Significance of green buildings for a sustainable energy future

Date

2023-12

Author

Arıcan, Hakan

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With rapid urbanization and a growing population, energy consumption and environmental degradation are increasing drastically. The construction sector alone bears a significant burden, necessitating new strategies for a sustainable future and one of the most vital solutions is green buildings. This study highlights the potential of green buildings to boost energy efficiency, minimize environmental impact, and enhance occupant well-being. It comprehensively examines the evolution of the green building concept, various certification systems, energy efficiency strategies, design principles, and the current state and strategic needs for broader green building adoption in Türkiye. A substantial portion focuses on analyzing the energy performance of the Silicon Block building within METU Technopark, utilizing Design Builder and Energy Plus simulation tools. This analysis concretely demonstrates the benefits of green buildings while observing the impact of energy efficiency improvements on consumption and CO2 emissions. The simulation results compare the existing building's energy data with that obtained after implementing improvements. Initially, the building consumed 2,288,310.63 kWh, resulting in an annual energy cost of 75,873 USD and CO2 emissions of 1,015,567 kg of CO2. Following the integration of renewable energy systems and efficiency measures, the simulated data reveals a significant reduction: total energy consumption dropped by 47.22% to 1,207,889.45 kWh, annual energy cost by 51.45% to 39,061 USD, and total CO2 emissions by 56.4% to 572,731.03 kg of CO2. These results convincingly demonstrate the contribution of green buildings to a sustainable energy future and a more livable environment.

Subject Keywords

Green Buildings, Sustainable Energy, Construction, Energy Efficiency

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/107722

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis