Week 7 and 8
We started with our first project Heatherdale Sports Pavilion, to update the project in the latest version of BESS. The pavilion had efficient daylight and ventilation, therefore, achieved the highest indoor environmental quality. This project got an overall score of 60%. Our next project was a warehouse at Dandenong. The warehouse also incorporated an office space for which we conducted daylight analysis. The BESS score achieved was a good 56% considering that it already had good ESD initiatives incorporated in the design, such as adequate daylight, solar panels, rainwater tanks, electric car charging bays.
This week we also got an opportunity to attend a session on Low E Glass &Section J, NCC 2019 that was conducted through Guardian Glass. The presentation emphasized how low e coating can be fundamental in achieving the required U-value and SHGC compliance of section J NCC 2019. Where Low-E stands for low emissivity or low solar energy that passes through the glass. Low-e coating when applied reduces the U-value and SHGC without greatly affecting the VLT of the glass.
They took us through the different types of glass used for building façades, like the clear float glass, tinted glass and the Low-E glass. We also learnt the different terms used to define the properties of glass like the RAT(reflection Absorption and Transmission), CRI(colour reflective Index), LSG(light to solar gain, VLT(visual light transmission), U-value(conductivity) and the SHGC(solar heat gain coefficient). A major focus was given on the performance of glass and how thermal bridging elements have a significant impact on u value.
Two different variants of Low-E glass namely the Pyrolytic and Sputter coated glass were explained. Pyrolytic glass has a titanium coating that could achieve a max SHGC of 0.6 to 0.7 and could be used as a single glazed glass. Sputter glass had a silver coating and could achieve a maximum SHGC of 0.18 to 0.55. It was interesting to learn through a graphic video the process of coating glass. Also, it is to be noted that low e coating is usually applied on the 2nd surface of a DGU glass assembly.
We then continued with another townhouse project in Boronia, the architects had revised the designs and we had to redo the ratings and BESS. These developments achieved an average of 6.6 stars and 7 stars NatHERS rating for the single storey and double storey, respectively. Our new project is a residential development. We had to conduct a daylight analysis on the adjacent building to understand the effect the current and proposed building has on the daylighting of the adjacent building. We are waiting for the detailed drawings and surveys to conduct the assessment. Stay tuned.