Policy and evaluation system for green building in subtropical Taiwan

Sustainable development has been a worldwide concerned issue in many aspects. However, mostof the existing Green Building assessment tools such as BREEAM, GBTool, CASBEE, and LEED are established for developed countries with cold climates, and many of them are difficult to be directly applied forthose with tropical climates. For example, there are great differences between residential energy usages for the diverse climates, which may greatly influence the technology of building envelop design. Furthermore, the buoyancy ventilating method is applied well in south European countries, but is not suitable for tropical climates due to the warm outdoor temperature and high humidity. This essay will discuss different aspects of green building technologies for various climates by analysing the building energy simulation of 300 Asian cities by using two energy-consumption distribution maps in a whole Asian scale. The discussion is specifically focused on different green building design strategies such as shading, insulation and ventilation for the climate between tropical and subtropical zones. This essay will also introduce an unique Green Building Labelling System in Taiwan - EEWH system, which mainly concerns about four topics, Ecology, Energy conservation, Waste reduction and Health, comprising nine environmental indicators. This system has been maturely developed, simplified and adapted for the subtropical climate and acknowledged by the Ministry of the Interior of Taiwan as the standard method for Green Building evaluation since 1999. From 2005, a new rating scheme will be brought in the EEWH system. The ratings are classified into four levels ranking from diamond, gold, and silver to bronze, which respectively represent the top 5, 15, 30, and 50% of the score percentage. In the near future, the EEWH system with new rating scheme will become a more important index in a government-led program encompassing long and lasting development in the technology and promotion of green buildings. Finally, some Green Building promotion programs, such as mandatory Green Building Green policy, Green Remodelling project, Green Building Award competition, and Green Building Expo will also be introduced in this essay.