GREEN BUILDINGS

Green Buildings

Green Buildings

Green buildings represent commercial or residential buildings that are designed, constructed, maintained, and operated with energy-efficient engineer-ing systems, responsible use of water, and recyclable materials. These buildings are becoming increasingly popular because of their environmental, economic, and social benefits due to responsible use of natural resources. As the Earths population is increasing exponentially, the building stock that houses the population is also increasing at a similar rate. At present, in the developed countries, buildings are using approximately one-third of the primary energy and roughly two-thirds of the electricity. As a result, even modest improvements in current building practice can result in significant energy savings. Even more important is the consequent reduction of greenhouse emissions due to reduced energy consumption during the building lifecycle, which includes not only construction and operation, but also the demolition process.

Examples of green building practices include use of wind and sun for energy, ventilation, and lighting. An appropriately-oriented building, can, with its window openings, promote natural ventilation, so the use of air conditioning systems becomes unnecessary when outdoor weather is mild.

At the same time, natural lighting can reduce the need for electricity, but the window openings need to be designed to provide sufficient lighting levels without glare. The use of local materials for buildings reduces the cost of material transportation, and the use of the natural and recyclable material reduces the cost of building demolition. The building wastewater can be treated for irrigation or used as “gray water” for non-potable purposes to reduce the impact on water treatment plants. There are many ways of segmenting green consumers. For example, J. Ottman Consulting identifies three types of green consumers: “planet passionates,” “health fanatics,” and “animal lovers.” Planet passionates are committed to maintaining a healthy environment and avoid waste and products with poor environmental ...