The Future of Green Building and Construction

What is the Future of Green Building and Construction?

Much emphasis is placed on producing cleaner energy for a more sustainable future, but this is only one piece of the jigsaw. What if we could drastically cut our energy use simply by altering how we build office buildings and skyscrapers? Consider a building with bright windows and walls made of fungus... yeah, fungus. Let's look at green buildings and the future of construction. And will going net zero make a difference?

Building homes and skyscrapers out of thousands of pounds of concrete, steel, and other materials contributes significantly to pollution and energy consumption. But it goes beyond that. Lighting, heating and cooling, inadequate insulation, and integration into the surrounding environment all have a long-term influence on energy usage and expenses in our homes and offices. They demand more electricity and water to stay comfortable, which continues eternally. In 2019, buildings accounted for 28% of energy-related CO2 emissions. To address this issue, we need to change how we build houses, workplaces, and towers. This is where net-zero energy and green buildings come into play.

These structures are intended to have a good influence on the environment and climate. They can use a combination of energy efficiency and renewable energy to minimize power consumption, benefit the environment, and enhance the quality of life for individuals who live or work in those buildings. Around the world, the notion of green buildings has grown from modest dwellings to large workplaces and skyscrapers. Some international certifications have been produced to offer specific instructions on how to accomplish it. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system was designed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to give owners with a framework of cost-saving, high efficiency, and health for design, construction, operations, and maintenance.

Another prominent certification is the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method from the United Kingdom. Zero-energy buildings use on-site renewable energy sources such as solar panels to strive to create as much clean energy as they use. You can't always give your everything, but the idea is to receive as much as you can. The electricity created during the day is utilized by the facility, and if there is an energy surplus, the building delivers it to the grid to compensate for grid energy usage at night. However, to enhance efficiency, energy consumption must be lowered, which means that heating, cooling, and lighting must be minimized. Green roofs, energy-efficient windows with triple-pane glass and a low-emissivity coating, and appropriate insulation are advised to accomplish this.

Net-zero buildings are also termed "green" if they are built using non-toxic, eco-friendly, and long-lasting materials. They should also consume less water and have better air quality to make it more sustainable. Some of the most obvious solutions may have already been observed where you work. Using high-efficiency LED and smart lighting is a fantastic place to start when making a building more efficient. Or occupancy sensors linked to the air conditioning or fan systems. All of these things can help to significantly reduce energy use. To attain greater efficiency, engineers and architects can do extensive analysis using 3D building energy modeling technologies.

Engineers and architects may enhance the design of a green building to boost its sustainability using tools such as Green Building Studio®, Energy Plus, and IES Energy Modeling. They may do climate analyses and HVAC simulations to determine the best materials to employ and how to orient the building for maximum efficiency. They can see how the building will perform over a year before it is even completed. Over the last decade, examples of green and net-zero buildings have proliferated throughout the world. Siemens, for example, created The Crystal in London, which is one of the world's greenest skyscrapers. This environmentally friendly structure also serves as a one-of-a-kind event space. It sets the norm for sustainable building design by earning Platinum LEED and Outstanding BREEAM certification - the highest stringent requirements for sustainable architecture.

The Crystal in London

Due to its triple-glazed windows, The Crystal receives 70% of its illumination from natural light, and 20% of the power it requires is generated by solar panels. For usage in buildings, rainwater is collected from roofs and stored in an underground tank. All of the water used in toilets comes from those kinds of non-potable sources. Siemens Building Management System's 3,500 data points, which can observe water and energy use in real-time and are used to monitor a building's efficiency, are another intriguing feature. In 2012, this structure cost around £30 million, yet it saves a lot of money on power. "In terms of CO2 savings, we are saving roughly 71% compared to an identical building, and £500,000 a year in terms of energy expenditures," said Peter Daw, Cities Projects Developer at Siemens.

The Bullitt Center is regarded as one of the greenest commercial structures in Seattle. To avoid the toxins in modern finishes, the materials were left in their original state and the building's structure is mostly made of hefty lumber. And local suppliers provided the timber. Given the superior daytime illumination and airtight seal provided by the triple-glazed curtain wall system and orientation, the lights are essentially off for most of the year. Additionally, an air-to-air heat exchanger brings in fresh air from the outdoors and a closed-loop geothermal system handles the office's heating and cooling needs.

Bullitt Centre, Seattle

The Bullitt collects rainwater in a 56,000-gallon cistern in the basement, where it is processed and utilized for non-potable and potable purposes, including drinking water. "These techniques alone assist to save around 80% of water consumption over a conventional office building," says Justin Stenkamp, a mechanical engineer with the company that constructed the building's control and plumbing systems. All of this is fine for new buildings, but what about existing structures? One Embankment Place in London was developed in the early 1990s for PricewaterhouseCoopers, and it's a remarkable example of zero-energy retrofitting, and it's now one of the greenest buildings in the world.

One Embankment Place, London

It makes use of a tri-generation combination cooling, heating, and power system that runs on recycled waste vegetable oil. It also contains various open-plan rooms to maximize daylighting, roof gardens and green walls to make the building more environmentally friendly, and low flush toilets to conserve water. One Embankment Place now emits 40% less carbon than a normal building of its size, and 20% of its heat and 60% of its energy demands are met on-site. PricewaterhouseCoopers saved £14 million on energy and carbon-related expenditures between 2007 and 2015. Another example of retrofitting is the Powerhouse Kjrbo near Baerum, Norway. These two 1980s office buildings were renovated with energy-efficient ventilation, insulation, and daylighting.

In addition to creating renewable energy on-site, the buildings' energy requirements have been decreased by more than 86%. As a consequence, BREEAM-NOR awarded Powerhouse Kjrbo an "exceptional" rating. The building generates roughly 230,000 kWh but only utilizes approximately 100,000 kWh. What is the outlook for net-zero adoption in new and retrofitted buildings? According to one research, the worldwide market share for net-zero energy buildings was $896.6 million in 2018 and is predicted to reach $2.1 billion by 2024. That is significant growth, driven not only by legislation but also by the value it provides to building owners.

Aside from lowering electricity costs and eliminating energy usage, it may raise the value of the building and protect owners from future energy price fluctuations. Furthermore, individuals who live or work in green buildings benefit from breathing cleaner air and living in a more natural setting. Water conservation, energy efficiency, and material efficiency all have a positive influence on the environment. So, if everything is so wonderful, why is it still uncommon to see a green or net-zero energy office building?

The cost of creating a zero-energy structure is greater than that of constructing a standard building since construction materials are often more expensive, and there are only a limited number of designers and builders who are highly trained and experienced in these sorts of buildings. Furthermore, because high rises contain numerous areas and residents in a vertical buildings with limited roof space for solar panels, they struggle to produce all of the energy they require. Research done by the United Kingdom Green Building Council (UKGBC) examined the feasibility of new net-zero-carbon building design, delivery, and cost. They divided it into two categories in the research. The cost of building workplaces with net-zero targets now through 2025 is approximately 6.2% more than the benchmark.

Looking further forward, the cost of newer procedures and standards that are likely to be the norm by 2030 is 8-17% greater than the standard. Some governments are enacting laws to encourage the construction of net-zero or nearly-zero energy buildings. A notable example is the EU's Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. It mandates that all new buildings are virtually net-zero by December 31, 2020, therefore anything built after that date must fulfill this standard. When a building is rented or sold, energy performance certificates must be produced, and smart technology such as building automation and control systems must be promoted. Then there's the World Green Building Council, an organization comprised of 70 Green Building Councils from across the world that, among other things, has the Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.

This targets organizations, enterprises, cities, governments, and regions to achieve zero-carbon operations for all assets under their direct control by 2030. There are already 94 collaborating enterprises and organizations, 28 cities, and 6 states/regions, totaling almost 6,000 assets. The program seeks to reduce barriers to net-zero implementation and motivate others to take action by sharing information and lessons learned. They also have the modest aim of decarbonizing every building on the planet by 2050. In addition to green regulations, novel technologies and techniques, such as fungus, are being studied to cut costs and enhance the efficiency of net-zero buildings.

What about using plant resources to build walls? This is currently in the experimental stage, but it employs mycelium, a type of fungal spore that may be utilized to fill a form with an agricultural product, producing a solid brick or plate as a consequence. This composite contains no harmful ingredients and requires little energy to produce. Because it is biodegradable, this substance might be utilized as insulation between non-biodegradable materials to prevent them from splitting apart. In collaboration with Ecovative Design, the Living Studio created a project in New York utilizing this material. The Hy-Fi Project was a 12-meter-tall skyscraper consisting of 10,000 bricks made of mushroom mycelium and shredded maize stalks.

After three months, the construction was demolished and the bricks were degraded to compost, utilizing their inherent biodegradability. While not primarily for net-zero purposes, NASA is researching the use of mycelium to build buildings to create homes on the Moon and Mars. It has more bend strength than reinforced concrete, is an excellent insulator, and can regenerate and repair itself. Why not us if it's good enough for Martians? Electrochromic Glass is a novel technology that deals with solar radiation and heat (Smart Glass). It makes use of nanotechnology, as I discussed in a previous video, to generate tiny electrical impulses that slightly charge the windows, changing the amount of radiation they reflect.

This technology might aid in the regulation of heat within a structure, potentially saving a significant amount of money on HVAC bills, particularly during the summer. When you add an electrical charge to smart windows, they usually start off blueish and then turn transparent after a few minutes. This technology has been developed and improved by several firms. View Inc., an American smart window firm, for example, developed a project for Netflix's Los Gatos, CA, office that employed 56,200 sq. ft. of smart glass, which employs a predictive, automated system that can be adjusted and managed via an app. To dynamically modify the tint of the windows, a holistic picture of the structure is required, such as the arc of the sun or impediments.

As you can see, there are several ways to enhance the way we construct our buildings and use energy to maintain their comfort. The introduction of new materials, technology, design advancements, and governmental incentives can aid the expansion of this sector globally, even though the costs are still not generally feasible for all office and skyscraper owners. It's not difficult to picture high-rise structures and office complexes with green roofs and zero-energy construction springing up in more and more places over the next few decades. the largest LEED Platinum certified building, Apple Park, is comparable. Write in the comments section and share your thoughts. Also, let me know if you work in or are aware of any net zero buildings in your neighborhood.