Building Green
Student #1
Student #2
Student #3
Student #4
ENGR 100W
Dr. Thalia Anagnos
Table of Contents
I. Introduction 1
II. GreenBuilding Overview2
Energy Efficiency2
Water Conservation and Efficient Use3
New Building Materials3
Summary3
III. GreenBuilding Implentation4
Energy Efficiency4
Water Conservation and Efficient Use5
New Building Materials5
Summary6
IV. Barriers to Building Green6
Cost6
Complexity7
Design Flaws8
Summary
V. Conclusion9
VI. References10
Introduction
Building green and green buildings have become a term commonly thrown around today. Many global events have caused people, governments, and societies to take a second look at how buildings are developed. The Urban Land Institute states that “several forces are driving these changes, including population growth and an accompanying increase in resource use; concern about climatic changes; increasing energy costs; and technological advances” (Urban Land Institute, 2003). No longer can we build to our hearts content without first thinking of the long term effects that our actions have on the environment.
One reason to build green is to use resources more efficiently and conscientiously. Large cities are a sponge soaking up the earth’s resources (Ecological Footprints, n.d.). Tokyo, one of the largest cities, requires a total of 109 million hectares of land to sustain its population (Ecological Footprints, n.d.). That land is required for food production, wood supplies, and carbon sequestration. The amount of land required to sustain a large city such as Tokyo is more land than all of Japan. As more and more cities grow to the size of Tokyo, we will need to find more efficient ways to use our resources.
Figure 1: Tokyo is considered one of the world’s largest cities and has nearly
8.3 million people living there. (From Brad Templeton Photography,
The objective of this report is to give some more information on the concept of building green. What is a green building, how are green buildings built, and what are some of the challenges associated with building green are some of the questions that this report will discuss. This report will have three main sections discussing green buildings. This first section will give an overview of what a green building is and will discuss many of the concepts in green buildings. The second section will explain what goes into creating a green building and it will elaborate as to how the concepts of green buildings are actually implemented. The third section will discuss the problems that architects and engineers face when trying to design and build green buildings.
GreenBuilding Overview
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, buildings in the U.S. accounts for: “39% of total energy use, 12% of total water consumption, 68% total electricity consumption, and 38% of total carbon dioxide emissions” (GreenBuildings, n.d.). These alarming statistics, along with the depletion of our natural environments, has pushed us to engineer buildings that have a positive impact on natural surroundings. A term known as green building design is used to acknowledge that a building has taken steps to lower the buildings environmental impact. The U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) has devised different benchmarks that buildings need to satisfy in order to qualify for green building status. The LEED rating system scores buildings on five different characteristics: water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, sustainable sites, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality (Global Warming Actions, 2000). Each of these categories has a specific amount of total points a building can accumulate. Depending upon how many points a building receives; green building status will be dictated. A building that has been designed green, will increase energy efficiency, reduce water consumption, and use environmentally safe materials.
Energy Efficiency
Buildings that meet green building criteria will significantly use less energy. As stated earlier, buildings account for 39% percent of total energy use (Green Buildings, n.d.). Of that 39%, the majority of that energy comes from burning fossil fuels. Fossils fuels are the leading source of green house gasses and other pollutants. Decreasing the amount of electricity used in a building can cut the use of fossil fuels. Construction design in exterior shading can effectively cut the use of artificial light, and maintain a relative comfortable temperature inside the building. The NW Federal Credit Union is a great example of this type of shading design. The figure below is a picture of the NW Credit Union building, and it illustrates how the shading devices were built to achieve energy efficiency.
Figure 2: Picture of the NW Credit Union building illustrating the design of the shade devices. (From
Star products and solar water heaters are great energy savers, as well. Products that are classified under Star use much less electricity when not in use. In addition, solar energy can be used as a replacement to electricity. Photovoltaic panels and solar water heaters, both harness the suns energy to create energy for households and buildings. According to BuilditGreen.org, “…a typical solar water heating system can cut the use of conventional energy source for water heating by about two-thirds” (Build it Green, n.d.). Cutting the use of conventional energy through the use of solar energy means a cleaner environment and less energy spending.
Water Conservation and Efficient Use
Water efficiency in green buildings is remarkably higher then conventional water use. Various approaches have been taken in green building design to increase water efficiency. The various approaches include rain water catchments systems, duel plumbing, and low flush water systems. Rainwater catchments systems are large storage tanks that capture rainwater. The idea of harnessing rainwater has been around for thousands of years. Green building design has resurfaced the idea of harnessing rainwater, because it drastically saves water use.
A 1982 study, by the United Nations Environment Program, showed that with an average rainfall of 72 inches and using 1,100-gallon storage tanks, enough water could be collected in 12 hours to serve a family of six for 45 days (Edith A. Chenault, 1998).
The 1982 study by the United Nations has proven that harnessed rainwater can potentially be a great resource of water for households and buildings. Furthermore, dual plumbing can reduce water consumption by using recycled water and harnessed rainwater for toilet flushing (Green Building Basics, 2004).
New Building Materials
In green building design, various steps are taken to insure the materials used are environmentally friendly, and pose minimum danger to humans. Materials that are low in toxicity compared to other materials are considered green because of their relative impact. For example, pipes made out of polyvinyl chloride or PVC pipes, can be very harmful to the environment. “… Most PVC products are over 40% chlorine by weight, and hazardous chlorinated hydrocarbons, can be produced during incineration or as by-products” (Build it Green, n.d.). HDPE pipes are an alternative to PVC pipes, because they are chlorine free, and their recycling rate is much higher then PVC pipes (Build it Green, n.d.). Moreover, recycled materials can be environmentally friendly. The energy it takes to create a product out of recycled goods is much lower then creating a product out of raw materials.
Summary
Being one of the largest nations, we have a huge responsibility to take care of our natural surroundings. We use immense amounts of energy and resources, and emit vast amounts of pollutants into the air. Through the use of green building design, we can notably decrease water consumption, increase energy efficiency and use environmentally safe materials. If we can implement these qualities in our buildings we will not only be helping out the environment and our health, but also set an example for the rest of the world.
GreenBuilding Implementation
Implementation of green buildings is not always as easy as it sounds. Integration of new designs and construction sometimes are limited to the existing facilities design and budget limitation. Sometimes the goal at hand is not to build from scratch, but replace existing systems to improve your energy consumption. When building green, there are a lot of things that go into the planning and design before the construction begins. The following will discuss how to design energy efficient, water efficient, and implement good building materials when building green.
The most important aspect of building green lies in the design and planning of the building. Careful thought needs to be put into every aspect of the inner working systems for them to work efficiently. Several steps in building green must take place before the building is built. For example if you plan for your building to use ground source heat pumps for geothermic heating, these pipes must buried underground before the building or parking lot is paved. Overall the design process should encompass all aspects of your objectives.
Energy Efficiency
There are several ways in which you can save energy from heating and cooling your green building. Most of the energy wasted is the heating and cooling of your building. You can design your building to face east and west to use the natural rising of the sun help warm your building. Sometimes the architecture design can implement structures like walls that help shade the building helping keep its surfaces cool. The NW Credit Union’s designers used 3D virtual models and studied the sun to better understand the best implementation of this practice. Proper use of insulation and new windows can help sustain temperatures better. The implementation of passive solar heat can be used to use the sun’s solar energy o heat your building. The designs of your building you can delegate whether you want the surface to reflect, absorb or transmit the solar radiation. There are new windows that reflect light and better insulate your building to keep it cool. City Hall in San Jose is a great example of efficient use of light.
Figure 3: Picture of City Hall in San Jose, CA (from:
There are some areas where you will want to absorb the heat. Heat ducting on your roof can be placed to use the solar heat. Using south facing glass, the sun can shine into the one way glass and absorbs into the insulated ducting. The ducting acts similar to a green house and is able to be stored in the well insulated ducting and be pumped through the walls and building. Solar energy has a huge benefit is saving your heating and cooling costs. Solar panels can be used to store electricity run your pumps and air conditioning units. The objective is to get the most out of the available solar energy before using electricity and gas to heat and cool your building. Large windows and sunscreens can be used to help maximize your sunlight use for lighting.
Ducts and venting can help cool your building when needed using outside air. Other techniques can be used such as displacement ventilation so that the air or water used to cool your building does not have to be as cool since it is redirected elsewhere or back into the environment. Using smart design processes, good insulation, ducting, and using the right type of glass for your buildings applications are very helpful in heating and cooling your green building.
Water Conservation and Efficient Use
Large buildings use an enormous amount of water. There are ways of building green that can use less water or better recycle water to make your building more environmental friendly and cut down on your water bill. Rainwater can be used to water your landscaping around the building. Water run-off can be saved and stored on the roof and can serve as grey water for ultra efficient toilets and bathrooms. Water efficient taps, toilets, fixing leaks, and the implementation of waterless urinals can all cut down on the amount of water your building uses. Implementing water efficient taps that are virtually leak free and boost pressure from the faucet help reduce your water consumption. Using newer toilets that use less water to flush will also help. Waterless urinals use a disposable cartridge that makes using water in them obsolete all together. Implementing new water saving devises is relatively easy and can make a huge difference by taking these simple steps in construction of your green building.
New Building Materials
It is very important that you use good materials when building green. Well insulated piping, ducting, windows, and walls all do their part in save energy. Although implementing these can seem more expensive, they will end up saving you money in the long run. There are many environmental friendly insulations available on the market today. Warmcel 100 is a fire retardant recycled newspaper that is used to help insulate walls. Thermal-fleece, which is a sheep’s wool, is also a good natural insulate that can be used in house hold or building applications. Energy efficient windows are very important to your buildings construction. Depending on where they are used, certain types can be selected to keep light out, let more in, or reflect the heat and energy off the surface. New windows can be double ore triple pained and usually have a gas layer between the layers of glass that help make them better isolators. The use of energy efficient glass helps save the amount of heating and cooling you have to do as it becomes a better insulator than conventional windows.
Summary
These are just some of the ways in which you can implement energy savings when building green. Building green can be implemented by design and planning process that will improve sustainability. You will save more energy by reducing the amount of water used and you will reduce heating and cooling costs by using better building materials.
Barriers to Building Green
As discussed in previous sections, there are many obvious benefits to green building. So why aren’t all new structures being manufactured as green buildings? Difficulties with the implantation of LEED principles have been a problem from the start. Because of the lack of knowledge of green building, implementation has suffered. There are very common misconceptions that by building according to the LEED requirements, the total cost of the building increases greatly. It is also believed that the complexities of the construction will also make it difficult to build. Lastly, it will be explained in a case study that some of the principles of green building are not as beneficial as they seem.
Cost
The cost of building any large high-dollar structure is a big issue concerning any building. The perceived additional cost of construction due to green building is often under scrutiny. This perceived high first cost of green building is not an urban legend. It is actually confirmed by the Green Building Quarterly, which strongly advocates the use of green building principles. They state that the initial cost for sustainable buildings is higher than conventional buildings. They further elaborate by saying that “the average cost premium for a LEED building (regardless of level achieved) was about 2 percent, or $4 to $5 /sq. ft. (GreenBuilding, 2005)”
Many government buildings such as schools and hospitals are slow in their implementation of green building practices because of the higher cost of initial construction. According to American City and County, government officials will over emphasize the initial cost of construction and will overlook the lifelong cost of the building (Stansberry, 2005). Since local governments act as owners of these buildings nd are responsible of the costs, budget cuts are often the result. By cutting the budget, green building principles would be virtually impossible to implement. Also, in many local governments, the people must vote to implement green building practices. If the voters are lead to believe that the construction will cost more, then they are less likely to vote in favor of the implementation of green building because higher government spending often leads to higher taxes (Stansberry, 2005). According to the Daily Journal of Commerce, Portland, many hospitals are slow to adopt green principle because of the “first-cost implications” and also because they were not previously required to abide by new energy codes (Morgan, 2005). The refurbishment of older buildings is also a concern to the owners. Because of new energy codes, the cost of refurbishing older building with new computers, air-conditioning systems, water heating systems and other high dollar items increases greatly over the cost of conventional systems (Hudgins, 2006).