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.

What is "true" Sustainability?

HOW SUSTAINABLE IS BUILDING INNOVATION OR THE “NEW BUILDING” YOU WANT TO PUT UP? ARE YOU EVEN THINKING SUSTAINABILITY? - GREEN? - EARTH FRIENDLY? ENERGY EFFICIENT?

IF NOT — MAYBE YOU SHOULD. AS IN WHAT ARE WE GOING TO LEAVE BEHIND FOR OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN?

AND IF YOU ARE … YOU MIGHT WANT TO THINK OF SUSTAINABILITY IN LONGER TERM EFFECTS AS WELL…

Because, if you really think about - allot of the things we call GREEN - SUSTAINABLE - EARTH FRIENDLY… are only such for the SHORT TERM. Oh sure, their performance can have long term affects - and that is important too! But what happens when they wear out? When their performance is no longer “good enough”??? Then what? Ever think of that?

Often times - the so called Green Products we use eventually “die” and then what? Are they able to be recirculated? Recycled? Re-used? Re-stored? Revamped? Allot of time - the answer is NO! They end up in trash dumps, land fills - or worse, hidden or pushed aside to become clutter or POLLUTION in one form or another… Do we ever think of “life after death” for “things”??

The sustainability of any “product” is actually linked to the sustainability of its outcomes and to what happens after it is no longer usable! Sustainable products - or in this case “BUILDINGS” must be cognizant of how they are packaged together - for efficiency, compatibility, use and then post use… considering the energy and resources they use to construct and maintain, the wastes they produce and then how they will be disposed of. One would be surprised how much of our “products” end up in landfills because there is just nothing else that can be sustainably done with them!!! Ever think about that?

We must be sustainably innovative, not only with product performance - but with the product ITSELF! Instead of simply focusing on “energy use/consumption/saving”, true sustainable construction must view and evaluate the total package… from supply, through installation, through use/maintenance, to life cycle end use/disposal. If we don’t do that - the loop of waste does not close to ZERO and we just defer the potential problems to another generation…
Using steel where steel is needed (in super structure) - adds to a longer shelf life of your building just for starters. And when the time is up - you can take all the steel and RECYCLE it all! Of course going totally ALL -STEEL has it’s drawbacks - including being limited to shell/envelope materials… so by using a stand alone designed framework like that offered by PERKA BUILDING FRAMES, designed for easy assembly and finish friendly, you can then add on ANY other green, truly sustainable materials that are not only closed loop but ALSO appealing to look at and comfortable to work, play and live in.

After all - how we HUMANS feel as we LIVE out our LIVES - is as much about sustainable innovation as anything else. If we are happy, high spirited and filled with GOOD feelings, we not only live happier, better - but we will die happier, better too…. and leaving a healthy body, still filled with sustainable vital organs, could be the greatest gift of a closed loop system we could offer to our children’s children… don’t you think?

How’s that for closing a loop on building sustainably!!??

Let’s BUILD for CHANGE!

Cheers

"Alone we may travel quicker, but together we travel further"... author unknown

Photo taken from http://www.wholesysteminnovation.com/blog/ClosedLoopMetabolicDevelopmentSystem3.php

ON GROWING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR OUR CHILDREN

An excellent site on the VALUES of and FOR co-creating a sustainable future for our CHILDREN, Our World visit: http://www.thenewgreeneconomy.com/sustainability/sustainable-values?layout=default.

Kathryn Alexander shares some awesome information on what it’s going to take for us to band together and get this done. Our way of thinking and being here at TEAM PERKA is directly in line with these effective values.

Here is just a brief excerpt from this site:

The Effective Value Set
When one engages strangers and wants to be safe, being open and transparent are necessary qualities. Consequently, the values that support effectiveness begin with; Promote Comfort and Convenience, Be Optimistic, Be Open to Inventiveness and Novelty, Compete, and Shun Force. These values allow for connection and the creation of new relationships. To develop those relationships, the following values come into play; Collaborate, Come to Voluntary Agreement, Be Honest, Use Initiative and Enterprise, Be Effective, Be Industrious and Be Thrifty. Additional values for maintaining a productive on-going relationship include; Respect Contracts, Invest for Productivity and last but not least, Dissent for the Task. People want to know, before there is an issue, if something is not right or could go wrong. This approach differs markedly from the Protective Value Set’s “Deceive for the Task.”

From these we can then spring board to the values needed for true Sustainable living…
That shift requires that we truly understand the Integrity of the Whole, that we recognize the interrelatedness and Interdependence that creates Balance through Right Relationship as expressed in Zero Waste and true Abundance. As we strive to live long on this planet, the Precautionary Principle is treated as a natural law and Future Life becomes so important and valued that All Actions Enhance Life and those that do not are considered corrupt. Because Humans are Intrinsic to the web of life, Diversity becomes valued as the key to resilience and through Empowerment people can Co-Create in a Self-Organizing way that fosters true Reciprocity, appreciation and gratitude as we move forward together.

FOR MORE INFO - VISIT http://www.thenewgreeneconomy.com/ for more info on above and or visit Kathryn’s site at http://www.ethicalimpact.com/ or her blog “Living Rthics” at http://ethicalimpact.wordpress.com/.
THE TIME IS NOW…

Cheers

Are you still wondering if Building Green is really “the way” to go?

While it is probably the fastest growing “awareness” the human race has ever grown into - one might be surprised to hear how so many of us still wonder if Building Green is “worth” it???

“Building Green” is not only good for the “environment” which it does by preserving energy by not “wasting” it needlessly, consuming less non-renewable resources by choosing smart earth friendly materials, saving time by having systems pre-thought out to not have to do things “in the field” where it can create allot of “standing around” and cost everyone allot more than is really necessary (which is also non-renewable by the way), better for our health which reduces loss of man-hours due to sick days , improving well being and morale which increases creativity, quality and productivity, and by just being THE FEEL GOOD approach to building which we all know the benefits of just FEELING GOOD — but “BUILDING GREEN” can actually save our ‘economy’; — or at least transform the illusory one we’ve been playing in, to one that is actually abundant, fair and sustainably REAL!

Read what Reuters has to say:
http://www.usgbc.org/News/USGBCInTheNewsDetails.aspx?ID=4163
More Green Building and Energy Efficiency Could Save U.S. Economy $1.2 Trillion


Source: Reuters
Date Written: 7/29/2009

The typical building in the U.S. leaks energy like a sieve and its occupants usually make the situation worse.

But businesses and individuals could stanch the flow by making simple changes that could yield a 23 percent drop in energy use by 2020, save the U.S. economy $1.2 trillion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons annually, according to a new study.

McKinsey & Company released its 165-page report, “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy,” today. The U.S. Green Building Council and 11 other governmental, non-governmental and private sector organizations helped sponsor the report.
You can read GreenBiz.com Senior Writer Marc Gunther’s take on the report.

The report examines how the nation can increase energy efficiency in buildings and other non-transportation sectors using existing technology and methods — some of them are as basic as using the efficiency settings on equipment and appliances.

The study also takes a hard look at the barriers to progress, why the changes haven’t already been made and what can be done to clear the hurdles.

The report says a targeted investment of $50 billion a year for a 10-year period could produce the big savings and reductions described. In addition, say McKinsey and the USGBC, almost 900,000 jobs would be created.

“This confirms a critical path forward that we have long championed. Harnessing the engine of green, energy efficient buildings can cost-effectively drive tremendous improvements in our economy and environment,” USGBC President, CEO and Founding Chairman Rick Fedrizzi said in statement.

“Green building can stimulate the economy at a level one and a half times larger than the federal stimulus bill. In terms of climate change, a commitment to energy efficiency would be the equivalent to taking the entire U.S. fleet of passenger cars and light trucks — more than 200 million vehicles — off the road.”

CAN YOU IMAGINE? Los Angeles under truly CLEAR blue skies?

YES … Let’s Imagine That… TOGETHER.

Cheers.