Chapter 10Green Six Sigma and Retrofitting Buildings
‘I have spent a fortune to distant shores and looked at lofty mountains and boundless oceans, and yet I haven't found time to take a few steps from my house to look at a single dew drop on a single blade of grass.’
– Rabindranath Tagore
10.1. Introduction
Buildings contribute only 6% of total global greenhouse gas transmissions, thus ranking last of all sectors. Some reports (RIBA, 2021) have estimated that the contribution of buildings to greenhouse gas emissions is in fact much higher. Regardless, the important point is that this is one area where we as individuals can start to do something – now.
The term ‘buildings’ covers both industrial and residential structures. Residential building operations account for 72% of the total emissions from this sector. This chapter focuses on the retrofitting of buildings, i.e. the addition or replacement of new features to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
As with other sectors, if we are going to attain net-zero emissions we will have to minimise all the greenhouse gases caused by building operations around the world.
10.2. Guiding Factors of Retrofitting Buildings
In building operations the main areas of energy consumption are heating, cooling, lighting and cooking. When considering lighting I have included the electricity used to run television, radio, computers and other home appliances. Energy consumption for lighting is higher in advanced economies compared ...
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