Sustainable Construction Custom Essay

MMP 112-Sustainable Construction – Trimester 1 2014

Assignment 1
Sustainability assessment
25% of unit assessment (approximately 2,500 words)

Context

This assignment aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of retrofitting existing residential homes with sustainable technologies. In undertaking this assignment you will examine various options and

innovations in regard to improving your home’s energy efficiency performance and impact on the environment.

This is an individual assignment so please read the instructions carefully.

Task

In order to understand and complete this task successfully you will need to read the following carefully. The aim of this assessment is to provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate that you can research

contemporary theoretical concepts and trends and apply these in a practical setting. The approach you choose is up to you but the following is a recommended methodology. The task has been split into two

components.

Firstly, you will need to research and familiarise yourself with the range of energy efficient and sustainable technologies that are commercially available. You should also research and read more broadly to

understand the how human behaviours impact upon energy and resource consumption within the residential environment. Doing this is necessary for you to complete the second half of this assessment task.

Secondly, having acquired an understanding of the technological options to enhance energy efficiency and reduce our footprint on the environment and how human behaviours impact upon their performance

levels, undertake an inspection and review of your home or place of residence with the aim of assessing what, if any, technologies the house already posses. This task is made more relevant if you are living in

detached dwelling. If you are residing in a multistorey apartment of Deakin’s student residence, try to source a house owned by a friend or relative.

Having undertaken a comprehensive assessment of the energy efficiency and other sustainable characteristics of your home, you are now required to consider how your home’s environmental performance

could be improved. Select three (3) technologies that will maximise the environmental performance of your home. The basis of the selection MUST be that you can clearly justify they are the three which will

most improve your home and are economically defensible. In other words they provide best return on investment.

In considering your options don’t forget to consider embodied, in-use and transport energies that combine to impact on the carbon footprint your home has. In determining which technologies to recommend

you should consider the behaviour of your home’s occupants and whether or not these behaviours need to be changed or modified.

?The output of this research and decisions you will make will be presented in a written format of your choice but must detail the following:

Please read carefully as this represents the basis upon which you will be assessed against.

• Approximately half of your submission should be dedicated to explaining what technologies are available, how these provide benefit to the household and what disadvantages, if any, they may have. You

should also provide estimates of total costs (including installation). There is a word limit to this assessment and a lot of information to present so consider efficient methods of providing it. For example,

appropriately designed tables may assist.
• A description of your home detailing its building fabric, current environmental features, (if any), landscaping that has been designed to reduced energy consumption of the dwelling (if any). Here you will need

to “paint the picture” for the assessor so they can understand your views and judgements. Without this clarity it is difficult for the assessor to understand your rationale and arguments. You could use pictures to

reduce word count but ensure they are low resolution as Cloud Deakin has file size limit of 20mb.
• From the list of potential energy efficient and sustainable measures, select the 3 MOST beneficial measures and explain why they are preferred and why the excluded measures are not. Include approximate

costs of the measures considered appropriate. Cost justification should also be a consideration in selection/rejection.
• Appendices are not included within the word count.
• Your submission MUST be word format. DO NOT .pdf your file.

Note: These outputs align to the learning outcomes listed below. It is the learning outcomes that you will be assessed against.

Assessment criteria

Unit learning outcomes from this assignment
This assignment has been designed to develop core professional knowledge and skills as part of your PRE course at Deakin. Specifically by completing this assignment responsibly you will be able to;
• Explain the interconnected principles of the built environment within communities, reflecting: social, sustainable, ethical, economic and global perspectives
• Recognise and appreciate the basic characteristics, qualities and capabilities of a range of building materials within the context of sustainability to evaluate usefulness and formulate judgement

The following list is provided simply to assist you in your deliberations of potential energy efficient and sustainable options for your house. It is not comprehensive in itself and is only intended to guide your

thinking.

Potential measures for consideration in retrofitting
• heating/cooling
• windows and doors
• external shading
• water tanks
• insulation
• lighting
• solar
• PV cells
• water conservation measures
• passive energy systems
• hot water
• energy sources

Potentially useful links
www.nabers.com.au/
http://www.yourhome.gov.au/
http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/
http://www.livinggreener.gov.au
www.nathers.gov.au/

Due Date : To be submitted online no later than 4pm Friday 18th April 2014 (end week 6). Ensure you allow at least 30 minutes for upload
Length : Approximately 2,500 words.

Format : Use headings for the above-mentioned components of your report. See also http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/report.php and also

http://www.roma.unisa.edu.au/07118/language/reports.htm

Note: Cite all assumptions, references and sources using the Harvard referencing system. Marks will be lost for improver or incorrect referencing

Neville Hurst
Unit Chair
School of Management & Marketing
Building Lb Room 5.312
Email: neville.hurst@deakin.edu.au (note: I expect to respond to emails within 24 hours but sometimes this may be longer due to other commitments)

MMP 112-Sustainable Construction – Trimester 1 2014
Assignment 1 – Sustainability assessment
Assessment Rubric
Student name:……………………………………………. Student number:……………………………………….

Learning Objective
Performance Indicator

Poor
Needs Improvement
Acceptable
Well Done
Excellent
Score
Actual
Score
Possible
Identify information necessary to explain the impact of housing upon the environment and society.

20 marks (max)
• Information selected not relevant or of poor quality
• No creditable sources selected
• Inadequate or improper inspection or not conducted

(0 marks)
• Information somewhat relevant to inspection task
• Some information irrelevant
• Minimal energy performance information and little or no reference to application
• Inadequate range & depth of information
• Inspection conducted poorly but some attempt made to identify central issues

(1-5 marks)
• A reasonable range and detail of information
• Information generally relevant to the task
• Energy performance information is sketchy
• Adequate range & depth of information but still relevant information missing
• Inspection generally well performed but cursory
• Not all relevant information sourced

(6-10 marks)
• A good range of relevant creditable sources of information selected
• Information gathered is relevant to the task
• Energy performance information is relevant and generally applied correctly
• Information gathered is generally a good range & depth
• Inspection comprehensive but minor aspects not present

(11-15 marks)
• A broad and appropriate range of high quality & creditable information sources
• Information gathered is relevant to the task
• Energy performance information is relevant and applied correctly
• Information gathered is a good range & depth
• Inspection comprehensive

(16-20 marks)

20
Critically analyse and evaluate information gathered and explain how measures impact the building, society and the environment more broadly

30 marks (max)
• Poor analysis, no clarity of information or conclusions in report
• No evaluation of impact of measures building, society and the environment more broadly or inaccurate and vague
• Information does not relate to the assessment task
• Discussion disjointed and fragmented

(0-3 marks)
• Report & conclusions provide little and/or vague analysis information
• Some evaluation of impact of measures building, society and the environment more broadly but significant inaccuracies and/or vague
• Some of the information provided relates to the task but is incomplete or not entirely accurate
• Discussion lacks flow and is somewhat disjointed

(4-7.5 marks)
• Report & conclusion provides some information but still somewhat unclear
• Evaluation of impact of measures building, society and the environment more broadly done but has some inaccuracies and vagueness
• Information provided relates to the task but is cursory
• Discussion generally flows well but is fragmented and/disjointed in some areas

(8-15 marks)
• A good report with clear statements of intent, purpose and clarity
• Evaluation of impact of measures building, society and the environment more broadly done but minor inaccuracies and generally clear
• Information meets the requirements of the task and demonstrates some depth
• Discussion has logical flow but is a little fragmented

(16-22.5 marks)
• Excellent report, clear recommendations and conclusions
• Good evaluation of impact of measures building, society and the environment more broadly and clearly articulated
• Information clearly demonstrates the breath and depth of the task
• Discussion has a logical flow and clarity of component information

(23-30 marks)

30
Analyse and clearly explain the selection/non-selection of the sustainable measures

30 marks (max)
• Information mostly descriptive, lacking specific detail
• No constructive analysis of information gathered
• No recommendations made
• No conclusions drawn

(0-3 marks)
• Some attempt to provide balanced explanation and evaluation
• No or minimal constructive analysis of information
• Minimal attempt to provide recommendations
• Some attempt to provide conclusions

(4-7.5 marks)
• A balanced explanation and evaluation has been provided
• The analysis in done but is cursory
• Recommendations made but are somewhat inadequate and lack sound evaluation of the information gathered
• Conclusions provided and have some relationship to the information provided

(8-15 marks)
• A balanced evaluation and explanation has been provided
• The analysis in done but lacks depth
• Recommendations are adequate and show reasonable evaluation of the information gathered
• Conclusions drawn have a clear relationship with the information gathered

(16-22.5 marks)
• A balanced evaluation and explanation has been provided
• The analysis in done and shows depth and insight
• Recommendations show an excellent evaluation and depth of knowledge of the information gathered
• Conclusions drawn have a clear relationship with the information gathered

(23-30 marks)

30
Accurately and professionally communicate findings in writing to demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between building fabric and the selected measures

30 marks (max)
• Extensive spelling and/or grammatical errors
• Confusing report structure and information flow
• Too much quoted material and presented inaccurately
• No use of diagrams or photos to present information

(0-3 marks)
• Some spelling and/or grammatical errors
• Somewhat confusing report structure and information flow
• Too much quoted material and some presented inaccurately
• Some use of diagrams and photos to present information but information not presented properly

(4-7.5 marks)
• Few spelling and/or grammatical errors
• Good report structure and information flow but confusing in places
• Too much quoted material and but presented accurately
• Good use of diagrams and photos to present information but some information not presented properly

(8-15 marks)
• No spelling and/or grammatical errors
• Good report structure and information flow generally but out of context in some places
• Fewer quotations used but presented accurately
• Good use of diagrams and photos to present information and presented properly

(16-22.5 marks)
• No spelling and/or grammatical errors
• Excellent report structure and information flow
• Quotations used sparingly used and presented accurately
• Good use of diagrams and photos to present information and presented properly and creatively

(23-30 marks)

30
Summarise and refer to information sources accurately

20 marks (max)
• References do not use the Harvard (author/date) system
• In-text citations not used or inaccurate
• No information sources referenced

(0-2 marks)
• Attempt to use Harvard referencing style made but not entirely correct
• In-text citations are mostly inaccurate
• Use of incorrect referencing style

(3-7 marks)
• References are provided in the Harvard method and somewhat accurate in most cases
• In-text citations are mostly inaccurate

(8-12 marks)
• References are provided in the Harvard method and mostly accurate but with some minor errors but all sources cited
• In-text citations are mostly accurate

(13-17 marks)
• References are provided in the Harvard method and accurate and all sources cited but may have minor descriptive errors
• In-text citations are accurate but may have very minor errors

(18-20marks)