Two Proven Keys To Start Building Sustainably
Printer-friendly versionDevelopers and investors who already incorporate sustainable building into their projects know that success is based on two critical elements. The first element is the right design process, and the second is the right technology.
Successful commercial developers and industry experts agree an investigative, systematic, collaborative team approach works best for sustainable buildings. This process, often called “Integrated Design,” is essential to a positive outcome.
The second critical element is choosing the right technology. The key is not how exotic you can be, but rather how appropriate and economic the technology is for the building, its location and use.
By incorporating these two elements—process and technology--your team will have a smooth and predictable path that leads to a sustainable building.
Low-Risk, High-Return Solutions
New Buildings Institute (NBI) reviewed over 100 of America’s most energy efficient buildings to determine which technologies are most consistently used to achieve high performance results with a focus on low-risk, high-return solutions. The buildings represent a cross-section of building types, with the top three sectors by square footage being office, schools and laboratory/ clinics. Here we provide an overview of the top five technologies, their benefits, the lessons learned and how to approach your design team on each technology.
NOTE: We do not include generation technologies such as photovoltaics, wind or micro-turbines, but rather focus on efficient technologies that reduce energy use and demand. Generation technologies, which are vital to getting to a zero energy building, will be the subject of another document as they come with very different—and more complex— economic and technical issues.