The “green” revolution in buildings is starting to yield savings to the homeowner’s pocketbook. According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC at www.usgbc.org), a non-profit coalition of nearly 3,000 companies and organizations, a “green” building is a building designed, constructed and operated to boost environmental, economic, health and productivity performance over that of conventional buildings.

The road to becoming fully green is long and hard, involving many changes in how we think and in how we build, operate and maintain our buildings. The building community has considered a variety of strategies to move down the road to “greener” building. Each represents a different take on the true color of green.

Many builders have experimented with increased energy conservation and the use of renewable, recycled or recyclable materials. There have been proposals to minimize the amount of “embodied” energy in a building (the amount of energy it takes to produce the building materials and to assemble them into the finished building). There have been discussions about building smaller homes with more efficient layouts, grouping them with common walls to reduce heating and cooling, and locating them in denser settlements closer to workplaces to reduce daily travel and its associated energy and material costs.

The “green” crystal ball

Despite the many approaches and advancements in building design and construction, it is still impossible to predict exactly what homes will look like hundreds of years from now. At least now, the industry has gained enough experience and witnessed enough trends to know what building criteria will be important and what homebuyers will want.

What is already becoming very clear in the residential housing, and industrial and commercial building markets, is that “going green” has the potential to save building owners a great deal of money. Homeowners are seeing the very pragmatic side to green building. Likewise, designers, builders, and walls and ceilings trades will also benefit as buildings improve—through enhanced reputation, greater differentiation of skills, fewer callbacks, increased customer satisfaction and referrals.

In terms of housing, three significant opportunities for consumers, builders and trades are emerging from “green” building: energy savings, health savings and extended building life.

Why are these becoming important? Because more and more we are seeing the negative effects of not following construction practices that deliver these key benefits. These include high-energy consumption and its associated costs, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, health problems for building occupants, and building failures due to water intrusion, water vapor transport and mold growth.

Between new building construction and the renovation of existing buildings, there is a tremendous potential for reducing environmental costs and increasing public health by creating “greener” buildings.

Health and longevity

Since the early 1970s, the United States has endured a series of “energy crises.” These have increased the sense of urgency to control rising heating and cooling costs, so that average people can afford to stay comfortable in their homes. The challenge for builders and renovators is to deliver building energy efficiency and conservation, so that operational cost savings can more than offset any initial required investment. The problem is if competition for new home sales is based solely on price, builders will be reluctant to invest in added energy efficiency.

Fortunately, there are strong signs that including efficiency in home construction can pay off for builders, as well as homeowners. A recent survey by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association found that 80 percent of homebuyers say they would be willing to pay more for a “green” home that is energy- and resource-efficient. The higher resale value of an efficient home is also a good selling tool for builders as well as a tangible benefit to the homeowner. An article in The Appraisal Journal (October 1998) showed that energy efficiency upgrades may increase a home’s value by more than the cost of the upgrade (www.gca.ca/APPRAISE2.html).

At the same time, new integrated home designs that take advantage of advanced methods for energy conservation are proving that greener and more energy efficient buildings do not necessarily have to cost more—and may even cost less—than older less efficient buildings, according to the USGBC. For example, in homes designed for reduced air infiltration, the mechanical systems can be downsized significantly because of the lower heating and cooling loads achieved through higher performance building envelope construction.

Just as homeowners shop carefully to find mortgage terms that will protect them for as long as possible against higher borrowing costs, they are seeing the importance of shopping for a home that will protect them against higher energy costs in the future.

Health savings

In the hectic lifestyle of the early 21st century, family schedules are even more delicately balanced than before. If any family member gets sick, there are direct costs, such as medical insurance or medical bills and medications. There are also indirect costs and inconveniences, such as the need to take time off work. The consequences of family illness can be disastrous, especially in single-parent families where the sole income is disrupted just when extra costs are being incurred.

The potential effects of family illness are compounded even more when the home itself is the cause of the illness. Some homes are indoor air pollution nightmares due to poor ventilation, use of high-off-gassing building materials and home furnishings, mold growth, faulty furnaces and many other factors. While pollutant levels from individual sources may not pose a significant health risk on their own, most homes have more than one source that contributes to indoor air pollution. There can be a serious risk from the cumulative effects of these sources.

Often difficult to diagnose, building-related illness can linger for months, progressing through a long series of puzzling symptoms, and often costing considerable time and money to finally identify the root cause. An unhealthy home can adversely affect the health of more than one occupant, compounding the medical effects.

Homebuyers are increasingly conscious of the dangers of poor indoor air quality, which have become a key consideration when making decisions about the purchase of new homes and renovations. No one can afford a house that makes him sick. “Greening” in the sense of buildings with healthier indoor air quality is now perceived as a fundamental necessity, not a luxury.

Extend building life

A green building is also one that does not need replacement for a long time. A home that lasts several hundred years or more, rather than 50 or less, is much less costly to the planet, measured by initial manufacturing and construction costs, and demolition and replacement costs. Well-designed buildings are also less costly to maintain, directly benefiting the homeowner.

Choosing natural or recycled materials does not guarantee a building with a long life. Careful attention must be paid to comprehensive moisture control measures and to proper building envelope design to avoid conditions that will deteriorate the building.

Ironically, many of the buildings constructed within the last decade have already experienced major failures, due to indoor air pollution, water damage and air leakage across the building envelope, causing condensation and mold growth. Clearly, a house that “goes bad” is the worst kind of building problem, since the possible outcomes (renovate completely, demolish and rebuild or sell with a blemished reputation and reduced value) are costly.

Homeowners expect their buildings to last. Confronted by unacceptable and massive building failures, they are increasingly seeking restitution, as evidenced by the approximately 9,000 pending mold-related lawsuits. This litigation spreads a broad net in seeking damages, targeting developers, architects, engineers, general contractors and specialty contractors, as well as insurance companies. Building failures can put the reputation and financial viability of all these groups at risk. The implications can be seen in rising insurance premiums and new damage exclusions.

Practice green

Fortunately, the building science community is becoming more knowledgeable about the physics of buildings and it can now identify the factors that can shorten the life of a building. This knowledge is being incorporated into accepted standards for green building that deliver energy efficiency, a healthier indoor environment and building sustainability.

The USGBC developed the nationally accepted LEED standard, a voluntary, consensus-based national standard to support and validate successful green building design, construction and operations. LEED consists of certification of qualifying buildings, high-performance design guidelines and professional training and accreditation services.

Design and building professionals are not only interested in, but are beginning to practice, the fundamental principles of green design, particularly to prevent early building deterioration. Day-to-day moisture damage tops the list of causes of building failure. Designing and maintaining a proper rain-screen, drainage plane, foundation drainage, air barrier and appropriate vapor barrier can help to create a competent building envelope, avoid moisture intrusion and damage and greatly extend the life of any building.

The good news for the construction industry is that one of the simplest components of green building is also one of the best. Building scientists have begun to place a lot more emphasis on creating walls and ceilings with effective air barriers.

Air barriers were introduced over the last four decades, but until recently the technology has been labor-intensive and expensive. The introduction of healthy soft foam insulation and air barrier systems has dramatically changed this picture. Continuous and highly effective air barriers can now be achieved at the same time as uniformly insulated walls and ceilings.