FROM LOW CARBON TO NO CARBON: BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE DWELLING THROUGH CARBON NEUTRALITY

摘要

Kinmen is an outlying island of Taiwan, so it is important to use a sustainable approach to building construction in order to minimize its carbon use. In addition, it is crucial to educate local residents about how a net zero carbon footprint can be achieved in building construction using passive design. For this purpose, a single-family demonstration home was constructed on Kinmen. The building has a number of energy-saving characteristics designed to reduce carbon consumption, and the entire design uses significantly less energy than a standard home. Currently, the annual energy use intensity (EUI) of the building is 33.01 kWh/m(2), which is significantly less than the average EUI of a conventional single-family home on the island or in other cities in Taiwan (49.3 kWh/m(2)). This study provides a good example of sustainable construction, not only for islands with a resource shortage but also in other places seeking to reduce carbon emissions. In addition to the use of sustainable resources, this study focused on energy-saving designs that consider the local climate and employ materials that can be obtained nearby, aiming to reduce carbon emissions to achieve carbon neutrality.