With environmental awareness of the rise and a shift in focus onto
our effects on the planet, it is no wonder that residential, industrial
and commercial construction projects now have ‘green’ guidelines that
they must follow in order to be compliant. Whilst this type of
construction doesn’t differ too much to the regular type (both require
detailed levels of planning and skilled labour), it does take steps to
ensure that the buildings affect on the environment is kept at a
minimum. It is important to ensure that you are aware of the guidelines
that could affect your commercial project. So, what are some of the
guidelines that affect the commercial construction of today?
One
example of this is central air conditioning systems; most of the newer
units on the market today are much more efficient than those that were
available 10 or even 5 years ago. The building will also be doubly
checked for seals and leaking ducts, as these problems cause equipment
to work overtime (especially the air conditioning), which defeats the
purpose of using equipment with a good energy star rating.
This
can be achieved in a number of ways, including the use of less
materials and energy during this process. Unfortunately, all of the
materials used in commercial construction will produce some sort of
waste by-product; instead of throwing this waste into landfill, however,
the guidelines stipulate that they should be recycled or compacted as
much as possible (as this still reduces our carbon footprint).
In
terms of commercial construction, this could involve using less water
to accomplish necessary day-to-day tasks (such as flushing the toilet)
and the conversion of wastewater into fertiliser. There are a number of
toilet and plumbing systems that use less water per flush and that
include faucets that cannot accidentally be left on (they usually
operate off a sensor). The use of wastewater as a fertiliser also
negates the need for wastewater treatment systems, which are energy
hungry.
Whilst some builders may find that these new ‘green’
guidelines are just there to make their lives harder, it is important to
remember that they have been put in place with good intentions. It is
important to preserve the environment, so that our children and
grandchildren will be able to enjoy it to the same level that we have.
And, as commercial construction can have a big effect on this, it is
important to lessen these as much as possible.