Green Building
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What Is a Green Building?
This day and age, you hear everyone talking about going green. Whether you want to admit it or not, at some point everyone will have to follow with the green movement. This is because at the rate we are going, the earth is simply not sustainable. That means that over the years, we will begin to run out of certain natural resources that are needed in order for us to survive. That is alarming to some people, which is why there are so many people that focus on green building. But, what exactly is green building? Lets take a closer look at what it is, why you should consider it, and what the goals of a green building are. You are sure to find that it is something that you should take part in. Defining a Green Building First, we will take a look at what a green building is. Some people may think of a green, or sustainable building as just a building that doesn’t really have as bad of an impact on the environment as another ‘average’ building. Other people may find it to be the type of building, and the actual surroundings of the building. Defining a green buildingThe ideal green building would be a building project that would allow you to preserve most of the natural environment around the project site, while still being able to produce a building that is going to serve a purpose.The construction and operation will promote a healthy environment for all involved, and it will not disrupt the land, water, resources and energy in and around the building. This is the actual definition of a green building. The U.S. EPA says “Green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building is also known as a sustainable or high performance building.” Why Go Green? Now, let us take a look at why it is so important to go green. Most people will find when going green that they are able to reduce their carbon footprint and actually lend a helping hand to the environment. You can go green in a variety of different ways, but builders and construction workers must do their part as well. If you haven’t begun going green, then you will find that there are a variety of different things that you can do to help you get started. You don’t have to jump in head first, and you can actually take some baby steps along the way. Green buildings are designed in such a way to reduce overall impact on environment and human health by: Reducing trash, pollution and degradation of environment. Efficiently using energy, water and other resources. Protecting occupant health and improving productivity. Visit the SunPower Business Feed Does Going Green Really Cost More? Some people feel that they just can’t go green because it will cost them more money, but that is really a common misconception. While it may cost you a bit more to get started when you are going green, because green materials and products can be more costly, you really have to consider the type of savings that you will be able to reap. You will be able to save on energy costs, because going green also means conserving energy. You should really look at the green building as more of an investment than anything else. An investment that will be able to save you money, as well as an investment that will be able to help the environment! It is a win-win situation for everyone! Benefits of Green Building With new technologies constantly being developed to complement current practices in creating greener structures, the benefits of green building can range from environmental to economic to social. By adopting greener practices, we can take maximum advantage of environmental and economic performance. Green construction methods when integrated while design and construction provide most significant benefits. Benefits of green building include: Environmental Benefits: Reduce wastage of water Conserve natural resources Improve air and water quality Protect biodiversity and ecosystems Economic Benefits: Reduce operating costs Improve occupant productivity Create market for green product and services Social Benefits: Improve quality of life Minimize strain on local infrastructure Improve occupant health and comfort The Goals of Green Building Now, we should consider the goals of green building. Of course, one of the main goals is to make the earth more sustainable, but it really does go deeper than that. When you decide to go green, your goal will be to actually help to sustain the environment without disrupting the natural habitats around it. When you start a building project, and you disrupt the natural habitats around it, you can actually make an impact in the wildlife and environment that will be much like a butterfly effect. Even the smallest changes that you can make will help to promote a better planet earth, and a better place for us all to live- not just us humans, but also the plants and wildlife that take up their residence here on earth as well. As you can see, green building is something that everyone should really jump on to. If you don’t plan to rebuild your home, then you may just want to make a few green changes within your home to ensure that you are able to get the goals that you want out of it. You can cut down on your energy usage, save money, and make a big impact on the environment. You will find that it isn’t as hard as people make it out to be, and you will feel better about yourself when you go green too!
GREEN BUILDINGS INNOVATION CLUSTER (GBIC)
Research, development and demonstration (RD&D) would be playing a more prominent role in BCAs 3rd Green Building Masterplan, so as to push the envelope and accelerate the adoption of promising building energy-efficient technologies and solutions in the industry. Guided by the long-term goal of low energy, high-rise buildings for the tropics, a Building Energy Efficiency R&D Roadmap was developed as part of the efforts under the Energy National Innovation Challenge (Energy NIC) to bring about significant changes in Singapores energy landscape in a whole-of-government effort. Arising from this, the government through the National Research Foundation (NRF) has set aside S$52 million over a five year tranche to set up an integrated RD&D hub the Green Buildings Innovation Cluster (GBIC). This five-year programme will be administered by BCAs Centre for Sustainable Buildings and Construction at the BCA Academy. GBIC brochure GBIC e-Newsletter Issue 1 GBIC e-Newsletter Issue 2 OBJECTIVE GBIC will serve as the central focal point to reinforce the national drive towards greater energy efficiency as well as to streamline, coordinate and disseminate building energy efficiency-related activities. It will be a one-stop integrated RD&D hub to experiment, exhibit, and exchange knowledge of promising building energy-efficient solutions with industry stakeholders. The overall objective of GBIC is to accelerate commercialisation of promising building energy-efficient technologies and solutions, bringing them closer to market adoption. KEY ACTIVITIES GBIC Building Energy Efficient Demonstrations Scheme The GBIC Building Energy Efficient Demonstrations Scheme (GBIC-Demo) serves to demonstrate novel energy-efficient technologies that have not been widely implemented locally in actual operating buildings. GBIC-Demo aims to link up building owners and technology providers in order to establish platforms where industry can test and showcase these technologies to generate local performance data for verification. In doing so, we hope that these demonstrated technologies, if successful, would be replicated in other buildings and eventually, commercialised. Please click here for more information on GBIC-Demo. GBIC National Building EE Repository BCA would develop a central data repository, known as the GBIC National Building EE Repository (GBIC-Repository), to collect and analyse essential building-system-subsystem data, operation and occupant-related metrics data. The GBIC-Repository would capture the data obtained through calibrated instruments of the demonstrated technologies under GBIC-Demo. In addition to monitoring and validating the performance of the demonstrated technologies, data analytics would also be carried out for trending purposes and building of intelligence and control systems that would improve building performance. Demonstrated projects will also be shared with the public to create greater awareness and interest from the academia, industry and developers on the latest energy-efficient technologies. For more information, please contact: Dr Jin Guang Yu at JIN_Guang_Yu@bca.gov.sg GBIC Energy Efficiency Research & Development The GBIC Energy Efficiency Research & Development (GBIC-R&D) serves to drive key research agenda to deepen capability build-up in the focused key areas identified in the Building Energy Efficiency R&D Roadmap. GBIC-R&D aims to collaborate with the appropriate expertise in the local and international R&D community as well as industry stakeholders to develop innovative solutions with significant impact in building energy efficiency and with high market adoption potential. The inaugural GBIC-R&D Grant Call was rolled out on 9 July 2015. More information on the next Grant Call will be make available in due course. For more information, please contact: Mr Wong Ngian Chung at Wong_Ngian_Chung@bca.gov.sg
Diploma in Green Building & Sustainability (T29)
Global warming, the rapid depletion of natural resources and the escalating negative impact of keeping planet Earth running at full speed – these are the greatest threats which Mankind faces today. Now you can be part of the core group of professionals who are trying to create and design green and efficient buildings so as to minimise, if not eliminate, the negative impact of buildings on the environment. You will be exposed to subjects such as Tropical Architecture for Sustainability, Principles of Passive Design and Sustainable Design that provide the fundamentals in good green building practices and engineering designs. Other subjects such as GreenBuilding Modelling & Simulation and Building Information Modelling (BIM) will equip you with knowledge and skills in the software commonly used in the green building industry. Furthermore, the unique blend of speciality and holistic training offered by this diploma will ensure that you get a competitive edge in the workforce upon graduation. The Building & Construction Authority (BCA) is targeting for at least 80% of all buildings in Singapore to achieve the BCA Green Mark Certified rating by 2030. This gives you an idea of the tremendous amount of retrofitting needed in both new and existing buildings, so the demand for qualified green professionals will continue to remain extremely high over the next few decades. The re-launching of this course to emphasise today’s green initiatives and the worldwide push to make buildings more environment-friendly is definitely a step in the right direction. We are confident that this course will produce the necessary skilled manpower for this emerging industry with great potential. — Tan Tian Chong Director, Technology Development Building & Construction Authority
Knowledge Graph
Examples
1 As the environmental impact of buildings becomes more apparent, a new field called "green building" is gaining momentum.
2 The green building movement in the U.S. originated from the need and desire for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly construction practices.
3 Green building brings together a vast array of practices, techniques, and skills to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health.