Green Design Options

Yorkon now offers a series of design options for ‘greener' modular buildings, as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability.

The options have been selected by Yorkon to offer significant environmental benefits, including the use of renewable sources of energy, reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions, and recyclability.

The optional features include:

Solar thermal heating - these systems harness energy from the sun to generate heating and to provide hot water, and can reduce hot water bills by up to 50 per cent. Solar thermal technology is particularly suited to buildings, which have high hot water demand.

Solar photovoltaics - photovoltaic systems use solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity. An installation with a peak output of 1Kw can displace around 0.3 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year that would otherwise need to be generated by fossil fuels. These systems are generally used in parallel with the electricity grid. The PV modules can be roof mounted or integrated into the roof or walls of the modular building.

Passive ventilation - this offers a host of environmental as well as economic benefits by lowering energy use and preventing the overheating of buildings to provide comfortable, controlled conditions for the building user.  This method uses natural ventilation as an alternative to air conditioning, significantly reducing carbon emissions and avoiding the use of ozone-depleting substances such as refrigerants.

Combined heat and power systems - these systems involve the simultaneous generation of electricity and heat in the form of hot water or steam, and will reduce carbon emissions.  The electricity is produced using an engine or turbine and the heat generated is recovered, significantly reducing energy consumption.

Ground source heat pumps - this technology uses the earth's relatively constant temperature to provide heating, cooling and hot water, and can result in carbon emission reductions of up to 70 per cent.  The electricity is produced using an engine or turbine and the heat generated is recovered, significantly reducing energy consumption.

Wind power - turbines can be used to generate electricity in parallel with mains supplies or for stand-alone applications, significantly reducing carbon emissions. is recognised as one of the most cost-effective of the renewable energy technologies. Systems for smaller buildings typically have peak outputs of up to 6kW, reducing carbon emissions by more than four tonnes per annum.

Green roofs - a turf or sedum roof has a number of sustainable benefits, such as providing high levels of thermal insulation and improving air quality.  These roofs have additional environmental benefits, including encouraging a habitat for wildlife, and helping a building blend into sensitive rural areas.

Biomass boilers - Using biomass energy can reduce CO₂ emissions released in the combustion process by 90 per cent compared to energy generated from fossil fuels. These carbon neutral heating systems are an economically viable solution for a variety of applications, such as schools and offices. Typical fuel is wood chips - a by-product from the timber industry, or straw.

Rainwater harvesting - This can be incorporated into the design of building services to allow the collection and recycling of rainwater for toilet flushing.