Posts Tagged 'sustainability'

Green Parking Solutions to Complement your Green Building

Published February 20, 2012 going green Leave a Comment
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Reserved Parking for Hybrid Vehicles. Image Credit: Trendhunter.

Having a green prefab steel building is nice, but you do not want to forget other aspects of green construction that are just as important in pursuing environmental awareness. The last thing you want is to have a green building that saves electricity and water costs but is offset by other aspects of your construction—like parking. Norsteel is a fierce advocate of green construction that helps you lessen your utility costs and promoting environmentalism.

Green and environmentally friendly parking solutions are one of the ways by which you can make your green building more sustainable. The International Parking Institute (IPI) recently published the Framework on Sustainability for Parking Design, Management and Operations—a framework that establishes how to provide sustainable parking solutions to its members.

The IPI, with a goal of reflecting balance between the reduction of adverse environmental impacts and societal health and welfare, advocates alternative energy sources and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. It also suggests a variety of multi-modal transportation options and effective natural resource management. Waste reduction strategies when it comes to parking and transportation are also highlighted in its report.

One particular trend that the report highlighted on is the use of electric charging stations in parking spaces. Because of the rise of hybrid vehicles, owners are in constant need of charging stations that are unfortunately often located too far in between.

In its report, IPI has several options that will allow commercial real estate businessmen to accommodate electric and hybrid vehicle charging stations in its parking spaces. This is especially important for major industries such as retail, hotel and multifamily businesses.

Parking solutions may sound insignificant and inconsequential, but it is actually a matter that can help create a more sustainable way of living. This is a point that we, at Norsteel understand, as we believe that green construction must take into account all aspects of sustainability and reduction of environmental impact.

Four Myths About Green Buildings… Busted!

Published January 31, 2012 going green Leave a Comment
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It is quite clear that green buildings are here to stay. Unfortunately, many construction firms still do not and will not understand the wisdom behind green buildings. Because of misinformation or lack of information, people tend to get confused as to what exactly is the real deal about green buildings. Well, here are some myths about green buildings that you have to stop believing in—from no less than one of the pioneers in green buildings, Norsteel Buildings.

Myth # 1 Green buildings are costly.

There are several high-profile and expensive green building project contractors—in the same way that there are several construction firms that charge a variety of fees for construction projects. There are plenty of firms that offer viable and inexpensive green building solutions that are right for your budget, whether you are a residential building or commercial building owner.

Myth # 2 Green building is only a matter of selecting the right materials.

Just because you reused recycled materials with low energy and no VOCs does not mean that you already own a green building. There are several considerations for a green building to be called such—from the selection of the site to waste reduction.

Myth #3 Green buildings do not save energy.

Another myth thrown around about green buildings is that they do not really save energy and water at the end of the day. Actually, the performance of green buildings will speak for itself. As much as 60% energy reduction is reported by buildings with a green design.

Myth #4: Green products have to be imported and are rare.

This is not exactly true. For example, Norsteel will be not run out of green products for your building anytime soon.. There are a growing number of sources for green products, so there is no need to worry that the construction will be stalled halfway through.

Green Building Trends for 2012

Published January 23, 2012 going green Leave a Comment
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Leaves. Image Source: Public domain.

After identifying the primary discussions on green construction, urban awareness, and environmental consciousness among varied sectors (architects, developers, policymakers, appraisers, lenders, builders, homeowners, etc.), the Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit green construction organization has identified the top ten green building trends for 2012:

1. Higher Urban Density. Empty nesters and yuppies will be moving in to the city and building laneway homes (similar to a carriage house behind the main house) and accessory dwelling units this coming year. The reason? A sustainable lifestyle and closeness to big city opportunities.

2. Green multifamily homes. An increase in multifamily building certifications is another trend, especially in progressive areas.

3. Home remodels. Many families will also be looking into remodeling their homes to make them much more energy-efficient.

4. Testing of new green materials. Engineers and architects are reluctant to use these new materials right now, but more testing can only contribute to the development and refinement of environmentally friendly technologies.

5. Energy tracking devices. Environmentally consciousness homeowners are increasingly willing to use energy trackers to assess the performance of appliances.

6. Energy education for commercial establishments. By this year, companies will realize the benefits of saving energy.

7. Transparency in marketing. Construction firms and real estate professionals will be compelled to disclose the merits of what they are building and selling. This is a commitment that Norsteel has always done.

8. Valuable and accurate appraisals. With the increasing number of appraisers, it will be a lot easier for buyers and sellers to know the precise value of a green building.

9. Adoption of residential energy ratings for homeowners. With the release of the Department of Energy’s Home Energy Score, it will be easier for homeowners to compare their energy use to others in the same building category and area.

10. Smart grid-compatible high-performance houses. Homeowners will now be able to monitor and control their electricity usage, all through a remote command.

Self-Storage Buildings Can Be Green Too!

Published January 17, 2012 going green Leave a Comment
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Commercial buildings, residential apartments, and hotels have been spearheading the road towards energy-efficient green buildings. We’ve seen drastic developments in these industries, but what’s the next big thing in green building?

Believe it or not, self storage facilities are have quietly but decidedly moving towards environmental awareness and energy efficiency. If you’re an owner of a storage facility yourself, here are a few tips that might help you lessen the costs of maintaining your business.

Use prefab steel buildings.

Prefab buildings are easy enough to set up, and make the best storage facilities. Storage facilities that are expanding opt for steel prefab buildings, because of its space-saving and energy-efficient qualities. Not to mention that they are easily customizable.

Have a natural garden area to purify runoff water.

Your storage facility can learn from Big Yellow Self Storage in Bromley, London. The business received an Environmental Award for having created garden areas so the runoff water will get naturally purified. This is much better than letting the toxic water go straight to the sewer system.

Replace lighting with fluorescent bulbs.

If you cannot invest on solar panels, you can instead replace your current lighting with fluorescent bulbs. They eat up much less electricity and will even give a laid back retro vibe to the storage rooms of your customers. Another option is to use motion-sensor light bulbs to save energy. This will also save your customers and staff from having to turn on and off the light constantly.

Set-up facilities using recycled materials.

Several storage facilities have gone the extra mile and built facilities made of recycled and reusable materials. This may take a bit of effort, but it is well worth it because the facility will not only be cheaper to put up, but also cheaper to maintain.

Pre-fabricated steel buildings have always been more green than other alternatives, but have only now been associated with the popularity of environmental building practices. And with innovations in building accessories, these buildings will be even more environmentally sound.

Nisku Building. Image Credit: Norsteel Buildings.

Residential Buildings and Apartments are Going Greeen Too

Published January 6, 2012 Norsteel Buildings News Leave a Comment
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Flat Back Rain Barrel. Image Source: Shopping.com

The trend of greening one’s space doesn’t only happen within commercial and industrial buildings, but within residential buildings and apartments as well. In fact, a lot of neighborhoods are starting to invest in other methods of going green, in composting food waste—a trend that used to be foreign and strange for most families a couple of years ago.

For example, in Minneapolis, several neighborhoods now have a chutes in their buildings designed for organic food that will be composted. This is only one of the several green features to be found in residential apartments across the US.

Another example is a roofing system that can deflect the heat of the summer.  Tanks are added to collect rainwater, so that the money paid by residents for storm water management is significantly reduced while water capacity stays the same.

The HVAC and plumbing system is an important aspect of green residential buildings as well. A lot of residential buildings have increased energy efficiency, improved insulation for doors and windows, and appliances that have a high Energy Star rating. Bike racks are commonly installed as more people are learning to use other forms of transport rather than the private automobile.

Granted that there are certain costs for going green such as operational and maintenance expenditures, but the benefits far outweigh them.  In fact, building developers are willing to develop and pay for these expenses upfront as the market is starting to demand environmentally sound and sustainable practices.

The response of residents has thus far been overwhelming. In fact, a lot of people looking for apartments particularly look for green residential buildings. With the chance of reducing electricity and utility costs by as much as 75%, there’s indeed every reason to look for a green residential building!

While LEED certification is the pinnacle of green building, even smaller efforts to cut costs and save the environment can help. The benefits will far outweigh the costs for residential green buildings.

A representative at Norsteel will be happy to offer their assistance on finding an inexpensive, sturdy and sustainable steel building to meet your requirements.

Green Hotels

Published December 22, 2011 going green 2 Comments
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Green living. Image Source: Plus Point Magazine.

The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has released information on how hotel businesses can manage to stay afloat by operating on green buildingsin order to cut costs and market themselves in an eco-friendly way. By facilitating green hotels, this means:

  1. Sustainability of the site. The site on which the building will be built must be sustainable in the first place. This involves open or reflective grid paving, access to convenient public transportation, bicycle storage, and the use of green space.
  2. Water efficiency and conservation. As much as 20% of water can be saved by using waterless urinals, efficient landscaping, and excellently made plumbing fixtures.
  3. Atmosphere and Energy. Using photovoltaic roof panels, geothermal systems, Energy Star appliances, rooftop solar water hearing system, and heat pumps are a few ways to facilitate a positive energy flow throughout the building.
  4. Excellent lighting and indoor quality. This takes into account the coating, painting, and lighting of the hotel. All these will make the hotel breathable for both the hotel staff and your guests.
  5. Use of environmentally safe materials. Using recyclable and reused materials, as well as locally produced raw materials, will ensure a high credit rating.
  6. Innovation in the hotel business. By being a model to the industry, a hotel can get extra points. This calls for a utilization of the hotel’s creative juices. A few examples include educating the hotel staff and encouraging guests to conserve energy, among others.

The roadmap to green buildings for hotels is rather straightforward, but in no way an easy one. The hard work, however, will pay off, once a LEED certification is awarded by the USGBC. In order to do this, two central aspects of a hotel business are evaluated: the building process and the day-to-day operations.

For LEED certification, there are four levels: certified, silver, gold, platinum. In order to be certified, a hotel must be able to have around 40 over 100 points. There are six credit categories to get a LEED certification.

Why Green Buildings Spell Success for Companies

Published December 16, 2011 going green Leave a Comment
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Green building. Image Source: Green Step.

Commercial building tenants are on the lookout for green buildings and it’s not difficult to understand why. With the growing research on green buildings, more companies are starting to get convinced that the benefits of staying in a green building far outweigh the costs.

Green buildings are the best workplaces

A huge portion of a person’s life is spent in the office. With that, the need for a conductive workplace that offers optimum productivity is clear. Research shows that green buildings offer high productivity gains for employee. Employees who work in green buildings have higher job satisfaction, motivation, and productivity. Naturally, all these translate to a more positive work environment and higher returns for the company.

This only means that a company who stays in a green building gets to retain its most valuable employees. It also means that it gets to attract other employees to join the company.

Corporate social responsibility is promoted

Brand image and reputation are two things that a company can’t easily create. In this aspect, staying in a green building can definitely help. Choosing a green building means that a company is responsible enough to recognize the importance of contributing to the environment. With that comes the positive influence on one’s brand image and reputation.

Sustainability is usually at the core of most company’s vision-mission and goals. However, very few of these companies follow through and use green space as their workplace. Companies that do have reaped benefits and showed significant reductions in terms of their financial expenses. A commitment to having a workplace in a green building will ultimately allow companies to maximize their savings, which can be used to fulfill the other goals and missions of the company.

Norsteel recognizes these benefits, and fully supports companies that establish their workplace in green buildings. With steel prefab buildings, establishing a green office space can be done in a jiffy.

New Handbook Provides Standards on Continuous Green Building Improvements

Published November 28, 2011 going green Leave a Comment
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Green Buildings. Image Source: BPN.

While compliance with green building standards is essential in green construction, continuous improvement and maintenance are just as important. Most building owners and construction firms often forget that green buildings have to be continuously improved in order to truly help the environment and reduce energy costs.

To make sure that you get the most out of your green building by reducing electricity and water costs, while also keeping your carbon emissions at a bare minimum, The Building Performance Tracking Handbook might be what you need. Developed by the California Commissioning Collaborative and funded by the Energy Commission, the handbook provides standards of assessment for building improvement.

The handbook provides a standard operating procedure that allows building owners and managers to understand how the building is performing, which parts use the most energy, and how green building expectations are met. By educating building managers about this information, they can identify problems and find solutions. This framework of fine tuning and benchmarking the energy performance of the building from time to time is becoming a popular practice in New York and San Francisco.

Also in the handbook are the basics of green construction. For those who are already on the more advanced levels, there are supplementary resources, which provide a deeper understanding of green buildings. There are also case studies from which building operators can learn a lesson or two on green construction. Commercial buildings can also find out the several benefits that they will gain from green construction, such as reduced energy costs, a higher market value, and higher occupancy rates.

We at Norsteelbelieve that building performance needs to be tracked from time to time. While we lay the groundwork for green steel building construction that complies with the most rigorous standards of green construction, maintenance and continuous improvements continue to play a large part in the development of our products.

“Green” is the Way of the Future for UBC

Published January 24, 2011 going green Leave a Comment
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UBC Proposed Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability Building. Image Credit: Perkins and Will.

Going green isn’t just good for the environment – it can also generate good publicity.  A growing segment of the population is now interested in investing in environmentally-friendly home and office spaces.  According to a recent article published in the Vancouver Sun, the University of British Columbia will soon be jumping on the green bandwagon.

The school plans to turn its entire campus into a “single integrated system,” by using devices that will generate electricity onsite, process rainwater, and regulate and insulate temperatures via the use of plants.  Older, pre-existing buildings will be slowly updated with “green” heating, cooling and processing systems, while new buildings will be built in strict accordance to LEED’s certification parameters.

UBC is partnering with Honeywell, BC Hydro, and the City of Vancouver, among many other industry leaders, to bring their plan to fruition.

A $37 million building will act as the project’s flagship.  Currently under construction, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS), building is a result of 11 years of tireless planning and research.  It will be equipped with all the latest and greatest green technology and will help to usher in a new era of sustainability for UBC and the city of Vancouver.

The CIRS building will include a “living wall” comprised of plant life that will help regulate the building’s temperature, while heat will be collected from a ventilation exhaust system.  It is estimated that UBC’s green initiatives will result in an 860 megawatt reduction in the burning of natural gas.

While converting the entire campus will take some time and is estimated to cost “hundreds of millions” of dollars the project will be rolled out slowly, albeit consistently.  The university is interested in investing in the long-term growth of the school, while setting an example for the rest of the community.

For more information about the University of British Columbia’s green initiatives, and to see a video about the CIRS building, visit UBC Sustainability.

Are Green Buildings Affordable?

Published January 10, 2011 going green 1 Comment
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Oxfam Canada Building. Image Credit: Build Green Solutions.

This week, the Tyee published an article called ‘Five Myths about Green Building.’ It’s a great article and well worth a read, but the first myth struck a chord with me. It’s about the myth that green buildings have to cost more, which is not necessarily true, as per the Daily Commercial News’ article, ‘OXFAM Canada green retrofit sets the bar high.’ The article goes on to explain how a green building company managed to successfully retrofit the ancient 1950’s OXFAM building to have LEED Platinum environmental attributes for less than $100 per square foot.

(By the way, that article in the Tyee was the first in a series on similar articles, so do keep an eye out for the follow ups).

The Tyee starts by explaining why the myth about green building costs originally became ‘fact’. Giving examples, such as the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre and the Olympic Village and Southeast False Creek neighbourhood, the article points out that a lot of the most high profile green buildings are outlandishly expensive and, in the first example, cost B.C. taxpayers more than double the promised price.

The article then argues that it wasn’t the green aspects of these builds that made them go so dramatically over-budget, but rather inexperienced and over-ambitious planners. Indeed, according the article, “a study that compared 221 new buildings found no difference in cost between 83 LEED buildings and 138 similar conventional buildings”.

The man behind the survey, Davis Langdon, makes a very interesting point regarding how a change in thinking towards green building will come about. He argues that green building techniques are still considered an extra feature rather than an essential and fundamental part of building practices and, until that changes, builders, and by proxy the rest of the population, will continue to think that green design is an extra cost rather than a long-term cost-saving measure.

The retrofitted OXFAM building is a great example of this truism; because the building was so incredibly inefficient on every level, the developers were able to approach the project more holistically, tackling “air quality, waste management, renewable energy opportunities, emissions offsets and water conservation” in one go, rather than adding on green features one at a time.

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