Green Construction Practices for a Small Office Building

Green Construction Practices for a Small Office Building Being environment friendly is now one of the major considerations being made by commercial construction companies. They immediately look for green construction techniques when developing small office buildings to reduce instances of waste and pollution. In the modern era, the notion of green building also takes into consideration a building's sustainability, productivity, the impact on the health of the occupants, and of course the reduction in energy bills. Below, we look at green construction practices and offer some helpful statistics to showcase the impact of environmentally friendly building practices. Going Green Makes Sense Co, CO, cO, co, Approximately Using recycled materials for emissions, energy 20% requirements, and buildings can lower emissions by up to of building materials end up 90% as waste A company can expect to save $15 Green building expenditure in the United States is set to double in less than 3 years, with expenditure in 2015 expected to be over $163 billion a square-foot in the next 20 years for every $1 per square-foot they spend on green building. What is Green Office Building? Optimization of interior spaceusing clever design Low-emissivity windows that face the sun Extremely tightly sealed construction A 40-55 degree slope on rooftops for efficient energy absorption Extra insulation Water heated by solar energy MATERIALS Use of durable materials will reduce life-cycle costs and limit the impact on the environment. Natural linoleum is a better choice than sheet vinyl for flooring, because it lasts up to 40 years, is non-toxic, needs little or no maintenance and can be composted when its life-cycle ends. There are a large number of construction materials made from recycled material, including steel, drywall, kitchen countertops, insulation, and carpet. There are a large number of construction materials made from recycled material, including steel, drywall, kitchen countertops, insulation, and carpet. 30% The United States Department of Energy reports that air leakage through a building's exterior is responsible for 30% of heating and cooling costs. Air barriers, such as building paper, should be used for a tight seal while all the building's doors and windows need to be caulked. Companies use materials that contain a high percentage of rapidly renewable resources, such as agricultural by-products or items with a high post-consumer recycled content, like cotton/denim batt insulation. Did You Know? STEEL The entire world uses the equivalent of 65% 3 tons of concrete for every person on Earth. It is said that water is the only material used more than concrete! of steel used in the United States gets recycled into new steel each year. For every ton of steel that gets recycled 120 pounds of limestone 1,400 pounds of coal 2,500 tons of iron ores are SAVED We throw away enough paper and wood every year to heat the equivalent of 50 million. average-sized homes for 20 years! Now is the time to engage in green office building construction for environmental, economic and social reasons. Brought to you by Sources: EPA.gov - http://www.epa.gov/oaintrnt/projects/ NREL.gov - http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/30506.pdf KAB.org - http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=recycling_facts_and_stats IDVP Professional Builders