Energy-efficient windows and doors have long been used to conserve resources and reduce energy use. Nowadays, construction projects also use other materials to be environmentally friendly, such as cold roofs and recycled wood or plastic that are used in composite wood. Recycled steel products also help minimize environmental concerns by reducing dependence on this limited resource. Considering that construction represents more than 50% of global steel production, this initiative can have a significant impact.
Whether you're a construction company in a small town or a large scale commercial builder in an urban center, keep the following green building trends on your radar. ZE The ILFI also offers a certification option for a zero energy (ZE) building under the umbrella of the Living Building Challenge certification. This will allow the future owner of a building to more easily install a sunroof or an adjacent wind tower system. Green building qualification or certification systems extend the approach beyond the product to consider the project as a whole.
Green Building Council (USGBC) and The Green Building Initiative (The GBI), producers of the Green Globes rating system. The green seal is mentioned in several LEED classification systems, and cleaning products for industrial and institutional use are referenced in LEED for existing buildings in operations and maintenance. The sensors collect data on how employees interact, building conditions and energy use, so that when there are fewer employees, entire sections of the building can be closed to save energy. Although it has been promised for years, solar energy is expected to eventually succeed and become a driving force in buildings with a zero grid and sustainable sites.
This extraordinary example shows how intelligent technology can improve energy efficiency in green buildings and make built environments more comfortable and healthier for occupants. Greater emphasis is also being placed on achieving the resilience of buildings, something that is beginning to be addressed in green building rating systems. A building with zero net emissions may not be environmentally friendly in other ways, such as in the use of materials or in the reduction of waste, but it generally produces less greenhouse gas emissions than other buildings without zero net emissions over their lifespan. The Green Building Council (USGBC) followed suit and developed and published criteria also aimed at improving the environmental performance of buildings through its leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) rating system for new buildings.
Certification through any rating system verifies the ecological nature of the project and can be a valuable educational and marketing tool for owners and design and construction teams during the process of creating a more sustainable building. Today's green building standards should soon become reference standards for all buildings, while promoting ever higher standards for future development. The California Green Building Standards Code (CalGreen Code) is part 11 of the California Building Standards Code and was the first state green building code in the U.S. UU.
