ENERGY TIMES
HOW IS "GREENBUILDING" BECOMING "MAINSTREAM?"

Greenbuilding is leaving the possession of do-gooders and becoming an interest for the self-concerned. After years of talking and prototyping by visionaries, decision-makers spending billions on homes and commercial facilities are considering wise resource use.

Traditionally, "Greenbuilding" has included five focuses:

1.Energy efficiency (intelligent envelope design; efficient equipment for heating, cooling, cooking and lighting; sun-conscious design; and on-site generation)

2 .Site planning (land appropriation; efficient use of infrastructure such as roads, schools and utilities)

3 .Water efficiency (conservation inside and outside the building; creative treatment of storm water and grey-water)

4. Materials efficiency (durable design; less waste in construction; using components made from less-scarce resources; choosing materials with less embodied energy - the amount of petroleum, gas or electricity that goes into manufacturing and delivery; recycling more construction and demolition debris)

5. Building Healthiness (improved indoor air quality; access to daylight & views of nature; noise suppression, proper humidity levels)

In the past, the proponents of resource-responsible buildings have leaned on the classic definition of "sustainability" to bolster their arguments - maintaining that the greatest good comes from "meeting the needs of the present generation without sacrificing the needs of future generations."

In the United States, this argument has been slow to catch on. But now people involved in construction activity and housing decisions - activity that represents 40% of the resource consumption in this country - view wise resource use from a perspective of self-interest.

Through the wide distribution of energy-modeling software, it's now easy to balance the capital costs of improved building envelopes and more-efficient HVAC equipment against the cost of the energy they save. At one time, designers ignored the energy equation and sought the lowest capital costs, or conversely specified an expensive energy-conservation plan that required higher energy costs to amortize. Now building owners can very deliberately triturate the cost of their energy conservation measures so that they equal the savings from utility bills at present rates.

Another example of bringing conscious self-interest into play is the proliferation of middle-class "infill" urban projects, "live-work" developments and "brownfield" (slightly contaminated) sites. Developers are finding these smaller and more involved sites worth their time because of the growing unwillingness of public officials and customers to pay for limitless outward commercial expansion.

In the West, access to water has always defined human activity. But in the hydro-powered Northwest, the growing tradeoff s between water for water's sakes and water for electricity has forced the question of what do people really want.

Despite tradition and government subsidies that work against it, the marketplace is starting to bring resource conserving materials into common use. Pressed-fiber doors and trim, lumber that is "finger-jointed" out of small pieces, wood-wafer oriented-strand-board, engineered wood I-beam joists - these are examples of innovative and resource-wise products that are gaining wide acceptance because of their bottom-line benefit.

Finally, it's in the area of building healthiness that construction professionals are starting to show the greatest concern about their own well-being - and by extension their customers'. A number of high-profile mold-in-buildings cases--with huge cash settlements-has awakened the building industry to the need for improved building practices. Both the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the American Trial Lawyers have called mold "the next tobacco." The giant building corporations Pulte and Centex have instituted multi-million-dollar upgrade programs to improve the water-tightness and air-quality in their new homes - in the hopes of avoiding billions in call-backs and lawsuits. Builder groups from the NAHB to the Greater Lansing HBA have instituted task forces to disseminate information on "best practices" for the control of mold and other airborne toxins.

So it is through heightened awareness and respect for the bottom line that are builders turning "Green."

-Gene Townsend, Senior Consultant, Keystone Construction, a U-Build-It company

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