Investigación tecno-económica de alternativas para ahorro de energía, agua y materiales aplicada a un proyecto de viviendas de interés público ubicado en la ciudad de Quito.

Abstract

Society’s evolution is reflected in its way of thinking and interacting with the environment. The development of environmentally friendly technology progress every day, and the creation of building alternatives that do not waste resources is compulsory. Currently, this kind of technology has been used exclusively by people in the upper socioeconomic level, while people with low incomes still have to subsist among obsolete technology that pollutes and causes discomfort. This project evaluates different configurations of public interest housing to meet the requirements for obtaining the EDGE (Excellence In Design For Greater Efficiencies) certification. In the first place, a literature review was necessary. The methodology of this research delimited parameters such as insulating material, glass, household equipment, etc. and the computer programs to be used. On the one hand, a crucial tool was the building energy simulation software, eQUEST, to determine the internal temperatures of the building and to perform the thermal comfort, calculations established according to the ASHRAE 55 standard. On the other hand, EDGE software was used to simulate the savings percentages in energy, water, and materials. It helped in selecting the alternatives with the most significant potential to generate energy and resources savings. With the results obtained from more than 300 simulations, seven alternatives are presented in the construction of public interest houses that meet the criterial of thermal comfort, saving energy, water and materials. Finally, the three most representative alternatives were categorized according to ranges (high, medium and low), showing their potential benefits and production costs.