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Building - The Challenges Towards Widespread Acceptance By Home BuildersBy
Vanessa A. Doctor Energy
savings, higher productivity and less waste. These are but a few of the many attributes
towards implementing green building concepts and practices. These days, because
of programs like the U.S. Green Building Council's landmark LEED rating system
for buildings, the ideas and concepts of green building have now entered the mainstream. Currently,
sustainable development analysts have noted that there are around 500 million
square feet of green buildings under design, development, and implementation,
and there has been a lot of success in LEED applications in different industries
and sectors. The Challenges Toward Widespread Acceptance of Green Building
IdeasDespite the rising acceptance in the concepts of sustainable building,
there still remains a large challenge toward widespread acceptance and long-term
practice, and despite the growing awareness in sustainable practices, green products,
and high-performance technologies in building design and construction, many worry
that there continues to be a lack of accurate, thorough, and quantifiable information
regarding the financial and economic impacts of high-performance buildings within
the construction and home building industry. In addition, there are also hurdles
when it comes to the perception of cost, which has become a stumbling block in
the quicker acceptance of green building concepts. According to some sustainable
development purveyors, there's a consistent disconnect between capital costs and
operating costs, as for instance, a building owner knows there is a return on
investment of 40 percent going into a green building, as the investments are taken
from capital; however, the year-to-year, the operating budget isn't linked, and
that poses a real stumbling block. For the past years, many entities have discussed
and analyzed what it actually costs to build green and the ultimate value that
results from constructing an environmentally responsible, high-performing facility
in hopes of convincing the facilities industry to rethink construction budgeting
and financing. The Attributes Of Green Building DesignsHome builders
and developers who have embraced the concepts of eco-friendly building, say that
the four attributes of green building design, which are increased ventilation
control, enhanced temperature control, enhanced lighting control, and increased
daylighting, have been clearly and significantly correlated with increased levels
in productivity. Many note that indoor air quality also has been linked
to potential productivity and health gains in workplaces and educational facilities,
which helps to explain that the greatest advantages of green building come in
the form of benefits to the occupants. The other financial benefits of green buildings
are more than 10 times the average initial investment required to design and construct
a green building. Construction industry insiders say that for energy savings alone,
these exceed the average increased cost associated with going green, and the benefits
and savings mark the true value of sustainable construction. In these times
where cost-efficiency, productivity and concern for the environment need to go
hand in hand, home builders and property developers have a choice between a building
designed to be healthy and efficient or one that is not. According to experts,
with a 50-year life-cycle investment, green buildings are increasing at a rate
of around 40 to 50 percent each year, and as global energy costs also soar up,
the risks of simply doing conventional design are increasing, as well as the risk
of going obsolete has fast become a large phenomenon too. About the
Authorhttp://realestatepress.org
- Real Estate Press Vanessa A. Doctor from Jump2Top
- SEO Company Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vanessa_A._Doctor
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