Sustainable Building Standards in the Galapagos Islands: Definition, Simulation, and Implementation in Representative Living Labs

The Galapagos Islands are undeniably a highly attractive ecosystem for scientists worldwide. However, the energy efficiency and sustainability aspects of their building stock have not yet been studied in depth, which directly hinders the achievement of sustainability goals for the Archipelago, such as reducing resource consumption, minimizing emissions, and improving overall comfort in buildings. Addressing these issues is critical to preserving the islands’ unique ecosystem, as current construction practices are unsustainable and exacerbate environmental pressures, causing over-consumption of local resources and upsetting the delicate ecological balance that sustains this fragile environment. In line with the National Energy Efficiency Plan promoted by the Government of Ecuador for the Archipelago, this study provides transparent and reliable information and data on the building stock of the islands. This work quantifies the impact of buildings on the use of resources and analyses the potential savings of different strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Various representative typologies are established based on the collection of architectural, construction, and usage information. For each of these typologies, various energy models are developed to establish the baseline and to analyse the demand and comfort of the buildings under different renovation scenarios in order to validate the sustainable construction strategies to be implemented. Moreover, new standards are also defined in order to reduce energy and water consumption and increase indoor air quality and comfort in buildings. In an attempt to generate evidence and facilitate the replication and implementation of sustainable construction standards, three Living Labs (LLs) are created to validate different strategies and technological solutions in different locations, according to the defined standards: a school in Santa Cruz, a hotel in Isabela, and a residential building in San Cristóbal. The findings highlight the effectiveness of specific energy-saving strategies and water conservation measures validated through Living Labs implemented in different locations across the islands. Furthermore, the knowledge generated is transferred through local training of the agents of the construction chain and administration.

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