The project gives you an opportunity to build 'Your Home (YH)' same as your current home or 'Re-designed Home (RH)' to meet 'net-zero-emission' at the same location you like.  Note: YH can be the building where you now live or any existing residential building at any  location.

- Compare your RH with your YH on the aspects of energy, emissions, cost and benefit;

- 'Net-zero-emission' requires that the sum of  • embodied carbon of construction materials  • carbon emissions related to construction and maintenance (replacement),  • daily energy consumptions,  • emission related to wastes and disposals    is completely offset by your on-site renewable energy supply over a period of the service life of buildings (e.g. 40 years);

- The development strategies may include minimising construction material consumptions by recycling and reuse, more energy efficient buildings; 

2. Assignment Requirements    

2.2 YH Details 

Note: Estimation of an amount of construction materials and relevant carbon emissions is NOT required in this section, but should be done in section 2.4

• Select a house from the provided base house models, and detail location, building type, floor plan, building surroundings of YH
• Detail construction materials for YH
• Detail construction process for YH
• Detail heating/cooling, hot water, and appliances of YH

2.3 Detail RH to meet 'net-zero-emission', given at the same location, same building type, same floor plan, and same building surroundings  

Note: Estimation of an amount of construction materials and relevant carbon emissions is NOT required in this section, but should be done in section 2.4

• Your selection of construction materials for RH with minimum embodied carbon emissions
• Your selection of construction materials for RH, which require less maintenance/replacement (durable) over its service life
• Your approach to reuse and recycle construction materials for RH
• Your selection of construction process that has less carbon emissions for RH
• Your energy management design to reduce energy consumption for heating/cooling,
• Your energy management design to reduce energy consumption for hot water, and appliances
• Your selection of on-site renewable energy (design details should be included in section 2.5   
• Estimate the annual and total carbon emission over the service life of YH and RH (e.g. 40 years), and compare them 
• Estimate embodied carbon (EC) emission of YH and RH - construction materials.

Note: Reuse and recycle may reduce additional embodied carbon emission during renovation, but residual embodied carbon emission of reused or recycled construction materials should not be ignored.

- Estimate carbon emission related to the construction of YH and RH.

 - Estimate carbon emission related to maintenance (e.g. replacement of building structures or elements over the service life of YH and RH) 

- Estimate carbon emission from wastes of your rebuilt/redesigned home. 

• Estimate operating carbon emission in relation to the daily usage for hot water, and all appliances of YH and RH. Note: Daily usage could be estimated based on the hours of usage of each appliance,.
• Estimate operating carbon emission in relation to the daily usage for heating and cooling of YH and RH. - Apply the selected house model in Section 2.2 to develop YH and RH Models for the simulation using EnergyPlus

Note: building materials, orientation, window design etc should be added through EnergyPlus before simulation could be run

 - Estimate energy consumption and corresponding carbon emission for heating and cooling       Note: a better design of insulation, window, and roof etc could reduce energy consumption significantly.  

• Summarise the changes(reduction/increase percentage) in carbon emissions as a result of redesign on the aspect of material consumption, maintenance, operating and wastes as well as their total.

 Estimate cost and benefit (e.g. energy saving) of RH in comparison with YH

• Estimate annual cost/benefit, and summaries them in a table or diagram. - The cost is a result of implementation to achieve the benefit. For example, the cost includes capitals for improvement of energy efficiency and implementation of low- carbon technology as well as renewable energy technology in RH, and the benefit includes the energy saving.
• Estimate the total cost and benefit in a present value, and the corresponding benefit/cost ratio. - The present value of future cost/benefit is discounted at 4%
• Estimate the payback period of your investment in the renewable energy as well as any measures to improve energy efficiency and implement low-carbon technology in RH.
• Discuss the feasibility and challenges of implementing RH, and the ways to overcome the challenges.