Making our buildings more energy-efficient through standardisation

Nowadays, the subject of sustainability has become a more prominent topic of discussion in the general fora. This is mainly due to several factors, including the global warming factor, general pollution and urbanisation, rising energy prices due to the dependence on fossil fuels. Buildings are responsible for a large share of the world’s energy consumption and contribute towards emissions.

In Malta, these directly contribute to around 15% of the total GHG emissions and are a key sector in our efforts towards a climate-neutral EU. This besides the indirect contribution to emissions due to use of energy including electricity. The Long Term Renovation Strategy (LTRS) published by the Government of Malta in 2021 sets a clear direction for the next 30 years providing measures to ensure carbon emissions reduction from buildings.

First, one needs to understand the essence of energy-efficient design in residential, commercial and industrial premises. The overall scope of building energy-efficient buildings is to be able to construct buildings that are more sustainable, less expensive to operate, homes that are more comfortable to live in, and more environmentally friendly. All this results in a reduction in emissions. It is indeed a win-win situation.

Consequently, the Building and Construction Authority is committed to start with an educational campaign with the main aim of changing our buildings to be more energy efficient.

This will partially support towards reaching the European Union target on its climate and energy goals. In this respect, the EU has in 2021 revised the directive which will help reach the building and renovation goals set out in the European Green Deal.  The European Commission has proposed to move from nearly-zero energy buildings to zero emission buildings by 2030.  This is all compliant with the extensive work being carried out by the European Commission on transitioning towards a circular economy, which includes measures along the entire life cycle of products promoting circular economy processes, fostering sustainable consumption and guaranteeing less waste.

This is why, in the Construction and Demolition Waste Strategy for Malta published by the Environment & Resources Authority includes a number of elements which will help future buildings be more energy efficient. One element is the standardisation of dimensions of internal and external apertures of buildings, particularly in household dwellings. Such a measure is aimed at encouraging the re-use of fittings and the reduction of diversification, leading to less generated waste.

With such measures of standardisation, the Building and Construction Authority’s target is to provide newly built dwellings, several benefits for the years to come. Standardising aperture sizes will mean that apertures may be interchangeable and more accessible, whilst repairs and replacements would be easier. To encourage the reduction of waste, consumers may also re-use older standard aperture fittings.

The measures of standardisation also bring several benefits to producers and designers. In fact, standardisation would mean that producers can focus and stick-on standard openings, and thus reduce their overall cost of production. Furthermore, these measures would make life easier for designers who would work on standard sizes from the initial design of buildings.

From a waste perspective, standardisation opens an opportunity for raw materials to produce in modules, meaning that less waste of raw material would be generated.

This measure, which shall eventually form part of a wider National Building and Construction Code by the Building and Construction Authority should be viewed as an opportunity, which will set the path towards an efficient and effective construction and development waste management system. Furthermore, such measures will help protect our environment and human health from waste related pollution.