While manufacturers can help with new and better products, the bigger opportunity falls to architects, who can employ such design strategies as building size-volume and floor space-orientation, air tightness, higher R-values, thermal mass, and continuous insulation to reduce energy costs. Of these three approaches, sustainable design strategies are by far the most important. Architecture 2030 suggests that targets may be accomplished by implementing innovative sustainable design strategies, generating on-site renewable power, and/or purchasing (20 percent maximum) renewable energy. These goals far exceed those of the current energy codes. Interim goals are also targeted: fossil fuel reduction for all new buildings and major renovations, which was increased to 70 percent in 2015, 80 percent in 2020, and 90 percent in 2025. The ultimate objective: carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030. A few of the major initiatives and code families are discussed next.Ĭomposed of several industry groups including the AIA, Architecture 2030 issued The 2030 Challenge, calling for a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by changing the way buildings and developments are planned, designed, and constructed. The critical theme, however, is that all of the codes are moving toward more stringent energy targets and higher R-values. There are a plethora of energy codes and rating systems today, and making sense of them can be a labyrinthine and time-consuming undertaking. This course will review relevant code considerations, focusing on these new masonry wall systems, and how they’ve become a game changer in meeting and exceeding prevailing energy targets. But what’s new here are today’s masonry wall systems, which incorporate the inherent characteristics of masonry along with improved quality control, more advanced construction methods, a better understanding of masonry’s properties, and more sophisticated design. Historically, masonry has been used for its longevity and low life-cycle cost, its permanence and quality, and its aesthetic value. The pyramids, the Colosseum, and Notre Dame are all iconic masonry structures that have endured for centuries. Of course, the history of masonry is as old as the history of architecture itself. Not only do energy codes reduce needless energy consumption and help protect the environment, they provide common benchmarks that drive new designs and technologies.Īmong the most promising of these new technologies from an energy-efficiency perspective are preassembled masonry wall systems. Energy codes are regarded as one of the quickest, most economical and cleanest ways to reduce energy use in the built environment and help ensure a sustainable future. economy, in the United States, buildings account for approximately 70 percent of electricity consumption, 40 percent of CO2 emissions, and 14 percent of potable water consumption.Īccordingly, greener targets, codes, and regulations have evolved. The World Business Council for Sustainable Develoment (WBCSD) maintains that buildings account for 40 percent of the world’s energy use.1 Besides using more energy than any other sector of the U.S. Widely publicized and accepted statistics point toward the impact of buildings on energy use and the environment. Designers have numerous options in creating effective walls, and the government along with industry organizations have set guidelines to improve wall design practices to help reduce impacts of the built environment.Ī worthy goal to be sure. A wall combines all of these features to play a major part in determining the energy efficiency and ultimate performance of a structure. It can keep a structure warm or not let moisture in or not improve occupant comfort or not serve as an effective structural element or not and be efficiently constructed and installed or not. Sponsored by Echelon™ Masonry by OldcastleĪ wall is a complicated thing. New technology ups masonry’s high-performance quotient Masonry Wall Systems Well Positioned to Meet Evolving Codesĭownload Masonry Wall Systems Well Positioned to Meet Evolving Codes Masonry Wall Systems Well Positioned to Meet Evolving Codes
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