Planning carbon-efficient buildings

Carbon efficiency can be included in your plans from the get-go. With an optimum form factor and the right construction, architects and developers can set the course for a lower carbon footprint in buildings from the outset.

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Designing the perfect form factor

The form factor describes the relationship between the building envelope and the usable space, and determines the embodied carbon budget that can be applied for producing the building envelope. Given a constant embodied carbon based on the usable space, a building with an unfavourable form factor can introduce much less embodied carbon to the façade than a building with a more favourable form factor. To ensure an excellent form factor and solution that uses sufficient material, it is therefore important that the design of the building features the most compact building envelope possible combined with the largest possible usable space. And a low-carbon façade construction does not necessarily impair creative freedom. This is because carbon-optimised constructions also offer a great deal of design freedom without negatively impacting the overall carbon footprint of the building.

Operational carbon in particular is heavily dependent on the form factor. The better the ratio of the building envelope to the usable area, the lower the energy requirement and CO₂ emissions during building operation.

In the future, however, the proportionate influence of embodied carbon on the total emissions (whole life carbon) of a building will continue to grow. This is because the energy requirement in the utilisation phase, the operational carbon, is subject to continuous optimisation. At the same time, it is much more difficult to reduce embodied carbon, as resources are always consumed in the production of the materials required for construction.

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Choosing the right construction

One area that offers huge potential to reduce a building envelope's CO₂ lies in selecting the right façade construction. For example, planning larger façade modules can bring down the structural need for aluminium. Use of less material means fewer carbon emissions during production, while larger units also mean fewer joints and less heat loss via the component. As a result, the improved U value and associated increased energy efficiency have a positive effect on the carbon footprint.

In the case of windows, the installation depth of a profile, the face width, the technology, the surface design and the reinforcement used have a significant influence on the GWP value of the finished element.

Generally, with the right structural adaptations that go beyond changing the module sizes, up to 40% of material can be saved compared to constructions that haven't been optimised in this way. If this is already taken into account at the property planning stage, it is possible to actively control the CO₂ value of a building.

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EPDs at the touch of a button

More and more, investors and clients are asking for proof that sustainability criteria has been met in the form of building certificates such as LEED, BREEAM and DGNB.

To this end, Schüco supplies EPDs (Environmental Product Declarations), which provide architects, developers, investors and building certifiers with valuable information about the CO₂ impact and other environmental impact of a building component. Our Carbon Control Consulting team offers the option to create an individual EPD for certain façade units at the touch of a button via the SchüCal software.

Interested? Then ask us about EPDs now.
 

Energy-efficient solutions

For efficient building operation and less operational carbon