Green Buildings

Green buildings have greater payoffs than the cost to construct them making them a good investment over using standard building sites and materials. Many components play into the construction and design of a green building including location and building materials (just to name a few). Green buildings, whether they are homes, offices, or schools, are built to reduce pollution, conserve energy used, and to more efficiently use renewable resources. Several practices that are now used by those “going green” were used long ago. Ancient Greeks built homes structured to attract solar heat during the winter months. Green buildings (aka sustainable buildings) ideas became much more popular during the 1990s. In 1992 the first green building program began in Austin, Texas, the following year the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) was founded and in 1998 they launched the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) which is a green building rating system and certification program that is nationally accepted. Location is important when constructing a green building and many factors are to be considered when choosing a construction site. Environmentally sensitive areas are not most desirable when searching for a location. The most beneficial spots to build upon are former parking lots, shopping centers, and/or factories. Buildings should be constructed within easy walking distance from public transportation, schools, and stores so that bicycles or walking can be used as opposed to driving your car (which emits pollution into the air). Also the building should be placed where it can receive great amounts of natural daylight to reduce lighting requirements, and make the most of what can naturally be used. Windows should also strategically be placed to bring in daylight. A new technology that is now used frequently instead of standard windows is dual glazed windows (they reduce heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter). On the exterior of the building