Green Modeling - LEED Consulting, Energy Modeling,

Congratulations! So you’ve decided to have your building certified green. But with so many certification programs available for green building it becomes very difficult to decide which one to use? The best alternative in such cases is to answer several questions before taking the decision. These questions can help you decide whether you need to go for green certification or not. There are several things that you need to answer. These factors include:

Whether your building is new or existing; low, mid or high-rise. After you have answered this question it will become lot more easier to take the decision. The next thing is dependent on your area and locality. Are there local programs that have strong market recognition, or should you use a national program? It also depends on your architect whether they have the experience of building certified projects or not. It also depends on local jurisdiction and the available incentives for developing a green building. For example; in some jurisdictions there are various promotional offers given to architects for developing green building including tax credits, utility rebates, among others.

There are different types of certification bodies available for green building. They include:

   LEED for Homes

   National Green Building Standard (NGBS)

  Energy Star

  Energy Star Multifamily High Rise (MFHR)

Sustainable analysis has a key role to play in green building. Sustainable practices makes green building even more energy efficient. We have already seen that green building has gained lot of popularity in recent times in our previous articles; but one thing that we have not spoken about is the value of sustainability in green building. This article will throw some light on the best practices for creating sustainable buildings. Let us now look at the different ways sustainable analysis can be helpful for green building:

Deliberation on the task entirety: Sustainable analysis deals with the project practices that need to be devised keeping the best interests of occupants in view. The architects and the engineers need to be present from the day one of green building development. It is also very important to see that each and every resource works as a cohesive unit; so that there is no confusion in the task completion, and maximum output can be achieved.

Preparation based on user specific demands: This is very important for sustainability as people are going to live in the buildings. Hence; it is mandatory to have all the important things at place so that preparation of identifying cost reserves and close-fitting stipulations can be met easily. This thing is really important for the residents who are going to stay in these buildings.

Ecological stipulations: Sustainable analysis also requires you to keep in mind the energy saving methods in green building. This is the core of green building; and should not be ignored at any cost. The other important thing is to consider the area of the building in the entirety to consider the largest source of loss of energy in the building. This will give you the measure of various things that need to be improved in the building to make it green.

Green has become a national prodigy in recent times. We are already seeing products being tagged as green if they have certain desirable characteristics in them. But the debate is what can be termed as green product? How can we make our products greener? There are lots of different views on this and various authors have written about green products but no one has been able to complete the debate with a conclusive guidance. In this article; we will try to see the challenges of making products green and the characteristics that make products green.

Let me start off with the challenges first. The very first thing that comes to my mind is that even while the construction of green building is carried out there are materials which are not green but they are still utilized in development of green building. Now there is an argument by few authors which claim that green building should not use such products which are not green. In other words products which are not environmental friendly should not be used in green buildings. But chances of that not happening are zero. The other challenge is gauging the feasibility of green building. It comes very difficult to define products that are very close to causing environmental damage for example; VOC emitting paints. There is thin line of difference between what is green and what is not. This is the second challenge to differentiate between both these things. There is a huge difference between materials used for developing green building and where the materials came from.

Let us now look at some characteristics that make your product green:

·         Products that are reprocessed, recouped, or agricultural leftover content: Whenever products are recycled or reused instead of brand new ones it saves energy and resources. Recouped content can also be of importance in terms of environmental friendliness. Products that are made from agricultural leftover are of great use for green building as they can be environment friendly.

LEED certifications are a great way of associating pride with a building. But does it come very easily? The answer is no. There are certain ground rules that architects need to follow to make their existing buildings into LEED certified building.  Here LEED green associate also plays a major role. The major importance is laid on the environmental factors that can be benefited without much investment and getting the latest technologies in use. But what makes a building candidate for LEED certifications? This article concentrates on answering this question and much more. Let us now look at the different ways:

Do the homework before taking any action:There are times when architects take things for granted and do things very quickly. This makes things very messy and ultimately does not yield profitable for LEED certifications. The very first thing is to plan every step very minutely so that nothing goes wrong. The most important thing is to analyze every minute detail and consider all the points that LEED provides for a green building. Try to maximize the points by providing energy efficient buildings that are best for environment. Here the minimum requirements of ventilation and energy efficiency should be pre-decided so that there are no delays later. This will make your LEED points even higher. The next step is to have a long term plan for the LEED certification so that you meet the benchmark set earlier before the changes are made. The other important thing is that the changes that you prescribe will happen as the building is refurnished. Hence; there will not be much of a time to get the certification. Hence; it is very important to plan it and then go further.

Start preparing for the LEED exams: The next step is to consider the certification level that you want to target. Here again planning can play a very role. As once you plan for the steps it becomes easier at a later stage from wasting time redoing tasks later. LEED AP examinations also play a very important role.It is also very important to consider the initial investment that will be required during the pre-performance and performance period.  Please note that you will be required to make 10% to 15% of your time on certification. There is no alternative to this. Furthermore, if the square foot area is bigger the investment will be bigger and vice versa. Hence; it is always important to have funds in your hands.

The LEED test is the ultimate litmus test that needs to be cracked with full confidence. Take some time out for yourself when studying for the LEED test. Always take short breaks of ten to fifteen minutes in couple of hours; so that you can clear your mind. It will always keep your energy and thoughts sharp. While taking the LEED test,if you go blank, stay calm and do not take stress. Skip that question and go to the next one and answer them. Then go to the questions that you are unsure of and try to relax yourself. If you think you have read the questions and have forgotten the answer take deep breath and then try to recollect the answer. Skimming the question and then coming back again will give you enough time to recollect the answer; and it will also save your time. Always take good night sleep day before the examination; so that your mind and body are relaxed and you are mentally prepared for the exams. This will give you relaxation; and will intellectually charge you up for the exam. Once you are finished with the test always double check to see whether you have given right answers to each of the questions. Do not underestimate the need for double checking as there are chances of some mistakes coming up while revising the answers. The next point to reconsider is whether there is a need for a tutor for cracking the LEED test. This is an individual choice which depends on whether you are prepared well for the exams or need some help from someone who can lend a helping hand to you for scoring well in the test. Selecting a tutor is a good choice even for those who feel that they are well prepared for the test; as it can keep them on the toes and help them get prepared for the test very well. There are also chances that you will be required to remember lot of stuff for the test. There are lots of ways to remember key information. One of them is jotting down the important points on a paper. This will help you in remembering the things while writing them down. Also try to associate images with words or phrases so that you can remember key points without penning down the entire stuff.

There has been a lot of speculation about the costs to be incurred for becoming a LEED certified building. There are times when companies try to negate the prospect of opting for a LEED certified building. But as days have rolled on; it has become quite clear that the costs of creating a LEED certified building is far less than anticipated earlier. It has been depicted by various studies conducted on LEED certified building that the LEED premium is far less than what was initially thought of.

But before we look at the cost assessment factor in detail; it is important to distinguish between construction budget including hard costs and soft costs. Hard costs include construction costs, furniture, fixtures, equipment costs, purchase of property etc. and total budget costs which includes both hard and soft costs such as professional fees, construction financing, etc. Generally soft costs are associated with the administrative costs of the LEED certification process.

Usually soft costs of a LEED certified building may vary according to type of the project. It includes administrative costs and documentation costs of LEED certified building. According to USGBC estimates; the fees is from $ 20,000 to $ 60,000 subject to the project size, complexity, and project team experience.

Now energy modeling is suggested whenever a project has specific energy efficiency goals. The cost of these energy efficiency services range from $ 15,000 for smaller projects to more than $ 50,000 for larger, more complex projects. Please note that these fees are associated with not only the project size but also on the complexity of the building design and mechanical system.              

On top of these soft costs, there are other fees to be paid including LEED registration and certification fees directly to USGBC. The project registration fee is $ 450 for USGBC members; while for others it is $ 600 and the certification fees range from $ 1,750 to $ 17,500 for USGBC members; while for others it is $ 2,250 to $ 22,500.

So if you look at LEED certification costs conservatively; then there is an approximate cost of 2 % for construction costs and $ 150,000 soft costs for certification through Gold level certification on most projects.

Green buildings as a concept has received quite a positive review from the builders and architects in general. The major reason for that is the amount of profits that can be earned by getting LEED certification. I know this might sound astonishing but there are figures with me which suggest that there has been a tremendous boast in the green buildings in a year and half. In a survey conducted by Turner Construction of 718 real estate owners, about 90% were following environmentally sound principles. The icing on the cake is the fact that according to 2013 McGraw Hill Construction global reports, 51% of architects, engineers, contractors, consultants and building owners surveyed in 62 countries have concluded that more than 60% of their work is going to be green by the year 2015.

This is excellent news and shows what I was just saying. In fact the future of green buildings is even more favorable. We are also seeing the awareness in builders and architects regarding environmental friendly conditions. They are now looking forward to the options that can save energy so that they can earn some points from LEED certification. This has become very attractive for the architects as now they have the incentives to develop environmental friendly homes and get LEED certification ratings very easily. They can also save lot of money from their investment by enrolling for LEED certification.

The major change has been the attitude of the residents, schools, and colleges. They are also adopting the concept of green building. This is great news for creating an environment friendly society. It has also been found that residents are happy while living in green buildings because it helps them to save their electricity bills and gives them a chance to get closer to nature.

The ultimate question is whether in the near future we will see the same growth in green buildings as we are seeing now? The answer is yet to be known. But the facts that we have in our hands suggest that it is going to be a very positive for green building initiative. Let us wait and watch what how this new trend develops and unfolds in the near future.