assignment 2 commented.pdf

7/27/2019 Assignment 2 commented.pdf

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Samuel Will

Professor Walden

ENGL 1102-003

16 October, 2013

Assignment 2: Draft 1

Introduction:

As the world around us continues to progress into a more environmentally conscious one,

so do the things we encounter in our day to day lives. For example our cars, what we eat, what

goes into making a product etc. but, there are other things that are changing due to environmental

concerns that most people are unaware of: buildings. A majority of the new construction since

2002 has become more environmentally concentrated. What does this mean exactly? It means

more efficient wiring and lighting, smart buildings that turn themselves on and off at a specified

time, waterless toilets, heating and air systems that use the temperature of the ground instead of

harmful chemicals like refrigerant, and sites that minimize damage done to the natural

environment by either building it back or integrating the building into the environment. All of

these things put together in one new building, if done right, can become LEED certified

(Leadership in Energy and Environmental design). You may be thinking all of that is great but

where is this paper going? Well, this paper is meant to educate you on the topic as a whole, as

well as the benefits and draw backs to LEED building. Having been a construction worker for a

mechanical contractor, I have personal experience on LEED projects and have a good

understanding of the differences between conventional construction and LEED projects. Comment [S1]: Worded well, describexperience well


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Literature Review: About LEED Building

I am going to start off by talking about what Green Building and LEED certification

really is. What exactly is LEED? LEED is internationally recognized environmental program

and is currently deployed in more than 30 countries around the world. It provides a means of

verifying that a building or a group of buildings were designed and built in a way that would

improve energy savings, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and CO2 emissions

reduction, which means that this programs main goal is to make sure that buildings that claim to

be green really and truly are green buildings (Green Work Experience). There are many

different levels of LEED certification levels that include: Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59

points), Gold (60-79 points), and Platinum (80+ points). As you can see, this rating system is

made up of a point system that makes certification flexible enough to apply to all project types

including healthcare facilities, schools, homes and even

entire neighborhoods, which makes it so that any

project can become LEED certified. Because each

certification level is based on a point system, there are

different categories in which points are awarded which

include sustainibility of sites, water efficency, energy

and atmosphere, matierials used, and indoor quality

(figure 1). Having talked to superintendants on previous

jobs, I have learned each of these catagories and

generally know what the LEED inspector is looking for

at the end of each job. The site sustainibility category

refers to how well the building has been integrated into the environment. Basically, is the built

Figure 1

Comment [S2]: Pictures are useful an

to the context


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environment using the space given to its full efficency, and if so, what is it giving back to the

environment, and how well will the building hold up through the years. Water efficency comes

down to the appliences. Things like sensor flush vlaves on toilets, sinks with sensors that turn the

water on and off, water fountians with a water bottle fill up space, and even waterless urinals are

more prevelant in LEED projects to save water. Energy and Atmosphere comes down to how

efficently the building uses the energy it consumes and how much pollution is the building

causing. There are many ways to conserve energy in a building that include more efficent

lighting fixtures, efficent efficent furnaces and condensing units for the heating and air,

occupancy sensor light swiches that turn on when someone walks into a room and turns off after

there is no motion for a set ammount of time, and the most intriguing one I have seen has been

what is called a smart building controller. This is a device that is wired into the lighting system

and the HVAC (heating and air) system that will turn the lights on at a certain time in the

morning and turn them off a a set time in the evening, and will do the same for the HVAC

system. The Materials and Recourses section is based off of how much recycled material like

cotton/newspaper spray in insulation, was the steel and metal stucture made out of recycled

metal and is the building still running efficently on those materials. The final section, Indoor

Environmental Quality, makes sure that even though you are saving all this energy with efficent

lighting, efficent HVAC systems, and efficent water management, you are still comfortable in

that built environment, because if you are not, you will end up using more energy than the

building is designed to in order to make yourself comfortable.

Drawbacks to LEED Building:

The biggest reason there is any drawback to doing a LEED project is initial cost. As

stated by the author of a research article titled The Pros and Cons of Building Sustainability in

Comment [S3]: Re word; efficient is u

much; sentence it too large.

Comment [S4]: (Heating Vacuum and

Conditioning

Comment [S5]: Good way to get on b

of the conversation; this section makes t

not so one sided


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Architecture, green buildings dont pay for themselves right awayand can be very costly

(Bella Science). Given that the cost of environmental materials can be significantly higher, over

time, through energy conservation in comparison to an average building, you will eventually

come out ahead both financially, as well as knowing that you did something to help. The author

goes on to talk about how a LEED building can continue to be costly over the course of its

lifetime, this truly comes down to the design of all of the integrated systems, and how efficient

each engineer, electrical, mechanical, etc. makes their individual system. For example, I was

working on a project on N. Wendover Rd. in Charlotte, which was a renovation and new

construction at the same time. My company, Herlocker Mechanical Systems Inc. (HMSI) was

doing both the plumbing as well as the heating and air on the job; I was working with the HVAC

crew. At the end of the job after everything had been put in, and the building was a month away

from being turned over to the owner, it was time to start ant test the heating and air system. To

explain quickly how this works is each air vent is supposed to blow out a specific amount

(measured in CFM) and all of the vents added together should be below the maximum output of

the blower. However, when we went to test the system, this was not the case. Why? The engineer

had done some very poor design. Because the duct work was too small and the units were also

too small, even at the maximum blower speed, the units were not pushing enough air. To paint a

picture, it would be like an asthmatic trying to blow through a cocktail mixer; it is just not going

to happen.

That brings me to my next point. Because this program and idea is fairly new, a lot of the

architects and engineers are somewhat inexperienced in doing LEED design, which causes

problems. In the story I just told, this building lost major points due to the fact that the HVAC

system was using tons more energy than originally thought. As stated by Matt Lumelleau, If

Comment [S6]: What does CFM stan


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its your first time building a green building, youre not going to get everything right, which, as

I have observed through my job, is a true statement (Holbrook). This is not true for just higher up

positions like design and engineering, but it also pertains to the workers. If someone does not do

their job correctly, for example if I did not properly seal a duct joint, the that would cause a leak

of either hot or cold air, meaning the unit would have to run harder in order to keep up with the

comfort demands. So basically, LEED projects are truly dependent upon whether or not the

owner wants to pay the initial cost and whether or not the workers do their jobs correctly.

Benefits of Green Building:

Let me start off by asking why should we build green? It is because of the fact that

Building construction, use and demolition, and building material manufacturing, impact the

local, regional, and global environment meaning that a building has an impact on the

environment at every possible stage of production (Green Building Resources for

Homebuilders). So if one building impacts the environment at three different stages while it is

being built, and another stage after it is complete, on at least two, if not three scales, depending

on where the materials are made, why not pay a little extra to save the world we live in? If being

a better person is not enough of an incentive, maybe a tax incentive will. Thats right, the

Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides for up to a $1.80 per square foot immediate tax

deduction, given that $1.80 per sqft. is the most you will get, almost all commercial buildings

that are doing LEED are usually significantly more than 8,000sqft, meaning there is a potential

for a rather large tax incentive. Given that the main goal of energy conservation under the LEED

program is to save the environment, however, saving energy can also save your wallet. In 2002,

the EPA stated buildings accounted for 67.9% of the total electricity consumption in the United

States (King). Think about it, if a majority of the buildings in the United States were LEED

Comment [S7]: Great section, interesdetailed

Comment [S8]: Not necessary


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certified, we could possibly lower that standard to below 50% meaning there would be even less

environmental harm due to coal fire power plants, nuclear plants, as well as hydroelectric plants.

It really is all one big domino effect; once you are saving energy in one sector, you need less

overall energy, meaning you have just benefited the longevity of the current environment in two

different ways. Another major benefactor of green building for say an office or a school is the

increased amount of productivity. According to Marissa Long, a writer for the USGBC (U.S.

Green Building Council), studies show that the green design attributes of buildings and indoor

environments can improve worker productivity and occupant health and well-being (Long).

How is this possible? It comes down to a multitude of things which make a LEED building a

LEED building, but more specifically the materials and the windows. By putting in more natural

materials as opposed to chemically created materials, it limits our exposure to dangerous

chemicals found in insulation, caulk, paint, and drywall. Water filtration is more profound in the

drinking water system running through the building limiting the amount of metals and chemicals

that enter your body. Windows are just nicer than lights. A professor I had last year in an

Environmental Technologies class, Dale Brentrup, specifically talked about window usage in

schools and offices. He never mentioned where his research originated, however, he did say that

natural light, provided through large windows, is more calming, relaxing, and better on your eyes

than being in a building being lit with nothing but florescent lights, and it is also easier to

concentrate without all of the buzzing. A final benefactor to building green is that With energy

costs on the rise, the low operating costs and easy maintenance of green buildings make for

lower vacancy rates and higher property values (Kruzan). This is basically the same idea auto

makers have been striving towards for the past decade, less cost to maintain as well as more

efficient makes for a product that is becoming more and more desirable. The true two benefits of


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Figure 2

green building really come down to long term savings as far as tax incentives, property value and

energy cost, and a persons commitment to wanting to have a beneficial impact on the worlds

environment both locally as well as on a global scale.

Entering the Conversation:

Having worked two LEED projects, Thompson Child and Family Focous, Rogers

Building at Queens College, and a multitude of conventional constuction projects, I can honestly

say there truly is a difference between a certified green building and a conventional project, and I

fully back the idea of LEED building. Everything from the materials that go into making a green

building, to the finished product a LEED built building is better no matter how you look at it. It

has health benefits for the workers, health benifits for the occupants, and an outstanding

ammount of envitonmental benefits. As far as I am concerned, it is an absolute no brainer to

support LEED. I believe that in the future it will become more and more prevelant to the point

where it may even become law like it has in Washington D.C. In fact, I plan on either

rennovating my future home to LEED specifications, or buying a LEED home.

Inside a LEED Project:

In August of 2010, workers were putting the final touches on a brand new addition that

achieved LEED Gold certification. One of the main focouses of this project was to make it a

more constructive learning environment. In fact, architect Mary Rose Rankin says that the

designers paid a lot of attention to the acoustics of this building because noise levels are

important for learning in order for the kids to be

able to hear everything anf docous properly (Cater).

However one of the most intuitive things about this

Comment [S9]: Well explained on ho

everything works; everything makes sens

reader


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Figure 3

Fi ure 4

building is that the entire school is served its heating and air through a gerthermal system (Figure

2). The way a normal HVAC system works is you have a large fan blowing across what is

basically a radiator. In the summer when the A/C is on, the outdoor condensing unit uses

pressure to supercool the freon inside the lines, sends it back to the radiator, thus making the

radiator cold, and therefore all of the air blown across it will also be cold. A geothermal system

works in the same way, except the ground is the condensing unit. Since the ground stays around

a constant 50 degreese,

water flows through a

vast expanse of

underground very

conductive underground

copper piping. This

transfers the heat from the

water to the ground,

while at the same time

transfering the coolness

of Earths soil to the water

and back to the radiator

causing an astonishing drop in heating and cooling costs. Another prominent design feature of

this building is the ammount of windows there are (Figure 3). This goes back to the point I was

making earlier about how condusive natural light is to learning and productivity in a built

enfironment (Figure 4). When you look at the picture of the classroom, it almost makes you want

to go to class and learn. It is so bright, and has such a great view but at the same time only has 3


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hanging flourecent light bars (speculation from the pictures). Overall, I feel that this is

demonstritave of how LEED building is not only benificial to the natural environment but also

benificial to quiality of life and productivity.

Conclusion:

When you look back at all of the information I have provided in this paper through

several sources, myself included, you are left to make a dicision. You know exactly what LEED

building means, what it does both for human, environmental, and financial health, and you know

what the possible fall backs are. It is up to you to take all of this information and do something

with it. No matter what you do with your life you will encounter it. How? Beautiful buildings

that you may walk into and not even know that they are LEED, when you make the decision to

purchase your home, condominium, or apartment. If you become a big dog and end up running a

company, your company needs office space, are you going to build green or cheap? Or will it

even matter by then knowing that if D.C. has made it law for new construction, why not every

other city. Say itbecomes part of a mayors campaign, will it be a factor for your support or for

your opposition? The decision has been left up to you, I have already made mine. Comment [S10]: Talk about areas foresearch


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Works Cited

Pics- http://www.eekarchitects.com/portfolio/5-early-childhood-primary-secondary-schools/88-

stoddert-campus

X Drawbacks- http://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/green-construction-risks-and-rewards/ -

leed

xAbout LEED - http://greenworkexperience.com/content/what-does-leed-stand

xTax- http://bomali.org/LEEDbldgtaxopps_01-08.pdf
http://www.eekarchitects.com/portfolio/5-early-childhood-primary-secondary-schools/88-stoddert-campushttp://www.eekarchitects.com/portfolio/5-early-childhood-primary-secondary-schools/88-stoddert-campushttp://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/green-construction-risks-and-rewards/%20%20-leedhttp://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/green-construction-risks-and-rewards/%20%20-leedhttp://greenworkexperience.com/content/what-does-leed-standhttp://bomali.org/LEEDbldgtaxopps_01-08.pdfhttp://bomali.org/LEEDbldgtaxopps_01-08.pdfhttp://greenworkexperience.com/content/what-does-leed-standhttp://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/green-construction-risks-and-rewards/%20%20-leedhttp://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/green-construction-risks-and-rewards/%20%20-leedhttp://www.eekarchitects.com/portfolio/5-early-childhood-primary-secondary-schools/88-stoddert-campushttp://www.eekarchitects.com/portfolio/5-early-childhood-primary-secondary-schools/88-stoddert-campus


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x "Green Building Resources for Homebuilders ."conservationcenter.org. conservation center.

Web. 3 Oct 2013.

.

x King, Jason. "Human Benefits of Green Building." 10 Feb 2011. sustainablesitescollective,

Web. 3 Oct. 2013. .

Kruzan, Mark. "Green Building Benefits." The City of Bloomington. N.p.. Web. 3 Oct 2013.

.

x"LEED Rating Systems." USGBC. USGBC, n.d. Web. 3 Oct 2013.

.

xLong , Marisa. "World Green Building Council Showcases Cost-Effective Green Building

Benefits Throughout the World." USGBC. 6 3 2013: n. page. Web. 3 Oct. 2013.

.

x"The Pros and Cons of Building Sustainability in Architecture."Bella Science. (2012): n. page.

Web. 3 Oct. 2013. .

xWill, Samuel. Observations. Unpublished Paper. University of North Carolina Charlotte. 2013.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129727547
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129727547http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129727547


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