energy

10 NEW TRENDS
THAT WILL AFFECT GREEN BUILDING
Most environmental resources do not, formally, have a recognised market price, however it is generally recognised that
nature provides free goods and services that are important to our society, many of which are essential for our survival. This
is the basis of so-called ‘green economy’. Going green has become very attractive as a business strategy, with the birth
of many new terms such as green politics, sustainability, renewables, ecological footprints and many others, including the
phrase, well known in our industry, of ‘green building’.
The term ‘green building’ was first coined in the 1970s
by architects and environmentalists. It can also be
known as ‘green construction’ or ‘sustainable building’.
In an environmental context, being green means being
at peace with nature, not attacking her. Applied to
architecture, a green building, then, is that designed, built
and maintained with minimum consumption of water and
energy, giving priority to materials that do not pollute the
environment during their production and do not harm the
health of users.
Exponential growth of the green commercial real
estate market: this will be seen in both the commercial
and corporate sectors and will be increasingly
replicated with government buildings, universities, nonprofit
offices and schools under construction. Some of
the reasons for this range from increasing numbers of
institutional investors, changes in state and municipal
laws, commercial tenants’ demands, tax credits and
incentives, total operating costs and green building
studies.
With the growth of the environmental movement, strict
environmental legislation and foreign investors keen to
invest in high quality sustainable projects, environmental
management has become more important than ever.
There are two reasons why green building is becoming
increasingly important for the industry: 1) green building
technologies and resources are getting cheaper, thanks
to technological advances, mass production and market
competition; and 2) whether fuelled by the green trend
or by a real need to reduce their footprint, people want
to be more green. This is important because, as a recent
UK Government document states, ’projects are generally
more likely to succeed if they have broad public support
and the consent of local communities.’
The following list of ten trends distils Smart Electrician’s
thinking about green building and many similar issues
over the past year and forecasts what will shape the
sustainable development agenda in the next year:
Public and commercial buildings are responsible for
40% of global energy use, mainly driven by heating,
cooling and lighting. Products from companies such
as Philips, including energy efficient LED lighting
combined with smart controls, can save up to 70% in
lighting energy costs each year.
Convergence between Business Management
Systems and IT: energy efficiency measures in buildings
are being more widely adopted. This will continue on a
larger scale in corporate and commercial real estate,
but this year the trend will incorporate government
buildings, education and housing. The role of
automation will be the cornerstone of these strategies,
which aim to maximise the energy efficiency, safety,
and comfort of buildings, all using cloud-based
services.
Operational transparency: the public availability
of all information concerning the performance of
12 Smart Electrician ISSUE 03 | 2016