I read the article Costs and Benefits of IEQ Improvements in LEED Office Building, which is located on the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) website. The article discusses the positive economical improvements that can be made by improving the indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Leadership in Energy and Environmental Designs (LEED) certified buildings were the type of buildings studied for this article. The research was done in order to determine if there would be a significant difference in the occupant’s well-being and productivity if these LEED certified buildings improved their indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The research was conducted by surveying employees that work at such LEED certified buildings. It was found that there would be a potential economic gains by improving the IEQ in each of the buildings studied.
Since I have been in engineering at Clemson there has been a strong push for us to take several class in this LEED certified and sustainability field. Basically all this means is that the building are being built more environmental friendly by the type of materials used to build the buildings and the actual appliances within the building. For example, using tempered and tented glass for all the windows, heavy duty spay in installation, and water saving toilets. It may not seem like much but just by making these improvements to buildings they will cut down significantly on the operating costs of the building, such as power, heating and cooling systems, and water.
I know that the latest buildings constructed on campus have been LEED certified and I am sure that there will be more to come in the future. I believe that this is the way that many engineers and architects are being to design their buildings and within ten years or so all new building will be design in this way. It is simply more economical for the owners and better for the environment, how could you go wrong with that.
I think this push for more environmentally friendly buildings is really cool. I'm not really a "save the whales" kind of guy, but the economic and environmental benefits are too substantial to overlook. It probably costs a lot more money to set up all these "green" features initially but the long term benefits are overwhelming. I read an article a few months ago about some of the new skyscrapers being built in different places all over the world. Some of them actually have a system that collects condensation from the clouds to run the plumbing for bathrooms and other gray water needs in the building. Crazy stuff.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of implementing sustainable practices while reducing costs. Too often, environmentally friendly practices offer no economic gains, but that isn't the case here. I have heard of LEED certified buildings before, and this is definitely the future of construction. My field of engineering, industrial engineering, is leaning toward using the methods used to improve efficiency to reducing pollution.
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