What does climate have to do with building a house? Quite simply, approximately 35% of energy consumption and CO2 emissions in this country can be traced back to the construction sector. And reducing CO2 emissions is currently the top priority for global climate protection. In this sense, everyone can make a contribution to climate protection and ensure a better environment by building the house of their dreams.
The state also supports particularly climate-friendly housing. This way you too contribute to climate protection and benefit directly from it. Especially since it can be assumed that the relative value of climate-friendly buildings will continue to increase in the future.
But nowadays climate protection in house construction means even more. The consequences of climate change with storms, heavy rains and floods, but also cold periods and extreme heat in our latitudes are undeniable and require far-sighted measures when designing a new home.
CLIMATIC ADAPTATION OF THE BUILDING
Risk factors such as the risk of flooding near the river or the risk of flash flooding on an exposed slope can be factored into the decision when choosing a property. If necessary, during the construction of a house it is necessary to plan in advance measures for waterproofing against water (groundwater) or protection against backflow of the sewer system. Additionally, massive homes are more resistant to moisture than prefabricated wood-frame homes, as masonry walls dry out more easily after flood damage.
Hillside properties are particularly at risk during storms. The roof and porches of homes built there should be designed to withstand storms. In general, the roof area of a home offers plenty of attack surface for severe weather events. A roof structure with a sufficient slope allows heavy rain to run off more quickly, while a stable roof covering of concrete blocks or clay tiles prevents hail damage. It goes without saying that roof tiles should be equipped with storm supports.
With proper planning, you can also protect your new home from the summer heat. Shading trees are an effective measure against high temperatures in the building. However, you should not become a risk factor in the event of a severe storm. Monolithic houses made of solid-walled building materials such as fired clay bricks allow for a good indoor climate in summer temperatures. It is also true that light facade colors retain heat less than dark colors. Remember that large glass surfaces become extremely hot during the day and release heat into the home. It may therefore make sense to limit window areas. Windows facing east or west lead to greater heating than windows facing exclusively south, in which the strong midday sun shines little or not at all.
MINIMIZATION OF ENERGY REQUIREMENTS
It goes without saying that the installation of efficient heating technologies, better insulation of the building envelope and the use of energy saving devices reduce the energy needs of a house and thus contribute to climate protection. Ideally, you will build a sustainable home that requires almost no heating thanks to excellent thermal insulation and intelligent ventilation technology with heat recovery.
USE OF REGENERATIVE ENERGY
In terms of climate protection, a heating system that uses renewable energy sources such as sun, wind, water, geothermal energy or biomass is adequate. Solar heat and solar energy are particularly suitable for climate-friendly housing. You have two options for using the sun’s energy for your home. Thanks to solar collectors to generate heat, solar energy can be used for heating and drinking water. In temperate latitudes, 1.5 to 2 square meters of collector surface per capita are sufficient to heat approximately 60% of the annual hot water requirement.
With a photovoltaic system, electricity is produced from solar energy for domestic use or for feeding into the electricity grid. In combination with battery storage and intelligent control, a degree of self-sufficiency of up to 80% can be achieved, i.e. only 20% of the electricity needed in the home needs to be purchased over the course of the year. This protects your wallet and the environment.
HOLISTIC CONSIDERATION
As important and right as it is to minimize the energy consumption of buildings and, if possible, cover the remaining energy needs with renewable energy, it is equally important to consider the entire life cycle of a house. What about the production of building materials and technologies? What is the useful life of the building? What happens when the house reaches the end of its life?
Thanks to excellently insulated walls and efficient heating technology, we are currently in a situation where the production of building materials and heating technology causes more environmental impact and CO2 emissions than using a house in 100 years. If climate protection is taken seriously, it is also important to reduce so-called “grey” energy. Therefore, when it comes to, for example, building materials, you need to ensure that they are made from recyclable and long-availability raw materials. This is not just wood, but can also be clay or clay bricks, for example. Clay and loam can usually be mined close to the surface and gently, and their mining areas are close to production sites. When talking about wood as a building material, it is also important to remember that every tree felled is lost to further absorption of CO2.
For the overall energy balance of the building, the lifespan of the building materials used should also be as long as possible. An argument in favor of building a solid house instead of a prefabricated wood frame house. With the right planning, you can make your personal contribution to climate protection by building your dream house. Your construction partner will be happy to advise you further.
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