As every June 5, this Sunday was celebrated World Environment Day, through which the United Nations (UN) seeks to raise awareness about the climate changehabitat destruction and pollution.
Although governments, organizations and companies seek to focus their joint efforts to stop the climate crisisfrom home, as a civil society, it is possible to make changes that contribute to a lesser impact on the environment.
In the Smart Event entitled Passive House, organized by Expo CIHAC, specialists commented on the advantages and how making a traditional house a property contributes to mitigating the climate challenges from the actuality.
Francisco Arnés, commercial director of Windlock Sustainable Solutions, explained that even a balcony can be a thermal bridge, so it is necessary to find ways to “break it” so as not to transmit energy from the interior to the exterior or vice versa.
In the case of air conditioners, he commented that just like in a car, if this system is used it is necessary to “seal” the space, otherwise energy is wasted either through windows or cracks.
In the case of thermal insulation techniques, such as those applied to windows, it is necessary that the thickness of the glass is in accordance with the temperature that is reached, since in the case of climates no ends no need for a larger insulator.
“The sale is part of the thermal envelope, so it has to be an insulating window, it cannot have thermal bridges (which transfer energy) and it must be hermetic so as not to have air leaks,” Arnés pointed out.
“For a window to be efficient, it must have several requirements: the largest area is occupied by glass, which should be insulating, and for it to be, it must be double glass,” he explained.
The difference between a more or less insulating type of glass will allow a greater amount of solar radiation to be reflected, which heats the interior of the house to a greater extent. In the case of colored glass, the specialist warned about verifying if it really is a solar insulator, since they only give an aesthetic finish.
Technology to take care of the environment
Ignacio Furniés, director and founder of BN Zero, a sustainability design and consulting platform, presented the BIM methodology in energy modeling and why it is key to obtaining certifications, as well as its usefulness to include budgets, times, modeling energy, lighting, maintenance and management of the building from a sustainable point of view.
“Using these new technologies and certifications and sustainability, we have to use them, learn and here is an important issue, it is the anxiety and fear that we have with the climate changewhat is going to happen, what are we going to change”, exhorted Furniés.
For the specialist, accompanying the building designs with a strategy to reduce energy consumption to a minimum, can allow the supply demand to be so little that it can be met with renewable sources, especially in extreme weather.
Through techniques such as BIM (building information modeling) design, the specialist pointed out that several exercises can be done to reduce energy consumption, before developing them.
Even, he said, solar lighting and the use of the shape of the building can be foreseen, which will be relevant for the energy use of natural resources.
“The larger the surrounding area of a building, the more energy will be needed to compensate for heat losses by this type of facade,” he said.
“The fact that the building has the correct shape and orientation, they can reduce energy consumption without any additional cost.”
The goal of “cooling” the planet
According to UN data, due to the climate change close to a million species are in danger of extinction.
In addition, if polluting emissions are not reduced, by 2050 polluted air will increase by 50% of current exposure, but only in a decade.
“But to choose the path of sustainability in all aspects of life, we must have available, affordable and attractive options to make better decisions every day. Many of these options can only be generated by larger entities: national and subnational governments, financial institutions, companies, international organizations and other organizations with the power to rewrite the rules, frame our ambition and open new horizons.