Sustainable design is more than just eco-friendly choices
Posted : September 21, 2011 by Edwina, Category: Sustainability
Just adding a few LED lightbulbs and a low flow toilet does not a sustainable building make. Yes, you will save energy and money over the course of time with these eco-friendly choices, but the most important choices are the ones you make before you even break ground on the building.
Consider this:
During the lifetime of a building, the initial investment of construction represents 20 percent of overall cost. A company will incur the heft of the building’s expense — 80 percent — through its operating cost, says Cary Gampher, of AIA and principal architect with The Architects Alliance. To minimize the weight of that 80 percent, utilizing sustainable design for a commercial remodel or construction is about more than making a few environmentally friendly choices.
{Taken from Jefferson City Magazine}
Looking at these numbers, it’s clear that the actual cost to construct a building is small compared to the lifetime of expenses a building owner will incur. Take, for example, natural light within a building. The impact of lighting on energy usage is enormous. Visual comfort, glare, solar irradiance – these are all factors to consider when positioning a building.
Using an early-stage analysis tool such as our VE-Pro can show you the results of positioning at different times of the year, at different times of day under multiple conditions. Looking at daylighting is also an important consideration to LEED requirements (EQc8.1).
Using advanced simulation and incorporating energy analysis into the entire design process, changes to the design of the building can be made early and often. And that’s how building owners will save on the 80% of the building expenses over the lifetime of the building. But you’ve got to do it from the very beginning.
Comments
No Comments
Leave a reply