GREEN MATTERS
be expected to resurface once the rest of the world begins to make serious moves in this area. The good news is that though these familiar barriers may seem inevitable they are far from insurmountable – reworked building codes, the upskilling of the workforce and stricter controls around leakage, recovery, recycling, the reclamation of refrigerants, as well as the treatment of emissions at end of life, can all help drive progress on the world stage, ultimately expediating the move towards net-zero.
Working together Designing sustainable low energy commercial buildings will be one of the major challenges in reducing emissions to acceptable levels in the UK and around the globe. Cooling impacts heavily on our health and comfort and plays a vital role in keeping our food fresh and our vaccines safe to use – things many of us take for granted. The changes that are needed for decarbonisation will therefore need to be carefully considered and meticulously planned if we are to realise meaningful change without enacting widespread disruption. Cooling will need to be considered as part of wider design changes and its impact on total emissions assessed rather than viewed in isolation from other building emissions. Reaching net-zero will require the broad uptake of
the three key elements – ultra-efficient equipment, ultra-low GWP refrigerants and passive cooling. Progress has been made in all of these areas, yet we remain at the early stages of deployment and there needs to be a sustained effort to scale up. As such there is clear cause for optimism as well as areas of concern attached to each of the elements: The F-Gas Regulation and Kigali Amendment have provided a much-needed base to work from in the phase down of high GWP refrigerants but in order to take the next step governments and industry stakeholders will need to work quickly and col- laboratively to develop national and international cooling action plans.
The ultra-efficient cooling equipment market is already estimated to be worth $135 billion (approx. £97 billion) and is predicted to grow rapidly due to rising temperatures, urbanisation and income growth. There is however a long way to go before we see mass uptake of super-efficient appliances and equipment – average air conditioner efficiency is estimated to be around one third of best availa- ble technology installed and around half of what is being sold in the market at the moment.
Finally, despite a lack of general awareness over the availability and viability of passive solutions, there is a general acknowledgement that improved
building design incorporating passive cooling can have a positive impact in reducing cooling load and cutting emissions - one study estimates that optimising window design, size and orientation can reduce cooling loads by 30%.
Appetite for change With 28 cities signed up to the C40 Net Zero Carbon Buildings Declaration pledging to enact regulations and/or planning policy to ensure new buildings operate at net zero carbon by 2030 and all buildings by 2050, there is a real appetite to deliver on decarbonisation.
FETA groups and other industry stakeholders have been encouraged by proposals to tackle cooling emissions as well as recognition of the need to address the growing problem of overheating in buildings – a point clearly emphasised in the second stage of the government’s consultation on the Future Buildings Standard.
Meeting future cooling needs in a sustainable way will be at the forefront of this cultural shift and although there are a great many challenges to overcome, the pathway to net-zero is both well- defined and achievable providing we embrace new standards, technologies, behaviours and methods of delivery throughout the cooling supply chain.
Bond
www.acr-news.com
June 2021 25
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