GOAL: GETTING TO NET ZERO BUILDINGS

The more one researches about “BUILDING GREEN” - “SUSTAINABLE BUILDING” - “CONSCIOUS LIVING - the more one realizes the less one knows, and the more there is to know!! It’s wild. It’s GREAT!



There are many initiatives going on ALL OVER THE WORLD. From governments to grass roots. The great thing is were all pointing to pretty much the same end result: a NEW BEGINNING! Taking better care of our planet. Taking better care of each other. As long as we can make it into a global awareness, a “new” race consciousness - how can we go wrong?



I was speaking with a colleague recently and in our conversation we were kind of like trying to find “new” words for GREEN - or Sustainability - because we were both getting the feeling that we were almost starting to over use them. We were turning the word “green” into a verb. While there was nothing really wrong with that - we both felt we just wouldn’t want to turn all this recent “hype” into something that people just end up glazing their eyes over and taking for granted. All aspects of “GREENING” is very important right now… Let’s NOT take it for granted! In fact it was also brought to my attention that if you look around, in almost any U.S. rural town - you will find VERY LITTLE if ANY indication that anyone is “DOING GREEN”!!! There is allot of “talk” and “writing” and maybe even thinking - which is a great start - but, still, LITTLE is being DONE!



THIS IS A TIME FOR ACTION! And we must realize that EVERY action, be it turning the tap off between rinses when brushing our teeth, to installing SOLAR PANELS on our roof, WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. There is so much “waste” already going on - we can make a HUGE difference FAST!



If you haven’t already - you can start simple - change your light bulbs, shorten your shower time, control your thermostat, seal up your homes, insulate… AND, if you are in a position to build NEW, take a little bit of extra time and PLAN.



Below find a GREAT article presented by the US department of Energy - encouraging us to build with awareness.





http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial_initiative/whole_building.html
THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW.



We at TEAM PERKA are committed to be part of the solution.



Cheers



Whole Building Design for Commercial Buildings
Whole building commercial design considers all components and subsystems during the initial design phase and is the most important step in achieving net-zero energy buildings. On this page you’ll learn more about whole building commercial design and find related information.



Integrated Design Is Critical
Whole building design takes into consideration site, energy, materials, indoor air quality, acoustics, and natural resources. The design team must be fully integrated early in the process to address how these elements work together. The team should include architects, engineers, building occupants and owners, and specialists in areas such as indoor air quality, materials, and energy use.



Integrated building design changes the way architects, engineers, and project teams design buildings and leads to much higher energy performance. To be successful, project teams must:
Set specific and measurable energy goals

~Develop strategies to meet the goals by planning from the top down and evaluating from the bottom up
~Create a structure that encourages communication among team members
~Make each team member accountable for successfully implementing the strategies
~Evaluate progress toward the goal frequently.

Benefits
Compared to conventional buildings, whole building design reduces the amount of energy required to operate a building by incorporating energy-saving technologies.

Benefits include:
~Reduced energy use by 50% or more
~Decreased maintenance and capital costs
Less environmental impact
~Increased occupant comfort and health
~Improved employee productivity.
~Invest Design Savings into Energy Efficiency

Architects, engineers, and project teams can make design decisions that reduce the financial impact of energy-saving technologies. For example, siting a building to maximize daylighting reduces the cost of lighting for the lifetime of the building. In addition, optimizing building envelope design will reduce heating and cooling costs. Savings from these design strategies can then be invested in higher quality windows or controls, which will also reduce energy use.

The High Performance Buildings Database provides business cases for projects across the United States and around the world. The energy, economic, and environmental performance of high-performance buildings is substantially better than standard practice.