Overview
After examining the college grounds I found out that the college has two environmental control measures implemented here which is an underground rainwater tank, insulation of most classroom ceilings and most lights automatically go out at 8pm.
Rain Water Tanks
Rainwater harvesting is when rainwater falling on the ground is being directed to storage tanks for non-potable purposes. Instead of letting the water to flow straight to drainages and lost during evaporation, it can still be used for clothes washing, gardening, and toilet flushing. The approach is useful in locations with less rainfall in a year (cibse.org, 2010). This approach encompasses a number of benefits such as reduced demand and pressure on available supplies (Gnadlinger, 2003). In addition, cost of water service bills will be reduced due to the lesser volume of water used for utility purposes. Furthermore, setting up underground rainwater tanks is likely to reduce the risk of flooding and pollution due to the reduced volume of water discharged in sewers and to other waterways.
Ceiling Insulation
Ceiling insulation involves an effective method in regulating indoor temperature. Hot mid-day temperature encompasses a need for increased indoor cooling, which result to higher energy use. The higher energy demand will push coal-generated power plants to intensify its energy production leading to increase in fossil fuel burning and CO2 emissions. Insulated ceilings will prevent excessive sunlight heat from penetrating indoor facilities, thus eliminating the need for cooling (Sustainable Energy Ireland, 2006). Larger infrastructures such as university campuses use more energy due to the population that campuses accommodate. It is apparent that 40% of the heat loss takes place through the roof and about 15% through windows (sustainablehomedesign.co.za, N.D.). Having an insulated ceiling will prevent the heat absorbed by the roof from affecting the indoor environment, thus eliminating the need for cooling mechanisms to stabilize indoor temperature.
Other Sustainability Options
A recommendation would be installing solar panels and removing the bar heaters and replacing them with energy efficient heater. Australia’s energy sources only has a capacity of 50 GW combined. With the current high demand for energy, the use of alternative energy source such as solar panels poses a great potential. Since the country has the highest solar radiation per square meter, it is only fitting that its power should be utilized to support a more sustainable need for energy. In addition, solar heat transforms water and air into thermal energy that can be used to replace the heating bars in the college. Furthermore, the implication of using renewable energy in the college is reduced dependency on traditional energy source, which will result to lower energy cost expenses of the college. The cost savings obtained from the use of renewable energy can be used by the college for developing facilities that will further improve the students learning condition. The use of solar power would also enable the college to promote clean energy, which is found to have a profound positive effect on the environment in terms reducing CO2 emission (ga.gov.au, 2013). This initiative is in line with the Australian government’s legislation on Clean Energy Initiative Solar Flagship Program. Similar initiative is already being implemented in Alice Springs and Darwin involving a contest to create the most innovative solar energy approach (engineersaustralia.org.au, 2013). The college can further improve its operations, cut cost, and implement sustainable environment with solar panels and heating mechanism alternatives that comes along with solar energy use.
References
Cibse.org (2010). Rainwater harvesting in the sustainable environment. Retrieved from Rainstream Polypipe website: http://www.cibse.org/content/Events/Chris/CPD%20DC.pdf
Engineersaustralia.org.au (2013, October 7). Alice Springs Sunchase 2013. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/news/alice-springs-sunchase-2013-involving-students-use-solar-energy
Ga.gov.au (n.d.). Solar Energy - Geoscience Australia. Retrieved November 9, 2013, from http://www.ga.gov.au/energy/other-renewable-energy-resources/solar-energy.html
Gnadlinger, J. (2003). Rainwater Catchment and Sustainable Development in the Brazilian Semi-Arid Tropics (BSATs) - An Integrated Approach. 11th IRCS Conference. Retrieved from http://www.irpaa.org/publicacoes/files/11thircsc.pdf
Sustainable Energy Ireland (2006). A detailed guide to insulating your home. Retrieved from SEI website: http://www.seai.ie/Publications/Your_Home_Publications_/Insulation/A_Detailed_Guide_to_Insulating_Your_Home.pdf
Sustainablehomedesign.co.za (n.d.). Sustainable Home Design - Insulation. Retrieved November 7, 2013, from http://www.sustainablehomedesign.co.za/insulation/insulation.html
