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In September 2020, the update of the new Technical Building Code (CTE) came into force, which seeks to improve the energy efficiency of the Spanish residential park. Likewise, it also aims to offer greater guarantees of health, comfort and safety.

One of the novelties of the CTE is the limitation of the total energy consumption of buildings.
In the basic document of ‘Energy Saving’, the requirement of ‘Total Primary Energy Consumption Limit’ appears as a novelty, as a complement to the already existing main requirement of ‘Non-Renewable Energy Consumption’. This new requirement includes the production of energy through renewable sources in situ ”, the energy demand for heating and cooling disappears as a basic requirement and three new ones are established that ensure the quality of the envelope: the global coefficient of heat transmission through of the envelope (Klim); the limit in the solar control of the envelope; and air permeability.

The new Technical Code raises the minimum requirements in the case of the thermal transmittance of the envelope and introduces the concept of global thermal transmittance according to the compactness of the building. It also increases the demand on solar control, the air permeability of the holes, and a limitation is imposed on the condensation in the envelope ”. These changes imply that the total maximum supported non-renewable energy and total primary energy consumptions are reduced by approximately 40%.

To minimize energy consumption and, especially, consumption in the air conditioning of the house, a good orientation and solar control will be projected and the basic principles of passive construction will be applied, such as a good level of thermal insulation, an envelope free of thermal bridges, good airtightness so as not to have losses due to infiltrations and a double-flow controlled mechanical ventilation system that allows the house to be ventilated without having energy losses, in addition to guaranteeing excellent air quality and humidity control.

The heating and cooling of the home play a crucial role in this scenario, for this reason, in each project, it will be studied which systems are the most appropriate according to its geographical area and for this, PDG ARQUITECTOS has expert personnel for these new energy requirements.

Respect for the environment and a healthier way of life is an upward trend towards sustainability.
Health, environmental impact and responsibility are the three pillars on which the foundations of an upward trend rest.

It is a type of architecture in which natural materials such as straw, mud, wood and hemp are used, but with a different mentality when choosing them, with minimal industrialization, and a commitment to constructive solutions focused on the sustainability of all, the planet, the individual and their habitat.

It seems strange, but today’s houses often contain construction materials, which are harmful to health. We can find them, for example, in paints and varnishes derived from oil, which emit toxic volatile elements such as xylene, ketones, toluene, etc. In addition, they are also found in materials such as PVC, highly toxic insulation such as rock wool, especially in their manufacture and in their combustion.

The variety of materials that can be used in green building is very wide. The corrugated steel reinforcement can be substituted for fiberglass in order to be able to use lime concretes instead of cement. Also waterproof sheets as EPDM, instead of the usual bituminous sheets, with lower energy consumption in their manufacture and more durable and recyclable. Or replace the concrete block, brick and any type of facade that has to be made, with hemp structural blocks that are already insulating and self-supporting, like straw bales, with a well documented and widespread use in European countries such as Germany, Austria, England and Spain.

Materials used in green building are valued according to their life cycle, that is, from extraction to transformation, handling, use, recycling and reintegration into nature. The material must be the least polluting as possible, such as wood or natural insulators, such as cellulose, wood fiber, cork or even sheep’s wool, as some of the most used.

Another very important factor in bioconstruction is the recycling of gray water (they contain soaps or similar), or of black water (they contain organic waste), for this, there are individual bio-purification plants for waste water, which have many advantages over the traditional septic tanks.
If you are interested in green building or sustainable construction, get in touch with the PDG ARQUITECTOS team, we will be glad to advise you on this matter.