While green building is becoming increasingly popular, it isn’t something which many of us know how to accomplish. For instance, what qualifies a building as being green, and how are engineers and architects improving the state of the art to be more environmentally friendly? Here are some key aspects of green building, and how to accomplish them.
The most important criteria when evaluating a green structure is energy efficiency. Use of environmentally friendly and recycled materials is certainly important, but the majority of a structure’s environmental impact will arise not during its construction, but rather during its years of use. Just what constitutes energy efficiency is a subject of great debate, so individual research is required to decide what is most important to you.
One helpful scale for measuring energy efficiency is an established hundred-point scale by whose ratings similar structures can be compared. Furthermore, if structures rate at above 75 on this scale, they can qualify for the EPA’s Energy Star rating more commonly associated with appliances. One helpful tool in this process is the Target Finder, an EPA guideline for both constructing energy efficiently as well as improving efficiency later.
All that needs to be done is for the designers to enter the estimated energy consumption to generate a performance rating on the system. Excellent examples of green design are eligible for special recognition by the EPA.
Of course, if you’re interested in green building, it’s important to have an effective policy to create these structures. A good green building policy needs to use simple, standardized metrics for measuring energy use in every phase of the design, construction, and operation of the building. New buildings need to be designed to meet local energy codes, but shouldn’t stop there. Instead, designers should try to get them to meet aggressive energy targets and be much more efficient.
Remember to verify that the target is being reached during building and operation. Many organizations forget to check to see if their goals are actually being met! This is an important feedback loop that will help designers create more effective green buildings. In general, a green structure needs to be less expensive to own in the long run, conserve water and energy, provide health and save environments, and promote good care of the environment.
Green building is a complex area of study. To do so well and efficiently, it is essential to learn as much about the subject area as you can in order to make effective decisions with the greenest outcome.
About the author: Jerry Dyess has been specializing in the Commercial Energy market segment for the past 7 years. He has published many articles on Business Electric prices.
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