aka Green, Building Supply- Scottsdale, Arizona

Frequently Asked Questions:

Plain & Simple: What is a green building?

Well, it means a variety of different things to a variety of people, but we found the definition packaged by our friends at Wikipedia to be pretty well rounded:

“Green building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources — energy, water, and materials — while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment, through better site selection, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and removal — the complete building life cycle.”

Why build green?

Environmental Benefits: By all rational and scientific accounts, serious environmental degradation is taking place, with some destruction being irreversible. Buildings are responsible for a large share. In construction and remodeling, we can now easily reduce waste, and utilize materials that are recycled, rapidly-renewable, don’t create toxins as a by-product, and/or reduce fossil energy consumption. And that’s just in the construction and products side. Good design can reduce environmental impacts significantly and can actually help restore the environment.

Health Benefits: Green building provides both physical and emotional health benefits. The EPA includes poor indoor air quality on the top 5 most urgent public health risks. EPA studies have found that pollutant levels inside can be 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors. After some activities, indoor air pollution levels can be 100 times higher than outdoors. By using less toxic materials combined with improved ventilation techniques, green building helps to prevent problems like sick building syndrome, molds, allergens, and poor indoor air quality.

Cost Savings: Energy efficient building components and products that conserve water reduce monthly utility bills. New materials and appliances can save up to 50% of the energy of previous models. These products are superior in their efficiency and durability and therefore last significantly longer. Building green can also result in construction loan interest rate discounts, insurance discounts, expedited permitting, tax credits, utility rebates, and government rebates. A recent study by the New Buildings Institute found that LEED certified commercial buildings save, on average, 25-30% in energy, while Gold and Platinum buildings save nearly 50%.

Added Value: Given the recent turbulence within the housing market, green building provides a competitive differentiation edge within the market. McGraw Hill has conducted market research that shows and projects significant increases in demand for green homes. A study by CoStar recently found that LEED certified commercial buildings command rent premiums of $11.24/sqft, enjoy 3.8% higher occupancy rates, and average $171/sqft higher sale prices. As third party certification in the residential market rolls out, added value benefits should also be expected to extend to the homes market. To view specific case studies, check out our Green Building Resource link.

Are there different approaches to building green?

Yes, sometimes causing confusion regarding specific practices or materials. Here’s how we break it down:

Natural Building: This concept focuses on the use of natural or least-processed materials that are as locally-sourced as possible. The principles are that Nature is the best designer and we should live as closely in harmony with it as possible. Also, natural and least-processed materials reduce embodied-energy significantly and help avoid “unintended consequences”. Unintended consequences are effects that accidentally or unknowingly result from actions that had another original purpose in mind (eg. – unidentified toxins released from a material when it comes into contact with an unpredicted condition in the field). If you live near the source of your materials, you will better understand the impacts you are having on your environment.

Building Science: This concept treats the building as a whole, integrated system with inputs, processes and outputs. By understanding the whole system, we can better understand the impacts of specific changes on the whole. For instance, building a tighter building envelope saves energy, but can affect indoor air quality if additional measures are not implemented.

Green Technology: This concept is the “build a better mousetrap” philosophy, usually employed by product manufacturers. Since they usually focus on a sub-system or product, they expend their efforts creating the most sustainable technology they can within their realm. It may involve energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials efficiency, use of sustainable inputs, reducing the impact of their manufacturing process, eliminating toxins from their product and processes, fair labor practices, alternative packaging, etc. Manufacturers may tout their end product or how they made it. Terms like ISO 14001 and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) come into the conversation.

So which approach is right? They all are, as a combined whole. We just don’t have the tools yet to measure all the trade-offs of specific decisions in specific situations.

Green building rating systems are the primitive tools that will eventually bring it all together. Most green rating programs lean on the Building Science approach and add layers that bring in aspects of the other approaches that do not show up in the Building Science box (such as local sourcing, sustainably-sourced products, and proximity to community services).

The result is that we have something more to talk about over Fair Trade coffee: Is a petroleum-based foam flat roof just bad because it isn’t natural or would you rather put a couple of barrels of fossil-fuel on your roof than see many more burned up to operate your home? (We see the blog essays starting now.)

Another “approach” consideration is aesthetics. Practitioners of green building often seek to achieve not only ecological but aesthetic harmony between a structure and its surrounding natural and built environment, although the appearance of sustainable buildings may not be distinguishable from their less-sustainable counterparts. (Translation: “green building” does not really mean “off-the-grid mud hut”… not that there is anything wrong with that.)

Isn’t it greener to not build at all?
Not necessarily! If your air conditioning is old and horribly inefficient, then it is probably better for the planet to replace your unit with a new, efficient one. And you’ll probably be more comfortable, too, as will your pocketbook.

In general, we will continue to build and remodel... especially in the Valley of the Sun. The goal, then, should be to reuse as many materials as possible, use reclaimed and recycled materials and materials that can be recycled when they are done serving their purpose. For new materials, we should pick the ones that have the least impact on the planet and on our health (such as the least embodied energy, the fewest toxins, and the most rapidly renewable). Nature is the most elegant and complex product designer around, and uses sunlight as its energy source, so there is no reason to sacrifice style in order to be responsible.

Are green buildings more costly?

Green building materials are generally less first cost than design showroom materials, but generally more than large home improvement warehouse materials. Prices are also not rising as fast as traditional materials because many traditional products have a stronger dependence on petroleum as content and in manufacturing processes.

Pertaining to the broader context:

1. Green building may cost more the first time out because of learning curve costs of doing something differently than habit. Finding an experienced green architect and green builder generally negates learning curve costs.

2. Green building can involve higher design phase costs that then are usually countered by savings during the building phase because of a better thought out plan.

3. Verified green building involves certification costs that would not be bourne otherwise.

4. People generally say “higher cost” when they mean “higher first cost”. Numerous studies in the commercial realm have shown that green building returns are very significant: 25-50% energy savings, $11.24/sqft higher rents, 3.8% higher occupancy rates, $171/sqft higher resale prices, increased sales in retail buildings, increased learning and test scores in classroom buildings, earlier release dates from hospitals, fewer employee sick days in office buildings, and higher employee productivity. These numbers will likely be mirrored in homes as studies are undertaken.

What is a LEED green building?
“LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Developed by USGBC, LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality. LEED is a practical rating tool for green building design and construction that provides immediate and measurable results for building owners and occupants.”

What Next? Learn More and Be Part of the Solution...
We understand this whole "Going Green" thing can be a bit overwhelming, complicated and oftentimes seems to raise more questions than answers. We believe that education is key to promoting awareness and implementing change. In this effort, we offer a full line of educational workshops to help you through learning more about sustainability and a whole host of environmental topics. We look forward to seeing you there.