Energy, Water and Materials Efficiency by Location and Climate
Climate decides which measures matter
Generic measure lists fail exams and fail buildings. Group climates broadly:
- Hot-humid: cooling and dehumidification dominate. Prioritise roof and wall shading, low-SHGC glazing, ceiling insulation, cross-ventilation, ceiling fans, high-COP air conditioning and solar water heating.
- Hot-dry/arid: thermal mass with night flushing, deep shading and overhangs, evaporative cooling, cool/high-albedo roofs, and aggressive water conservation.
- Temperate: mixed loads - insulation, glazing quality, efficient lighting, modest HVAC efficiency gains.
- Cold: heating dominates. Wall and roof insulation, airtightness, heat-recovery ventilation, high-efficiency boilers or heat pumps, triple glazing.
Water
Low-flow taps and showers, dual-flush WCs, waterless urinals, rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, leak detection, sub-metering, and climate-appropriate landscaping. Water scarcity, not climate alone, sets the priority.
Materials
EDGE counts embodied energy, not operating performance: cement replacement with fly ash, GGBS or pozzolans, recycled steel, alternative masonry such as AAC or fly-ash blocks, reduced finishes, locally sourced aggregates.
Traps
- Reaching for photovoltaics first; cost per unit of saving is usually far higher than envelope measures.
- Copying a measure list from another country - the base case differs, so reported percentages differ.
- Confusing embodied with operational energy when justifying a materials measure.
- Assuming a water measure delivers the same percentage everywhere; the base-case fixture efficiency varies by market.
Worked rule of thumb
In cooling-dominated climates, roof insulation plus external shading plus efficient AC typically delivers the cheapest energy savings per dollar; in heating-dominated climates, wall/roof insulation and airtightness play that role.