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Living Green
Green building protects the environment
Reduce, renew, recycle and remove
Buildings in the US consume a whopping 39% of total energy use and 68% of total electricity consumption. Buildings produce 38% of total carbon dioxide emissions and consume 12% of total water consumption. Buildings also make people sick while building sewage and runoff make the environment sick.
Green building is a collective phrase that refers to the practice of creating buildings that protect the environment, protect the human inhabitants and, increasingly, protect surrounding natural beauty.
Green building includes many issues revolving about the concepts of reduce, renew, recycle and remove.
Green building practices aim for:
- Reduced energy consumption, efficient energy use
- Renewable energy use
- Recycled and renewable materials
- Reduced carbon emissions
- Reduced water usage
- Recycled water usage and water conservation
- Reduced effects on environment such as sewage, storm water runoff, heat island effects
- Removing the source of health impacts on inhabitants — indoor air quality and removing toxic materials
- Finally, the ultimate recycle of the building when it becomes obsolete
Green building people achieve their goals through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and ultimately deconstruction and removal of the building. The practice has a total perspective that includes all aspects of the building process through all stages of its life.
The green philosophic concepts of sustainable development and sustainability are guiding concepts in the methods of green building.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and Green Globes from GBI is used to score or rank the performance of green buildings.
Green building materials would include:
- Wood from sustainable forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council
- Easily renewable plant materials such as straw, or bamboo which can harvested in 6 years, or cork from cork oak (the outer bark is removed while the tree is preserved)
- Recycled metal
- Stone
- The green builder also considers the energy used in transporting a material and thus looks for local sources
- Green builders also look for materials such as wood or stone that are already on site
Green builders look to minimize toxicity:
- Insulation with minimal or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are used
- Materials with formaldehyde are avoided such as glues, foam sprays and insulation
- Boric acid is used to treat materials against insect damage
- Organic and milk based paints are used
- PVC, polypropylene and SB latex are to be avoided
Recycling of old architectural materials is important:
- Wood from older buildings is reclaimed and sold as flooring
- Doors, windows, mantels and hardware are salvaged too
Techniques can be used in the design of a building to reduce energy use:
- The orientation of a building toward sunlight and breezes
- Use of windows to maximize daylight reducing electric light use
- Use of passive solar to store heat during the day and release it at night
- Also, the use of active solar
- Good insulation of walls, windows and doors is critical
Green builders employ technologies to reduce energy use:
- Energy efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems
- Hot water heat recycling recovers the heat from showers, dishwashers, clothes washers, 60% of heat can be saved.
- Geothermal heat pumps though expensive can save money and energy in specific cases
- Energy sources that are renewable are used -- solar power, wind power, hydro power or biomass
To conserve water and reduce affect on wells and sewage systems:
- Greywater from dishwashers and washing machines showers is used to irrigate lawn and plants and even for flush toilets
- Rain collectors save water also for irrigation and other purposes
Finally, Green builders reduce their own waste by reducing the amount of waste material they send to landfills.