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Sustainable Office Design - Unlocking Performance & Productivity
By Beatrice K Otto
AIR
BREATHE EASY
Fresh Air, Perfect Temperature
Maintaining or improving air quality and thermal comfort can have a striking effect on staff health, alertness, well-being and productivity through:
- maximising individual control
- reducing heat gain, by using lighter coloured exterior surfaces to reflect sunlight from the building, shading devices, or increased daylight
- buildings that breathe - using natural ventilation as far as possible
- low-emission furniture, materials, paints and so on
- greenery, both indoors and outdoors for shading and air purification
Maximise Individual Control
Energy use drops and productivity rises when people have more control over temperature and lighting levels. This can be as basic as allowing people to open and close windows, as well as more sophisticated sensors and controls.
Reduce Heat Gain
Materials can reduce the need for air conditioning, whether due to their physical form, their chemical composition, or their colour, since lighter colours reflect the sun's heat. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has shown that roofs painted in pale pigments can strongly reduce heat gain and air conditioning needs of buildings.
Buildings that Breathe
Maximise natural ventilation and thermal regulation, such as through rooftop stack-assisted ventilation, or displacement ventilation, which allows air to pick up heat at floor level, taking it out the building via ducts or vents as it rises. Or look into wind towers mimicking ancient cooling systems in the Middle East, such as the Monodraught Windcatcher.
Go Green to be Cool and Clean
Greenery, inside and outside, can have a dramatic effect on air quality and cooling.
- Green roofs - Chicago's City Hall has a 20,000 square foot green roof which has reduced air conditioning and heating costs by about US$6,000 per year. It keeps the building cool in summer beneath a moist layer, and in winter provides additional insulation. Green roofs such as the Ford factory in Dearborn also have a role to play in storm water absorption, preventing drainage systems from being overwhelmed.
- Hanging gardens - the Aichi Expo 2005 planted a four-storey high vertical garden, called the Bio-lung, with roses, moss, vines and other plants to absorb CO2, release oxygen and help cool the surroundings, reducing the so-called 'heat island' effect of built up areas.
- Leafy shading - planting deciduous trees near buildings can help with temperature regulation. Their summer leaves provide shade from the sun, while in winter the sun's heat can reach the building. Trees also lower the ambient outside temperature.
“A tree planted near a city building saves ten times as much carbon dioxide as a tree planted in the forest because it reduces the energy used for air conditioning and helps to cool the city. Trees provide shade and soak up groundwater which then transpires through the leaves and further cool the air. A single properly watered tree can transpire 40 gallons of water a day through its leaves, off-setting the heat from eg 100 100-watt bulbs burning 8 hours a day.”
Joseph Romm, Cool Companies
Tax Incentives
The Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme allows you to claim 100% capital allowance for the first year of an investment in energy (or water) efficient technologies or products, including:
- automatic monitoring and targeting
- boilers
- combined heat and power (CHP)
- compact heat exchangers
- heat pumps for space heating
- HVAC zone controls
- warm air and radiant heaters
NEXT LIGHT
Next steps
Intrigued? Call us for an informal chat on 0800 028 0945. We can show you a real-life example of a workplace appraisal.
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