Sustainable Building Technical Manual - Etn-presco.net

MT. AIRY PUBLIC LIBRARYMt. Airy, North CarolinaMt. Airy, North Carolina, has incorporated extensive daylighting into the passive solar design of its 13,000-square-foot public library, built in 1982. Thisdesign strategy helps to meet the town commissioners’ goal of a 70 percent reduction in annual electricity consumption. The daylighting strategy admitsglare-free, diffuse light to all corners of the library without damaging the books with direct illumination. It is combined with efficient lighting systems, whereneeded, and other features that conserve energy used for heating and cooling. Lighting energy use, usually a large portion of a library’s total energy consumption,is now only one-eighth of the entire building’s total energy usage. Not surprisingly, utility bills have been very low. The building’s attractive designhas drawn positive reactions from employees and visitors, and made the facility a town centerpiece. Visitation rates at the library are more than twice whatwas originally anticipated, and operating hours have been extended to accommodate users of this multipurpose cultural center. 23Local Economic Development OpportunitiesPromotion and implementation of green building practices within a community cangenerate new economic development opportunities. These opportunities can take avariety of forms, including new business development to meet the demand for greenproducts and services; resource-efficiency improvement programs that enable existingb u s inesses to lower operating costs; development of environmentally oriented businessdistricts; and job training related to new green businesses and products.In Austin, Texas, the long-term existence of the city’s Green Builder Program has contributedto the growth of green building trades, including, for example, companies tomeet the demand for rainwater-harvesting systems and services. The city has also begunworking with a non-profit organization to offer at-risk youths an opportunity to learnjob skills while they build affordable green homes. On a national level, the EPA cites thepotential creation of over 200,000 jobs through aggressive implementation of its GreenLights retrofit program.In other communities, entrepreneurs have developed businesses to recycle usablebuilding components. In Baltimore, Maryland, for example, one non-profit companyredistributes over $1 million worth of building supplies a year. These materials,diverted from landfills and received as donations from construction-related businesses,are provided to non-profit organizations and low-income clients at about onethirdof their retail price. A Berkeley, California, for-profit business has salvagedfurniture, household goods, office equipment, and building materials for resale forover a decade. These materials are retrieved from the waste stream or donated by localresidents, businesses, and construction sites. The company handles about 5,000 tonsof material each year.In Denver, Colorado, plans are underway to reuse Stapleton International Airport as acenter for environmentally oriented businesses, as well as a site for training opportunitiesin environmental fields. San Jose, California, through its Green Industry Program, hascreated two Green Industry Districts, which will provide incentives such as loans and taxbenefits to attract more recycled-product manufacturers and green industries. And inPortland, Oregon, the city’s Businesses for an Environmentally Sustainable Tomorrow(BEST) program uses incentives and education to encourage businesses to realize the economicbenefits of energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction or recycling,and efficient transportation practices.Local governments facing rising building and operational costs may find that adoptionof green building practices can slash public expenditures for energy, water, and wasteprocessing. In Montgomery County, Maryland, for example, carefully crafted EnergyDesign Guidelines aim to reduce energy consumption in new government buildings byI.10CHAPTER 1: THE ECONOMICS OF GREEN BUILDINGS