Tong Yeung 2016-02-09

Felicya Lau
Robin Kim
Cheryl Ou

Assignment 1: Green Buildings

Background
Green building is essentially finding a balance between homebuilding and sustainable environment
through usage of renewable energy and eco-friendly materials. Throughout the building's life cycle
the structure should be environmentally responsible and resource efficient. In order for a structure to
be considered to be a "green building" it must go through certification system that must meet certain
guidelines. One example is: Leadership in Energy and Environmental design (LEED) that has a set of
rating system that measures the building in design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the
building.
The main objectives of green building are:
 Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources
 Protecting occupant health and improving productivity
 Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

Regulation and operation

LEED has four possible levels of certification (certified, silver, gold, and platinum). The LEED
Canada for Homes rating system measures the overall performance of a home in eight different
categories.
1) Innovation and design process: special design methods and exemplary performance levels
2) Location and linkage: placement of home in socially and environmentally responsible way in
relations to the community
3) Sustainable sites: the use of the entire property to minimize impact on the site
4) Water efficiency: water-efficient practices both indoor and outdoor
5) Energy and atmosphere: energy- efficient, particularly heating and cooling design
6) Material and resources: efficient utilization of materials, minimize waste during construction
7) Indoor environmental quality: improvement of indoor air quality by reducing pollutants
8) Awareness and education: education of the operation and maintenance of the green features

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
- LEED point system credible - Point system “unweighted’
- 25% more efficient in energy
- Reduction in CO2 emission - Lack of recognition and inspiration
- Decrease solid waste material - High initial investment cost
- Increase water efficiency
- Increase indoor air quality
- Stronger yield of ROI
- Higher long term value (resale)

Green Buildings Page 1

 Fire Safety Concerns
There are some safety concerns due to some of the materials used in green buildings such as:

• Lightweight engineered lumber. When used as flooring, it could have potential stability issues
from a fire because it could collapse.
• Solar Panels on roof tops, can be an ignition hazard and be a safety concern because they could
be still running after being ignited.
• Other examples of material of potential safety concerns: rigid foam insulation, tighter
construction, and light weight concrete

Examples
 Paramus, New Jersey, United States
• Captures rainwater all year around then uses solar thermal system to heat that water
• PSE & G bill is $2-3 because they generate more energy then they're using
• Maintains home temperature on the coldest and hottest days
• Melted snow from heated driveways and walkways get recycled back into the home for washing
clothes and watering plants, etc.
• 3 years to build and $250 per square foot but will pay off in the long run

 Taipei 101
• Tallest and greenest building certified by LEED since 2011
• Energy-efficient with double pane window blocking external heat by 50% and recycled water
meeting 20-30% of the building's needs
• Save 14.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year
• 2.08 million to build but saving 1.2 million in energy cost per year

 Vancouver Aquarium
• Use fly ash a waste product instead of the normal amount of cement
• Conserve freshwater by collecting rainwater for toilets, plants

Green Buildings Page 2

References:

https://sites.google.com/site/pd9greenbuildingsjr/prosandcons

http://www.cagbc.org/CAGBC/LEED/GreenHomes/Process/CAGBC/Progra
ms/LEED/GreenHomes/The_Process.aspx?hkey=db106751-4342-47f6-
bb13-b5afeb5d1b22

https://www.wbdg.org/resources/gbs.php

http://fox6now.com/2016/01/31/new-jersey-family-tosses-out-shovels-
melts-snow-with-one-of-a-kind-eco-friendly-system/

http://www.cagbc.org/CAGBC/LEED/CommercGreenBuild/RatingSystems/
CAGBC/Programs/LEED/CommercialInstitutional/RatingsSystems/LEED_C
anada_Rating_S.aspx?hkey=5490b62b-b10f-45b7-9c41-2b5a299655b8

http://www.greenbuilding.com/knowledge-base/energy-green-building

http://www.zdnet.com/article/top-pros-and-cons-of-leed/

http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/422/bok%
253A978-1-4614-8142-3.pdf?originUrl=http%3A%2F%
2Flink.springer.com%2Fbook%2F10.1007%2F978-1-4614-8142-3&token2
=exp=1454793705~acl=%2Fstatic%2Fpdf%2F422%2Fbok%
25253A978-1-4614-8142-3.pdf%3ForiginUrl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%
252Flink.springer.com%252Fbook%252F10.1007%
252F978-1-4614-8142-3*~hmac=
31174d0ba685f79b9c3b2b30bfa4bca2b02c8b5647f7da0b0fa5217fda19a2
2d

https://www.vanaqua.org/act/direct-action/green-building/about-the-green-
building

Green Buildings Page 3