GB2460495A

GB2460495A - A building incorporating a roadway and a rooftop greenhouse

Info

Publication number: GB2460495A
Application number: GB0810249A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Huw Stephens
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-06-05
Filing date: 2008-06-05
Publication date: 2009-12-09
Anticipated expiration: 2028-06-05
Also published as: GB2460495B; GB0810249D0

Abstract

A linear building has a rooftop greenhouse and a roadway forming the storey beneath the top most storey. The building may incorporate apartments, factories and parking floor, and may support wind turbines above the building. Warm exhaust air and other sources of carbon dioxide from the building, plus purified waste water from the building containing plant nutrients are delivered to the greenhouse. This is controlled automatically to near optimum conditions for photosynthesis, absorbing and reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Heat is recovered from greenhouse air by heat pumps, consuming little electricity mainly provided by the wind turbines, to provide the small amount of heat required by the occupancies to supplement passive solar heating, and producing a surplus of heat and electricity for export to settlements near the roof road buildings. Carbon dioxide emissions can thus be almost eliminated from roof road apartments, and reduced from other housing, industry, transport and food production. The integrated building resolves many environmental problems of land take, flooding by conventional development, traffic noise, congestion, creating a sustainable infrastructure while saving money.

Description

UK Patent application -Energy Conserving Buildings The technical field of this invention relates to minimising the environmental impact of most of civilised humankind's essential activities, of housing, heating, food production, transport, power, water, waste disposal, industrial production of goods and services, etc. The background is that each of humankind's activities has historically been performed and accounted separately, each consuming energy, and each adding wastes to the environment, resulting in pollution and cumulatively, climate change.

Energy is the crucial resource for the future. About 50% of national energy is used in buildings, about 27% is in housing, mainly for space heating, but as electrical appliances get more efficient, their heat emissions would have to be replaced with other heat inputs to maintain space heating.

It seems likely that climate change will make Britain colder, as the Gulf Stream slows, stops, or diverts, so new buildings need to anticipate both colder winters, hotter summers and more violent storms.

While every other technology has raced ahead, despite 80 years of UK government sponsored building research, official notions of "energy efficiency" are mainly the simplistic assumptions and folklore of traditional building which has long failed to achieve the purpose of housing, of a climate modifier to keep people healthy. Britain has about two million officially recognised damp houses, and leads the world in deaths from cold related diseases. Sixty years have elapsed since a House of Commons committee recommended better insulation of buildings, but only now is energy reduction being taken seriously but from a near zero knowledge base, with naive, trivial, ineffectual, cost ineffective and counterproductive measures. People and professionals nave been left in ignorance of the simple physics and Building Regulations fail to ensure the means of managing the internal environment of their homes, and create hazards of fume emission due to wind depressurisation, and condensation.

Present official notions of "energy efficiency" are mainly highly insulated and tightly air sealed external envelopes, time switched central heating from condensing boilers, and haphazard ventilation via holes in the envelope. But these fail to address or cure dampness, and will aggravate the incidence of asthma and cold related diseases.

Official advice of "turn down the thermostat and open a window" creates intractable conflicts between thermal comfort, ventilation with cold drafts, condensation and energy consumption. We burn premium fuels at 1000C to heat buildings by 30C at most, while surrounded by low grade heat sources.

Heat escapes from conventional buildings through the external surfaces, especially glazing, and as warm air. Serious heat leakage in practice is unavoidable in conventional detached and semidetached houses, due to the large area of external surface, defects in construction, ineffectual ventilation, need to remedy poor design, as of opening windows to relieve stuffy effects or achieve cooler sleeping conditions.

Application of simple physics indicates that the axioms of official energy efficiency in house heating are mostly wrong, counterproductive or misleading.

-Intermittent or time switched heating pumps moisture into a house by a hygroscopic effect and increases energy consumption. While heating is off, hygroscopic materials of plaster, paper, etc., absorb moisture from cold ventilating air at its high relative humidity. When heating switches on, this moisture evaporates and moist warm buoyant air is funneled out via statutory trickle vents in usually cooler bedrooms, condensing on the way, causing damp bedding. Calculation shows that this hygroscopic mechanism can easily add more moisture than domestic evaporation, always blamed for condensation and mould.

-Such dampness may not be visible if heat inputs and ventilation are enough to dry out walls on each cycle, but with tight air sealing now demanded, perpetual condensing conditions will be maintained in winter in many houses, causing progressive condensation within external wails. This increases energy consumption by impairing thermal insulation. When heating switches on, heat will be first absorbed by moisture evaporating from damp walls, keeping radiant and air temperatures low, triggering large heat inputs from thermostatic boilers to achieve thermal comfort. Almost certainly where heat inputs are frugal, this hygroscopic mechanism and damp bedding causes many of the 25,000 annual UK deaths from cold related diseases. As energy supplies diminish, present energy efficiency notions will exacerbate such dampness.

-Minimising this hygroscopic effect requires 24/7 near-constant temperatures, not necessarily uniform; bedrooms can be cooler than living rooms. This will be facilitated by the thermal mass of concrete buildings. But that was not enough in the I 960s cold damp mouldy industrialised flats. These usually had a relatively large ratio of poorly insulated external wall and were fitted with individual heating systems, which tenants used intermittently, pumping moisture into the flats, leaving the walls cold. Calculation showed that to initially warm the concrete structure would take a heat input equal to about 3 days that needed by continuous heating. Moreover, the separating walls and floors between flats were uninsulated, so one tenant trying to heat adequately could also heat four neighbours. Many had large south facing windows, but passive solar gains were not enough to reach comfort temperatures.

-Tight air sealing aggravates condensation. Emphasis on heat loss from drafts impels people to keep vents closed while heating is on, and open vents when the house is unoccupied and heating is off, aggravating the hygroscopic effect. People have no means of judging when and how to manage ventilation, so automatic provision would give better conditions and lower energy consumption.

-However, "state of the art" hygrostat-controlled ventilation acts perversely with time switched heating. When heating switches on, with rising temperature the relative humidity of the internal air falls, switching off the fan when most moisture is being generated during occupation. When heating switches off, with falling temperature the relative humidity rises, switching the fan on bringing in cold external air, replenishing moisture in plaster etc. dried by the previous heating cycle and continuing the hygroscopic effect.

-Time switched heating also reduces the effect of cavity insulation. The effect of insulation is proportional to the temperature difference from the warm to the cold side. Since the S 3 inner leaf of a cavity wall takes several hours to warm, time switched heating makes cavity insulation relatively ineffectual.

-Present ventilation practices waste much relatively uncontaminated warm air. Trickle vents in windows over radiators waste heat while removing little moisture, while moist air from kitchen and bathroom convects around a house until thoroughly mixed requiring a large volume of air to remove the moisture, eventually escaping via trickle vents in bedroom windows, condensing moisture in the usually cooler bedrooms on the way. The official energy intensive solution in social housing is to instal central heating in bedrooms which many people do not want, and open a window to achieve cooler sleeping conditions, wasting heat stored in the structure.

-Whether inputs of fresh air and heat ever meet is left to chance. Cold ventilating air enters mainly via trickle vents and safety vent in the lower storey, causing draft at neck and ankle level, and stratification of cold air at foot level.

-Energy Rating is based on such unwarranted beliefs. It assesses mainly the insulation value of the external envelope. But this bears little relation to actual energy consumption, since it is independent of floor area. Thus a 300m2 house occupied by a retired couple would consume several times as much, but have the same rating as a 75m2 house occupied by a family, other things being equal. Soon government will have to recognise the "contract and converge" principle, and ration carbon per person, which will impel people to minimise their living area.

-Official policies seem driven by the naive notions of "building biology" of nostalgia for traditional and natural materials, natural lighting, natural ventilation, breathing walls, organic paints, recycled newspaper and sheep's wool insulation, green roofs, wood stoves, and naive renewable energies of mini wind turbines, etc none of which withstand critical analysis of the physics or economics, or can solve the problems of existing primitive mass housing in an era of fuel scarcity.

-Present trends as in the Code for Sustainable Houses encourage such naive notions and promote phoney imitations of traditional villages with poorly detailed timber framed detached houses, with no regard for compactness to minimise heat loss, and which will overheat in hot summers, served by excessive areas of parking and turning spaces and access road, demanded by Highways engineers, for a level of car ownership which will be insupportable in a decade.

Present practices are further exacerbating intractable conflicts between -increasing commuting distances between desirable rural homes and city workplaces -numbers of new homes and road construction needed, destroying the rural idyll.

-rain run-off from proliferating hard surfaces creating flooding, and reducing water tables.

-land removed from agricultural production.

-high land costs of housing -unaffordability of new and old houses to the majority of people.

-higher pay needed by essential workers needed to service deteriorating infrastructures.

Little has thus changed since the 1 960s debacle of cold damp mouldy industrialised housing, and the official belief system needs to be reexamined to avoid repeating its misconceptions, and foreseeing future imperatives.

The present invention seeks to prepare for the future with technologies available today, to reduce consumption of energy, other resources and pollution and opens a new window of applying a little physics to human needs and conservation by integrating many dwellings, factories, roads, food production, electricity generation, waste recycling etc., within an integrated built structure.

According to this invention there are provided a building including a series of contiguous buildings aligned and of compatible height above ground level supporting a roadway forming the storey beneath a topmost storey which has a glazed roof herein described as a roof greenhouse or greenhouse roof.

Large winter heat losses from a greenhouse may be reduced by injecting fresh air against the underside of the glazing, also replenishing carbon dioxide for photosynthesis where other sources are inadequate.

The building is generally of compact and linear form and large thermal capacity and thermally insulated on its external walls, The roadway is connected at suitable intervals to the surface road network.

Beneath such roadway may be a vehicle parking storey, and a building services storey.

The upper structure of floors, walls and columns of the roadway, parking, and greenhouse storeys is of adequate mass and strength to serve as the foundation for electricity-generating wind turbines hereafter referred to as wind turbines or wind generators, and is adequately vibration isolated from the building beneath that supports it.

Wind turbines may be mounted mainly above the greenhouse roof and in the roadway, parking, and services storeys, and in the floor between the roadway and greenhouse.

The lower structure is of adequate strength to support the weight of the upper structure, and accommodates dwellings, offices, hotels, shops, factories, warehouses, power stations, sewage works and almost any other occupancy appropriately separated and distanced.

Exhaust air from the roadway and occupancies plus flue gases from combustion of fuel within the buildings, and waste water from the buildings, after appropriate purification are delivered to the greenhouse, where their heat, C02, and plant nutrients in waste water stimulate growth of suitable plants which may be used for food, fuel, etc. Warm air from the greenhouse is finally exhausted via air source heat pumps which extract heat and deliver it at a useful temperature for space heating, tap water, laundry, export for district heating of buildings near the roof road, or stored in insulated reservoirs against future demand.

Rainwater is harvested from the glazed roof and, together with condensate from air source heat pumps, is utilised within the building, supplemented by mains water as necessary The advantages of this invention are numerous, immediate and future.

Almost all environmental problems are alleviated by the multiple function of components achieved by integrating buildings, roads, greenhouse, wind turbines, and market gardening further reduces consumption of resources.

Redeveloping existing major road routes as roof road linear buildings conserves existing settlement patterns, infrastructure and industry, while facilitating their gradual adaptation to a sustainable future, making available sustainable heat, electricity from wind turbines efficient public transport on the roof road, local food from the roof greenhouse and adjacent market gardens, economic opportunities in the roof road buildings, domestic hot water, while largely removing noise and fume nuisance from traffic on major surface roads.

Healthy living conditions in apartments are maintained by: -Thermal comfort is facilitated by contiguous apartments suffering no heat loss via separating walls reducing the heat input needed per dwelling, and maintaining near equal air and radiant temperatures considered optimum for comfort.

-A steady temperature is facilitated by the thermal capacity of the structure. The steady temperature further economises on fuel by eliminating the aforementioned hygroscopic effect, and smoothes erratic heat inputs -Four substantial sources of sustainable energy are harnessed, of heat from radiant solar via greenhouse roof and windows, sensible and latent heat in external air, and electricity from wind.

-Heat normally wasted from several sources is recovered and can be exported.

-24/7 adequate steady temperature, 24/7 efficient and effective removal of moisture and other contaminants by extract from bathrooms, plus warm walls avoids condensation and mould, giving excellent indoor air quality, alleviates asthma and cold related diseases.

Integrating facilities in this way thus gains many advantages over present practice, towards maintaining health with minimum cons umption of resources, and pollution.

Acceptability ought to be high, once British prejudice is allayed against concrete apartments created by the inept heating and ventilation of the cold damp mouldy 1 960s industrialised housing. The accessibility and views of open country would justify a premium comparable with that of apartments overlooking London parks.

Most compelling will be very low energy costs for warm dry apartments, while with inadequate fuel people in ordinary houses will be shivering. Increasing numbers of people would want a roof road apartment.

First reactions to the idea of roof roads may be apprehension of vehicles falling off, noise, fumes and vibration. The opposite would be so, giving much improvement over present practice in every respect. These issues need to be examined and laid to rest.

Accidents would be many fewer on a segregated roof road, as on motorways, than on trunk roads. On a near straight road, in the event of mishap, momentum keeps vehicles moving in a straight line. Barriers would retain vehicles on carriageways. How many vehicles have fallen off elevated roads such as London's Westway? First roof road developments might be bypasses desired by most inhabitants, but nationally of low priority, but which would be commercially viable as roof roads funded by private capital.

Roof roads surmounted by wind turbines would usually be along already-developed major transport corridors, so preservationists should object less than about wind farms in less developed hilly areas, The wind turbines would not normally be on the skyline, in following major surface routes, which usually take a low route. Generally, it would be an improvement over present urban roofscapes with their drunken chimney stacks. Visually, roof road buildings can be architecturally variegated. Planting on balconies would increase the visual attraction of the buildings. * 6

Noise measurements on a road under a bridge of a rural motorway can show traffic noise will be almost imperceptible in apartments beneath a roof road. Most people initially baulk at the idea of living under a roof road, but it will be quieter than alongside conventional roads, and much less than afflicts houses near conventional roads and motorways for several reasons: -Noise at source is less from vehicles moving at a steady speed on a near-level segregated roof road than from traffic on ordinary roads, where vehicles stop start at pedestrian crossings and traffic lights, accelerate away fiercely and to overtake, and heavy vehicles climb steep gradients. By contrast, noise is reflected by buildings lining corridor streets and reverberates upwards to affect even high level apartments.

-The distance from the noise source to vulnerable windows would be much greater than with surface roads, and sound waves would be attenuated by bending from a roof road to reach apartments beneath and adjacent to a roof road.

-Less peak noises would be created and be heard at the greater distance. By contrast, in corridor streets, noise transmits in a straight line from vehicles to windows.

-Noise at a distance would probably be less than from conventional roads, because these effects would be greater than the effect of houses adjacent to existing roads acting as noise barriers shielding more distant houses.

Vibration isolation from roads is not a problem; vehicles carry their own isolators of springs and tyres. The effect of a building shaking as windows rattle when a heavy goods vehicle passes is caused mainly by airborne noise, not ground borne vibration. The main risk of vibration from traffic is low frequency thumps caused by uneven road surfaces, of manholes, potholes, subsidence, repairs after digging up roads, etc. These should be absent on roof roads.

Other sources of vibration and structure borne noise need to be isolated. Wind turbine pylons, motors, pipes etc. would be isolated at their point of attachment to the structure.

The technology of isolating buildings from vibration of underground railways etc. is well established and would be applied in roof road buildings.

Air pollution from vehicles moving at a steady speed on a segregated road would be much less than from conventional roads. Fuel is burned more completely to carbon dioxide.

Remaining traffic fumes would be blown away more effectively by the higher wind speeds at roof level. Air pollution would be much less than affects people at ground level and in road tunnels.

Availablility of an efficient public transport system on the roof road would reduce need for and use of private cars, with their consequent emissions.

A continuous interlinked system of roof road buildings opens the possibility of many goods being delivered on pallets by an automated conveyor belt system, driven by electricity generated by the wind turbines above, which would eliminate much of the pollution caused by present goods vehicles.

An efficient and frequent public transport system can serve linear town with a segregated roof road, compared with the multitude of routes normally required to convey people between apartments, shops, factories, schools, entertainments, etc., encouraging people not to use private cars, and reducing total travel distance.

Stop-start services may best be served by hybrid buses, Regenerative braking recovers kinetic energy to generate electricity to recharge batteries. The primary energy source of a small engine runs at its most efficient speed driving a dynamo to keep the battery charged. Hybrid buses should consume much less fuel than powerful modern Diesel buses which tend to fiercely accelerate and brake, to achieve short journey times and keep up with other traffic.

Land is not wasted as by conventional development by planners' requirements for houses to be spaced a minimum distance apart to avoid overlooking, providing gardens for people who do not use them.

Roof road buildings would utilise mainly already developed land area of existing roads.

There would be a powerful economic incentive for most new buildings to form part of a roof road, with direct access to such a major artery, so little land would be taken elsewhere for new housing, access roads, turning spaces, public and private parking, factories, warehouses, shops. etc. The greenhouse in effect restores the original land area, and can produce more high value food than could the footprint of the building. Overhanging greenhouse eaves in effect create even more land area for food growing.

Eventually many existing building occupancies would transfer to roof road accommodation, as high energy costs make them unusable, enabling their land to be restored to Materials of construction are reduced, by one foundation and structure supporting several facilities, of buildings, parking space, roadway, wind turbines and greenhouse, instead of separate structures, access roads, services etc. for each.

Contiguous apartments save on expensive insulated external walls and roofs as needed for detached houses. Heating systems can serve an entire apartment block. No thermal insulation is needed in separating walls. Only external elements require insulation.

200mm thick concrete crosswalls required for airborne sound insulation between apartments, at typically 7.2 metre intervals, are adequate to support the weight of the upper structure and traffic above.

The road slab required to support the weight of traffic between crosswalls at 7,2 metre span is less than needed on elevated motorways spanning greater distances between supporting columns.

Separate structures for power station plant may be avoided by including power stations in roof roads, allowing cooling, desuphurisation and denitrification processes to be carried out within ducts in the roof greenhouse.

Supporting wind turbines on the concrete structure of road, parking, services and greenhouse floors, saves about 500 tonnes of concrete per ground-planted turbine, plus concrete access roads etc. Plumbing towns for combined heat and power can be avoided by delivering heating energy as electricity via the existing cabling to drive air source heat pumps, giving a total conversion of fuel of about 200% by CHP in the roof road, or near 100% sustainable energy from wind turbines.

Routing national grid power cables through the greenhouse (probably in the peak to minimise electromagnetic effects in the buildings), avoids need for expensive provision of cooling of underground cables, or overhead cables on pylons with their vulnerability to snow and storms, while conserving transmission loss as heat within the greenhouse.

Electricity seems likely to deliver most future energy. Most sustainable energy, already arrives as electricity.

Roof road buildings creates major potential for rapid installation of easily maintained wind turbines at low cost to make wind generation fully competitive with fossil fueled generation. Wind power generates day and night, if erratically, and more so in winter, so is more in phase with demand, than output from photovoltaic panels which is only in daytime and least in winter when most needed. This avoids "carbon neutral" buildings needing to offset winter grid demand with summer output from expensive PV installations.

-The continuous linear building creates a barrier to wind, increasing wind velocity over the building, smoothed by the greenhouse roof. Wider lower storeys giving a trapezium section may further streamline and increase velocity of air flow over building.

-The height of the turbines is increased by the height of the buildings, to access higher wind speeds, minimising effect of obstructions by trees and other high buildings.

-Wind turbines may be mounted above the greenhouse roof of the usual aerodynamic type or low-speed drag type on a horizontal axis, immediately above and along the greenhouse ridge which may be able to maintain some output in low wind speeds, when aerodynamic types stop generating.

-Useful outputs may also be obtained from wind turbines located within buildings, funneling flow through the buildings from the higher pressure area on the windward side to lower pressure area on the lee side, perhaps accentuated by the overhang of the road and car park storeys and further enhanced by the geometry of the ducting.

-Roof road buildings could be autonomous in power supply, if wind generation was backed up by generation by sewage gas and oil, and with air source heat pumps and other loads interruptible, the high price of buying in electricity when wind generation is inadequate would be avoided, immediately gaining the potential advantage of low cost wind generated electricity day and night.

-Transformer losses would be minimised of electricity outputs utilised within the building -If national grid cables are already routed through greenhouses, the cost of connection is minimal, to sell electricity surpluses competitively to the Grid.

When the wind blows wind turbines would probably generate more electricity than is needed within the roof road building, and export power to the grid.

Waste and low grade heat and carbon dioxide from many sources, can be economically collected due in the roof greenhouse, mainly by the natural buoyancy of warm air, to enhance the rate of photosynthesis,.

-Radiant solar heat transmitted in daytime through the glazed greenhouse roof, can contribute more heat than via classic vertical passive solar multiple glazed windows. S 9

-Heat losses from solar thermal panels within the greenhouse, which can be installed and maintained more economically than outside pitched roofs.

-Heat losses from hot water storage tanks within the greenhouse.

-Heat emission from national grid power cables routed within greenhouses, avoiding expensive cooling problems of undergrounding and overhead transmission lines on pylons with their vulnerability to snow and storms, capturing part of the electrical energy normally wasted by transmission losses, -Exhaust air from services storey, carries heat losses from hot water piping, electric cabling, etc. -Exhaust air from building occupancies, carries heat gains from human metabolism, lighting, appliances, and solar heat gains via vertical windows of apartments.

-Heat losses from plant purifying flue gas from roof road power stations burning waste paper, plastics, biomass and fossil fuels.

-Flue gases from roof road power stations after heating tap water, and purification would be distributed along the greenhouse; -Exhaust gas and radiator heat from gas engine generators driven by methane from sewage digestion; -Air from the roof roadway, carrying heat and carbon dioxide from vehicles. From modern vehicles on a segregated roof road it is believed that this would be very low in toxic carbon monoxide, and below the concentration in congested city streets.

Air source heat pumps provide the crucial link in energy conservation. These can: -recover low grade heat from warm greenhouse air and upgrade it to a useful temperature for space and water heating.

-add a largely ignored source of sustainable heat, of the UK's relatively mild winter air, which is solar heat transported free from the tropics. External air is the UK's most abundant, inexhaustible and accessible source of renewable energy, available everywhere 24/7, unlike radiant solar and wind. The air source heat pump extracts air from the greenhouse, cools it to below external temperature before rejecting it usually at below external temperature, thus gaining sensible and latent heat from both exhaust air and external air.

With a heat source of warm greenhouse air, perhaps only a tenth of heat output is needed as electricity to drive the heat pump. Utilisation of this warm exhaust air source may extend the application of air source heat pumps to colder climates, where otherwise very low external air temperatures reduce their performance.

The recovered heat can be delivered as: -hot water which can be readily distributed as hot water or stored, -or as warm air to maintain the warmth of the greenhouse.

Air source heat pumps cost a third of the capital cost of ground source heat pumps, and do not risk polluting ground waters by leakages of antifreeze which are inevitable if widely installed. They have been proved by the inventor by making six poorly insulated old houses warm and dry, without extra insulation or air sealing with "fresh air heating" using an air to air heat pump, to provide 24h17 heating, ventilation and heat recovery with a typical average winter consumption of 1 kWe, so already achieving about 60% C02 * 10 reduction compared with average UK emissions, and causing less C02 emissions than gas heating, even if served by coal generated electricity.

Fed by relatively warm air from the greenhouse, air source heat pumps would consume perhaps only a tenth of the energy as electricity, that they deliver as heat. Space heating of roof road apartments would average probably less than O.3kWe, easily powered by the wind turbines, leaving a surplus of electricity to export to nearby buildings.

National 002 emissions caused by space heating of existing buildings can probably be halved by converting all fuels to electricity in roof road power stations, to drive air source heat pumps, providing both hot water and electricity to settlements alongside the roof road route. Using the existing electricity infrastructure, conversion to fresh air heating can be achieved more quickly and efficiently in this way than by plumbing towns for district heating from combined heat and power.

All-electric housing will also avoid the inefficiency of most domestic heating systems and local pollution by wood and coal smoke. Combustion efficiency is continuously monitored in power stations, and flue gas is cleaned before emission. Leakage of potent greenhouse gas from millions of leaks in existing gas distribution mains would also be minimised. The inventor has chanced upon and reported about twenty leaks mainly in one small town.

Effective ventilation is crucial to energy reduction and healthy living conditions, to avoid dampness and mould as afflicted the 1960s industrialised housing and will persist with present energy efficiency notions of time switched heating and tight air sealing. Two million UK houses are still officially recognised as damp.

As aforementioned the inventor has recently identified intermittent heating as pumping moisture into dwellings by a hygroscopic effect. The crucial change is to continuous heating, to avoid the hygroscopic effect and make ventilation more effective at carrying away moisture.

However, continuous ventilation is also essential at an adequate rate to carry away evaporating moisture, and exhaust air should not be allowed to cool before rejection, which is why heat exchangers develop slime. Cleaning would be a maintenance item certain to be neglected. "Natural ventilation" is likely to be inefficient, losing a lot of warm air while carrying away little moisture.

Continuous effective mechanical ventilation of apartments plus continuous background warmth is essential, to remove moisture which evaporates not only from domestic activity, but when unoccupied from standing water, towels, vegetables, plants, etc. Extract from the bathroom avoids the traditional problem that opening a lavatory window may blow odours into a house, impelling need for greater ventilation. Most efficient, from is floor level since moisture evaporating adiabatically from damp towels, surfaces, and washed clothes drying on a bathroom rack absorbs heat from air, cooling and densifying the air, causing it to fall. Replacement air entering around the bathroom door ventilates the whole apartment.

Continuous ventilation in this way will usually keep other rooms adequately ventilated, and with continuous background temperature ensures good indoor air quality, rarely moving outside the optimum range of 40-60% relative humidity. This is more effective at removing moisture than present haphazard practices and avoids high relative humidities which cause mould and encourage breeding of house mites, whose faeces cause asthma.

To minimise risk of cross infections and greatest energy efficiency, air exhausted from bathrooms and lavatories may be better ducted direct to air source heat pumps rather than into the greenhouse. This also avoids potentially large heat loss via the greenhouse roof iii low winter temperatures and gives greater control of the recovered heat, allowing all to be returned to the apartments, or some to be distributed to the greenhouse. Air would preferably be exhausted from apartments, offices and shops to a separate set of air source heat pumps, such that in the event of infectious disease, risk of transmitting infection to people working in the greenhouse is avoided.

Many people prefer to sleep in cool conditions, and open an upstair bedroom window in winter. In a typical house, this drains heat overnight from the structure, which has to be replaced at the next heating cycle, wasting energy. A problem arises with heavyweight buildings, that their thermal capacity keeps them at a steady temperature, which must at least say 15C to avoid condensation problems. This needs to be allowed for in roof road buildings, by keeping day rooms on the southward side, and bedrooms on the northward side, with a door in the corridor between. A speed-controlled fan-driven filtered fresh air input should be provided at least to the main bedroom, which would percolate around the corridor door to replace air exhausted from the bathroom.

Space heating demand cannot be predicted. Though climate change may raise average global temperatures, it seems likely that the Gulf Stream will slow, divert or stop, depriving Britain of its warmth, to suffer similar temperatures to Labrador on the same latitude. Provision for increased heating and cooling is essential, but heat losses and gains can be minimised.

Space heating does not consume energy in the same sense as the energy burned by transport fuel has been lost when the journey ends. If heat could be stopped from leaking out, a building would stay warm indefinitely. Contiguous apartments in roof road buildings eliminate one path for heat loss, through separating walls. The area of external wall is relatively small and can be well insulated. Heat losses through windows should be reduced with internal insulating window shutters. Heat loss by ventilation is reduced by.

air source heat pumps recovering over 100% by cooling outgoing air to below external temperature.

The large thermal capacity of the concrete structure gives several benefits and restrictions: -concrete can absorb and store passive solar heat gains through southward facing windows, which alone could provide most of the annual space heating load.

-it acts as a thermal flywheel, responding only slowly to heat inputs and losses, maintaining a near-steady temperature 24/7. Occupants should be able to control temperatures.

-the steady temperature avoids the hygroscopic effect -the air source heat pumps can be operated to store heat in the concrete when most energy efficient, when electricity and heat are most available, and shut down when other demands for electricity are greatest.

-heating should be inclusive in rent or service charge as in European and USA apartments, to avoid the problems in the 1960s flats where if one tenant tried to heat to an adequate standard they could be heating four neighbours who were trying to save money, through the uninsulated concrete separating walls.

-day rooms should be zoned on the southmost side, and bedrooms, which most people prefer to be cooler, on the northmost side, to minimise heat transfers through walls.

-heat would probably be best delivered to apartments by a hydronic system, as with, standard "central heating", but probably at a lower water temperature for best heat pump efficiency, served from a common heat store, not boilers.

Roof road apartments would be largely heated by passive collection of radiant solar heat through large windows which are angled to be as near south facing as the direction of the road permits.

A higher percentage of the sparse UK winter radiation can be collected through single glazing, with internal insulating shutters to close at least 16 hours overnight, to retain a higher proportion of the heat gain. Single glazing is also cheaper and avoids the high maintenance cost of failed hermetic seals.

Large windows are also subjectively desirable for daylighting, though if heating is from fossil fuels, it is more efficiônt to close shutters and use electric light.

In this way, sustainable energy sources complement each other; high pressure weather tends to be windless but sunny providing passive solar gains, while low pressure weather is cloudy with little solar gain, but windy to generate electricity to drive the air source heat pumps, and with more sensible and latent heat in relatively mild air.

Space heating of roof road buildings can thus be almost entirely sustainable, by combining: Low heat loss due to: -zero heat losses of contiguous buildings through separating walls.

-well-insulated external surfaces, especially provision of insulated internal shutters on windows, -steady temperature avoids heat wastage due to hygroscopic effect of time switched heating; Heat inputs from: -passive solar gains via vertical windows and greenhouse roof; -sensible and latent heat from external air, extracted by air source heat pumps rejecting air from greenhouse at below external temperature; -wind generated electricity, delivered as electrical heat gains from lighting and appliances.

Heat recovery from: -exhaust air from apartments and other heat sources.

-latent heat from condensing water evaporated and transpired within buildings.

Optimised efficiency from: -thermal mass of concrete structure maintaining temperature over windless periods, -favourable operating conditions of a warm greenhouse air source achieve a high performance ratio of heat delivered to electricity consumed by heat pumps.

Summer cooling in contiguous apartments in roof road buildings should be unnecesary: -The ventilated roadway, parking and services upper storeys will prevent solar heat gain from the roof, which causes most overheating in ordinary houses.

-Solar gain through separating walls is avoided unlike detached houses especially with lightweight walls.

-"Eyebrows" restrict penetration through south facing windows when the Sun is high in the sky in summer. White external shutters may be desirable to reflect radiation on sunny days in Spring and Autumn, when the Sun is still low at midday especially on west-facing windows, when evening Sun penetrates after the heat of the day.

-Insulating window shutters can be designed to present a white exterior face to reflect solar gains via windows.

-The thermal mass will keep the building cooler than outside air temperature on hot days.

Windows are better left closed, air movement increased with a fan, and unwanted heat gains dissipated at night by opening windows. The elevation and barrier to wind by the linear building would enhance air flow through open windows.

-Electrical heat gains will diminish with increasing efficiency of lighting and appliances.

-Avoidable heat gains should be reduced by not storing hot water in apartments -A combined kitchen/living room would concentrate electrical heat gains to conserve in winter while enabling rapid removal from high level in summer.

With these devices, internal temperatures should seldom be uncomfortably hot, but air source heat pumps can be reversible to use in cooling mode.

Water and sewage problems of services and consumption can be substantially reduced by the integration of facilities in roof road buildings: -Flooding due to run off from conventional development would be almost eliminated, by eliminating surface roads, parking, access roads, turning spaces, multiple roofs etc and harvesting rainwater from the large area of greenhouse roof to supply the buildings.

-Rainwater plus condensate from air source heat pumps would be suitable for human consumption, after filtration and sterilisation, being free of mains water pollutants, such as drug residues especially hormones from birth control pills.

-Vacuum sewerage allows a substantial reduction in the volume of water per lavatory flush, while waterless urinals use no water. 24/7 extract ventilation from bathroom ensures freedom from odours.

-Reduction of volume of waste water facilitates anaerobic digestion together, of human, kitchen, food factory, and farm wastes, generating methane.

-Effluent from such treatment of sewage now containing plant nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium would be part recycled to flush lavatories, and part utilised in the greenhouse for irrigation probably by hydroponics and algae production.

Harvesting of rainwater and reduction of volume of water enables substantial reductions in electricity at present used for pumping mains water.

Plant nutrients can be almost endlessly recycled by returning purified sewage effluent to the greenhouse for irrigation, reducing wastage of nutrients into waterways and seas, causing eutrophication, and reducing the need for energy intensive manufacture and mining of fertilisers.

Local food production can be greatly increased by roof road buildings At present, Britain largely relies on buying food imports from overseas, which are being jeopardised by production of biofuels on land previously used for food crops. UK produced food is trucked many miles to be centrally processed and again to deliver to shops.

Britain does not have as favourable a climate as France and Spain for agriculture, but imports much food from the Netherlands and Denmark. which have a comparable or worse climate. With world food surpluses already disappearing, every country should strive to be largely self-sufficient at least in basics.

Weather uncertainties of frost, drought and storm affect outdoor crops. The roof greenhouse offers more opportunities for controllable low-energy food production.

-The roof greenhouse can be maintained at near optimum conditions with a controlled climate and hydroponics, using waste heat and C02 and recycled water containing valuable plant nutrients from the buildings at negligible cost. Relative humidity is kept low b.y continuous extraction by the air source heat pumps, reducing risk of fungal diseases and need for pesticides. Biological control can be nurtured.

-Availability of space in such a roof greenhouse to residents would encourage some to grow their own high value food there, being more rewarding and pleasant than a cold greenhouse or outdoor gardening in Britain's bleak winter climate.

-Adjacent land can provide allotments for roof road residents who want one, and market gardens for professionals to supply roof road buildings, reducing food miles.

-Land alongside can be irrigated and fertilised with the eventual outflow of water, as purified sewage effluent still containing some plant nutrients..

-Food waste from the buildings can be fed to pigs in adjacent farms, after sterilisation to avoid risk of disease transmission.

Algae are a potential source of liquid biofuels. Algae are seemingly able to absorb carbon dioxide by photosynthesis more rapidly than plants. (New Scientist, 2 February 2008) Research is being carried out elsewhere on selection of strains and genetic engineering to further improve yields. This would be a valuable activity in the greenhouse, where favourable conditions of enhanced 002 and temperature, would accelerate growth.

Durability of new buildings is now paramount. Present notions of sustainable buildings are likely to have a relatively short life.

-Tiled roofs dependent on self weight will be damaged with expected more extreme winds.

-Brick and block buildings will be damaged by increased earthquake activity as the earth's crust adjusts to the release of weight as the arctic ice cap melts.

-Timber framed houses are vulnerable to fire, damp, rot, woodworm and more destructive exotic boring insects that may invade with climate change. Wood preservatives are better avoided. Present energy efficiency notions of time switched heating and tight air sealing will cause condensation within timber frames unless vapour barriers are 100% effective, which they never are.

Houses tend to reach the end of their life due to poor detailing and neglect of maintenance apparent in most buildings, when inaccessible traditional slate and tile roofs leak, now demanding scaffolding for maintenance, and windows, doors and external walls are damaged by frost attack from continual wetting due to lack of eaves. The UK addiction to naked brickwork is puzzling to people from countries with a harsher winter climate.

Even if the life of a house was extended from the accountants' 60 year assumed present life to 200 years, our descendants will not have enough cheap energy or materials to demolish and rebuild 100,000 houses a year to maintain the 20 million stock.

A concrete structure provides genuine sustainability. Some concrete survives from 5600 BC (New Scientist 27 Jan 2007), so has a potential life of many millennia especially if protected from weathering and kept dry.

Though concrete is seen by some as a high embodied energy material, even if so, this is irrelevant for such a lifetime when energy is being wasted wherever one looks, and it can utilise much waste material: -by burning old tyres in the manufacture of cement, -poor quality recycled steel as reinforcement.

-large deposits of ash from pulverised coal already burned in power stations, -crushed brick as coarse aggregate from demolition of existing buildings which are impracticable to upgrade will be flooded by rising sea levels or become uninhabitable with high fuel prices.

In roof road buildings, the overhanging greenhouse eaves and rain shedding cladding over external insulation will protect external walls, windows, doors, etc against weather erosion from rain and frost, keeping the concrete structure warm and dry, and protecting steel reinforcement against corrosion. But waterproofing of balconies over living spaces

must be of a high specification.

Despite being unappreciated in the UK, concrete is an excellent building material more valued in other countries, providing structure, air tightness, near-finished surfaces, sound insulation, thermal stability and capacity. It is immune to boring insects and rot, resistant to fire, earthquakes and bombs, For genuine sustainability, concrete roof road buildings are best adapted to survive with little maintenance in a climate which is likely to be more aggressive and will be one of few legacies that our descendants will be grateful for.

Reduction of fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions is now urgent after more than a century of political indifference. Fred Pearce (New Scientist 3 May 08) reports that European governments base decisions on predictions of C02 levels and temperature rise that are out of date, and hoping to keep atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide below 450 parts per million. But most ominously, 50 million years ago the Antarctic got its icecap when falling C02 levels reached 425ppm, which the Earth is now likely to reach within two decades. This could be a tipping point, making the Antarctic ice-free, resulting in a sea level rise of 60 metres.

New research shows sea levels rising 50% faster than the last IPCC report assumption of 18-59cm this century, and that the Greenland and West Antarctica ice sheets may not melt gradually, but breakup rapidly as meltwater penetrates the ice. Already penetration is being observed in the Greenland ice sheet, which if that melted would raise sea levels by 6 metres.

With several untold positive feedbacks, of higher temperatures releasing greenhouse gases from forests, soils, permafrost, subsea, etc. governments need to apply the precautionary principle and plan for 60 metre sea level rise, which will flood millions of houses. It is a waste of time, money and energy trying to insulate and provide combined heat and power to these houses with present naive notions. Fresh air heating provides a quicker fix anyway.

Roof road buildings built well above the 60 metre contour can start now to provide a cascade of C02 savings, by doing what has to be done anyway in building housing, roads, greenhouses, and wind generators in an integrated way, confounding Stern by saving money in the process.

-During construction, energy and materials consumed will be less than building roads, houses, wind generators etc. separately.

-Efficient low-energy building services can be provided, of hot and chilled water mains, vacuum sewerage, waste collection, water and sewage recycling, collection and utilisation of waste.

-Electricity generation by wind turbines above and within roof road buildings can be increased more rapidly at less cost than wind farms at sea and on hills, to progressively replace generation from fossil fuels.

-New small combined cycle and clean coal power stations distributed along the roof road, can replace ageing electricity-only megastations, avoiding waste of cogenerated heat and transmission losses.

-Waste heat can be collected from many sources as warm air in the greenhouse, from flue gas from power stations, process heat from factories, gas engine generators, exhaust gas and radiator heat from vehicles in the roadway beneath, electrical heat from lighting and appliances and metabolic heat from apartments, offices, shops, factories. These will be supplemented by solar gains via windows and greenhouse roof.

-Air source heat pumps can recover low grade waste heat, first used in the greenhouse for horticulture, then upgraded at a high performance ratio to a useful temperature for domestic hot water and space heating, used within the roof road buildings and exported, replacing heating of water by gas and electricity.

-Space heating consumption will be almost eliminated as roof road apartments are occupied. Contiguous apartments eliminate heat losses and gains through separating walls. Reduced heat demand can be met largely by sustainable radiant solar heat, plus heat in external air and process heat from factories and power stations, collected in greenhouse roof and extracted by air source heat pumps, and stored in concrete structure to smooth fluctuations.

-Space cooling is unlikely to be required, with day temperatures in heat waves maintained below external temperature by the thermal inertia of the concrete structure and excess heat dissipated at night by ventilation.

-Existing buildings adjacent to roof roads, can replace their combustion heating with recovered heat or cogenerated heat from fossil fueled roof road power stations.

-Existing buildings further away can be converted from combustion heating, at best 80% efficient, to fresh air heating driven by electricity from roof road generation, achieving 200% overall conversion of fuel with air source heat pumps driven by electricity from roof road combined heat and power.

Vehicle fuel consumption and C02 emissions are reduced by: -Gradients are minimised by varying the height of the building according to ground level, to maintain the roadway near level, as by railway viaducts and embankments. Avoids burning more fuel to climb gradients, and dissipating the potential energy as heat by braking on down gradients.

-Fuel is burned most efficiently by vehicles traveling at a steady moderate speed on a near-level segregated road. On ordinary roads, fuel is burned inefficiently while producing more power while accelerating up to cruising speed, and kinetic energy is then dissipated as heat by friction braking, in stopping at the next traffic lights or junction.

-A good public transport service facilitated by a segregated road encourages people not to use cars.

-Diverting through traffic to roof roads will clear surface roads encouraging people to use bicycles and public transport Photosynthesis in the roof greenhouse absorbs C02 from many sources.

-Large 002 emissions from fuel-burning power stations can be distributed over many kilometres of greenhouse, which itself provides a very large duct.

-Commercial horticultural practice of burning gas in greenhouses to enhance C02 can be replaced by these other ways of enhancing 002 and heating.

-Fuel burned by transport of produce from Spain etc., will be eliminated, as UK roof greenhouses become productive and economic.

Near-optimum conditions for photosynthesis can be maintained in roof greenhouses. Yields of a tonne of tomatoes from a single plant in Japan were reported years ago by optimising growing conditions.

-Relatively high temperature will be maintained, subject to availability of heat sources, by reduction of heat loss from greenhouse roof by injection of external air against underside of glazing, and thermal insulation of underside of greenhouse floor against cold air in roadway.

-002 concentration in air will be increased from several sources as above and controlled automatically, by regulating extraction rate by air source heat pumps, etc., to as near optimum as feasible.

-Relative humidity (percent saturation) of air, resulting from transpiration from plants, evaporation from irrigation, drying of algae, scrubbing of flue gas from power stations etc., will be controlled by generous ventilation by exhaust air from occupancies and roadway beneath and injection of fresh air against underside of glazed roof to reduce heat loss. Relative humidity is also reduced by higher air temperature. Reduction of relative humidity is important to reduce risk of fungal disease and need for fungicides and should also increase rate of transpiration and thus growth.

-Light levels may be maintained by electric lighting. However, electricity generation by combustion cannot be justified just to produce algae for fuel, since electric light itself may be only 20% efficient and photosynthesis converts only perhaps 5% of incident energy into plant material. However, within a greenhouse where high value food is also being produced, and electricity is generated by wind a different argument may prevail.

Calculation might show that it is worthwhile to provide artificial lighting to maintain photosynthesis while much 002 is being produced by traffic and fuel-burning electricity generation, allowing C02 absorption by food and algae to continue at night with electric lighting. The energy cost of lighting at night would at least be usefully used towards producing more energy.

-Greenhouse conditions will vary naturally according to external temperature, wind and solar radiation and may be automatically controlled to optimise absorption of C02 and minimise energy consumption, by adjusting size of apertures, and ventilation rate induced by air source heat pumps. In daytime, when solar radiation and cogenerated heat from daytime electricity demand is greatest, air source heat pumps could extract more heat for storage. Greenhouse temperatures allowed to fall at night when daylight for photosynthesis is not available.

Reduction of carbon dioxide emitted by many sources can thus be achieved productively, making substantial savings over present sequestration methods, in contrast with present energy intensive technology for sequestering C02, e.g. by liquefying air to separate oxygen to burn coal to obtain nitrogen free C02, to compress, liquefy, and pump to undersea storage. (New Scientist 29 March 08). If that energy has itself to be provided from fossil fuel burning, net gain is less, fossil fuels depleted earlier, and C02 storage fill more quickly.

An example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing Figure 1 shows a cross section at right angle to the direction of the roadway 1 of a linear building containing apartments 2. Some facilities distributed along the length are shown superimposed. The right hand side is approximately southward facing.

The linear building would be built usually above an existing road 3, to which access from the roof roadway is provided by ramps 4 at intervals, alongside another occupancy than the apartments shown. Lifts 5 connect apartments to the parking floor 6, and to bus stops 7 at intervals along the roadway, where the weight of traffic is supported by beams 8 spanning a relatively short distance between cross walls 9 in the parking floor 6, which through vibration isolators 33 and cross walls of the services floor continue the vertical support to the separating walls 12 between apartments, and by walls and columns down to ground level Support for the greenhouse 13 above the roadway is by columns 14 and walls 15 parallel to the continuous roadway 1. Ramps 16 allow vehicular access to the greenhouse from the shoulder 17, leaving 3 lanes 18 for traffic.

Fresh air 20 may be blown against the underside of the glazing to reduce heat losses via the glazing and/or replenish carbon dioxide.

Apertures 21 in the greenhouse floor above the centre line between carriageways allow warmed air with enhanced carbon dioxide from combustion of vehicle fuel to enter the greenhouse 13. Flue gases from combustion power stations and other industries are purified in ducts 22 from where heat is dissipated into the greenhouse, before purified carbon dioxide rich gas is dissipated.

The main floor area of greenhouse 23 is occupied by hydroponic production of food, not shown, while the north wall is occupied by an algae production facility 24 of a horizontally corrugated surface over which is trickled water with plant nutrients inoculated with algae.

On the south side are solar thermal panels 25 and hot water storage tanks 26. A part of the glazing may be photovoltaic glass 10.

The greenhouse air is eventually exhausted by or escapes via air source heat pumps 27, or in hot weather may be dumped via opening lights 28 in the glazing.

The mass of the parking, roadway and greenhouse floors provides the foundation for the relatively large wind turbines 29, which may be mounted higher than the scale of the drawing permits, and are further braced by cables 30 to strong points in the greenhouse floor.

Smaller wind turbines are shown at 31 in the roadway and services storeys and at 32 above the greenhouse ridge The monolithic assembly of greenhouse, roadway, parking floors, columns and walls is supported on vibration isolators 33 where the vertical load is transferred to the separating cross walls of the apartments or other lower structure. Wind turbines 31, water mains 34, etc in the services floor are suspended from the isolated floor above between the vibration isolators.

Windows 35 to apartments are angled to be near south facing, single glazed with low iron glass, and fitted with upward closing internal insulating shutters not shown. External solar control shutters are fitted on westerly elevations not shown.

There follows a description of important physical features of the invention.

Roof road buildings would preferably be constructed well above the present 60 metre contour in anticipation of high sea levels resulting from total melting of antipodean ice and out of range of possible tsunamis, Energy intensive factories, hospitals, etc. may need to be spaced out along a road, and require imports from other sustainable and non-sustainable sources in order that their electricity demand and C02 emissions can be spread more evenly.

Construction of road buildings would preferably be of concrete, utilising waste and recycled materials of cement fired by burning old tyres, pulverised fuel ash, crushed brick, reinforcement of recycled steel, etc. as feasible without prejudicing strength and durability, The upper storeys of parking, roadway and greenhouse, would be a separate monolithic structure, adequately vibration isolated from the lower structure containing apartments and other occupancies.

Lower storeys of apartments may be progressively wider, by balcony widths, providing outdoor space for planters, sitting and cleaning windows.

Buildings would be protected with renewable rain shedding cladding, which may be photovoltaic panels, and effectively detailed to waterproof and avoid exposure of concrete to weathering and water.

Steel reinforcement of the various elements of the concrete structure would preferably be joined by welding, to increase resistance to earthquakes etc. which are to be expected over a life of millenia.

Sound absorbent material either as no-fines concrete or panels of other appropriate material may be used to reduce reverberation and emission of vehicle noise from the roadway.

Movement and construction joints in the trafficked surface would be carefully feathered or ramped.

The greenhouse roof would be glazed for high transmission of solar radiation, probably as of single glazed low-iron glass, and framed with aluminium for maximum durability.

Flue gases from combustion processes would be purified in equipment within the greenhouse and distributed along the greenhouse, such that heat and carbon dioxide from flue gases are conserved and utilised.

Exhaust air from various occupancies would be ducted either to the greenhouse, or direct to the air source heat pumps.

Fresh air may be injected against the underside of the glazing, such as to reduce the temperature differential from inside to out and thus heat loss. This facility may also be needed to replenish carbon dioxide, where carbon dioxide from other sources is inadequate for photosynthesis.

Automatic control according to temperature, carbon dioxide and relative humidity sensors would be provided to regulate fresh air injection, size of apertures from the roadway beneath, etc, to maintain as near optimum conditions for photosynthesis as compromise permits.

Wind turbines would be mounted above the greenhouse roof. These may be the usual aerodynamic three-bladed horizontal axis type which weather-vanes to wind direction, or vertical axis type which may be more efficient where wind direction is fickle or turbulent, or low-speed drag type on a horizontal axis, mounted immediately above and along much of the length of ridge of the greenhouse roof to exploit a large swept area in low wind speeds accelerated by the sloping greenhouse roof.

-Wind turbines may be installed within buildings. A structure as of sheet metal installed as in a services floor may be designed to collect wind over say a bay width and storey height, smoooth the air flow by vanes, constrain and funnel it into the shape of the swept area of a wind turbine mounted within the storey, the wake of which may be ducted by a diverging funnel.

Electrical load of apartments and offices would probably be met largely by wind turbines above and within roof road buildings. In low winds this can be backed up in daytime with photovoltaic generation (PV), and overnight by engine generation using methane from gas holder storage from anaerobic digestion of food, farm and human wastes, or conventional generation.

Photovoltaic panels can also be installed as wall cladding, and as partial glazing of the greenhouse, where after about 15% of the solar energy is converted to electricity, much of the remainder would be transmitted and captured as heat.

Rain water would be harvested from the glazed roof and collected in tanks within the greenhouse, supplemented by condensate from air source heat pumps of water vapour in external air added to by evaporation and transpiration within the building.

After filtration and sterilisation, this water, sterilised by chlorine or ozone, neutralised and filtered through activated charcoal, would perhaps be made available as a drug-free potable water supply, supplemented by mains water.

Waterless urinals would be fitted and waste water evacuated by a vacuum sewerage system, minimising the quantity of water to be handled.

Waste water would be treated within the roof road buildings, probably by anaerobic digestion, and the purified effluent part recycled to flush lavatories, and part delivered to the greenhouse to be used to irrigate plants probably growing hydroponically. Methane from anaerobic digestion would be stored in a gas holder for engine driven generation of electricity in windless periods.

Surplus water would be eventually discharged to irrigate market gardens, allotments and farms near the roof road buildings, to soakaways or rivers over which the roof road may pass.

Noxious waste water from factories etc. would be treated separately, enabling sewage sludge from the main system to be spread on land, without risk of pollution by heavy metals etc. Carbon dioxide and heat would be directed into the greenhouse by several means: -Apertures are provided in the greenhouse floor, preferably above the centre line of the roadway, and may be fitted with wind turbines to generate electricity while regulating the flow impelled by buoyancy and/or wind pressures into the greenhouse of air carrying heat and carbon dioxide generated by vehicle fuel.

-Apertures are provided in the walls of the roadway to admit replacement air.

-Apertures would be preferably be fitted with a servo operated closure mechanism which would be automatically controlled to optimise the temperature and carbon dioxide content of the entering air.

-Flue gases from power generation and other industrial processes would be delivered to the greenhouse where their heat content is dissipated while the gases are purified before their carbon dioxide rich is distributed.

-National grid power cables would be routed in the peak of the greenhouse, such that resistive transmission losses would contribute heat to the greenhouse, while minimising electromagnetic radiation.

-Waste heat and carbon dioxide would be thus first utilised for growing crops.

-Greenhouse air would be eventually exhausted to atmosphere via air source heat pumps, which cool the outgoing air preferably to below external temperature to provide probably all space and water heating requirements of the buildings, plus a surplus for export.

-Heat would preferably be recovered by water source heat pumps from waste water before discharging surpluses to adjacent land or river.

Photosynthesis in the greenhouse would be optimised as nearly as unavoidable compromises permit, by monitoring parameters of temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide and authomatically controlling size of apertures, fresh air input, lighting intensity, while maintaining safe working conditions in the greenhouse.

Subject to results of current research elsewhere, facilities for production of algae for liquid biofuel would be provided in the greenhouse. It is envisaged that a nutrient liquor nucleated with algae might be trickled over a horizontally corrugated surface on the south facing north side of the greenhouse to be intimately exposed to the greenhouse air and light, to absorb carbon dioxide, at its enhanced level, and at a near optimum temperature. The filtered algae sludge could be dried by the warm air in the greenhouse, and delivered for processing into liquid fuel, while the filtrate is used for irrigation of food crops or otherwise recycled.

Electric lighting would be provided in the greenhouse to enable photosynthesis to continue at night, probably where both high value food and algae are being produced with the energy balance under continual review.

In addition to plots in the greenhouse, access to land alongside roof roads would preferably be made available to residents, towards maximum sustainability.

Apartments in roof road buildings would be of adequate size to be adaptable to changing needs. Modular 7.2 metre bay widths should meet this requirement.

Day rooms would be zoned on the southmost side, and bedrooms, which most people prefer to be cooler, on the northmost side.

Space heating of apartments would be mainly by passive solar gain via large windows angled if neccessary according to the road direction to be as near south facing as feasible,.

Sun-collecting windows would be preferably single glazed and of low-iron glass.

Internal insulating shutters would be fitted to all windows, preferably upward-closing to trap a well of cold still air between shutter and window such that the shutters can be partially opened for light and view on cold overcast days while still retaining the insulation value of the shuttered area.

Space heating top up to apartments would be low temperature hydronic, from hot water storage tanks in the greenhouse.

Ventilation of apartments would be by exhausting air from floor level in the bathroom either direct to the air source heat pump, or to the greenhouse. Replacement air would be a speed controlled fan driven supply of fresh filtered unheated air to at least the main bedroom, terminating upwards beneath a hot water radiator.

Air would preferably be exhausted from apartments, offices and shops to a separate set of air source heat pumps, such that in the event of infectious disease, the risk of transmitting infection to people working in the greenhouse is avoided

Claims

CLAIMS-A building including a sertes of contiguous buildings aligned and of compatible height above ground level supporting a roadway forming the storey beneath a topmost storey which has a glazed roof herein described as a roof greenhouse or greenhouse roof A building as in claim 1 where the height of the building varies according to ground level such as to reduce gradients of said roadway.A building as in claims 1 or 2 where air from the roadway and various occupancies is exhausted into the greenhouse by means of apertures, ducts and fans as are needed.A building as in.. where against the underside of the roof glazing is blown external air at an appropriate rate such as to reduce the temperature differential across the glazing.A building as in claims.., wherefrom the greenhouse roof air is exhausted to atmosphere via an air source heat pump, so extracting heat which may be supplied to the building or exported to other nearby buildings.A building as in claims.., where there are ramps at suitable intervals connecting the roadway and greenhouse to parking and services storeys and diverse occupancies in the buildings beneath and to surface roads.A building as in... where the parking, roadway and greenhouse storeys are adequately isolated against vibration and structure borne noise from the supporting storeys beneath A building as in claims.., where electricity generating wind turbines are located and adapted to exploit winds accelerated by the obstruction of the building above the greenhouse, and the upper storeys of parking, roadway and greenhouse are of adequate mass and strength to support said wind turbines, and are adequately isolated from the supporting storeys beneath.A building as in.... wherein wind turbines are mounted such as to harness and smooth air flow from the roadway through apertures in the floor of the greenhouse, A building as in claims.., where the walls of the roadway are provided with closeable apertures in some of which are mounted wind turbines, such that depending on wind strength and direction, in slow winds apertures on the windward side may be open and apertures on the lee side closed, such as to impel air from the roadway into the greenhouse, and in stronger winds, a relatively larger area is open on the windward side such as to accelerate the air flow through wind turbines mounted in a relatively small area of aperture open on the leeside.A building as in.... where within a bay of the services or other storey is ducting so arranged to collect wind over a substantial part of the vertical external area of the bay width and height, and to constrain and funnel the air flow to the swept area of a wind turbine mounted within the storey, the wake optionally being likewise ducted by a diverging funnel to enhance the effect of the negative pressure on the lee of the building, both such as to smooth and accelerate the air flow impinging on said wind turbine, and if feasible so adapted that the wind turbine can usefully exploit wind from the opposite direction.A building as in.. where in the greenhouse thereof is equipment as for desulphurisation and denitrification of flue gas emanating from processes in the spaces beneath or adjacent buildings, wherefrom heat may be dissipated into the greenhouse and purified flue gas may be distributed along its length in one or both directions such as to avoid excessive concentration of carbon dioxide.A building as in.... where into the greenhouse thereof is collected carbon dioxide from any available source, as of brewing, composting, etc appropriately purified as need be.A building as in... wherefrom waste heat, carbon dioxide, water and plant nutrients are collected in the greenhouse wherein they are utilised towards photosynthesis of food and other crops.A building as in. ..wherein the greenhouse thereof, is equipment designed and operated to facilitate the growth and production of algae, such as to absorb carbon dioxide.A building as in.... wherein space heating and hot water is provided largely by low grade heat from diverse sources, of sensible and latent heat in the external air, electrical heat gains, radiant solar heat transmitted through the greenhouse roof and windows, collected in the greenhouse, and extracted by an air source heat pump largely powered by electricity generated by wind turbines mounted on the building, and where erratic inputs of heat from such sources are stored in the thermal mass of the structure and heat losses are minimised by a large ratio of floor area to small area of well insulated external surface to maintain a near constant temperature.A building as in.. .wherefrom the external surfaces thereof rainwater is harvested, which being free from excreted drug residues, after suitable treatment may preferably be used directly for potable purposes, and where mains water and condensate from the air source heat pumps may also be utilised, the waste water therefrom after suitable treatment containing plant nutrients, may be recycled several times to the greenhouse to irrigate crops of food, fuel, etc., and eventually be used to irrigate land alongside roof road buildings, or discharged to a river.A building as in.. . .where in the greenhouse thereof, appropriate sensors and controls are fitted such as to operate variable apertures, blow air against the underside of glazing, control air source heat pumps, artificial lighting, admission of flue gases, to achieve conditions of temperature, carbon dioxide, relative humidity, water, nutrients and light as are environmentally or economically justifiable to enhance or optimise photosynthesis, towards production of crops for food, fuel or other product, and thereby absorb carbon dioxide, while maintaining healthy conditions of temperature and ventilation in the buildings beneath.A building generally as in claims,,,,, which supports a roadway, roof greenhouse, and wind generators above and within the building, together with rainwater harvesting, and services of sewage treatment, water recycling and reuse of wastes where heat losses are so reduced by the contiguous construction, its large thermal mass maintaining a steady temperature thus avoiding a hygroscopic effect, internal insulating shutters reducing window heat losses, efficient extract ventilation from bathroom floor level minimising ventilation heat loss, that winter heat demand can be met by passive solar gains via near south facing windows and a greenhouse roof, supplemented by heat recovered from exhaust air and heat gains as warm air and flue gas from industrial processes and the roof roadway, collected in the greenhouse roof from where heat loss is reduced by injection of external air against the underside of the glazing, and air is eventually extracted by air source heat pumps working at a high performance ratio due to the relatively high temperature of the air source, so enabling the relatively small electricity load, to be provided largely by wind turbines, and said warm air also containing enhanced carbon dioxide enabling a high rate of photosynthesis of food and fuel crops, thus absorbing carbon dioxide and being for most of the year and net over the year an exporter of sustainable electricity and heat, supplemented by heat input partially recovered from combustion of vehicle fuel.Amendments to the Claims have been filed as follows Claims Energy Saving Buildings -revision before requesting search. 26 May 09 1. A building surmounted by a roof greenhouse wherein are facilities for growing crops and into which is delivered exhaust ventilating air from the building.
2. A building as in claim 1 where fans blow external air against the underside of the roof glazing thereby reducing the temperature differential across the glazing and thus the heat loss through it.
3. A building as in claims 1 or 2 wherein the greenhouse thereof are variable ventilation openings such that ventilation may be restricted such as to enhance the concentration of carbon dioxide.
4. A building as in claims 1, 2 or 3 in which is an air source heat pump, which can source air from the greenhouse and or from the exterior and cool outgoing air to below external temperature to extract renewable heat from external air and recover heat from various sources before rejecting such air to the exterior, thereby providing heat for space and water heating in the buildings.
5. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3 or 4 wherein the greenhouse thereof are mounted tanks in which condensate from the air source heat pumps and rainwater from the roof is collected for use.
6. A building as in claims 1 2, 3, 4 or 5 wherein tanks are mounted in the greenhouse and means provided whereby rainwater is collected from the roof plus condensate from the air source heat pumps, to be utilized in the building.
7. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 in which is an anaerobic digester wherein sewage, waste water and vegetable matter is treated.
8. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 in which is a tank in the greenhouse where purified liquid effluent containing plant nutrients from anaerobic digestion of wastes are stored to irrigate and fertilize crops within the greenhouse.
9. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 in which is a gas store and gas engine driven electricity generator, enabling electricity generation from biogas from anaerobic digestion.
10. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 wherein the greenhouse roof thereof is accommodated equipment for purification of gases containing carbon dioxide from industrial processes as of combustion and brewing whereby their heat and carbon dioxide may be distributed along the greenhouse such as to enhance carbon dioxide concentrations and photosynthesis while maintaining safe limits.
11. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 comprising a group of generally compact, well insulated and contiguous buildings with a small area of external surfaces relative to floor area and suffer little fabric heat loss and solar gain relatively to traditional buildings.
12. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 having a substantial thermal capacity as of a concrete structure in relation to the heat loss via the building fabric, such as can absorb and store erratic heat inputs, while maintaining a relatively steady temperature and thus avoiding a hygrothermal effect of intermittent heating of pumping moisture into a building.
13. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11 or 12 provided with Sun-facing windows of generous area and single glazed to maximize solar transmission, together with internal insulating shutters and whose outward facing surfaces may be readily exchanged between solar-absorbency in winter and reflectance in summer.
14. A building as in claims 1 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11 12 or 13 where the footprint of the buildings is of linear form.
15. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11 12, 13 or 14 wherein an infrastructure as of water, electricity, drainage, sewerage, waste disposal, segregated roadway, telecommunications, long-distance conduit as for electricity cables from hill and marine wind farms, tidal generators, and desert solar installations is installed.
16. A building as in claim... where electricity-generating wind turbines are mounted above the greenhouse, supported by the building, located to exploit the fast moving winds above the building accelerated by the obstruction offered by the building.
17. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7,8,9, 10,11,12, 13, 14, 15 or 16 where the walls as of the roadway, parking floor and or services floor have closable apertures in some of which are mounted wind turbines such that opening of the apertures may be regulated to increase the air velocity and flow to exploit pressure differences between windward and lee sides of the building.
18. A building as in claims 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10,11,12,13, 14, 15, 16 or 17 where almost every building occupancy and function is included, facilitating the efficient supply of goods and services, and recycling of wastes.
19. A building as in claims 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10,11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 or 18 where the buildings are aligned in a substantially linear plan of compatible and appropriate height varying according to ground level, such as to minimize gradients of a roadway forming an upper part of the building, preferably immediately beneath the greenhouse.
20. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3,4, 5,6, 7, 8,9, 10,11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or 19 where variable apertures in the floor of the greenhouse allow heat and carbon dioxide emitted by vehicles on the roof road to enter the greenhouse such as to be captured and recycled.
21. A building as in claims 1, 2, 3,4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 wherein the greenhouse is equipment to cultivate algae.
22. A building generally as in claims 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, 13, 14,15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, or2l with an integrated structure supporting several facilities, of accommodation, greenhouse, wind turbines and infrastructure services, their linear plan and compact form providing mutual support, shading, thermal storage, thermal and sound insulation and a segregated near-level roadway, whereby energy demand can be greatly reduced and met largely from renewable sources of passive solar gain, heat sourced from external air, wind power, anaerobic digestion of wastes, liquid fuels produced from algae, recovery and recycling of heat, while reabsorbing carbon dioxide emissions in growing food and other crops.