Energy consumption by the numbers

Despite all the attention given to electric cars and reducing consumption of fossil fuels in our vehicles, the largest consumer of energy might surprise you: buildings.

Currently 20.4 percent of all the United States’ energy consumption is used in residential buildings, and 18.5 percent is used in commercial buildings like the offices where we work, coffee shops, restaurants, and stores. That combined 38.9 percent of all energy directly consumed by buildings dwarfs the 28.9 percent of energy Americans use on transportation.

How do buildings consume energy? Energy is spent by heating and cooling them, warming water, lighting spaces, and a host of other functions.

All told we use a tremendous proportion of energy; the average energy consumption of buildings in the United States is more than our European counterparts. The United States’ 327 million inhabitants make up 5 percent of the world’s population, but we use 15 percent of the world’s energy,whereas the European Union, with 7 percent of the world's population, consumes 14 percent of the total energy generated. So the United States consumes three times its population and the European Union consumes double its population.

Buildings are definitely part of the problem. But should we abandon our beloved buildings to go live in the woods and revert to civilization of the past? Absolutely not. By embracing new technologies, which we as a civilization have done for centuries, we can drastically reduce our need for energy.

Renewable Energy Sources

Reducing energy consumption is one of the biggest goals of green architecture, so it follows that these types of constructions will often include a power source that runs on renewable energy.

“I am a big believer in solar panels, where it makes sense. Not every building is a good choice for solar because it does depend on how much sun exposure and surface area you have,” comments Schneider. “But me, for example, I live in Colorado where we get lots of sun and my house happens to be perfectly suited for solar. We’re not net-zero, but we are able to generate most of the electricity that we use.”

Efficient Systems For Ventilation And Air Quality Control

Efficient ventilation systems are also key in designing a truly green space. Natural ventilation systems, which rely on the natural forces of wind and buoyancy to bring fresh air into the building, may even be used in areas where climate permits. The type of ventilation used in construction also plays a significant role in the building’s overall air quality.

Use Of Sustainable And Recycled Materials

Green design’s focus on the environment starts before the home is even built. Green architects focus on using non-toxic, recycled and sustainable building materials.

“‘Cradle-to-grave’ metrics are factored into green building principles,” says DeSimone. “This means that the carbon emissions during the manufacturing process – as well as the transportation to distribution centers – are factored into the carbon footprint analysis.”

Green Architecture Terms To Know

When we analyze green architecture, there are a few key terms to keep in mind.

Sustainability

Sustainability itself is a relatively broad concept, encompassing everything from how the building is built to how it’s used. A building is considered sustainable when it creates a comfortable and functional space without negatively impacting the environment.

But it’s important to recognize the differences between sustainable and green buildings. Sustainability puts a focus on three pillars: planet, people and profit. Green, on the other hand, focuses solely on the environment. This means that all green buildings are sustainable, but not all sustainable buildings are green.

Energy Efficiency

The efficient use of energy is the most important element of green architecture, as using less energy reduces a building’s carbon emissions. Energy efficiency is achieved by using technology that requires less energy to perform the same task.

The solutions here can be simple or complex. For example, LED light bulbs use 70% – 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs, so by changing something this simple, a home can become more energy efficient. But to obtain LEED certification, these efforts must go much further, such as capitalizing on renewable sources like solar energy.

 

Net-Zero Homes

“A home is considered ‘net-zero’ when the energy that is produced from an installed renewable energy system, such as solar photovoltaic power, is equal to the amount of energy consumed by the home,” says Anna DeSimone, author of Live in a Home that Pays You Back: A Complete Guide to Net Zero and Energy-Efficient Homes. “If the renewable energy system produces an excess amount of energy, then the effect is called ‘positive energy.’”

DeSimone explains that while homeowners can make improvements to their current home to work towards achieving net-zero energy, there are also more and more homes built with this concept in mind.

“A very popular trend in home construction is called the ‘net-zero ready’ home, which means the builder has constructed a high-performance home with energy-efficient technologies, and has ‘prewired’ the house, enabling the homeowner to install solar energy or other types of renewable energy systems in the future – seamlessly and at a much lower cost,” says DeSimone.

 

 

 

 

Use Of Sustainable And Recycled Materials

Green design’s focus on the environment starts before the home is even built. Green architects focus on using nontoxic, recycled and sustainable building materials. Some of the materials commonly used in green architecture include:

• Reclaimed wood
• Bamboo
• Cork
• Hempcrete
• Straw bales
• Clay plaster
• Sheep’s wool
• Enviroboard

What makes these building materials “green”? They’re not only harmless to the environment or human health, but they also have a smaller carbon footprint than other building materials. “‘Cradle-to-grave’ metrics are factored into green building principles,” says Anna DeSimone, author of “Live in a Home that Pays You Back: A Complete Guide to Net Zero and Energy-Efficient Homes.” “This means that the carbon emissions during the manufacturing process – as well as the transportation to distribution centers – are factored into the carbon footprint analysis.”

 

 

Summarize

Green architecture has been around since the beginning, but ongoing efforts to minimize our impact on the planet have brought this architectural philosophy back to the surface – and for good reason. With the right balance of sustainable materials, renewable energy and a strong focus on surroundings, green design can benefit both people and the environment.

Reference

https://www.rocketmortgage.com/learn/green-architecture

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