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September 25, 2023
Green buildings are the future of real estate development. They're good for the environment, they're good for your bottom line, and they're good for your community. When you think of green buildings, what comes to mind? Perhaps you picture a house built with solar panels on the roof and walls made from recycled materials. Or maybe you think of an apartment complex with water-saving toilets and energy-efficient windows. Maybe you even imagine a building that runs entirely off of wind power! In whichever case, green buildings reduce CO2 emissions through energy savings, water conservation and utility cost reduction. The materials used in green buildings are also better for the environment than traditional construction materials. Lastly, sustainable developments appreciate faster than traditional ones due to their scarcity and economic benefits they provide to their owners. Now, let’s dive deeper in each.
Green building development is about integrating environmentally friendly materials and practices into the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings. Green building is the act of creating structures that are compatible with human needs and resources, so as to leave a lighter footprint on the planet. Green building practices help to reduce waste and pollution throughout the construction process. On average, as per the SoCal Office for Real Estate, conventional buildings are responsible for 45% of the world’s total energy use, 35% of the world’s carbon emissions, 80% of the world’s total water use and 40% of the world’s solid waste. Green buildings on the other hand radically reduce those numbers. More specifically, they can help reduce consumption of energy by 50%, carbon emissions by 35%, water use by 40%, and solid waste by 70%!
Green buildings are not only about the materials and the process they dictate. They are also about the experience they offer to their occupants. A building can only truly justify its existence if it can fulfill its occupants' needs in the most convenient and cost efficient manner. More specifically, a green building has a high walkability score; it’s close to public transportation and everyday needs spots, like a grocery store. Green buildings enable their occupants to use and store bicycles, as well as charge electric vehicles. Green buildings empower recycling. Green buildings allow for micro-farming at home, usually with vertical solutions. Green buildings are a more wholesome way of living. All in all, green properties help you reduce consumption of key resources like energy and water, as well as increase the quality of your everyday life.
Green buildings are more resource-efficient and thus more cost-efficient than their traditional counterparts. They achieve this by leaning into high quality energy-efficient material and key principles of passive design. Passive design uses materials and design to heat and cool a building with little to no need for mechanical systems like HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning).
One of the most common ways to use passive design in a green building is with passive solar heating. It involves designing the building to use the sun's energy to heat the interior. This is typically done by incorporating large, south-facing windows and proper insulation to prevent heat loss. At night, the building can release the heat it has absorbed during the day through thermal mass. Thermal mass is any material that can store heat energy, such as concrete, brick, or water. It allows the building to continue heating overnight without relying on energy from the grid. Passive solar design factors in little, if at all, in traditional buildings. The readily available nature of HVAC systems makes using them the norm.
On a similar note, passive cooling manifests through a variety of methods. Shading is the simplest way to passively cool a building. A building can keep its interior cooled with shade from outside trees and awnings. Cross-ventilation is simple and doable with enough windows on opposite ends. By opening windows on opposite sides of the building, the wind can help cool the interior. In addition, trombe walls are a passive solar design used for heating or cooling. They are walls coated with a material that absorbs and stores heat. Lastly, earth tubes can run underground and use the earth's natural temperature to cool the air inside. They're also known as ground-coupled heat exchangers. All in all, those passive techniques allow for a higher energy efficiency, which over time radically reduces cost and CO2 emissions compared to conventional buildings.
At Hellenic Residences, we specialize in creating real estate development that is green, sustainable, and built with material that lower the environmental impact as well as the cost to the owner. We take pride in our work because we know how important it is to give back to our communities—and when we do it right, everyone wins! At Hellenic Residences, we partner with the Hellenic Passive House Institute that is part of the International Passive House Association and help us design and measure in extreme detail the energy efficiency of our buildings in order to be certified Passive Houses. We are proud to say that we are building the first Passive House in the center of Athens. We leverage most of the above-mentioned techniques and material from A++ sound and thermal insulation, to trombe walls and awnings and avoid mechanical HVACs, in order to offer an ecological and smart way of living. If you are curious to learn more about our design techniques, material and technology, feel free to contact us here.
