Green Building Doesn’t Have To Cost More

Green Building Doesn’t Have To Cost More

September 10th, 2009 | Author: NYEW

One of the biggest holdups people seem to have about making their buildings or homes green is that they have heard all sorts of rumors that green building costs a lot more. They assume that this is a rule rather than an exception and it’s simply not true. If you are smart about your material choices, design decisions, and contractor education, there is no reason why you can’t build a very green building to little or no premium over standard construction. People also don’t take into account that green buildings will cost less to operate and will command higher rents and overall value because they have been built green. Sometimes, going green can even save you money…

A perfect example is parking surfaces. Take for example an average 40 space parking lot where the convention would be to pour black asphalt, in the Mid-Atlantic region this should cost around $60,000. However, as far as green building goes, black asphalt is one of the worst surfaces you can have. Its soaks up heat during the day and releases it at night, which messes with the local ecosystem, it isn’t porous so stormwater can’t drain through it require large concrete drywells and filter systems, and it uses oil. Now as an alternative consider a product like Drivable Grass, as series of recycled concrete nubs held together by nylon tendrils. To star they contain recycled content, they can be laid down quickly and easily without any special tools and allow grass to freely grow between the nubs while easily supporting the weight of vehicles. They allow stormwater to freely drain through and the grass acts as a natural filter mechanism, the heat island effect is eliminated and it looks beautiful. It’s also less than half the cost of installing asphalt. This doesn’t even take into account that you no longer need big expensive drywells either.

By making smart material choices in green building, you can keep costs in line and still achieve your sustainable goals.

Ari Meisel | LEED AP
LEED Pro, LLC
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