Ronald Rovers
RiBuilT, Research Institute Built environment of Tomorrow, RiBuilt/Zuyd university, Heerlen The Netherlands
Wendy Broers
RiBuilT/Zuyd University, Heerlen The Netherlands
Katleen de Flander
RiBuilT/Zuyd University, Heerlen The Netherlands
Vera Rovers
RiBuilT/Zuyd University, Heerlen The Netherlands
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3384/ecp110573285Published in: World Renewable Energy Congress - Sweden; 8-13 May; 2011; Linköping; Sweden
Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings 57:37, p. 3285-3292
Published: 2011-11-03
ISBN: 978-91-7393-070-3
ISSN: 1650-3686 (print), 1650-3740 (online)
Renewable energy is based on using a direct route from solar radiation to consumption; as an efficiency improvement from a long term route via fossils. However; both routes put a claim on space/land and the time of use of that land/space to intercept and convert it to useful forms. However; the same solar radiation is needed; to produce materials in a similar change from fossil materials to renewable materials; and materials are needed as well to produce the conversion devices for renewable energy. Similar processes take place in the realizing sustainable buildings; especially 0-energy buildings: : there is space time involved to generate the renewable energy; but also to generate for instance the renewable material based insulation materials; or the wooden construction.
These insights lead to the notion that looking to production of renewable energy only is sub- optimization of systems; and could in fact be counterproductive. This has defined our research to explore new ways of evaluation of activities; and in our case buildings. We have developed a indicator called Embodied Land; to evaluate the time and space occupied by generating both renewable energy and renewable materials. This has been tested in two cases; and runs out to be a interesting approach; showing clearly how the optimization of land and space use over a certain time period relates to choices in materials and energy together; and makes it possible to optimise from both resources together; using an minimum of land occupation.
Exergy ; Exergetic space; Embodied land; Primary energy; Maxergy; Space time evaulation; Building assessment
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[16] Rovers 2011 valuing recycling and non renewable materials ; to be published.
