OFF-GRID IN CONTEXT

Abstract

Resource depletion, environmental degradation and rising water levels due to climate change are the main global concerns. The built environment is a tremendous contributor to these pressures. Buildings are currently responsible for 39% of global energy related carbon emissions: 28% from operational emissions, from energy needed to heat, cool and power them, and the remaining 11% from materials and construction (WorldGBC, 2019). It is therefore important to seek solutions that challenge the current way of living, and minimise impact from operational emissions and materials and construction.
Throughout history battling these environmental problems has been done by making things more ‘sustainable’. Sustainability is a rather ambiguous term. William Rees argues that in order for something to become sustainable it must be detached from all unsustainable systems (Rees, 2009).

In this spirit the main research question this research plan investigates is the following:
How to design a sustainable housing district in Midden-Delfland?

with subquestions:
How to be sustainable in materials & construction?
How to be sustainable in operational emissions?
How to have a sustainable water management?

In this research two case studies into Ecovillage Olst and Ecovillage Boekel have also been done, looking at what their approach is. The two examples were chosen based on their differing approach in managing their heat. Ecovillage Olst makes use of passive solar gain while the Ecovillage Boekel stores the heat from the sun in its CESAR-heat battery system. The report consists of a catalog for biobased building, a map and categorisation of second hand building material stores in Noord-Brabant & South-Holland. It reviews various energy storage systems and finally compares different modes of off-grid water sanitation.