High Performance Green Buildings Research Articles

Achieving LEED acoustics credits: Three project case studies

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a widely recognized green building standard. This presentation will highlight three completed LEED buildings that successfully earned acoustics credits or prerequisites as part of their certification. Each project will discuss the strategies, solutions, and documentation provided to meet the acoustics requirements. Discussion includes an overview of various LEED scorecards including building design and construction (BD+C), interior design and construction (ID+C), LEED for schools, and LEED for Healthcare. Acoustics requirements from previous LEED versions v3 and v4.1 will be summarized. Future trends and the proposed LEEDv5 changes will be discussed. Together we’ll explore the relationship between acoustics and sustainability and ponder the appropriate noise control and acoustics requirements for high performance green buildings.

Seismic Performance of Recycled-Aggregate-Concrete-Based Shear Walls with Concealed Bracing

Relatively few studies have been conducted on the seismic performance of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) shear walls with concealed bracing. To promote the development of high-performance green building structures and the application of RAC in structural components, the seismic performance of RAC shear walls under different influencing factors was tested, and low-cycle reversed loading tests were performed on ten RAC shear walls with different shear-to-span ratios. The test parameters included the recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) replacement ratio, the recycled fine aggregate (RFA) replacement ratio, the axial compression ratio, the shear span ratio and whether to set up the concealed bracing. The influence of the above variables on the seismic performance was then assessed. The results revealed that the bearing capacity, ductility, stiffness and energy dissipation capacity of the RAC shear walls decreased in line with an increase in the replacement ratio of the RFA. However, the bearing capacity, energy consumption and stiffness of the RAC shear walls decreased within 10% and the ductility decreased within 15%. The RAC shear walls were able to meet the seismic requirements of the building structure after reasonable design and use. As the axial compression ratio increased, the bearing capacity of the RAC shear walls improved, but their elastic–plastic deformation capacity was reduced. Setting the concealed bracing significantly improved the seismic performance of the RAC shear walls, such that they achieved a seismic performance close to that of the natural aggregate concrete (NAC) shear wall. After setting up the concealed bracing, the load carrying capacity of the RAC shear walls increased by up to 15%, the ductility increased by up to 20% and the energy consumption capacity increased by up to 50%. A mechanical calculation model of the RAC shear wall was then established by considering the effect of recycled aggregate, the calculated results of which were a good match with the test results.

Energy Performance of Buildings for Incentivisation in Energy-Efficient Structures: An Analysis of Secondary Data in Malta

High-performance green buildings mitigate the adverse environmental effects of energy consumption and carbon emissions while simultaneously demonstrating that sustainability does not mean compromising utility, productivity, or comfort. We need to address the identified gap in the evolution of energy-efficient structures facilitated in building applications to enhance energy usage without mitigating comfort. The aim of this study was to provide a review of the current methods used to assess energy efficiency in buildings in Malta through secondary data and to supplement this with qualitative data from interviews. The study investigated the importance of certification, compulsory legislation, and regulations implemented by local authorities and the European Union to incentivise energy performance measures. The findings, supplemented with qualitative data from representatives of public entities, show that most participants agreed that the current method of assessing needs requires a complete overhaul in order to promote a proactive approach to sustainable development. Recent public awareness has highlighted the limited understanding of sustainable practices implemented in buildings to capture and conserve energy. However, it is widely recognised that the building industry has significant potential for energy savings, which applies to both new constructions and existing structures, but the current level falls short of what is necessary in Malta. The study findings emphasise the primary energy users and pinpoint the obstacles in the implementation process. In conclusion, the use of software EPRDM, which may be applied to raise the importance of energy performance in building standards, lacks a value-driven focus, resulting in its full utilisation and potential being unexplored. Future applications of this study include the categorisation of old buildings for a possible bid in energy retrofit; campaigns to promote responsiveness; and the utilisation of advanced technological tools, such as DESIGNBUILDER and related software, to enable the simulation of an optimal building envelope. While increased energy efficiency may result in elevated rental and sale prices for buildings, this knowledge, when disseminated to prospective purchasers via the energy performance certificate (EPC) system, can catalyse investments in structures that are more energy efficient for the end user.

International green construction code (IgCC)/ASHRAE 189.1: History and use of acoustical control section

This seminar will provide historical context on the current Acoustical Control section 801.3.3 in the International Code Council's International Green Construction Code (IgCC) is based on the ASHRAE Standard 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings. This includes a detailed review of the current language and application, and guidance on the best way to design and commission to this standard.

Co-creating cultures of sustainability and co-imagining the teaching green building: the use of a participatory Photovoice process in a HPGB context

Despite understanding the severity of the climate crisis, global action remains highly insufficient to address this challenge. Buildings are significant contributors to climate change due to their substantial global emissions, but can also contribute to urgent climate solutions. High-performance green buildings (HPGBs) can reduce operational building-level emissions dramatically, and potentially offer other benefits that support building users’ wellbeing and sustainable behaviours. HPGBs can provide useful environments to engage and influence culture and can act as publicly visible symbols of emergent local clean economies. However, a gap remains in knowing how best to support the emergence of citizen-led cultures of sustainability (COS) within green building spaces, an effort that could also help address the noted ‘performance gap’ of green buildings that has been linked to occupant behaviours. With the intention of investigating and supporting a growing citizen-led COS in a green building, this study applied an empowerment-based Photovoice method in the context of the HPGB evolv1, located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Six building users (citizens) took and selected photographs, participated in facilitated group discussions and individual interviews, and contributed toward three public exhibitions based on research findings.Based on thematic analysis, findings suggest building citizens know what a COS means to them, and existing barriers and enablers within/around the evolv1 building toward achieving this. In addition, participants recognized the impact of specific green building features on their own personal sustainability-related values and practices, including the influence of sustainability symbolism within the building environment. Lastly, participants articulated specific recommendations for further promoting and growing a COS at evolv1. Significant themes identified are discussed in relation to and expansion of Cole (2014)’s Teaching Green Building (TGB) Model for Learning, providing preliminary insights into the degree to which evolv1 may or may not presently embody key aspects of a TGB. This study contributes to deepening understandings of how researchers and building citizens can support the emergence of COS within green buildings and related environments, with key takeaways that can be usefully applied to other settings, and theoretical and practical implications. Research findings encourage action toward supporting engaged, citizen-led COS, to advance more sustainable futures.

Implementation of green technologies in the library

The article is devoted to the implementation of green technologies in libraries. Green design helps to transform the library in modern society as a relevant part of the community. A feature of green design is the transition to renewable energy resources. The article describes the LEED certification system as a generally recognized planning program for environmentally friendly high-performance green buildings. Six basic LEED system categories are considered for the creation of new or reconstruction of existing libraries with the involvement of green technologies: location; water efficiency; energy and atmosphere; materials and resources; air quality; innovation and design. Recommendations for libraries are given: to use renewable materials during repair works, to use LED bulbs, to create backyards, properly zone for even weight distribution of books, natural ventilation, and protection of funds from direct sunlight. IFLA Green Library Award, launched by the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) in 2016, is described and lists of its winners are considered. There are also cases of successful environmental projects among Ukrainian libraries. The project of the Lviv Regional Library for Children «EcoLibrary» in 2017 was included in the top five eco-projects in the world in the IFLA Green Library Award. The project of Sumy State University “Green Library” was marked as one of the best in the All-Ukrainian competition “Library of the Year 2019”. It is concluded that environmental sustainability gives the library some independence, as the cost of maintenance is reduced, as well as dependence on the energy market. Also libraries with implemented green design show that they can meet today’s requirements and invest in the future of the community.

Integration of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and LEED for A Green Building Rating

Green building design and construction is a global demand to save this earth. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is the world's most widely implemented sustainable building rating system. Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology assist to keep multi-disciplinary information into a single model, and it provides an ability to perform this research. The aim is to assess the pre-certification of a proposed residential building project in integration with BIM and LEED and find out the impact of cost for a green building project. A Prototype 3D model was developed by BIM technology for the LEED certification process. A total of 704 simulations was conducted by using Green Building Studio (GBS) tools. All simulation results were calculated based on nine categories of the LEED rating system. The results of this study indicate that the lifecycle cost can be reduced significantly for a high-performance green building despite of having a high initial investment cost.
 Journal of Engineering Science 12(2), 2021, 47-57

The Impact of Green Building Ideology on Ecosystem and Society Health

The First Green Building Movement that marked the beginning of an ideological revolution of the era occurred in the Late 19th Century. Climate Change and Global Warming have always been a major concern for humanity and justify the need for the development of innovative and greener technologies to help conserve natural resources for the future. This paper presents a Literature Review on the Historical Progress of Green Buildings so far and their impact on the occupant’s health and productivity. The term which emerged in the context of green buildings as a result of these movements is High-Performance Green Buildings. The construction industry is considered to be the largest consumer of power and contributes about 1/4 of Global Green House Gas emissions. The Green Building Movement was an initiative to emphasize the need for a sustainable Built Environment. This paper presents the findings of a survey conducted on the occupants of GreenTech Malaysia, a certified Green Building, and the results which are somewhat counterintuitive in nature are analyzed.

COMPARING BUILDING SURFACES’ ORIENTATIONS TO OPTIMIZE SOLAR ENERGY COLLECTION

ABSTRACT Net-zero and other high performance green buildings normally do or should include optimized solar energy systems. While detailed computer-based energy simulations of buildings’ energy systems are becoming near-commonplace for many projects, simple, easy-to-use data tables are beneficial earlier in the design process to help guide preliminary decisions in all projects. Practical lookup tables, and then comparison of the data they contain, are also very useful for teaching new concepts, in this case for learning about solar orientations in sunny locations. Engineers, architects, design-build contractors, students, and other designers of green buildings can benefit through knowing, in advance, how exterior surfaces’ orientations increase or decrease the total annual solar energy arriving upon those surfaces. For example, maximizing the incoming energy on a particular roof is advantageous for gathering solar energy for heat or for conversion of that sunlight to electricity, but various requirements often limit designers’ choices for surfaces’ orientations. This paper presents simple tables that form a tool for making initial decisions on surfaces’ directions and slopes; the user can then study various effects further, such as local factors including cloudiness and shading, with detailed software. The classical solar geometry equations utilized are documented here for repeatability of the research, but are not necessary for use of this paper’s tables. Practical examples are given too to help readers use the tables.

Using the new ASHRAE 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings—Acoustical Control Section

The 2017 ASHRAE 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings includes a complete rewrite of the acoustical control section. This section of the standard provides both performance and prescriptive paths to acoustical compliance and permits either acoustic commissioning or visual inspections to ensure the materials and assemblies are built to optimize acoustical performance. We will outline the importance of this new standard and review the basic parameters of the acoustical performance requirements, and how this standard can be used for your projects. This session will discuss the basis for this updated section and how you can use this standard to help guide your clients, and satisfy the LEED v4 for BD + C. The 189.1/IgCC aligns well with LEED, WELL, and other green building and improves on the LEED certification standard, so basic compliance will often garner the acoustic performance points.The 2017 ASHRAE 189.1 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings includes a complete rewrite of the acoustical control section. This section of the standard provides both performance and prescriptive paths to acoustical compliance and permits either acoustic commissioning or visual inspections to ensure the materials and assemblies are built to optimize acoustical performance. We will outline the importance of this new standard and review the basic parameters of the acoustical performance requirements, and how this standard can be used for your projects. This session will discuss the basis for this updated section and how you can use this standard to help guide your clients, and satisfy the LEED v4 for BD + C. The 189.1/IgCC aligns well with LEED, WELL, and other green building and improves on the LEED certification standard, so basic compliance will often garner the acoustic performance points.

Possible path for speech privacy design and performance approaches

Speech privacy (or the lack thereof) is becoming a well-defined issue relating to “acoustic comfort” as a factor in building IEQ. This is the case for commercial offices as well as for healthcare spaces. The drivers for this include worker productivity, and confidentiality of sensitive information. CBE (Center for the Built Environment, UC Berkeley) surveys show the lack of speech privacy as being the most significant factor in disapproval of building IEQ for “green rated,” and for all other building types. Healthcare regulations such as HIPAA and HCAHPS are transforming the design of hospital facilities and procedures in part due to oral privacy and annoyance issues. The “WELL Building Standard” is going beyond LEED to consider the occupants health and productivity as affected by the IEQ. ASHRAE is going beyond “high performance green buildings” to now include an IEQ Global Alliance. So, where are we going with all this work?? Well, the metrics and measurement procedures used to measure and define levels of speech privacy are being updated at ASTM International to provide a basis for evaluation of speech privacy in both open plan and closed plan, and combinations thereof. This work will be outlined herein.

<i>In Situ</i> Measurement of Thermal Resistance of Building Envelope at the Residential Occupancy in Indonesia

Abstract. This paper presents the measurement results of three building wall materials which are commonly used for residential housings in Indonesia, namely clay brick, batako (concrete brick), and precast concrete. In-situ measurement of the steady state thermal flow (heat flux) at building walls (envelopes) is conducted in order to determine the thermal resistance of building wall according to ASTM C1155. The results show that all three building materials having a thermal resistance values are far below the energy conservation provisions of ASHRAE 90.1 and especially when compared to the provision of high performance green building ASHRAE 189.1 It is found that precast concrete has higher thermal resistance (or has lower thermal conductivity) than that of other two materials, hence a better compliance to the ASHRAE standards.

Architecture and acoustics … form and function—What comes 1st?

When I first studied architecture, it was expected that “form fits function” was pretty much a mantra to design. But is that the case today or has it ever been when acoustics are concerned? Numerous post occupancy studies of worker satisfaction with office IEQ indicate that things are not as they should be. And, as a matter of fact, high performance green buildings seem to fair much worse than normal office buildings when acoustic quality is considered. So what are we doing wrong—maybe the Gensler Workplace Study and other related studies could shed light on what is wrong, and how we might think differently about office design. From an acousticians viewpoint it’s all about “acoustic comfort” meaning the right amount of intelligibility, privacy, and distraction for the specific work function. Times change and work functions change, so maybe we should be looking for a new mantra … like “function drives form.” We may also want to consider that office space may need to include a “collaboration zone” where teaming takes place, a “focus zone” where concentrated thought can take place, and a “privacy zone” where confidential discussions can take place. Each of these requires different architecture and acoustic performance.

Design-Build Contractor Selection for Public Sustainable Buildings

AbstractDesign-build (DB) is regarded as an effective means of delivering high performance green buildings, and the selection of DB contractors is of critical importance. The objective of this study is to evaluate the selection of design-builders for public buildings seeking leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) certification and compare the selection practices involved with those of non-LEED-seeking DB projects through a robust content analysis of 74 DB requests for proposals (RFPs) for public DB projects. The results of the content analysis reveal that the level of LEED certification is the dominant means of conveying the sustainability requirements in RFPs for contractor selection, with the majority of RFPs (60%) including sustainability requirements as part of the contractor evaluation package. With the exception of contractors’ past performance, there is no statistically significant difference in the importance weights of selection criteria between LEED-seeking and non-LEED-seeking bui...

Towards greening the U.S. residential building stock: A system dynamics approach

Energy consumption in residential buildings is one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. Most of the efforts to minimize these emissions contemplate on construction of new high performance green buildings rather than retrofitting the existing residential building stock, which has the greatest emission reduction potential. In this paper, rapidly increasing GHG emissions trend associated with the U.S. residential building stock is addressed. The objective is to reduce or stabilize the increasing GHG emissions trend as a result of sprawling residential building stock across the country. System Dynamics (SD) is utilized to study the mid and long term impacts of green building related policies on the GHG emissions stock. SD model is built based on stock and flow diagram, which is derived from causal loop diagram that consists of 12 endogenous and 2 exogenous variables and causal relationships. Three important action areas are considered for policy making, namely: high performance green building construction, building retrofitting, and net zero building construction. From the three policy fields, a total of 19 policy strategies (7 single and 12 hybrid) is developed and the impacts of the policies on GHG emissions trend are experimented until 2050. Among the proposed policies, retrofitting-focused policies are found to be more effective on stabilizing the GHG emissions trend compared to the policies related to the construction of new net zero and high performance green buildings. On the other hand, hybrid implementation of policies from the three policy fields provided the greatest reduction in the GHG emissions trend. One of the most important outcomes of this study is that focusing on increasing the construction rate of net zero or high performance green buildings alone does not help with stabilizing/reducing the GHG emissions trend unless the retrofitting of existing residential building stock is seriously considered as a strict policy along with green building policies. Analysis results also revealed that the residential green building movement itself is found to be far from being the driver policy in stabilizing the rapidly increasing GHG emissions trend in the long run.

Process Indicators to Track Effectiveness of High-Performance Green Building Projects

AbstractHigh-performance green buildings, which maximize energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality, require increased collaboration among interdisciplinary professionals during project delivery. Recent theoretical and applied research illuminates the critical role of delivery attributes in performance outcomes. Despite such evidence, rigorous research is still needed to establish links between delivery attributes and performance outcomes in sustainable projects to further motivate owners and project teams to adopt and successfully implement sustainable practices and eventually improve actual energy performance and indoor environmental quality of buildings. This paper used quantitative methods to identify statistically correlated in-process indicators with project performance outcomes such as green level, cost, and schedule in sustainable building project delivery. The sample set used data from two previous studies totaling 51 green-certified building projects. Results yield statistically signific...

The role of coordinate-based decision-making in the evaluation of sustainable built environments

In an era when sustainability and climate change mitigation are paramount, it is important that built environment professionals make robust and transparent decisions regarding future development. A new approach is outlined and tested for assessing sustainability for built infrastructure using a quadrant model and 3D spatial coordinates. The chosen method involves a case study of a high performance green building in Australia that was constructed in 2008. The investigation demonstrates that the model is practical and produces an appropriate outcome, which is then compared with seven other generic types of built infrastructure. The inclusion of development scale or influence in the model is an important feature that can lead to differences in ranking preference. The findings support embedding essential environmental considerations objectively into decision-making processes via the use of an economic ratio (return on investment to energy usage), a social ratio (functional performance to loss of habitat) and a measure of sustainability risk as x, y and z coordinates respectively, plotted in 3D space.

Renovation of an elementary school to meet high performance acoustic prerequisites for a special high school: Design predictions and commissioning results

The renovation of an elementary school to house the MET high school program was done with a goal of meeting High Performance/Green Building (HP/GB) requirements. Two acoustic prerequisites are a part of the HP requirements. If these two requirements are not met, the project can not meet HP criteria no matter the number of points achieved in other areas. Acoustical consulting was brought in at the 90 percent construction document phase with most designs completed for the mechanical system design, wall design and room finishes. An evaluation of the mechanical system, reverberation time and sound transmission loss showed that modifications would be required. The HVAC systems had been ordered and placement was fixed. A room mock-up was done in the school to show that mechanical noise would exceed the 45 dB(A) limit as designed and installed. Early morning tests done on a modified system showed that meeting the prerequisites for background sound would be very difficult without additional modifications. Wall, door and window modifications were implemented as was some of the acoustical treatment. Final sound commissioning tests proved that all of the prerequisites had been met and the low background sound from all sources was a pleasant surprise.

A review of possible health concerns associated with zero net energy homes

The purpose of this paper is to identify potential human health concerns that may arise from the increasing popularity of zero net energy homes (ZNEH) a form of high-performance green building in the US. Since high levels of energy consumption are not sustainable, ZNEH has the potential to reduce the environmental impact without penalty to occupants by providing a healthy home environment at low energy inputs. The premise of this article is that ZNEHs can indeed maintain high levels of health while reducing energy consumption. However, the potential for health impacts must be investigated. In this brief essay, main health questions that might arise in relationship to ZNEHs are reviewed. In addition, potential areas for additional research on zero net energy homes and their effects on human health are identified. This topic remains in its infancy and is a viable area of research that will benefit greatly from additional research.

Post-occupancy assessment: building design, governance and household consumption

Can post-occupancy assessment assess drivers of household consumption? A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate household consumption patterns in three housing types in Vancouver, Canada. An analysis of eight multi-unit, residential household settings was conducted that included high-performance green residential buildings, co-housing buildings, and typical multi-residential buildings. A post-occupancy assessment survey instrument quantified household solid waste, recycling, and storage relationships, and triangulated results with qualitative interviews and site observations. Findings suggest that both the type of housing development and the building governance structure influence household consumption levels, in particular with regard to waste-reduction strategies and storage issues. Of the studied building types, co-housing appears to have the most potential to reduce household consumption through innovative management practices and the sharing of resources. Une évaluation après occupation permet-elle d'évaluer les facteurs de consommation des ménages? Une approche à méthodes mixtes est utilisée pour étudier les habitudes de consommation des ménages dans trois types de logements à Vancouver, au Canada. Une analyse portant sur huit ensembles résidentiels à logements multiples a été menée, comprenant des bâtiments verts résidentiels hautes performances, des immeubles en co-habitat et des immeubles classiques à habitations multiples. Un instrument d'enquête permettant une évaluation après occupation a quantifié les déchets solides des ménages, le recyclage et les relations de stockage, et a triangulé les résultats avec des entretiens qualitatifs et les observations sur site. Les résultats obtenus suggèrent que le type d'ensemble d'habitation aussi bien que la structure de gouvernance des immeubles influent sur les niveaux de consommation des ménages, s'agissant en particulier des stratégies de réduction des déchets et des problèmes de stockage. Parmi les types de bâtiments étudiés, il semble que le co-habitat offre le plus de possibilités de réduction de la consommation des ménages par des pratiques de gestion innovantes et le partage des ressources. Mots clés: co-habitat, consommation, gouvernance, ménages, logement, évaluation après occupation, déchets solides