It is a common myth that green building costs are often much most expensive than they really are. Often you can save money when going green. When considering the costs to green building, the key is to consider the whole cost of the systems involved, as sustainability is about the big picture and the long view, not just the individual components.
A pending lawsuit alleges that the USGBC and its LEED standards are false advertising. Bob Faulhaber, who is himself a LEED, AP defends this green building certification system pointing out how it has succeeded in raising awareness and increasing involvement in developing and promoting green building techniques and that it has helped to promote an integrated approach to design and construction that has in fact lead to more sustainable buildings.
In this a rebuttal post to The Green Building Adoption Rate is Slow, Find Out The Practical Reasons Why, Richard argues that in fact the growth rate has been very high, citing for example that in late 2010, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) celebrated its first billion square feet of LEED certified green buildings. He makes the argument that the growth rate in the green building space is actually quite high especially considering the background of economic recession and tight capital in which it has occurred.
With LEED certified projects growing in popularity, green can be a major selling point to investors and tenants alike. These initiatives not only offer significant and measurable savings in terms of energy usage, but contribute to the health and well being of the people who live and work in your project, so green messaging is very important.
A list of top green building trends for 2011 is provided by Green building consultant, Jerry Yudelson and Tom Breunig, director of marketing, of Earth Advantage Institute.
With heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems using more building energy use than lighting and IT combined, they can have a major impact when it comes to how sustainable a building is. This is where innovative HVAC start-ups like Ice Energy, Optimum Energy, and Chromasun come in, with technology designed to significantly reduce HVAC building energy usage.
Despite all the headlines, and a bit of hype, in the world of commercial real estate, the number of green buildings is relatively very small and not growing at a significant rate. Only 2% of all new building construction projects receive LEED certification. Lets look at reasons why building sustainability is stalling and what can be done.
Long a proven technology in Europe, green roofs are becoming increasingly common in U.S. cities, with major initiatives in Chicago, Portland, and Washington, D.C. While initially more expensive than standard coverings, green roofs offer some major environmental — and economic — benefits. by Bruce Stutz The low scrubland of densely packed succulents is in full […]