Nazli Bin Che Din

Sustainability of Rainwater Harvesting System in terms of Water Quality

Water is considered an everlasting free source that can be acquired naturally. Demand for processed supply water is growing higher due to an increasing population. Sustainable use of water could maintain a balance between its demand and supply. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the most traditional and sustainable method, which could be easily used for potable and nonpotable purposes both in residential and commercial buildings. This could reduce the pressure on processed supply water which enhances the green living. This paper ensures the sustainability of this system through assessing several water-quality parameters of collected rainwater with respect to allowable limits. A number of parameters were included in the analysis: pH, fecal coliform, total coliform, total dissolved solids, turbidity, NH3–N, lead, BOD5, and so forth. The study reveals that the overall quality of water is quite satisfactory as per Bangladesh standards. RWH system offers sufficient amount of water and energy savings through lower consumption. Moreover, considering the cost for installation and maintenance expenses, the system is effective and economical.

A Literature Analysis on Acoustical Environment in Green Building Design Strategies

Acoustic quality is important in ensuring a healthy and workable working environment. One of green buildings main objective is to reduce the building impact on human health and performance. This was emphasized in most green building rating system under its requirement for Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). IEQ highlights the four main points for achieving an improved indoor environment: indoor air quality, acoustics, visual comfort (lighting) and thermal comfort. Although acoustics was mentioned in the IEQ criteria, according to previous surveys and studies; acoustics quality in green buildings were not improving. It seems as though in order to improve on other green building criteria, acoustics performance is bound to become poorer. Through review of previous literature, survey and studies on acoustical performance in green buildings, the objective of this paper is to identify how green building design strategies contribute to the degradation of acoustical environment in green office buildings. Findings shows that design strategies implemented to cater for other green building requirements such as natural ventilation, daylight, reduction of finishes and office layout have unintentionally decrease the acoustical quality.

Application of in-situ method for measuring sound absorption coefficient of direct piercing carved wood panel with daun sireh motif

An application of In-Situ method of measuring sound absorption coefficient on the surface of direct piercing carved wood panel using the concept of ensemble averaged is discussed. The method offer an easier way to measure the absorption performance for each individual aperture of carved wood panel with floral pattern which was replicated from one of the oldest mosque, namely Masjid Abidin located in Terengganu, Malaysia. Two pieces of 20 mm thick of cengal wood (Neobalanocarpus heimii) with 30% and 40% perforation ratio were respectively measured in a reverberation room in order to determine the value of . At lower frequencies (0.1 kHz-1.5 kHz), the measured values of for both direct piercing carved wood panel with floral pattern (Daun Sireh motif) are shown that the sound absoption for both direct piercing carved wood panel are in perform level. From the measurements, clearly, the installation of the direct piercing carved wood panel with floral pattern (Daun Sireh motif) in the Masjid Abidin can provide better air circulation and additional natural sunlight, as well as better sound intelligibility inside the building.

Assessment on acoustical performance of green office buildings in Malaysia

Green building rating system outlines many requirements to be considered in order for a building to be certified as one. However, the rating tools failed at truly addressing the acoustical aspect which in turn deteriorates the acoustical quality in green buildings. As preliminary stage of this study, the objective is to assess the acoustical performance of three green office buildings in Malaysia in comparison to selected standard acceptability criteria. Four spaces containing meeting rooms and open-plan offices were selected from each green building as subjects. Assessments were limited to selected acoustical parameters of background noise level, noise criteria, reverberation time and speech transmission index. The background noise levels were found to be within acceptable criteria range despite some meeting rooms that exceeded the maximum recommended level. However, noise criteria ratings found most of the spaces to be below the acceptable noise criteria. Reverberation times data varied from satisfactory 0.7 s to unacceptable 1.5 s. Nonetheless, the background noise, noise criteria and reverberation time data collected were found to be unbiased by the volume of the space. Speech transmission indexes were found to be ample within good and fair speech intelligibility range while still maintaining its normal tendency of decreasing with distance.

Basic Investigation of the Acoustic Environments in Hospital Waiting Areas

In this study, the investigations of the acoustic environments in the waiting areas in hospitals were conducted. The investigations were aimed on clarifying the actual conditions in two waiting areas in two hospitals in Kuala Lumpur. The investigations consist of both noise level measurements and questionnaire surveys, i.e. both physical and psychological aspects. Generally, physical aspects for both hospitals are strongly influenced by noise produced during general activities in waiting areas. Sound pressures data were collected approximately eight hours period in daytime and converted into different levels (LAeq and Leq, max). It was found that the maximum permissible sound level LAeq in all waiting areas measured exceeded the guideline for community noise recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). In psychological aspects, respondents were interviewed in the course of a questionnaires survey dealing with nuisance occasioned by noise at actual conditions. Accumulate measured data is important for the further discussions and developments to overcome the problem. This paper gives a fundamental data for the help of future refinements.