Why Modular Buildings Mean Less Carbon

Volo says it delivers buildings that are better for people and the planet—and has a target to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Market expectations of the carbon performance of property assets are changing rapidly.

This increases the risk that carbon intensive assets may become “stranded” if action is not taken to decarbonise them.

While the market is not yet consistently accounting for carbon intensity in property valuation, asset owners need to be aware of this risk.

Onsite builds are constructed using materials, components, and products. All this material has to be extracted from the ground or (in the case of timber) grown, transported to a facility to be processed, transported again (perhaps numerous times) to be fabricated into a product, transported to site, and craned into place.

These processes result in the emission of greenhouse gases—fuel for deliveries, and to heat, shape and treat, as well as releases from manufacturing processes.

It is becoming clear that embodied carbon makes a significant contribution. between 30 per cent and 70 per cent of a typical building’s total lifecycle emissions.

Volo says its goal is for the whole lifecycle emissions of their buildings to be net zero, not just operational emissions.

“In pursuing this, we view key decisions through the lens of whole life carbon impact,” a spokesperson said.

“This approach ensures that the trade-offs between embodied and operational carbon that are inherent in many of our key decisions become explicit within the decision-making process.

“Volo has set goals towards net zero carbon requires a sequential approach to ensure that critical decisions are made at the appropriate point in the design process.”

Here are examples of the types of solutions that together may contribute to an effective strategy for a net zero carbon building.

Passive design

Fundamental decisions made at the earliest stages of the design phase, including massing, floor-to-ceiling heights and facade design, have significant carbon impacts through a building’s full lifecycle.

Good passive design not only delivers buildings that emit less carbon in operation, they are also often more comfortable and achieve higher levels of occupant satisfaction.

Such buildings also tend to be more flexible, so last longer.

Some passive design approaches, such as those involving heavyweight structures, can be naturally high in embodied carbon.

Design teams need to consider the embodied-operational balance actively throughout the design process to develop the optimum combination of measures to minimise whole lifecycle carbon.

Build clever

Reuse materials. If it’s not possible to refurbish an existing building in its entirety, the reuse of materials during the construction of new build developments should be explored.

This will reduce embodied carbon and is one way of bringing circular economy principles to life.

Minimise waste

Offsite prefabrication allows highly efficient processes, including circular economy “closed loop” approaches, to replace less efficient onsite construction of individual building elements.

At the same time, offsite prefabrication often provides workers with safer conditions.

If prefabrication is carried out close to a development site further carbon reductions can be achieved thanks to lower transport emissions.

Transform and reuse

In most cases, constructing new buildings generates more carbon emissions than repurposing existing buildings.

This is primarily thanks to existing asset bringing with themembodied carbon.

The inherent carbon disadvantage of most new property development is a fact that needs to be faced. Any organisation seeking to achieve net zero across its property assets should embed a process that encourages the exploration of refurbishment as a preferred option at the outset of each potential new building development or investment in newly built assets.

Efficient systems, switching to electric

All systems, from heating and air conditioning to lighting, must be designed to be as efficient as possible with good control to maintain effective use.

Minimising operational carbon in this way is an important aspect of net zero design.

Typically, supplying buildings with zero carbon energy means switching from an oil or gas supply to an electric system.

Depending on building typology, it is likely that either heating or cooling will be the single biggest source of a building’s carbon use and moving it to an electrical source will reduce building emissions as the electricity grid transitions away from fossil fuels and towards renewable and low carbon generation.

Demand management

Reducing operational impacts is not just about how much energy is used overall, but when it’s used.

Active demand management shifts energy demand away from peak periods when supply emissions are at their highest.

It also allows for reduced infrastructure capacity, supporting building operators to make best use of variable renewable generation.

Active demand management can simultaneously deliver reduced connection charges.

From automatic load shedding and battery technologies in commercial buildings to smart home appliances, there is a range of ways that demand management can be enabled.

Onsite renewables

Where practicable, onsite renewable generation, such as solar photovoltaic panels, should be explored.

However, a lifecycle cost and carbon appraisal should be conducted to determine feasibility of any onsite renewable generation.

Not all sites or buildings can generate enough renewable energy to make installation worthwhile.

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