Feature

Green Building: Designing Our Way into a Better World

by Rich Chien & Jared Blumenfeld

The debate over climate change is now clearly focused on how we can dramatically reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases–namely carbon dioxide (CO2). Building construction and operation accounts for 39% of the nation’s total energy consumption, resulting in nearly half of the nation’s CO2 emissions. In the U.S. alone, we would have to build one power plant each week for the next 20 years to satisfy the power demands of the 5 billion square feet of annual new construction. By 2035, three quarters of all buildings in the U.S. will either be new or renovated.

In 2006, the noted architect Ed Mazria spearheaded the call for massive carbon reductions through green buildings with his initiative, called the 2030 Challenge. In it, he lays out aggressive energy reduction targets in building design, construction and operation through a combination of proven strategies: passive solar design, application of energy efficient and renewable energy systems, and purchasing renewable energy. Mazria writes, “Scientists tell us that in order to avoid dangerous climate change we must keep global warming under 2°C above pre-industrial levels...[and] we will meet our responsibility in keeping global warming under this threshold by adopting the following...fossil fuel reduction standard for all new buildings: 60% [reduction] in 2010; 70% [reduction] in 2015; 80% [reduction] in 2020; 90% [reduction] in 2025; carbon-neutral by 2030 (using no fossil-fuel GHG-emitting energy to operate).” The 2030 Challenge has been adopted by the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and has driven the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to alter the energy performance credits in its LEED Rating System to align with these goals.

Adding further support to Mazria’s call to action, a recent U.N. Sustainable Buildings Construction Initiative (SBCI) study, “Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges and Opportunities,” attests that sustainable buildings have greater potential to reduce greenhouse gases than mechanisms currently recommended within the Kyoto Protocol (the international treaty on climate change). The study pushes for greater use of existing technologies like thermal insulation, solar shading and more efficient lighting and electrical appliances. The report notes that per capita CO2 emissions in the U.S. total 20.1 tons, nearly two times that of China, 16 times greater than India and 50 times more than Nigeria or Sudan. Why is this important? Climate change is a global problem that affects everyone on the planet.

Thankfully, San Francisco’s buildings are among the greenest in the nation. Currently, the city ranks eighth in the country in its number of green buildings. And it’s well positioned to quickly become one of the top five cities in green building, due in large part to strong support from our community, forward-thinking government initiatives, and a community of talented and committed building industry professionals.

The San Francisco Department of the Environment’s Green Building program strives to increase the number and quality of green buildings in the city by developing green policies, providing technical support to project teams and offering extensive educational opportunities.

The City and County of San Francisco set the local green building example by requiring all new municipal construction projects to achieve a LEED Silver certification from the USGBC. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a consensus-based third-party rating system that evaluates a building’s environmental performance based on five categories of sustainable design: site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. In 2004, this requirement was unanimously adopted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to ensure that the city’s construction projects support the triple bottom line of economy, environment and social responsibility. The new California Academy of Sciences building is one of the city’s acclaimed pilot projects and is now being recognized internationally as a premier green building. With nearly 1.6 million visitors a year, the academy will be the most visited LEED Platinum building in the world.

Currently underway is a Commercial Green Building Incentive program to expedite the planning and permitting processes for LEED Gold buildings. And the green housing market is taking off in San Francisco with the development of Arterra–a 268-unit condominium project seeking a LEED rating. Green affordable housing projects like the Folsom Dore Apartments (LEED Silver), and the Plaza Apartments (seeking LEED Silver) set the bar high and prove that smart design and committed teams are the keys to success. After all, green building is something that should be made available to everyone, as we all stand to benefit from higher quality construction, lower utility bills and healthier indoor environments.

Another fantastic local resource for residential green building is Build It Green. Located in Berkeley, Build It Green is a professional nonprofit membership organization with a mission to promote healthy, energy- and resource-efficient buildings in California. It supports statewide residential green building efforts, and provides education, training and resources to all residential building industry stakeholders. Perhaps the most exciting recent development from Build It Green is the residential rating system GreenPoint Rated. The GreenPoint Rated program offers third-party verification that gives builders’ credibility, assures residents that they’re getting high-quality green homes, and allows local governments to track local green building activity. Local jurisdictions throughout California are adopting the guidelines and GreenPoint Rated as the standard for residential green building. Please visit www.builditgreen.org to find out more.

What You Can Do
For those of us who are not actively designing or constructing buildings (which is most of us), here is a list of 15 simple things that everyone can do in order to fight against and reduce the global warming phenomenon: some of them are at no cost, and others require a little investment, but can help you save a lot of money in the long term. Visit http://globalwarming-facts.info for the complete list of “Top 50 Things You Can Do to Fight Global Warming.”

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb. These bulbs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of CO2 a year.
Programmable thermostats can save you $100 a year on your energy bill. By installing them, you will be able to automatically lower the heat or air conditioning at night and raise them again in the morning.
Move your thermostat down 2° in winter and up 2° in summer. Almost half of the energy we use in our homes goes to heating and cooling. You could save about 2,000 pounds of CO2 a year with this simple adjustment. (The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has more tips for saving energy on heating and cooling at www.aceee.org.)
Clean or replace filters on your furnace and air conditioner. Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of CO2 a year.
Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases. Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most efficient models available.
Do not leave appliances on standby. Use the “on/off” function on the machine itself. A TV set that’s switched on for 3 hours a day and in standby mode during the remaining 21 hours uses about 40% of its energy in standby mode.
Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly. Actually, it’s even better to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy efficient than their predecessors.
Don’t let heat escape from your house over a long period. When airing your house, open the windows for only a few minutes. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm inside during six cold months (32°F or less outside temperature) would result in almost one ton of CO2 emissions.
Cover your pots while cooking. Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%.
Use the washing machine or dishwasher only when they are full. If you need to use it when it is half full, then use the half-load or economy setting. There is also no need to set the temperatures high. Today’s detergents are so efficient that they get your clothes and dishes clean at low temperatures.
Take a shower instead of a bath. A shower takes up to four times less energy than a bath. To maximize the energy saving, avoid power showerheads and use low-flow showerheads, which are cheap and provide the same comfort.
Use less hot water. It takes a lot of energy to heat water. You can use less hot water by installing a low flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year) instead of hot water.
Be sure you’re recycling at home. You can save 2,400 pounds of CO2 a year by recycling half of the waste your household generates.
Recycle your organic waste. Around 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions from methane are released by decomposing biodegradable waste. By recycling organic waste, or composting it if you have a garden, you can help eliminate this problem. Just make sure that you compost it properly, so it decomposes with sufficient oxygen, otherwise your compost will cause methane emissions and smell foul.
Reuse your shopping bag. When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of SFAA or SF Apartment Magazine. Rich Chien is the Residential Green Building Coordinator for the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Jared Blumenfeld is the Director for the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Copyright © 2007 by SF Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved