Whatts ahead for green building

f\esrtre A sl-ow economy, green building is alive and lrfkicting. Key areas of interest include green remodeling, retrofitting, and zero-net-energy homes-which produce as much energy as they consume.

"The big home builders are starting to put on 2- or 3kilowatt systems as a standard feature, and it's just part of the price of the house. There's no add-on cost, so that's a real breakthrough," says Jerry Yudelson, whose consulting firm, Yudelson Associates, Tucson, Az., has specialized in green building and sustainability for the past 25 yeats.

"The real trick is to make the home so efficient that it can heat itself with internal loads such as lights and refrigerators and natural sunlight coming through highly efficient windows," he says. "Different kinds of coatings can make them more energy-efficient than even the best doublepaned windows, almost as energy-efficient as walls."

Although Yudelson predicts modest growth in construction this year, he believes the emphasis will be on what he calls frugal green.

"In the past, there was a feeling that you could spend money to add green features," he says. "Today, the real challenge for construction and design professionals is, 'How do I do this on the same budget?' and I think that's the core trend."

Other trends to watch include:

Green Retrofitting. More property owners will retrofit to LEED for Existing Buildings: Operation & Maintenance, which is fairly painless when a building is already Energy Star rated. Businesses want to be able to market their ecofriendliness.

Government Projects. Although funding is tight, existing buildings will need to be upgraded, projects in the pipeline will move forward, and schools-which are funded by bonds-will need to be built.

The federal Better Buildings Initiative was passed last year to accelerate private sector investment in energy efficiency and encourage commercial and industrial buildings to become 2OVo more energy efficient by 2020.

Water Conservation. Rainwater-capture systems, as well as graywater and blackwater on-site treatment capabilities, will become more pervasive-even in what Yudelson calls "water wet areas." He predicts that "instead of toilet to tap, we're going toilet to toilet."

Global Programs. There are more than 90 national Green Building Councils throughout the world, and LEED projects have been registered in 161 countries. Last year, 44Ea of total LEED registrations were outside the U.S.

Performance Disclosure. Already popular in Europe and Australia, requirements for buildings to disclose energy use are gaining traction in the U.S. Next month, Seattle, Wa., will require buildings of more than 10000 sq. ft. to disclose energy usage. California will begin requiring disclosures starting next year. Yudelson says such disclosures will have a market impact because they allow prospective tenants to compare energy costs of different buildings'

"This is going to happen everywhere, particulady in big cities, because it's the easiest move to take politically," he says. "It doesn't say you have to retrofit the building. It just says you have to disclose."

Buitding Management. Thanks to wireless sensors and controls, it's getting increasingly easier to locate and fix maintenance problems, and to do so remotely.

"You make money if you go green," Yudelson counsels. "If you don't go green, you're at a marketplace disadvantage. Doing nothing is not an option."

By Charles fourdain, California Redwood Association