healthier cities and a healthier planet over time.

 

 

 

 

Source – Happy Eco News

 

6 Types of Cool Roof Technology

Posted on by dishanth
6 Types of Cool Roof Technology

Cool Roof Technology: a Low-cost Way to Reduce Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions

Want a huge decrease in carbon emissions, a reduction in summertime cooling costs and a more efficient home? Cool roof technology can do all that. Cool roof technology has the potential to eliminate billions of tons of carbon dioxide at a very low cost.

If you’ve ever spent time on a black asphalt roof or up in an attic during the heat of summer, you understand how much heat energy is added to a home during summer months. This is heat that many of us pay to remove by using air conditioners and other means.

But what if, just by a better design and choice of materials, we could have a far cooler house that uses far less electricity each month? That is what people in the Mediterranean and other hot climates have been doing for centuries. White paint and chimney-style ventilation that distributes cool air from lower areas of the house are low-tech examples of cool roof technology that works.

Modern cool roof technology is similar. Most are just like regular roofs but are designed to reflect sunlight and shed heat, to keep buildings cooler in the summer. According to a study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), cool roof technology could reduce energy consumption for cooling by up to 20%. The study also found that energy savings from cool roof technology could eliminate up to 1.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually in the United States. The equivalent of taking 300 million cars off the road!

According to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, if all North American cities with populations over 1 million people adopted cool roof technology, air conditioner use would fall by one-third.

The Human Cost of Heat

The savings aren’t just in terms of money and carbon emissions. Climate change has disproportionately increased temperatures in urban areas. An urban landscape largely covered in asphalt, concrete and black roofing materials is far hotter than one covered in greenery or reflective materials, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect.

The urban heat island effect is the phenomenon of cities being warmer than surrounding rural areas. This is because cities have more dark surfaces, such as black roofs, which absorb sunlight and heat up the air. The heated air then rises, creating a convection current that draws in cooler air from surrounding areas. This process can lead to increased temperatures in cities, which can have a number of negative consequences, such as increased energy consumption for cooling, decreased air quality, and increased heat-related illnesses and deaths.

Black roofs also radiate energy directly into the atmosphere. This energy is then absorbed by clouds and trapped by the greenhouse effect, further contributing to global warming.

Type Depends on Location Climate

There are a number of different types of cool roof technology available, including:

  • Reflective roofs: Reflective roofs are the most common type of cool roof. They are made of materials that reflect sunlight, such as white or light-colored tiles, metal roofs, or paints. Reflective roofs can reflect up to 90% of the sun’s heat, which can help to keep buildings cooler in the summer.
  • Evaporative roofs: Evaporative roofs are made of materials that allow water to evaporate, such as clay tiles or metal roofs with a water-absorbing coating. As the water evaporates, it cools the roof and the building below. Evaporative roofs can be effective in hot, dry climates.
  • Phase-change materials: Phase-change materials are materials that change their state from solid to liquid and vice versa. When these materials change phase, they absorb or release heat. Phase-change materials can be used in cool roofs to store heat during the day and release it at night. This can help to keep buildings cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
  • Cooling paints: Cooling paints are paints that are applied to roofs to make them more reflective and to help them cool down. Cooling paints are effective in hot, sunny climates and typically contain titanium dioxide, a highly reflective pigment.
  • Cooling granules: Cooling granules are small, reflective beads applied to roofing materials like shingles. The granules reflect sunlight and help to keep the roof cooler. Like cooling paints, cooling granules are most effective in hot, sunny climates.

 

Green Roofs are Cool Roofs

Another type of cool roof technology is the green roof. Green roofs are made of a waterproof membrane with a layer of soil and vegetation on top that helps to insulate the roof and reflect sunlight. Green roofs can reflect up to 70% of the sun’s heat, which can help to keep buildings cooler in the summer. In some cases, they can provide vegetable gardens or just a nice place to sit and enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by nature – while in the city.

Green roofs also have the effect of providing bird and pollinator habitat as well as reducing stormwater runoff. Because of the benefits, many cities are now mandating the installation of green roofs on new construction. New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle and Portland all require green roofs on new construction on buildings with roof areas over a specific set size. That said, retrofitting an existing building is often cost prohibitive due to the structural requirements to support the additional weight.

Cool roof technology is a promising way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the energy efficiency of buildings. As the technology continues to develop, the potential for cool roofs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions will likely increase.

This is an easy way to make big gains in carbon reductions, saving homeowners and businesses money. Something we can all get behind.

 

 

 

 

Source Happy Eco News

Researchers In Syria Have Discovered Concrete Recycling Method

Posted on by dishanth
Researchers In Syria Have Discovered Concrete Recycling Method

War is hell. This sentiment has been repeated throughout human history as the devastation and destruction of countries and communities it causes is incalculable. Syria is a prime example of how civil or otherwise war can destroy a society and its infrastructure.

The war began in the context of high youth unemployment, drought, a one-party dictatorship that crushed basic human freedoms and dignity, and extreme wealth inequality. It was a surprise to no one that in 2011, insurgency by oppressed groups in the region began in earnest, spiralling Syria into a conflict that continues to this day with no end in sight. The devastation this war has brought has caused 5.7 million people to flee the country due to the risk that the war has brought to their lives.

The war destroyed 130,000 buildings, many of these the homes of everyday people and their businesses. All this destruction is horrible, and as if they hadn’t experienced enough of it, Syria fell victim to a 7.7 Richter earthquake in February, expanding the damage even further. However, despite all this horrific destruction, serious efforts have been made to expedite the recovery and reconstruction of this battered country. 70% of the 130,000 buildings destroyed were made of reinforced concrete. Scientists have discovered that they can use a significant amount of this rubble to create new concrete, recycling what is there and saving costs compared to importing new concrete.

The study led by Professor Abdulkader Rashwani proved that recycled concrete made from the rubble of old buildings doesn’t significantly impact the mechanical performance of the new concrete. This is the first time recycled concrete has been proven to do this, as other attempts in other countries have been made. Still, due to the disparity in methods of manufacture, mechanical performance hasn’t been guaranteed. When people return, they will want to rebuild the buildings that had been destroyed.

Transportation of raw materials is one of the highest costs, and aggregate being increasingly scarce makes recycling existing materials necessary. This recycled concrete is made by crushing the rubble, removing any steel or textiles, and washing the resulting aggregate. The fine material washed out is sand and cement, and it is also being studied to determine if it can be reused.

The material was then tested for tensile and compressive strength and how much water, co2, and chlorine were absorbed. The concrete passed all of the tests, and now the protocol stands as a model for other war-torn or earthquake-damaged countries to rebuild their cities and communities. In an interview with the Guardian, Professor Rashwani said, “It was our duty to help the people there, a lot of people needed our help, so we went there and forgot about all the bad consequences. We have now started to go to some local councils and help them to put some plans in place for the future. We can at least try to make this region safer and give people some hope.”

The costs of war and conflict between nations and nations between people are often horrendous and often borne by the innocent. Most of the buildings destroyed in the fighting were homes of families and individuals who had nothing to do with the war. Yet still, they are left without homes in their home countries. Having a plan with new methods to guarantee quick reconstruction of these buildings is crucial.

The added benefit of this research is that it is a model that can be applied in other places outside Syria. Syria is simply one country at war right now, and if the path of human history indicates what’s to come, it won’t be the last one either. This research is invaluable for the everyday people ravaged by conflict or disaster, now and in the future.

 

 

 

 

Source Happy Eco News