8 Green Building Processes Being Adopted In 2013

Green building is far from new. However, as it gains attention on a global level, green processes will continue to evolve and improve throughout 2013. These are eight of the expected trends for green building processes this year.

1. Improved Water Conservation wills Gain Focus

From rainwater collection to onsite water technologies, conservation of fresh water resources is becoming a major concern in many locations around the world. Solutions such as treating or reusing grey water on-site will reduce water consumption while providing energy savings in many cases.

2. Solar and other Renewables Will Rise in Usage

A surplus of solar components and drop in price will combine with increased public interest in solar technologies to spur a rise in the adoption of solar solutions for powering and maintaining green properties. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers offers a number of predictions on the increase in use of other renewable power sources, such as wind.

3. Building Automation Enters New Markets

Building automation was once a complex and expensive endeavor. With advances in technology, automating various aspects of a build, from doors and lights to climate control and alternative energy sources, is simple. By creating automated routines, energy consumption and carbon footprints can be lowered substantially.

4. Connecting Buildings and Homes to the Cloud will Help Improve Efficiency

As an extension to building automation, many are now linking automation systems, appliances, climate control systems and other tools to cloud servers and controllers to allow remote access and other benefits. This provides an ideal level of control while still providing many of the benefits of full automation.

5. Reduced Use of Red List Chemicals and Improved Transparency

As green building becomes more common, use of Red List chemicals, such as CFCs and PVC, will continue to decline. Increased transparency in building materials, especially listing of Red List chemicals, will increase to help improve accountability as well.

6. Retrofitting Existing Buildings will Gain Ground on Building New Green Structures

Technologies are improving to allow retrofitting of existing buildings, equipment and systems instead of building systems into a new building or structure. Cost benefits of retrofitting are reaching levels to make this an attractive option for many builders and businesses. As costs continue to decrease for green technologies and incentives for initiating green processes continue to increase, the demand for green processes will rise.

7. Improved Standards as Green Building Gains Popularity

Public knowledge of green building practices continues to increase. LEED and other associations are also increasing the requirements for certification as well. This, combined with increased transparency, will result in a higher standard for what is considered a green building in the coming years.

8. Green Building Will Become More Accessible to the Public

With environmental awareness increasing daily, the pressure for green building processes will continue to increase. Standardization of green building processes and technologies, and the ability to retrofit existing structures and systems, will continue to make green systems more accessible to the public.

Green building processes continue to evolve at a rapid pace. Support for green building is also on the rise. From cloud-based building automation to an increased investment in renewable power sources, these eight processes will continue to shape the green building industry throughout 2013 and beyond.

 

Willie Pena is a freelance writer, video producer, visual artist, and music producer. He prefers the Oxford comma. In addition to writing for firms such as Icon Identity Solutions, IBM, Colgate, Transunion, Webroot and a multitude of private clients and websites, he also shoots, directs, and edits the hit celebrity web series “Teens Wanna Know”. Catch his rare blog posts on williepena.com, and connect with him on Google+, LinkedIn.

 


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