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Green Building Overview"I expect industry will see this as an opportunity rather than something that we will impose." EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, speaking at the Energy Efficiency in Buildings Brussels Forum Definition. While exact definitions vary, green buildings are generally recognized as having lower energy consumption and less environmental impact than standard construction. They combine particular design features with special materials and utility systems (heating, water, ventilation etc.) to create a structure with a very low to no impact on the environment. Greater awareness for capturing or deflecting the natural solar radiation, superior insulation and introduction of renewable energy sources and more intelligent power management are an important part of green construction. Brief evolution. As early as the 1970s, green buildings started to appear in countries like Germany, US and Australia. The growing number of possible green solutions and approaches that emerged led to the creation of national standards for green buildings such as: Passivehaus in Germany, BREAM in the UK, Minergie in Switzerland and LEED in the US. They all have similar general provisions but also a number of differences arising from the green features they aim to emphasise (be it only energy consumption or general impact on environment including waste management and landscaping).Most of the emphasis so far has been placed on the energy efficiency of the buildings. Global issues of growing importance such as climate change and rising prices of conventional energy sources have made reduction in energy consumption a stringent necessity. This is all the more critical for the building sector, as the growing world population and higher living standards will continue to put upward pressures on the world?s building stock. In the US alone, buildings account for an estimated 39% of total energy consumption and 38% of total carbon emissions. Currently, both private sector and governments are paying increasing attention to the energy consumption of buildings and many talk about a green building revolution. A mounting number of projects, from the Hearst Magazine Tower in New York to the BedZED (Surrey, UK) residential complex in UK and the ambitious zero emissions town project in the United Arab Emirates, show that green buildings have long outgrown the academic realm and are now applied on an ever larger scale. The vast number of projects, conferences and articles show the momentum that this issue has reached (see resources section below) |
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