Latin America. Buildings, especially the most recent, consume energy inefficiently, this statement was recently made by experts who participated in a seminar organized by the Sustainable Design Group of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Chile (UC) and the Senate of that country.
Buildings spend between 20% and 25% of the energy used by a country like Chile. And the most worrying thing is that its design and construction does not contemplate the reduction of energy expenditure.
"Some structures have international certification, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're energy efficient," said Waldo Bustamante, an architecture scholar at UC and its Center for Sustainable Urban Development.
Glazed buildings have a high energy demand for refrigeration and air conditioning. "And if the air conditioning stops working, they have to vacate the building because since the mirror lets in a lot of sunlight, the temperature can reach up to 40 degrees." In addition, due to the excess of light, people not only experience a lack of thermal comfort, but also lighting.
One solution, he says, would be to use those facades to obtain electrical energy with photovoltaic panels. It could also be used to generate hot water, but it would need to be stored, because it would probably be generated in excess. (El Mercurio, GDA)
