From Guest Blogger Kimberly Grimms: Six Green Trends in Building Construction and Housing Projects

Buildings harbor our places of work, play, and living. As centers of our social and economic lives, buildings also contribute a significant impact to our environment. The International Energy Agency estimates that 60% of the world’s electricity is consumed in residential and commercial buildings. The United Nations Environmental Protection (UNEP) also report that buildings globally account for 40% of energy use, 38% of greenhouse gas emissions, 12% of potable water use, and 40% of solid waste streams. Moreover, while the construction industry employs about 111 million people around the world, it also employs along with a tremendous amount of natural resources.

Because of these statistics, it’s of little wonder that the building construction sector is opting for a more environmentally-responsible operation, which we now generally call as green building or sustainable construction. Green building refers to construction that comes with sustainability and resource efficiency throughout a building’s life cycle: from sitting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition.

The benefits of green building are not only for the environment, but also for businesses. It helps reduce operating costs, create, expand, and shape markets for green product and services, and optimize life-cycle economic performance. Here are six of the latest green trends in building construction that businesses in the industry are applying in their green agenda.

Use of Plastics

It may seem counter-intuitive, but a study by PlastiSource shows that green trends in constructions and housing projects drive plastics construction use. Moreover, according to the American Chemistry Council, a one-year study found that the use of plastic building and construction materials saved 467.2 trillion Btu of energy over alternative construction materials. That’s enough energy saved over the course of a year to meet the average annual energy needs of 4.6 million U.S. households.

Using reflective vinyl or thermoplastic olefin in roofs is a key saving application for commercial buildings today. Polyurethane based systems on the roof also offer durability, energy savings, and moisture control. Polystyrene foams behind walls and under floors also provide significant energy efficiency and easy installation. Vinyl-based wall coverings are commonly used for durable, easy-to-clean hospitality and healthcare facilities. Vinyl requires only half as much energy to manufacture as the same amount of paper wall coverings.

Cloud-Based Energy Management

IT enterprises began to work with businesses within the green building industry to make use of cloud computing to streamline and improve building energy management systems (BEMS), making ‘the cloud’ one of the green home trends of the past year. By utilizing cloud computing, the impact of green architecture to building can be measured to identify inefficiencies and underperformances within BEMS. Services have already been developed to allow the combining of energy data collected from buildings with other operational information and measuring it.

As these cloud-based solutions and applications culture and improve, especially in conjunction with the continuing rise of the global green trends of buildings and condominiums in cities and business districts, the market for BEMS is likely to grow by leaps and bounds. Global research concern Pike Research forecasts that by 2020 the BEMS market will reach $6 billion, a substantial increase from the approximate $2.5 in 2013.

Solar Power — Even After Dark

The use of solar power in buildings continues to be one of the green trends in building development. Typically, solar electric systems produce power only during daylight hours. But in 2013, a host of energy storage projects completed and initiated what could have lasting impacts on new energy systems and next-generation buildings.

According to Navigant Research, the global market for solar and wind energy storage systems was worth less than $150 million in 2013, but it could grow to more than $10 billion in the next 10 years. While the future of massive central station solar plants is uncertain, advocates argue that large- to mid-sized storage projects will become necessary as more intermittent solar and wind resources are added to electricity grids in coming years as well.

Net-Zero Energy Buildings

A 2011 New Buildings Institute study reported that net zero-energy buildings (ZEB) are gaining ground across the United States and Canada, and the global commercial and residential green building market is following suit.

ZEB consume no more energy over the course of a year than they generate with onsite renewable sources. The goal of zero-energy buildings provides an aspirational and clear focus for owners and design teams and underscores the importance of ongoing attention to operations and occupancy — energy end uses that are currently not regulated in energy codes yet are critical to low energy performance.

Cool Roofing Structures

The EPA says that cool metal roofings are potential energy savers, and the construction industries are continuously picking up on the concept. According to more than 150 Energy Star partners, shipments of cool roof products have grown to represent more than 25% of these manufacturers’ commercial roof products and roughly 10% of their residential roof products.

A U.S. Department of Energy newsletter also said that cool roofing is one of the fastest growing industries in the construction sector, as builders are starting to realize the benefits of roofs that can stay cool under the sun. This provides energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of cool roofs, especially during warm or hot climates. Cool roofing structures can reduce energy use from air-conditioning by up to 15%. It can even lower carbon emissions by minimizing fossil-fuel generated electricity needed to run air-conditioning.

3D Printed Building Materials

3D printers are popular gadgets today, and companies on some parts of the world are applying the technology in green building.

Earlier in 2014, a Chinese company has pushed the technology beyond its known limits by printing 10 houses entirely out of recycled materials, in just under a day. The parts, such as frames and walls, were printed using a large 3D printer, and these were then used to assemble a complete housing project. Another 3D printed house comes from Denmark, where an architecture firm collaborated with a real estate property developer. The sustainable house was built on the cheap using digital design and was put up in just four weeks.

This process allows for efficient constructions, keeping waste of resources to a minimum. Structural steel in a 3D printed house is also used sparingly, and the structure only touches the ground at its screw pile foundations, lessening site impact. According to the firm from Denmark, their method also cuts down on the carbon emissions associated with the construction process, as it allows a house to be built by two people without heavy machinery.

As the population continues to grow and many of us are moving to a condo in the city to shift to a vertical living lifestyle, the immense pressure on the world’s environment also continues to grow. This means that sustainable investments must be made today to safeguard natural resources for tomorrow. By adopting green urbanity strategies, we can maximize both economic and environmental performance. Green construction methods can be integrated into buildings at any stage, from land property selection and design to construction and deconstruction.