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Defining sustainable construction
“Sustainability” in today's world represents the preservation of the environment as well as critical development-related issues such as the efficient use of resources, continual social progress, stable economic growth, and the eradication of poverty.
In the area of construction, buildings have the capacity to make a major contribution to a more sustainable future for our planet. The OECD, for instance, estimates that buildings in developed countries account for more than forty percent of energy consumption over their lifetime (incorporating raw material production, construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning). Add to this the fact that for the first time in human history over half of the world’s population now lives in urban environments and it’s clear that sustainable buildings have become vital cornerstones for securing long-term environmental, economic and social viability.
The pace of change means we don’t have the luxury of time. With urban populations worldwide swelling by around one million people every week, there’s an urgent need to come up with clever ideas that optimize the sustainable performance of the buildings that we live and work in.
Become familiar with basic concepts of Sustainable Construction here.
What exactly is a Passive Home?
Essentially, a passive home is designed to be extremely energy-efficient so that it doesn’t take a lot of power to heat or cool. To be designated as a passive house, a building must embody a set of specific best practices that seal it from outside temperatures while maintaining a stable inside temperature and high air quality.
These best practices were developed over decades of research conducted by the Passive House Institute (PHI) in Darmstadt, Germany. Now, they’re used by thousands of architects, developers, and contractors all over the globe. When you call a house a "passive house" you’re saying that it was built to the PHI’s rigorous standards for insulation and energy use.
Learn the basic concepts of Passive Home Construction here.
What makes the home smart?
A Smart Home is a residence that uses internet-connected devices to enable the remote monitoring and management of appliances and systems, such as lighting and heating.
Smart home technology, also often referred to as home automation or domotics, provides homeowners security, comfort, convenience and energy efficiency by allowing them to control smart devices, often by a smart home app on their smartphone or other networked device. A part of the internet of things (IoT), smart home systems and devices often operate together, sharing consumer usage data among themselves and automating actions based on the homeowners' preferences.
Click here to see some of the examples of Smart Home technologies.