“Green building” has become a buzzword in urban planning and development. Emphasis is being placed on the importance of green buildings in creating more sustainable and healthy cities. Green building refers to the construction processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition.
Compared to commuter towns, which resulted from the 20th-century industrial revolution, the latest urban planning trends aim to reduce environmental impact by creating awareness among the populace to make them more responsible for their neighborhoods. One key aspect of this initiative is for everyone to construct buildings and accompanying infrastructure that utilize sustainable materials and technology.
What is a Green Building
A green building is constructed considering its impact on the people inhabiting it and the environment, from the structure’s design, planning, building, and operation. Some aspects include water utilization, energy requirements, indoor air quality, construction materials, and the overall building effect on the surroundings.
The goal of constructing green buildings is to lessen the negative impact of buildings on the environment while amplifying the positive in the entirety of the structure’s life cycle.
Benefits of Green Building
Green buildings offer widespread benefits to a number of building industry stakeholders, including building occupants and society as a whole.
Green buildings typically incorporate superior air quality, abundant natural light, access to views and noise control which benefits building occupants, making these building better places to work or live.
The key process difference between green and conventional buildings is the concept of integration, whereby a multi-disciplinary team of building professionals work together from the pre-design phase through post-occupancy to optimize the building for environmental sustainability, performance, and cost saving.
Characteristics of Green Building
Environmental considerations are taken into account in every stage of the building construction – design, construction, operation and maintenance phases. The major considerations are the lot design and development efficiency, energy and water efficiency, resource efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building’s overall impact on the environment.
An integral characteristic of a green building is its stress on protecting existing ecologies, and improving ecologies that may have been damaged in the past. Green buildings are usually constructed on environmentally sensitive lands or previously developed property, with measures taken to restore plant life. Green buildings also utilize fewer materials, through efficient design and elimination of unnecessary finish materials. In addition, green building operations promote material as well as water recycling in their operation.
Factors to Consider
Energy efficiency is one of the most important factors in green building programs. Careful window selection, building envelope air sealing, duct sealing, proper placement of air and vapour barriers, use of clean energy-powered heating/cooling systems contribute towards an energy efficient building. Use of renewable energy, such as solar, wind or biomass energy, to meet energy requirements can significantly reduce carbon footprints of such buildings. Green buildings increase energy efficiency by using renewable energy sources to meet all power needs of the structure, thus ensuring no pollution
Green buildings are not built in locations that can impact the environment, such as wetlands. Furthermore, the chosen location must be accessible by public transport to minimize the use of private cars, which affects the environment. Besides, green buildings sustain the natural habitat while encouraging interaction with nature.
Electrical appliances have an energy rating on them, such as A – F on how energy efficient they are. Bayut properties in Dubai have adopted and adapted this to the structure of buildings – implementing a ‘pearl’ rating system for all new developments to ensure that the project is established in a sustainable manner.
Green homes lay stress on water conservation by implementing more efficient water delivery and recycling system. Minimization of water use is another characteristic feature of a green building which helps in reducing the detrimental effects of water use and its effects on local ecologies, such as aquatic life.
An increase in respiratory ailments and allergies and the use of chemicals that can give off gas from materials have greatly contributed to sensitive awareness of the air we breathe inside our homes. The green building also focuses on reducing respiratory ailments and allergies by improving the quality of in-house air by controlling the contamination source, diluting the source, and capturing the source through filtration.
Conclusion
To sum up, green buildings not only contribute towards a sustainable construction and environment but it also brings lots of benefits and advantages to building owners and users. Lower development costs, lower operating costs, increased comforts, healthier indoor environment quality, and enhanced durability and less maintenance costs are hallmarks of a typical green building.
Green buildings aim to protect the environment and human health. As we advance, the construction industry will be more focused on building environmentally sustainable structures while improving old buildings’ energy and water use.
In addition to helping the environment this helps reduce energy bills for homeowners, and with more hotels, villas and holiday homes benefitting – the reduced prices can be passed onto the holiday makers.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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I cannot agree with your definition of “green buildings” – which I quote as “not only contribute towards a sustainable construction and environment but it also brings lots of benefits and advantages to building owners and users. Lower development costs, lower operating costs, increased comforts, healthier indoor environment quality, and enhanced durability and less maintenance costs are hallmarks of a typical green building.” Afterall Green should mean sustainable, low to zero GHG, and above all that building will not reduce future generations’ ability to meet their own NEEDS.
Its very interesting and its the answer to the to the widespread climate change and we need to the campaign to COP21.and compel all parties to UNFCCC to adapt