We’ve been talking about green buildings in general. Now let’s get a little
more speciŠc about what we actually mean by the term“green building.”
Utilizing the LEED system of the US Green Building Council, introduced
in the previous chapter, a green building is one that is built considering the
following Šve factors. However, most green buildings do not incorporate
all of these measures, but rather the project team picks and chooses those
that are appropriate for a project’s budget and goals.
1. Promote Selection of Appropriate Sites and
Environmentally Sustainable Site Development
• Locate projects on sites away from wetlands, above the 100-year šood
level, away from prime agricultural land and away from endangered
or threatened species habitat.
• Locate projects on sites where there is already urban infrastructure to
serve them.
• Locate projects on brownŠeld sites that have been remediated of contamination;
these usually have infrastructure already in place.
• Provide opportunities and building infrastructure for people to commute
to work using public transit and bicycles.
• Minimize parking to discourage excessive auto use.
• Provide low-emission vehicles and car-sharing arrangements to reduce
gasoline use.
• Protect open space in site development and restore open space on already
impacted sites.
• Manage stormwater to reduce the rate and quantity of stormwater
runoª, and use best practices to clean stormwater before it leaves the
site.
• Manage landscaping and parking lots to reduce excessive areas of
open pavement that cause heating of the area around a building in
summer, leading tomore air-conditioning use.
• Control interior and exterior light from leaving the site, helping to
make skies darker at night.
2. Promote Efficient Use ofWater Resources
• Control irrigation water use for landscaping, using as little as possible.
Select native landscaping which demands little or no added water.
• Look for alternative ways to reduce sewage šows from the project,
possibly even treating the wastewater onsite.
• Use water-conserving Šxtures inside the building, to reduce overall
water demand.
3. Conserve Energy, Use Renewable Energy and
Protect Atmospheric Resources
• Reduce the energy use (and environmental impact) of buildings 20%
ormore below the level of a standard building.
• Use onsite renewable energy to supply a portion of the building’s electrical
and gas (thermal energy) needs, using solar photovoltaic (PV)
panels or solar water heating.
• Commission the building by verifying the functional performance of
all energy-using systems after they are installed but before the building
is occupied.
• Reduce the use of ozone-harming and global-warming chemicals in
building refrigeration and air-conditioning systems.
• Provide a means to troubleshoot the building’s energy use on a continuing
basis by installingmeasuring andmonitoring devices.
• Supply 35%ormore of the building’s electrical supply with purchased
green power fromoªsite installations, typically fromwind farms.
4. Conserve BuildingMaterials, Reduce ConstructionWaste
and Sensibly Use Natural Resources
• Install permanent locations for recycling bins to encourage the practice
in building operations.
• Reuse existing buildings, including interior and exterior materials, to
reduce the energy use and environmental impacts associated with
producing new buildingmaterials.
• Reduce construction waste disposal by 50% or more to cut costs and
reduce landŠll use.
• Use salvaged and reclaimed building materials such as decorative
brick and wood timbers that are still structurally sound.
• Use recycled-content building materials that are made from “downcycled”
materials such as recycled concrete, dry wall, šy ash fromcoalŠred
plants and newspapers.
• Use materials that are harvested and processed in the region, within
500 miles, to cut the transportation impacts associated with bringing
themfromfarther away.
• Use rapidly renewable materials that have a ten-year regeneration
time or less, such as bamboo, cork, linoleum, wheatboard or strawboard
cabinetry.
• Purchase 50% or more of the wood products in the building from
forests certiŠed for sustainable harvesting and good management
practices.
5. Protect and Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality
• Provide non-smoking buildings, or separate ventilation systems
where smoking is allowed (such as in high-rise housing).
• Monitor delivery of outside air ventilation so that it responds to demand
by using sensors for carbon dioxide levels to adjust air šow.
• Provide for 30% increased ventilation above code levels, or natural
ventilation of indoor work areas, to increase the amount of healthy air
in the building.
• Conduct construction activities so that there is clean air at the startup
of systems and no dust ormoisture inmaterials such as ductwork and
sheet rock. The idea is to get rid of “new-building smell” and its associated
toxicity.
• Use low-emittingmaterials in the building to reduce sources of future
contamination, including oª-gassing frompaints and coatings, adhesives
and sealants, carpets and backing and composite (or engineered)
wood or agriŠber products.
• Make sure that areas where chemicals are mixed or used (such as inhouse
printing plants or large copy rooms) are separately ventilated,
and install walk-oª mats or grilles at building entrances to capture
contaminants before they enter the building.
• Provide for individual thermal comfort of building occupants, with
respect to temperature and humidity.
• Provide for occupant control of building lighting and ventilation systems.
• Provide for adequate daylighting of interior work spaces, using both
vision glazing and overhead light sources such as skylights and roof
monitors (vertical glazing).
• Provide for views of the outdoors from at least 90% of all workspaces
so that people can connect with the environment.
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