Sustainable technologies (Summary & reader's response - Final Draft)

In the article “Top Sustainable Technologies in Green Construction”, the Construction Climate Challenge (CCC) (2019) reported that buildings with green technology are “more energy-efficient and sustainable.” It states that low energy houses, self-powered buildings, and zero-energy building designs are being applied in developments. These designs incorporate green technologies such as solar power which decrease the usage of electricity in residential heating loads through absorption of solar radiation. In contrast, to reduce cooling loads, buildings utilise cool roofs and Electrochromic Smart Glass to block and reflect heat and sunlight away. CCC also sheds light on how sustainability concerns are addressed, and wastage of resources is reduced by integrating smart appliances and water efficiency technologies. Biodegradable materials used are sourced sustainably whilst adhering to green safety standards, so as to mitigate detrimental effects on the environment. To summarise, CCC shares that by incorporating green technologies, a symbiotic relationship between the environment and buildings can be achieved. While I agree that sustainable technologies help to conserve energy used in buildings, I feel that solar power, however, is not efficient and sustainable. This is due to the fact that it is bulky, performances fluctuate based on weather conditions and is linked to pollution, which is overlooked in the article.

To begin, solar power is a weather dependant technology that is only generated in the day due to the availability of sunlight. This means that rainy and cloudy days will generate lesser energy due to lesser sun exposure. Tan (2019) stated that an obstacle faced when implementing solar power in Singapore was the “intermittency of sunshine due to cloud cover and urban shading”. ISwitch (2020) further supported this statement, stating that solar power generated on cloudy days are only 10% to 25% that of the normal yield during sunny days. In addition, Richardson (2018) reported that excessive heat can cause a 10% to 25% reduction in the amount of solar power generated. I feel that this is inefficient for solar power, as it needs to be at an optimal temperature range with sufficient sun exposure to generate maximum solar power. Missing out this information in the article misleads homeowners to have the perception that higher temperature generates more power. As a result, they would purchase fewer solar panels than what is required to generate sufficient solar power for the building.

Solar power is indirectly associated with pollution which causes an impact on the environment. Ecavo (2016) shared that the production of solar power involves usage of unsafe substances. This is further supported by Walters (2017) which commented that manufacturing solar panels involves usage of nitrogen fluoride gas, a larger contributor to global warming as compared to carbon dioxide. The Union of Concerned Scientists (2013) observed that greenhouse gases are released during the materials shipment and solar panel installation phase. As a result, an increased amount of pollutants is released into the environment which adds to global warming. Not knowing that solar power usage is associated with pollution, homeowners will implement solar power usage widely in their premises, which further hastens the process of global warming. 

Space limitation is one of the drawbacks of solar power due to the size of solar panels. According to iSwitch (2020), they can either be installed in the backyard or on the roofs of residential homes. Even in Singapore, space constraints due to the lack of land space was a challenge faced when implementing solar power usage, stated Tan (2020). Without clarifying the space solar panels requires, homeowners have to sacrifice a portion of their homes originally used for daily activities for the placement of the solar panels. Alternatively, they have to consider installing fewer solar panels to satisfy a portion of their electricity demand.

In conclusion, even though solar power helps to decrease electricity usage, the disadvantages that comes with its usage were not mentioned in the article, hence making this article a biased one. The article should have included both the pros and cons, so that building owners are able to weigh out the factors prior to implementing solar power usage in their buildings. 

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References: 

Construction Climate Challenge. (2019). Top sustainable technologies in green construction. https://constructionclimatechallenge.com/2019/02/19/top-sustainable-technologies-in-green-construction/

Ecavo. (2016). The Disadvantages of Solar Energy. https://ecavo.com/solar-energy-disadvantages/

iSwitch. (2020). Solar Energy Pros & Cons: What You Need To Know. https://iswitch.com.sg/solar-energy-pros-cons/

Richardson, J. (2018). Solar Panels Do Work On Cloudy Days. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/08/solar-panels-work-cloudy-days-just-less-effectively/

Tan, A. (2019). Singapore to ramp up solar energy production to power 350,000 homes by 2030. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/environment/solar-energy-to-meet-4-of-singapores-energy-demand-by-2030-up-from-less-than-1

Union of Concerned Scientists. (2013). Environmental Impacts of Solar Power. https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/environmental-impacts-solar-power#:~:text=The%20potential%20environmental%20impacts%20associated,solar%20thermal%20plants%20(CSP).

Walters, G. (2017). A Potent Greenhouse Gas Used to Make Solar Panels Is on the Rise. https://www.seeker.com/a-potent-greenhouse-gas-used-to-make-solar-panels-is-on-the-rise-2288834288.html