Green building

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Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.

A similar concept is natural building, which is usually on a smaller scale and tends to focus on the use of natural materials that are available locally.^[1] Other commonly used terms include sustainable design and green architecture.

The related concepts of sustainable development and sustainability are integral to green building. Effective green building can lead to 1) reduced operating costs by increasing productivity and using less energy and water, 2) improved public and occupant health due to improved indoor air quality, and 3) reduced environmental impacts by, for example, lessening storm water runoff and the heat island effect. Practitioners of green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural and built environment, although the appearance and style of sustainable buildings is not necessarily distinguishable from their less sustainable counterparts.

Contents 1 The environmental impact of buildings 2 Green building practices 2.1 Green building materials 2.1.1 Lower Volatile Organic Compounds 2.1.2 Recycled Materials 2.2 Reduced Energy Use 2.3 Reduced Waste 3 Low vs. High-Density Residential Areas 3.1 Toronto Case Study 3.1.1 Construction Materials 3.1.2 Building Operations 3.1.3 Transportation 3.1.4 Overall 4 Green building worldwide 4.1 Standards and ratings 4.2 Australia 4.3 Canada 4.4 Germany 4.5 India 4.6 Israel 4.7 Malaysia 4.8 Mexico 4.9 New Zealand 4.10 United Kingdom 4.11 United States 4.11.1 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design 5 See also 6 References 7 External links 7.1 International 7.2 Australia 7.3 Canada 7.4 Costa Rica 7.5 India 7.6 New Zealand 7.7 United States 7.8 United Kingdom

[edit] The environmental impact of buildings

Buildings have a profound effect on the environment, which is why green building practices are so important to dramatically reduce those impacts. Buildings in the United States account for a large amount of land use, energy and water consumption, and air and atmosphere alteration.

More specifically, in 2002, the amount of land developed was 107.3 million acres out of 1.983 billion acres of total land, excluding Hawaii and Alaska. This is a 24% increase in ten years. Since 2002, developed land has increased significantly.

Out of all the total energy consumed by Americans in 2002, 39.4% was consumed by buildings. From that percentage, 54.6% was consumed by residential buildings and 45.4% by commercial buildings.

As for electricity, in 2002 building used 67.9% of the total amount consumed in the United States. With 51.2% used by residential buildings and 48.8% by commercial buildings. 38.1% of the total amount of carbon dioxide in the United States can be attributed to buildings. 20.6% from homes and 17.5% from commercial uses. Part of this has to do with the location of homes and other buildings that people travel by automobile everyday.

Buildings account for 12.2% of the total amount of water consumed per day in the United States.

Given these statistics, reducing the amount of natural resources buildings consume and the amount of pollution given off is crucial for future sustainability.^[2]

However, the environmental impact of buildings is often underestimated, while the perceived costs of building green are overestimated. A recent survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development finds that green costs are overestimated by 300%, as key players in real estate and construction estimate the additional cost at 17% above conventional construction, more than triple the true average cost difference of about 5%.^[3]

[edit] Green building practices

Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic techniques and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and for reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques, such as using packed gravel for parking lots instead of concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water, are used as well. Effective green buildings are more than just a random collection of environmental friendly technologies, however.^[4] They require careful, systemic attention to the full life cycle impacts of the resources embodied in the building and to the resource consumption and pollution emissions over the building's complete life cycle.

On the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustainable design is the philosophy of designing a building that is in harmony with the natural features and resources surrounding the site. There are several key steps in designing sustainable buildings: specify 'green' building materials from local sources, reduce loads, optimize systems, and generate on-site renewable energy.

[edit] Green building materials

Building materials typically considered to be 'green' include rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo and straw, lumber from forests certified to be sustainably managed, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable (eg Trass, Linoleum, sheep wool, panels made from paper flakes, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, vermiculite, flax linen, sisal, seagrass, cork, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fibre plates, calcium sand stone... ^[5]). Building materials should be extracted and manufactured locally to the building site to minimize the energy embedded in their transportation.

[edit] Lower Volatile Organic Compounds

Low-impact building materials are used wherever feasible: for example, insulation may be made from low VOC (volatile organic compound)-emitting materials such as recycled denim or cellulose insulation, rather than the building insulation materials that may contain carcinogenic or toxic materials such as formaldehyde. To discourage insect damage, these alternate insulation materials may be treated with boric acid. Organic or milk-based paints may be used.^[6] However, a common fallacy is that "green" materials are always better for the health of occupants or the environment. Many harmful substances (including formaldehyde, arsenic, and asbestos) are naturally occurring and are not without their histories of use with the best of intentions. A study of emissions from materials by the State of California has shown that there are some green materials that have substantial emissions whereas some more "traditional" materials actually were lower emitters. Thus, the subject of emissions must be carefully investigated before concluding that natural materials are always the healthiest alternatives for occupants and for the Earth.^[7]

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) can be found in any indoor environment coming from a variety of different sources. VOC’s have a high vapor pressure and low water solubility and are suspected of causing sick building syndrome type symptoms. This is because many VOC’s have been known to cause sensory irritation and central nervous system symptoms characteristic to sick building syndrome, indoor concentrations of VOC’s are higher than in the outdoor atmosphere, and when there are many VOC’s present, they can cause additive and multiplicative effects.

Green products are usually considered to contain less VOC’s and be better for human and environmental health. A case study conducted by the Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering at the University of Miami that compared three green products and their non-green counterparts found that even though both the green products and the non-green counterparts both emitted levels of VOC’s, the amount and intensity of the VOC’s emitted from the green products were much safer and comfortable for human exposure.^[8]

[edit] Recycled Materials

Architectural salvage and reclaimed materials are used when appropriate as well. When older buildings are demolished, frequently any good wood is reclaimed, renewed, and sold as flooring. Any good dimension stone is similarly reclaimed. Many other parts are reused as well, such as doors, windows, mantels, and hardware, thus reducing the consumption of new goods. When new materials are employed, green designers look for materials that are rapidly replenished, such as bamboo, which can be harvested for commercial use after only 6 years of growth, or cork oak, in which only the outer bark is removed for use, thus preserving the tree. When possible, building materials may be gleaned from the site itself; for example, if a new structure is being constructed in a wooded area, wood from the trees which were cut to make room for the building would be re-used as part of the building itself.

[edit] Reduced Energy Use

Main articles: Low-energy house and Zero-energy building

Green buildings often include measures to reduce energy use. To increase the efficiency of the building envelope, (the barrier between conditioned and unconditioned space), they may use high-efficiency windows and insulation in walls, ceilings, and floors. Another strategy, passive solar building design, is often implemented in low-energy homes. Designers orient windows and walls and place awnings, porches, and trees^[9] to shade windows and roofs during the summer while maximizing solar gain in the winter. In addition, effective window placement (daylighting) can provide more natural light and lessen the need for electric lighting during the day. Solar water heating further reduces energy loads.

After heating and cooling loads are reduced, high efficiency cooling, heating, and water heating equipment, along with insulated hot water pipes and properly sealed and insulated ducts increase whole house efficiency. Higher efficiency appliances and other electric devices not only lowers direct energy use, but also lowers cooling loads in the summer by producing less waste heat. Similarly, fluorescent lighting, which uses one-fourth to one-fifth less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs^[10] lowers direct electricity use and cooling loads. Other improvements include adding thermal mass to stabilize daily temperature variations, absorption chillers, optimizing houses for natural ventilation, cool roofs in warm climates, heat recovery ventilation and hot water heat recycling.

Finally, onsite generation of renewable energy through solar power, wind power, hydro power, or biomass can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the building. Power generation is generally the most expensive feature to add to a building.

[edit] Reduced Waste

Good green architecture also reduces waste of energy, water and materials. During the construction phase, one goal should be to reduce the amount of material going to landfills. Well-designed buildings also help reduce the amount of waste generated by the occupants as well, by providing onsite solutions such as compost bins to reduce matter going to landfills.

To reduce the impact on wells or water treatment plants, several options exist. "Greywater", wastewater from sources such as dishwashing or washing machines, can be used for subsurface irrigation, or if treated, for non-potable purposes, e.g., to flush toilets and wash cars. Rainwater collectors are used for similar purposes.

Centralized wastewater treatment systems can be costly and use a lot of energy. An alternative to this process is converting waste and wastewater into fertilizer, which avoids these costs and shows other benefits. By collecting human waste at the source and running it to a semi-centralized biogas plant with other biological waste, liquid fertilizer can be produced. This concept was demonstrated by a settlement in Lubeck Germany in the late 1990s. Practices like these provide soil with organic nutrients and create carbon sinks that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, offsetting greenhouse gas emission. Producing artificial fertilizer is also more costly in energy than this process.^[11]

[edit] Low vs. High-Density Residential Areas

An aspect of concern in consideration of green building design is the phenomenon of urban sprawl. Urban sprawl is the outward movement away from the cities in the surrounding hinterlands creating suburbs. Movement into the suburbs creates low density housing, which brings along many environmental impacts due to increased transportation, larger houses using more building materials, and larger amounts of land use.

[edit] Toronto Case Study

A case study of two residential developments in the City of Toronto uses a life-cycle assessment of energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. A compact, 15 story condominium project located near the inner core of the City of Toronto is characterized as "high" density. A 161 unit residential subdivision of single-detached dwellings located near the border of the City of Toronto and the suburban Town of Markham is characterized as "low" density.

[edit] Construction Materials

The study concludes that, per capita, embodied energy and GHG emissions associated with material production across the supply chain are approximately 1.5 times higher for the low-density development than for the high-density development.

Per unit of living area (square meters), the embodied energy and GHG emissions are 1.25 time higher for the high-density development than for the low-density development.

[edit] Building Operations

The study concludes that, per capita, energy use and GHG emissions associated with building operations are approximately 1.8 times higher for the low-density development than for the high-density development.

Per unit of living area (square meters), energy use and GHG emissions are approximately equal.

[edit] Transportation

The study concludes that, per capita, transportation-related energy use and GHG emissions are 3.7 times higher for low-density development than those associated with high density development.

[edit] Overall

The study concludes that, per capita, GHG emissions associated with the low-density development are 2.5 times higher than those associated with the high-density development. Energy use associated with the low-density development is 2.0 times higher, per capita, than energy use associated with the high-density development.

Per unit of living area (square meters), energy use is approximately equal between the two developments studied. GHG emissions associated with the low-density development are 1.5 times higher than those associated with the high-density development.^[12]

[edit] Green building worldwide

[edit] Standards and ratings

Many countries have developed their own standards of energy efficiency for buildings.

• Code for Sustainable Homes, United Kingdom
• EnerGuide for Houses (energy retrofits & up-grades) and New Houses (new construction), Canada
• House Energy Rating, Australia
• DGNB, www.dgnb.de, Germany
• One Planet Living, www.biogregional.uk, WWF International
• Green Building Council, www.gbcaus.org, Australia
• BCA Green MArk, http://www.bca.gov.sg, Singapore
• BREEAM, United Kingdom
• CASBEE, Japan
• Green Globe, www.greenglobes.com, USA, Canada
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), multiple countries
• EEWH, Taiwan
• NAHBGreen, www.nahbgreen.org, for residential construction and remodeling, United States

[edit] Australia

There is a system in place in Australia called First Rate designed to increase energy efficiency of residential buildings. The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has developed a green building standard known as Green Star.^[13]

In Adelaide, South Australia, there are at least two different projects that incorporate the principles of Green building. The Eco-City development is located in Adelaide's city centre and the Aldinga Arts Eco Village is located in Aldinga. Guidelines for building developments in each project are outlined in the bylaws. The bylaws include grey water reuse, reuse of stormwater, capture of rainwater, use of solar panels for electricity and hotwater, solar passive building design and community gardens and landscaping.

Melbourne has a rapidly growing environmental consciousness, many government subsidies and rebates are available for water tanks, water efficient products (such as shower heads) and solar hot water systems. The city is home to many examples of green buildings and sustainable development such as the CERES Environmental Park.^[14] Another one is EcoLinc in Bacchus Marsh. Two of the most prominent examples of green commercial buildings in Australia are located in Melbourne — 60L^[15] and Council House 2 (also known as CH2).^[16]

The most recent building to receive the 6 Green Star award was in Canberra, where Australian Ethical Investment Ltd^[17] refurbished an existing office space in Trevor Pearcey House. The total cost of the renovation was $1.7 million, and produced an estimated 75% reductions in carbon dioxide emissions, 75% reduction in water usage, and used over 80% recycled materials. The architects were Collard Clarke Jackson Canberra, architectural work done by Kevin Miller, interior design by Katy Mutton.^[18]

In NSW, an on-line assessment system called BASIX (Building Sustainability Index) (www.basix.nsw.gov.au) requires that all new residential developments to reduce water consumption by 40%, and CO2 emissions by 40% for detached dwellings and between 20 and 30% for multi unit dwellings compared to an average baseline. The online system provides designers with a mathematical model of the development that considered the interactions between the energy and water systems of the whole, drawing on climatic and normalised rainfall data for individual locations.

[edit] Canada

Canada has implemented "R-2000" guidelines for new buildings built after the year 2000. Incentives are offered to builders to meet the R-2000 standard in an effort to increase energy efficiency and promote sustainability.

A progression of the R-2000 home program is the EnerGuide for New Houses service. This service is available across Canada and is designed to allow home builders and home buyers to build homes that use significantly less energy than the average homes being built. Some Canadian provinces are considering mandatory use of the service for all new homes.

In December 2002, Canada formed the Canada Green Building Council and in July 2003 obtained an exclusive licence from the US Green Building Council to adapt the LEED rating system to Canadian circumstances. The path for LEED's entry to Canada had already been prepared by BREEAM-Canada, an environmental performance assessment standard released by the Canadian Standards Association in June 1996. The American authors of LEED-NC 1.0 had borrowed heavily from BREEAM-Canada in the outline of their rating system; and in the assignment of credits for performance criteria.

In March 2006, Canada's first green building point of service, Light House Sustainable Building Centre, opened on Granville Island in the heart of Vancouver, BC. A destination for the public and professionals alike, the Light House resource centre is funded by Canadian government departments and businesses to help implement green building practices and to recognize the economic value of green building as a new regional economy.

• Beamish-Munro Hall at Queen's University features sustainable construction methods such as high fly-ash concrete, triple-glazed windows, dimmable fluorescent lights and a grid-tied photovoltaic array.
• Gene H. Kruger Pavilion at Laval University uses largely non polluting, non toxic, recycled and renewable materials as well as advanced bioclimatic concepts that reduce energy consumption by 25% compared with a concrete building of the same dimensions. The structure of the building is made entirely out of wood products, thus further reducing the environmental impact of the building.

• The City of Calgary Water Centreofficially opened June 4, 2008 at the Manchester Centre with a minimum Green Building Council of Canada’s Gold LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) level certification. The 183,000 square-foot office building is 95 per cent day lit, conserves energy and water and fosters a productive, healthy environment for visitors and employees alike.

[edit] Germany

German developments that employ green building techniques include:

• The Solarsiedlung (Solar Village) in Freiburg, Germany, which features energy-plus houses.
• The Vauban development, also in Freiburg.
• Houses designed by Baufritz, incorporating passive solar design, heavily insulated walls, triple-glaze doors and windows, non-toxic paints and finishes, summer shading, heat recovery ventilation, and greywater treatment systems.^[19]
• The new Reichstag building in Berlin, which produces its own energy.

[edit] India

Main article: Energy efficient buildings in India

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) plays an active role in promoting sustainability in the Indian construction sector. The CII is the central pillar of the Indian Green Building Council or IGBC. The IGBC has licesensed the LEED Green Building Standard from the U.S. Green Building Council and currently is responsible for certifying LEED-New Construction and LEED-Core and Shell buildings in India. All other projects are certified through the U.S. Green Building Council. There are many energy efficient buildings in India, situated in a variety of climatic zones. Many architects from India are adopting green building techniques, like:

• p.f.a. design firm
• Indigo Design & Engineering Associates Pvt. Ltd.,^[20].

[edit] Israel

Israel has recently implemented a voluntary standard for "Buildings with Reduced Environmental Impact" 5281, this standard is based on a point rating system (55= certified 75=excellence) and together with complementary standards 5282-1 5282-2 for energy analysis and 1738 for sustainable products provides a system for evaluating environmental sustainability of buildings. United States Green Building Council LEED rating system has been implemented on several building in Israel including the recent Intel Development Center in Haifa and there is strong industry drive to introduce an Israeli version of LEED in the very near future.

[edit] Malaysia

The Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) promotes green building techniques. Malaysian architect Ken Yeang is a prominent voice in the area of ecological design.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Mexico

The Baja, Mexico town of San Felipe is home to the largest solar-powered community in North America (3000+ home sites), with completely off-the-grid neighborhoods within El Dorado Ranch, a 30,000 acre development in San Felipe.

Because of the arid climate in this Sea of Cortez town, a number of green building initiatives have been implemented including:

• Straw-Bale Home Construction, enabling insulation factors of R-35 to R-50, as verified by the U.S. Dept. of Energy, 1995.

• Predominant use of xeriscaping - landscaping practices that reduces water consumption, energy consumption and toxic chemical usage.

• Golf Course construction utilizing SeaDwarf Grass, one of the most salt tolerant grasses with the ability to withstand ongoing irrigation having salinity levels in excess of 20,000 ppm TDS

[edit] New Zealand

The New Zealand Green Building Council has been in formation since July 2005. An establishment board was formed later in 2005 and with formal organisational status granted on 1st February 2006. That month Jane Henley was appointed as the CEO and activity to gain membership of the World GBC began. In July 2006 the first full board was appointed with 12 members reflecting wide industry involvement. The several major milestones were achieved in 2006/2007; becoming a member of the World GBC, the launch of the Green Star NZ — Office Design Tool, and welcoming our member companies.

[edit] United Kingdom

Main article: Energy efficiency in British housing

The Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) has promoted sustainable building in the UK since 1989.

The UK Building Regulations set requirements for insulation levels and other aspects of sustainability in building construction.

[edit] United States

Along with LEED, the United States has established many other sustainable design orgainzations and programs such as:

The National Association of Home Builders, a trade association representing home builders, remodelers and suppliers to the industry, has created a voluntary residential green building program known as NAHBGreen (www.nahbgreen.org). The program includes an online scoring tool, national certification, industry education, and training for local verifiers. The online scoring tool is free to builders and to homeowners.

The Green Building Initiative is a non-profit network of building industry leaders working to mainstream building approaches that are environmentally progressive, but also practical and affordable for builders to implement. The GBI has developed a web-based rating tool called Green Globes, which is being upgraded in accordance with ANSI procedures.^[21]

The United States Environmental Protection Agency's EnergyStar program rates commercial buildings for energy efficiency and provides EnergyStar qualifications for new homes that meet its standards for energy efficient building design.

In 2005, Washington became the first state in the United States to enact green building legislation.^[22] According to the law, all major public agency facilities with a floor area exceeding 5,000 square feet (465 m²), including state funded school buildings, are required to meet or exceed LEED standards in construction or renovation. The projected benefits from this law are 20% annual savings in energy and water costs, 38% reduction in waste water production and 22% reduction in construction waste.

Charlottesville, Virginia became one of the first small towns in the United States to enact green building legislation.^[23] This presents a significant shift in construction and architecture as LEED regulations have formerly been focused on commercial construction. If US homeowner interest grows in "green" residential construction, the companies involved in the production and manufacturing of LEED building materials will become likely candidates for tomorrow's round of private equity and IPO investing.^[24][25]

[edit] Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Main article: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

LEED is a progressive part of the United States Green Building Council’s ongoing endeavor to make available a national standard for green buildings. The Green Building Rating System is a third party certification program intended to guide green construction of a building based on certain criteria. There are several different sub-categories of LEED, which include LEED for New Construction; for Core and Shell; for Commercial Interiors; for Existing Buildings; for schools, retail, and healthcare facilities; and for Homes. LEED has extensive checklists, processes, and criteria that a building must adhere to for it to become LEED certified. LEED certification is intended to make healthy and safe buildings for people to work and live.^[26]

Criteria LEED has different levels of certification for green buildings based on different criteria and total credits and points earned. Credits are given based on six categories

• Sustainable sites
• Water efficiency
• Energy and atmosphere
• Materials and resources
• Indoor environmental quality
• Innovation and design process

In each of the six categories there are subsets, such as development density and community connectivity or storm water design, consisting of different credit worth a certain amount of points.

Different certification levels are based on the amount of points a building receives for successful attempts at the six categories. The certification levels are

• Certified 26-32 points
• Silver 33-38 points
• Gold 39-51 points
• Platinum 52-69 points

Platinum is the highest level of LEED certification and is the most environmental and health friendly.^[27]

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Common Fire - A thorough introduction to green building from a non-profit with one of the certified greenest buildings in the US
• Green building at the OpenDirectory Project

[edit] International

• WBCSD Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EEB) project
• Energy Conservation In Buildings And Community Systems

[edit] Australia

• Your Building - A Wiki-style portal on sustainable commercial properties
• Healthy Building - A portal focused on being a Healthy Tenant and a Healthy Building with Green initiatives.

[edit] Canada

• EnerGuide for New Houses
• Light House Sustainable Building Centre
• the NEXT Building Standard

[edit] Costa Rica

• Tropical Green Building Info - Costa Rica
• Costa Rica Green Building
• Institute for Tropical Architecture

[edit] India

• Indian Green Building Council

[edit] New Zealand

• New Zealand Green Building Council Official website

[edit] United States

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Green Building Website
• American Institute of Architects Top Ten Green Projects
• LEED for Homes program of the US Green Building Council
• Energy Star Homes program of the US EPA
• Green Design at the Thoreau Center for Sustainability
• Green Building in Louisville, KY
• NAHB National Green Building Program

[edit] United Kingdom

• Code for Sustainable Homes (via the UK Government's Planning Portal)
• NEF — the National Energy Foundation

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