Achieving net zero has been a hot topic for a long time. Governments around the world have goals in place to reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment. Individual businesses need to ensure their operations do the same. To do this they have to consider their commercial architecture as well as operational carbon. It can ensure they operate more efficiently, reducing energy use and the impact on the environment.
What to do?
The whole idea with net zero is that buildings don’t ultimately add to the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. There are two different ways to do this.
Firstly, we can design buildings to be as energy efficient as possible. The goal here is to reduce energy consumption. You can look at a number of things, including the materials you use and technology like energy efficient lighting and HVAC systems. If you can design a highly efficient building that doesn’t waste energy, you are on the right track.
Secondly, you can do things to offset the carbon emissions. This is an important idea because it can help to balance the scales. For example, a good idea is to plant trees or other greenery. It will pull carbon out of the atmosphere and increase the amount of oxygen. Or, there are solutions that sequester greenhouse gases instead of releasing them. Things like this can offset the operational emissions.
Offices
One type of commercial architecture that can be relatively simple to make net zero is the office building. Operations in these structures typically don’t rely on a huge amount of energy intensive equipment. As a result, they can have an easier time than industrial operations.
There are a number of things to look at here to make offices have a smaller carbon footprint. Focusing on efficient building systems is the biggest thing. Lighting, heating, and ventilation should all be optimised for energy efficiency. Ideally, the building design should use natural light and ventilation as much as possible.
It is also a really good idea to choose tech that won’t consume a huge amount of power. For example, offices can be home to dozens or hundreds of computers as well as things like servers and other electronics. Ideally you want tech that won’t take a lot of energy to run.
You should also look at occupancy and be proactive with energy use. It is very wasteful to keep lights on in parts of a property that people aren’t using. You can say the same for tech. Smart systems can be a fantastic investment for all kinds of commercial architecture.
Investing in smart systems and maintenance is also surprisingly important. Many people overlook the fact that different types of equipment become less efficient over time. The carbon footprint increases massively if there are regular call outs for repairs. What you should do is choose systems that maintain everything and improve the performance and longevity. Plus, upgrading to more efficient modern equipment can be better than repairing old if you look purely at energy consumption.
Combining elements
As you can see, there are plenty of different things you can do to get a net zero office. You can design new buildings from scratch with low energy consumption as your goal. Plus, you can look at tech to generate renewable energy rather than relying on the grid. Ideally you should combine the different elements, including the ones above, to ensure your building and operations are sustainable.
Ask us about commercial architecture
Coffey Architects appreciates that the path to net zero can be a difficult one. While more and more people are looking at it, still only a small percentage of buildings around the world achieve it. We want to change this, supporting our clients in creating incredible designs that help the environment.
So, if you want some help with an office or other forms of commercial architecture, speak to us. We’ll give you the best chance of achieving your goals.