Mindfulness and ethical practice are always important. It is even more important with global warming standing as a threat in front of us. As such, It is time to start taking stock of our actions and do take affirmative and deliberate action to combat climate change. Moreover, it is also necessary to build buildings with sustainable fabrics, heating, lighting, and other forms of energy that should be either sustainable or efficient. That should be the goal for the future. Luckily the UK government initiatives are ensuring that these protocols are followed. This has also resulted in the growth of Sustainability Consultants around the world. People all over the globe are aware of and want to create a safe environment for the future. As such, many are enlisting the services of Sustainability Consultants to ensure their buildings are energy efficient.
Sustainability Consultants also help with energy statements and more. They are someone to have on your team when you are building a commercial or residential structure. It is best to enlist their services in the early stages while the planning is still going on. This way they can help build buildings that are completely energy efficient. Moreover, when the local planning authorities ask for an energy statement, then the Sustainability Consultants can help create fully comprehensive energy statements covering all necessary details. This post is targeted toward finding out how one can benefit from a sustainability consultant and more. They can be beneficial for businesses as well as for residential construction. So without further ado, let us move on to the topic at hand.
What Is Sustainability Consulting?
Sustainability consulting is a field that focuses on making buildings and corporates into energy-efficient models without causing any loss to them. Moreover, it is also about turning to ethical and green practices and implementing the sustainable technology that is available. It involved energy statements, life and cycle assessments of buildings, BREEAM assessments as well as creating sustainable infrastructure. Many people are not aware of how much carbon buildings can emit throughout their lifetime. Moreover, this carbon emission can be highly controlled and reduced by careful planning and design. Sustainability Consultants can help design buildings that are effective at energy usage in every way and thereby largely reduce their carbon emissions throughout their lifetime.
Additionally, Sustainability Consultants have a better understanding of the energy needs of a building. They can also estimate the energy needs of a building throughout its lifetime. This knowledge is useful to understand and put in place renewable energy sources for the building to tap into. Today this is equally important for industrial, commercial as well as residential buildings. When building standalone homes, sustainability consultants can help implement various useful renewable technology such as rainwater conservation, solar panels and other methods that can be useful for the home while also benefiting the environment. Add to this, sustainability consultants also put in place measures to reduce the use of non-renewable and dwindling resources. This is all a part of making energy-efficient structures.
What Is An Energy Statement?
An energy statement for planning or not is a legal document that contains a comprehensive plan of a building’s energy consumption. It will focus on the building’s fabric, heating systems, ventilation, lighting and other important factors. This statement will outline how the building will use energy in its life and throughout each stage of construction. Such a statement will also contain information regarding the renewable technology used in the building and other energy consumption methods put in place.
- An energy statement may need to be produced to the local planning authorities before construction on the building can start.
- This has to be produced along with the planning for approval. The local planning authorities may request it and it will have to be provided. Sustainability consultants can help create a detailed energy statement for it.
- The energy rating for different areas will differ. It is best to find out the energy requirements in one’s locality and using the help of a sustainability consultant is an easy enough job to do.
- If the building proposal does not meet the energy requirements for the specified locality, approval may never be given.
- It is important for the building to meet the energy required to receive approval from the local planning authorities. An energy statement is important for this as it showcases the building’s energy usage.
How Is An Energy Statement Made?
Sustainability consultants will make energy statements by first looking at the building fabric. A life cycle assessment of the building is also done. Moreover, the ventilation, lighting, heating and other systems are taken into account. This will give a wider idea of the energy usage of the building. Add to this, the sustainability consultant will also advise on how to make the building more energy efficient. Additionally, the sustainability consultant will also offer advice on what type of renewable technology should be implemented. Ultimately, an energy statement containing all of this information is made. Sustainability consultants can also help make the construction process more energy efficient.
A fully comprehensive energy statement will showcase how much energy the commercial or residential structure will use during construction and its whole life. It will also show the effectiveness of the renewable technology and energy-efficient models in place. Altogether, if the building’s energy requirements are meeting the standards set by the locality then the approval to go ahead with the construction can be procured.