Green Buildings(sustainable buildings) refers to that sustainable building projects which contribute in preservation of natural environment around the project site without interfering in sole purpose of the building. It includes construction operation or techniques which promote sustainable environment during entire life cycle of the buildings i.e. from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction.
Green Buildings also maintain conventional building
design which mainly focus on economy, utility, durability, and comfort.
Objectives of Green Buildings
- To minimize the negative impact on the environment during life cycle of a building including construction.
- Construction of buildings which promote minimal use of the natural resources at the time of construction as well as operation. Green buildings highlights the resource usage efficiency and also on three R's - Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
- Promote improving Health and Productivity environment.
- Efficient use of energy, Water and Other resources.
- Reduce waste, pollution and degradation of environmental resources.
Fundamental Principles
Optimize Energy Use
Improving the practice for efficient energy use and transfer focus on more renewable resource of energy to meet the demands. Promoting and working toward net zero energy building practice is one of significant ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel-derived energy.
Protect and Conserve
Water
A sustainable building should use water efficiently, and reuse or
recycle water for on-site use, when feasible.
Optimize Building
Space and Material Use
Dependence upon natural resources increases with increment in World's population. A well designed sustainable
building focuses on use and reuse materials in the productive ways during its entire life cycle.
Structure Design Principle
Optimization of Resources has key role to play in structure design principle. Green buildings give importance to open spaces like parks, garden etc. instead of focus on development of buildings in compact space.
Waste Reduction
Waste management is a environmental challenge in present time. Green buildings minimize solid waste
generation and promote recycling and reuse.
Benefits of Green Buildings
The benefits of green buildings can be divided in three categories: environment, economic and social.
Environment
Green Buildings has a positive impact on the environment (at
the building or city scales) as it generate their own energy or increasing
biodiversity and by using less water, energy or natural resources
The building sector has the largest potential in adoption of such practices which reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerable as compared to other major emitting sectors.
Green
buildings reduce air pollution significantly in most effective ways. Lesser the use of fossil fuels, lower the air pollution contributions at the site, while reduction in
electricity use results in lower air pollution associated with power plants.
Economic Benefits
Construction and Operating Costs: Green Buildings cost 10-20 percent more than conventional buildings during construction. But operating cost of green buildings is much less as it save money by minimal use of water, energy and lesser maintenance cost. Thus green buildings cost less than conventional practice during long run.
Asset Value: Research shows that the share of green buildings has increasing rapidly in real estate business as people are becoming more responsible toward preservation of environment and good health care. Greener building attract
tenants easily and to command higher rents and sale prices;
Workplace Productivity
and Health: The green design contribute in improvement of buildings and indoor
environments which directly improve worker productivity and occupant health and
well-being.
Social Benefits
Green building improve air and
water quality within structures, as well as the productivity of their occupants.
With improving the indoor environmental quality of a building, Occupant health, comfort, and productivity will also improve significantly. The Green building utilize maximum daylight, has appropriate ventilation, moisture control and well controlled temperature.
Various sustainable approaches to Green building
- For location, always prefer used land rather than destroying greener place or forest for location. Public transport and local market should be easily available near the site as it cut travel time as well as money.
- Use of Green Roof or Cool Roof.
- Use products having Energy Efficient star labels as it consumes less energy than conventional equipment.
- Proper insulation of building must be provided as major part of energy which are used for cooling or heating of building is saved.
- Implementation of Rain water harvesting system for collecting and use of water later.
- Use of waste water treatment equipment like septic tanks. The treated effluents can further reused for watering the plantation.
- Always find innovative ways which focus on 3 R's- recycle, reduce, reuse.
- For construction of Green buildings, always used sustainable materials for every part of buildings like roofing materials, insulation materials, paints, other buildings materials.
- Usage of energy efficient lighting system like CFL or LED.
- Planting Greener near buildings as Shaded landscape protect buildings from direct sunlight. Thus helps in maintaining the temperature of building and avoid unnecessary energy consumed for cooling and heating the buildings.
- Solar Panels and Solar Heaters (prefer without storage) should be used.
- Proper Construction Waste management.
- Always replace your old HVAC after long time of use with new, highly efficient and energy stared HVAC for heating or cooling system for building.
For any suggestion of new methods or technique, leave the comment in below.
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