Renewable Energy Architecture

Our homes are a major source of carbon emissions. In order to mitigate the domestic impact on global warming, renewable energy architecture creates designs that incorporate renewable sources of energy into the architecture of a building, besides considering other important factors such as planning, materials, functionality and energy efficiency over the entire life cycle of a building.

One of the most common types of renewable energy architecture is the one that incorporates solar power into the design of the building. Devices such as photovoltaic solar panels help to provide sustainable electricity for any use. Roofs are often angled toward the sun to allow photovoltaic panels to collect at maximum efficiency, and some buildings even move throughout the day to follow the sun.

Depending on the location of the building as well as its design, renewable energy architecture may also harness wind and hydro electric power. Other types of renewable energy that can be incorporated into the design include solar thermal hot water and ground source heat pumps. In the UK, for example, the Low Carbon Building Programme covers up to 50% of the cost and home owners can even choose to sell excess renewable energy back to the supplier.

According to Kelly Hart from the Green Home Building website, there are many factors to consider when it comes to renewable energy architecture. Hart mentions keeping homes small, heating with the sun, proper insulation (making the most of the heat and coolness that a home produces), being energy efficient, conserving water, using local materials, saving forests, recycling and longevity, among others. Finally, architecture graduates who wish to specialize in renewable energy architecture can choose from a range of post-graduate courses in order to go into this exciting, expanding field.