What are the Economic Benefits of Green Building?

It’s true that a green building could cost you more money up front, but in the long run it will save you thousands through low operating costs during the life of your building. The approach of green building applies a cost analysis of the project life cycle for figuring the correct up-front expenditures. The analytical method will calculate the costs over all the buildings useful life.

The economic benefits of having a green building can be huge! Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy if you have a green building.

1. Water and Energy Savings

You will see drastic reductions in your operation costs that are going to quickly recoup the money you invested and you will continue to see the huge long term savings. Now you can use that money for other things besides your utility bills.

2. Increased Property Values

Since energy costs are at an all time high, the low cost of operating and the easy maintenance of the green building will make for much lower vacancy rates along with much higher property values.

3. Improved Employee Attendance

The green buildings have control of temperature and ventilation along with increased natural lighting. This attributes to a much improved employee attendance and health. It has been found that the improvements to your indoor environment lowers your health care costs along with your work losses.

4. Increased Employee Productivity

Your employee productivity will be much greater because of the positive indoor environmental conditions. They will be sick much less often and will have a better over sense of well-being.

5. Sales Improvements

Studies have shown that there are better sales in building with more natural light and you will find that many retailers are more and more now using day lighting as an effort to bring in the huge sales benefits.

If you already have a building, you don’t have to run out and buy a new green model, you can have yours looked at and change it over so that you can start taking advantage of all the savings and benefits of having a green building. Anyone can do something to improve their building whether big or small it’s still helping our environment!

Transition to Eco Friendly Foundation

A very well planned out foundation can make a huge contribution in controlling the cooling and heating costs and eliminate the potential mold and moisture problems. There are a lot of different kinds of foundations to pick from, depending on water table, soils condition, climate and other factors.

Your home should be constructed so that it will last for a lifetime. This is a challenge for concrete workers because they need to build the very best foundation possible. They need to pay close attention to detail while building the foundation to help prevent moisture and water problems later. They also need to do all the correct insulation techniques so they will save the homeowner a lot of money on all the utility bills.

Using less concrete along with other materials on the job will save both them and you money. Concrete does last a very long time but there is a lot of energy that goes into making it. They need to think about using methods that use a lot less concrete as this can really add up over the long haul.

You will also want a minimum of 15% of fly-ash in the concrete. What is Fly-ash? It is a by-product of coal fired energy plants. You can request it to be added to the concrete mix when you place your order! This will make the concrete not only stronger, but much more durable and even water resistant.

Also consider using a shallow frost protected foundation especially if your building is located in a cold climate. This will help save extra money and materials as well!

The foundation is part of the home and also needs to be well insulated. Insulation is a major cornerstone to energy conservation. Also installing a drain around the whole perimeter at the foundations base will help keep water away from the foundation thus preventing any damage to the foundation wall.

How to start Green Building

The only good news that’s left in the industry of building is green building. If you are part of today’s building market and your struggling, you don’t need to be. No matter where they live, the ones that are clearly identified in the green building market aren’t just staying busy, they are growing in leaps and bounds through these hard economic times.

The first thing you should know is what exactly is selling in the green market. This recession is extremely diverse in how it’s effecting different places. In the southwest, the market is completely dead for new homes. In the Midwest the remodeling market is very strong in some places. Where you are located and how you go about marketing your company will be the key to your success.

Now, find out just what your inevitability’s are to your market. What’s the most pressing? In climates that are cold it’s energy costs during the winter. In the region of the Rocky Mountains it will be the availability of water. In New England it’s going to be fuel oil to heat with. In the crowded cities of the East Coast, recycling is important because of landfills closing down. All of these issues are going to drive the consumer purchase decisions. You’ll need to know the sweet spot that is in your area.

You need to learn to listen very carefully to the customer’s needs. You will find that the green consumer isn’t easily categorized. They are going to have a large variety of requirements in their homes. New moms will be very concerned with the indoor air quality. Almost everyone will be concerned about the energy prices. Knowing how to go about doing energy retrofits will be key. Others are extremely committed to recycling. They’ll want to know that you’re going to recycling all the waste on your job-site. The key here is to find the customer’s “hot buttons” and speak to these issues when you’re designing and selling the job.

Your previous customers is a great place for you to begin. Ask them about their priorities, what would they ask of you now? Get feedback from them and see how they think and how they may have done the project differently. Usually since time has past, they’ll be a bit more objective and give very constructive feedback.