GREEN BUILDINGS

Module-IV
-A.Nagasaibaba.
Economic Issues and Analysis on
Green Building

.
 Introduction to Project

• Aim:

The aim of the project is to “Find out a simple and economical

way of constructing a Green Home which a common man from a
middle class or an upper middle class family can easily afford.”
 Introduction to Project
• Objective:
The objectives of the project are:
i. To compare the cost of construction of a home as a Green
Home & a Conventional Home.
ii. To find out energy and water savings in a Green Home over
the Conventional home.
iii. To find out percentage increase while constructing a Green
Home instead of a Conventional Home.
iv. To find out the middle way to encourage the
Green
Construction.
 Introduction to Project
• Need of The Project:
The reasons why this project is important are listed below:
i. It is general belief that a Green Home will cost much more
than a Conventional Home, but some middle way is required
to be found out by analyzing the real situations & conditions
in the market.
ii. In these days, when everyone is talking about the Green
construction, there is need of a way by which a common can
afford a Green Home.
 Introduction to Project
• Scope of The Project:
The Scope of the project is listed below:
i. This typical case selected in the project would be useful while
considering cases for residential sites.
ii. This project will be identical for the persons
associated
who arewith this type of work, to construct a Green Home
rather constructing a Conventional House, bearing some extra
initial costs which will be paid back in some years after starting
the use.
iii. This will be beneficial for the people who are really conscious
about the environmental impact of the buildings and believe
in energy conservation.
 Introduction to Project
• Economy is the major factor in any type of construction work,
especially for residential houses and more specifically when they
are situated in the megacity in a Developing country like India.
• There is a need of concentrating on a Green Home, which is one of
the most important and one of the most discussed topics
throughout the globe, in the age of global warming and climate
change worldwide.
• In this situation, some middle way is necessary to be found out, to
encourage the Green Construction.
 Introduction to Project
• Methodology:
The figure below represents the Methodology in Chart format:
 Introduction to Green building
• Definition:
“A green building is one which uses less water, optimises
energy efficiency, conserves natural resources, generates less waste
and provides healthier spaces for occupants, as compared to a
conventional building.”
• Elements of Green Building:
There are 4 elements of Green Building. That shows the main
points required to be considered while designing any building.
• Smart Design
• Energy Efficiency
• Eco Materials
• Water Conservation
 Case Studies on Green Buildings
1] Shapath V, S.G. Highway, Ahmedabad
• The major features of Shapath V, highlighted by SAVVY group are as
under:
– Energy Efficient Building
– Multi Level Parking
– 11 feet Floor Height
– Central Air Conditioning with Chilled Water Supply
– Water Recycling
– 40% Water Efficiency
– Onsite Sewage Treatment plant
– Use of Eco-friendly, Recyclable, Recycled, Renewable materials
– Double Glazed Windows
 Case Studies on Green Buildings
Cont..........
• Remarks about Green Construction after this Visit:
– Aerated Concrete blocks
– If Certified Wood or Recycled Wood
– HVAC criteria should be considered.
– Insulated DG Units
– LED lighting fixtures.
– Taps and flushes of minimum discharge and low pressure of
water.
– PPC or OPC with flyash.
– Rain Water Harvesting System
– Onsite Sewage treatment Plant
– Fire resistant wires and PVC pipes
 Case Studies on Green Buildings
2] Solaris, Visat-Motera, Ahmedabad
• The major features of Solaris, highlighted by SAVVY group are as
under:
– Low Energy Cost
– 75% Open Space
– Water Meter
– Water Recycling
– Percolation Wells
– Garbage Suits
 Case Studies on Green Buildings
Cont.............
• New things concluded after the visit, about the Green Construction are
listed below:
– Flyash Bricks
– In large area, the Sewage treatment Plant.
– LED lighting fixtures.
– Taps and flushes of minimum discharge and low pressure of water.
– No wooden frames should be used, Aluminum frames
are more preferable.
– Rain Water Harvesting
– Percolation wells
– Non VOC paints on the internal walls.
– PPC or OPC with flyash.
– The doors may be made from the eco-friendly materials.
 Case Studies on Green Buildings
Cont.............
• Garbage Suits may be provided to collect the all garbage at one
place.
 Case Studies on Green Buildings
Implementations From the Case Studies:
• The following is the list of the items in which the appropriate
changes as per the project criteria are made, in the desire of
economic Green Home:
– Windows
– Lighting Fixtures
– Plumbing Fixtures
– Flooring
– Doors
– Paints
– Bricks
– Cement
– Installation of Rain Water Harvesting System (in addition,
not to be changed)
Estimate of The Material Quantities
• A bungalow is selected as a site of our project.
• The detailed drawings are used for the estimation of the quantities.
 Materials Replaced in Green Building
• The table bellow shows the materials used in Conventional & Green
Home respectively for different items:

Sr. Item Conventional Material Green Material

No.
1 Windows and Openings Aluminium Panelled Insulated Glass (IG
Plain Glasses Units)
2 Lighting Fixtures Tube Lights & CFLs Low Watt LED Tube
Lights & Bulbs
3 Plumbing Fixtures Conventional Fixtures Special Green
Fixtures
4 Flooring Vitrified & Glazed Tiles PVC Flooring, Glazed
and China Mosaic Tiles and China
Mosaic
5 Doors Pine Wood Engineering Wood
Materials Replaced in Green Building`
• Cont..........
Sr. Item Conventional Material Green Material
No.
6 Paints Plastic VOC Plastic Non VOC
7 Bricks Clay Bricks Flyash Bricks
8 Cement OPC PPC
9 Installation of Rain Not Provided Provided
Water Harvesting System
 Green Materials
IG Units:
• Nearly 15-20% of all home energy
is lost via windows and doors,
having energy efficient windows in
your home should be a priority.
• For that, the best suitable option is
to use Low-E glasses.
• The main aim of DG Glasses is to
prevent heat on the side of glass
where it originates.
 Green Materials
LED Fixtures:
• In green buildings, the only type of the lighting fixtures used is LED
(Light Emitting Diode) Fixtures.
• This type of lighting fixtures are somewhat costly, approximately 4
times higher prise than the normal ones.
• These are solid lights which are extremely
energy-efficient.
• A significant feature of LEDs is that the
light is directional, as opposed to
conventional bulbs which spread the
light more spherically.
• Different types of LED fixtures are
Shown in the table 5.3 of report.
 Green Materials
Plumbing:
• In the Green Plumbing the Plumbing Fixtures discharge ranges from
5 l.p.m to 15 l.p.m.

• Green Plumbing includes the Fixtures as below:

– Faucets discharge ranges between 5 l.p.m to 8 l.p.m.
– Showers discharge ranges between 10 l.p.m to
15 l.p.m.
– Water Closet (W.C.) discharge ranges between 7
l.p.m
to 12 l.p.m.
 Green Materials
PVC flooring:
• PVC vinyl flooring is a type of synthetic flooring.
• Floors such as wood and marble are made from natural materials,
but PVC vinyl flooring is made from a synthetic plastic called
polyvinyl chloride.
• It is easy to install.
• PVC vinyl flooring is affordable, water resistant and very durable.
Due to its synthetic nature, PVC vinyl flooring is also more
customizable than natural flooring.
• To keep PVC vinyl flooring in optimal condition, regularly vacuum
and polish the floor. Never use any rough-surfaced cleaning tools on
the floor, as they often result in scratches.
 Green Materials
Green Wood Or Engineering wood:
• Engineered wood products are made from a combination of wood
fibres, strips, and veneer sheets.
• Smaller diameter trees of the same hard and soft wood used to
manufacture lumber are also used.
• Engineered wood products are also called composite wood, and the
materials are bonded together using an adhesive resin which makes
the finished product resist warping.
• Some different products made from engineered wood include
flooring, several types of lumber, and particle board
 Green Materials
Green Paints:
• paints with reduced levels of VOCs are more eco-friendly than
conventional paints, some house paints have an even lower
environmental impact.
• Homeowners can select premium-grade zero-VOC paints that also
use VOC-free colorants, are free of vinyl and other plasticizers and
include no toxic biocides.
 Green Materials
Bricks:
• Flyash Bricks are considered as the Green material of construction.
• So in this case it is used in the Green Construction.

Cement:
• If PPC (Portland Pozzolana Cement) is used in construction, it will be
green Material Because PPC contains the flyash as the main
ingredients.
 Green Materials
Rain Water Harvesting:
• The principle of collecting and using from
precipitation catchments surface . a
• There are two main techniques of rain water harvestings.
– Storage of rainwater on surface for future use.
– Recharge to ground water.
 Energy Savings
• The savings in the energy will be 70% per year, which is near about
` 10,000 per year.
• The life of the LED fixtures will be more than 17 years
(50000/8/365=17.12). Same way the life of the tubelight is about 5
years (15000/8/365=5.14) and that of the CFL is about 2 years
(6000/8/365=2.05).
 Water Savings
• Water fixtures use per day per person (6 persons):
– Basin : 4 Times a day
– Sink : 4 Times a
– Wash Area : day 4 Times
– Shower : a day 2
– W.C. : Times a day
– Urinals : 1 Times a day
• 3 Times
Total Water Saved = 74 liter/ day/ persona
day
=74*6=444 liter/day
 Cost Analysis and Comparison
• The analysis and the comparison of cost for each item is as shown in
the chapter 6 of the report.
 Cost Comparison
• The table bellow shows the Cost Comparison of each Item:
Cost in
Sr. Cost in Green
8Item Name Conventional Difference (`)
No. Home (`)
Home (`)
1 Windows and
Openings 1,30,800 2,07,350 76,550

2 Lighting Fixtures 12,800 46,150 33,350

3 Plumbing Fixtures 44,885 1,08,300 63,415

4 Flooring 2,28,540 2,84,295 55,755

5 Doors 69,830 1,62,510 92,680

6 Paints 1,56,380 1,58,880 2,500

7 Bricks 50,175 30,105 -20,070

8 Cement 9,66,000 9,83,250 17,250

9 Rain Water Harvesting

0 80,700 80,700
System

Total (`) 16,59,410 20,61,540 4,02,103

 Cost Analysis and Comparison
• The Chart bellow shows the Cost Comparison of each Item:
 Conclusion
1) If the Home is Constructed as a Green Home in this project, the total
cost increases by ` 4,02,130, in addition to the total construction cost of
the Conventional home which is found to be ` 31,07,415.
2) The percentage increase in total construction cost is 12.94% (say, 12 -
15%).
3) The saving in money, which is about `10,000, will be the clear saving
after the payback period of LED fixtures is completed.
4) Water saving is about 444 (say, 440) liter/day.
5) Payback period, considering savings only in the electricity bills, is found
to be 35 years.
6) So, on the bases of the above figures, it can be concluded that:
– “If the intention is to construct a new Home to live in, it is advisable to go for
a GREEN HOME rather than the ordinary conventional home. Because, the
percentage increase of 12.94% in the total cost is not a negligible amount
when the intention is just to renovate or retrofit an Old Home”
COMPARISION OF
CONVENTIONAL AND NON-
CONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION
 Ar. Laurie Baker is one who worked on cost
effective construction technique as its best.

 Baker showed, in fact , that sustainable

technologies when adopted with care and
creativity, could lead to a unique architectural
expression.
 Building Material Cost : 65 to 70 %
 Labour Cost : 65 to 70 %

( As per Central Building Research Institute

(CBRI))
The basic aspect in the choice of a material
“EMBEDDED ENERGY”
Stabilized Compressed Earth Blocks :-

Are made of mud with suitable percentage of

cement and compacted in block making
machine with no burning.

Economical, stronger, low embedded

energy and simple to manufacture
Reconstituted stone blocks /
Stone filler blocks
 If small pieces of stone only are available,
‘reconstituted stone blocks’ provides the best
alternative masonry block.

 Can be used for foundations and walls.

Waste material content 30-40% by
volume of block.

Validated by BMTPC,
IS 12440-1985

 Better facing
 Foundation in comparatively hard soil

Conventional method

Better option
Random Rubble masonry with mud
mortar

Foundation cost : 10 to 15% of total building

(approx)
Arch foundation
 Under ream pile foundation
Bamboo reinforced surface beams in lime
concrete
Under reamed piles

Most economical pile

 Uses 425 bricks per cubic meters instead 500
bricks.
 Saves mortar.
 Thermal comfort.
 Can be left exposed, saves external
plaster.
 Tested and validated by Anna University.
 Bamboo roof slab
 RCC Filler slab
 Ferro cement channels

Rural house
Funicular shell
 Bricks/ waste stone laid in a doubly curved
profile with a shallow rise at the centre.
 Utilizes waste material
 Reduction of cement and steel
 Paint is an important material used in
construction, which is
“Non recyclable”
• Exposed masonry with pointed finish
• Non erodible mud plaster
• Lime plaster
• Lime-cement combination plaster
• Natural extracts as paint (cashew oil,
bee’s wax, linseed oil)
• Clay with adhesives as paint
• Lime wash
Exposed brick masonry with flush pointed
finish.
 Works have done:
1. Preliminary Study on conventional materials

2. Data collection of various non conventional

materials

3. Study of practical applications

of nonconventional technique
4. Planning and specification for a building in both
conventional and nonconventional
system
5.Training programs and discussions
regarding relevance in COSTFORD and
Kerala State Nirmiti Kendra.
 Works to be done :

1. Quantity survey of the conventional and

nonconventional residential building

2. Stabilized mud block manufacturing and

testing
 3. Reconstructed laterite stone blocks
manufacturing and testing

4. Energy auditing

5. Filler slab design as per grid beam theory

 Relevance of the topic with respect to the
present scenario.

 What we young engineers could promise our

society
Use of Green Strategies
LEED-certified buildings have
implemented strategies intended to
reduce building operating costs,
environmental footprint, and
resource consumption such as water and
energy use. ... The LEED for New
Construction rating system provides a
framework for green design and construction
of new development or major renovations.
Strategies for Green Design
 Design for Manufacture
• Followed during the design process, Design
for Manufacture (DfM) is an approach which
has the aim of improving manufacturing
productivity
• A dominating constraint on a design brief is
the cost of the design
• Design for manufacture or
'Manufacturability' is concerned with the
cost and difficulty of making the
product
• Practice the KIS principle (Keep it
 Design for Manufacture
Design for Manufacture can be conveniently split into:
• Design for materials
• Design for process
• Design for assembly
• Reduce the cost of the designs - as they are designed
• DfM helps to analyze and compare the costs of different materials –
Design for Materials, and manufacturing methods – Design for
Process, in the design phase.
• By simplifying the assembly and manufacture of the designs - which
leads to significant cost savings - with Design for Assembly (DfA). DFA
will help you estimate the difficulty of assembly, eliminate
unnecessary parts and assembly tooling, and design products that are
less costly to manufacture.
 Design for Manufacture
• Design for Manufacture is a well-established approach which involves -
• Diagnosis
Determination of the manufacturability of the present product and comparison
with similar products on the market
• Setting objectives
Set in terms of production costs, quality, flexibility, risk, lead-time, efficiency,
environment
• Function definition
Involves defining the main functions of the product and their interactions
• Clarifying the evaluation parameters and design ideas
This is done for each of the main product functions
• Conceptual design
This process is followed top-down in the sequence:
corporate, family, structural
and component levels
• Evaluation and selection
Assess the manufacturability of the proposed concepts in terms of the DFM
objectives. Select the best fit concept
• Translation to design
Communicate the chosen concept to the development team, which then carries
 Strategies that designers could
employ for DfM
• Minimizing the number of components
• Using standard components
• Designing components that are
multifunctional or for multi-
use
• Designing parts for ease of
fabrication
• Minimize handling
• Using standard sub-assemblies
 Case Study Example - Snowbone
• The Snowbone is an ingenious add-on attachment for a snowboard to
provide it with BMX bike-style handles, making it simple for
beginners to keep their balance and giving experienced
snowboarders the chance to show off aerial tricks
Step 3
Design for Manufacture & Assembly
Following receipt of the quotations, it was
clear which components had the highest
manufacturing costs. These were selected
as priorities for formal design review.
Some examples of the improvements
realised are shown in the following table:

Use the link to read

more about this
product
Optimization of Resource Utilization
• Reuse
• Repair
• Reconditioning
• Recycling
Optimization of Resource Utilization
• Contribute to the optimization of resource
utilization through reuse, repair,
recycling and reconditioning
• Reduce the amount of waste
• Improve durability, extended life cycle e.g.
IBM
• Reduce packaging e.g. food
• Reuse
• Wash and reuse, e.g. milk bottles, wine
bottles
• Refurbishment, e.g. sofas
Optimization of Resource Utilization
• Repair
• Replacing broken/damaged components at a
reasonable cost e.g. washing machine, car
• Reconditioning
• Replacing outdated components e.g.
computers
• Remanufactured e.g. tyres
• Recycling
• Recycling is the processing of waste
manufactured products to provide the raw
material to make new ones e.g. drinks cans
Optimization of Resource Utilization
• A key difference between the industrial economy and the service
economy is that the first gives value to products that exist materially
and are exchanged, whereas value in the service economy is more
closely attributed to the performance and real use of products
integrated into a system. In our classical, industrial economy, the
value of products is essentially identified with the costs of producing
them, whereas the notion of value in the service economy is shifted
toward the evaluation of costs incurred to provide results in use.
• The first approach considers the value of a personal computer with a
printer. The second, on the other hand, evaluates the actual
performance of the, system, taking into consideration not only its cost
of production but also all sorts of costs associated with successful
use (such as the cost of learning to use it and the cost of repair and
maintenance) as well as the quality of the result. In the service
economy, what is purchased is the functioning of a tool; people buy
"system functioning," or performance, not products.

The Utilization-Focused Service Economy: Resource Efficiency and Product-Life Extension

WALTER R. STAHEL
 Examples
• Strategies of reuse, repair and recycling
can be applied to the design of products,
including packaging
 Disposable Camera
• Recent studies have show that, despite the recycling claims on the boxes, less than half
of disposable cameras are ever actually recycled. Enough cameras have been tossed to
circle the planet, stacked end-to-end. Local film developers often have little or no
incentive to return the camera bodies to the manufacturers, and not all parts of the
cameras are recyclable. Kodak has started to minimally reimburse developers for the
costs of sorting, storing and shipping, but processors are still faced with a bewildering
variety of types, brands, and procedures for dealing with them.
• Inexpensive fully-automatic 35mm cameras can be purchased for about $20 if you look
carefully. These cameras will give better results and cost less to use than the
disposables. If you must use a disposable camera, be sure to take it to a developer that
explicitly promises to recycle the remains.
 Vacuum Cleaner
• Should you fix your old vacuum? That depends on its age and condition, what's
broken, and the repair cost. In general, repair a vacuum cleaner that’s under
warranty, and replace it if the repair would equal more than half the cost of a
comparable new model. If you are satisfied with the machine’s performance, consider
repair for uprights that are up to seven years old and canisters up to eight years old,
especially if the repair isn't expensive
• Electronic equipment contains toxic materials:
• Printed circuit boards in computers, music players, and other devices contain
toxic metals such as chromium, nickel, and zinc
• Batteries may contain nickel and cadmium
• Relays, switches, and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) may contain mercury
• Plastics used in many electronics also contain flame retardants that are toxic and
persist in the environment
 Car Tyres
• Retreading is the name of the process which
extends the life of a tyre by adding new material
• Manufacturing a retread tyre for an average
car takes 4.5 gallons less oil than the
equivalent new tyre, and for commercial
vehicle tyres the saving is estimated to be
about 15 gallons per tyre
• Reuse: Some tyres are perfectly suitable for
further use on other vehicles. Tyre Safety
Regulations apply to the sale of part-worns
• Recycling: By shredding the tyres the rubber that
they are made from can be used to make floor
surfaces, such as for children’s playgrounds or
carpet underlay
• Recovering: Energy can be difficult because of
the gases that are released from the tyres
• Tyres can be used as a fuel for some
processes, such as in cement plants. This
recovers the energy that is inherent in the
tyre and reduces the energy cost of the
production of cement
 Separation Prior to Recycling
• Many products are made up of several different
materials
• These materials have to be separated to enable
recycling
• Examine once again the Kodak disposable camera
• Car manufactures are under strict legislation to recovery
old cars, the many components used in the
manufacture of a car, need to be separated before
recycling can take place
• Reasons for separation
• Different materials are recycled by different methods e.g.
plastics, glass, metal, paper
• Toxic materials need to be removed safely e.g. batteries
• Valuable metals extracted for reuse e.g. silver used in
photo-sensitive emulsion
 Economics of Recycling Materials
• Saving money: Companies have realised that making reductions in
products’ extraction, manufacture, and distribution could make direct
cost savings. With take back laws such as WEEE and End of Vehicle
Life, companies will also save money by designing their products so
they are easy to disassemble, repair, reuse and recycle
• Example: Redesigning a product so it uses less plastic will directly reduce
the amount of plastic the company has to buy. Using energy efficient
and less wasteful process can directly reduce manufacturing costs for a
company
• New ‘green consumer’ markets: Eco-design can lead to better quality,
innovative new products. Some companies saw the potential
commercial advantage that could be gained by developing ‘greener’
products
• Example: many consumers will check the environmental profile of the
company and look for awards and eco-labels
• Competition: If companies do not try to keep up with and predict
future legislation they can fall behind with their environmental
knowledge and design work, and subsequently suffer financially
 Design for Disassembly
• Designing products in order to minimise their impact on
the environment is becoming increasingly important.
Leading companies have realised the importance of Design
for Disassembly (DfD)
• The principle of DfD is to design products for their full
design life, but make them easy to disassemble at the end
of their life for component reuse and recycling.
• Unplanned lengthy disassembly is uneconomical,
environmentally damaging and does not enable the full
value of the parts to be achieved through recycling
• Examine the products below
 Design for Disassembly - Car
• The average lifespan of a car is 13.5 years and in 2000,
just over 2 million cars and vans reached the end of
their useful lives, either because of old age or due to
accident
• The reuse of parts and the reclamation of materials from
motor vehicles is not a new industry. Metal parts in
particular have for a long time had a value, either in
terms of reuse or recycling. Nowadays there are many
parts that can be recycled, from the oil and its filter to
plastic bumpers
 Smart Car
The Smartville Energy Centre is an excellent example of
company which has carried out a “life-cycle analysis”. It has
evaluated the environmental impact of its products from “the
cradle to the grave” (from raw materials to final disposal).
Watch the video and make notes on how the manufacturer of
the Smart Car employs a proactive environmental approach.
Use the following headings to make notes:
• Materials for construction – car
• Materials for construction – energy centre
• Clean technologies: Water & waste
• Clean technologies: Pollution
• Energy saving & heat
Volkswagon Beetle
 Design for Disassembly – TV
• When you compare a set from the early 1980s with the
current generation of models produced since 2000,
you will notice some startling design differences
• The newer models feature much fewer parts and the
types of plastics has also been dramatically reduced
• The end result is that today’s Panasonic TVs are much
easier to disassemble and recycle than their predecessor
models from the early 1980s
 Facilitating Recycling
• Designing for disassembly is one aspect of designing for
materials and will facilitate recycling of products on
disposal
• There are a number of principles to facilitate disassembly
for example:
• Designing for ease of disassembly, to enable the removal of parts
without damage
• Designing for ease of purifying, to ensure that the purifying process
does not damage the environment
• Designing for ease of testing and classifying, to make it clear as to
the condition of parts which can be reused and to enable easy
classification of parts through proper markings
• Designing for ease of reconditioning, this supports the reprocessing
of parts by providing additional material as well as gripping and
adjusting features
• Designing for ease of re-assembly, to provide easy assembly for
reconditioned and new parts
Cost Estimating
Tool
 What is…?
• Sustainable construction is building in a
way that is socially, economically,
environmentally, functionally and
aesthetically balanced to meet today’s
needs and to provide and conserve
resources for future generations.
or simply we can say;
Development that meets the needs of the
present
without comprising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs, is called Sustainable Construction.
SUSTAINABILITY MODEL

ENVIRONMENTAL
A viable natural environment

Sustainable Sustainable
natural and built economic
environment developmen
SU t
CONSTRUCTION
ST
AI
N
ABEquitable
LE Social
Environment
Conceptual Drawing of Sustainable
Construction
Conceptual Drawing of Sustainable
Construction
Examples… Using natural light &
Ventilation
What are the main difficulties to implement this?

Getting people to
understand the
need of
Sustainable
buildings

Marketing the
concept for new
customers
 Evaluating Sustainable Construction
FIVE TARGET ISSUES
• Progress > Significant advancements

• Planet > Environmental

performance

• Prosperity > Economical efficiency

• People > Social responsibility

• Proficiency > Architectural quality

 BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS
• Saving of water 30% - 50%
• Energy Saving 20% - 30%
• Conserves natural scarce resources and less waste
• Enhanced air quality
• Excellent day lighting
• Provides healthier for occupants
• Less CO2 emission and global warming
• 40% of raw materials use
• 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually) and
• 14% of potable water consumption.
New challenges to QS from sustainable
construction
There are some new services can now be offered to
clients, such as…
• Analysing and advising on Green Capital Costs
• Promoting the benefits of Life Cycle management
• Green Financing and Green Leases
• Cost effective sustainable strategies
• Property Performance Appraisals
• Value Management and Engineering solutions
• The use of information technology (such as Building Management
Systems and Information Models)
These will now all form part of the services a QS
can offer clients.
“GREEN SHOOTS” FOR THE QUANTITY SURVEYOR

GREEN SHOOTS
Green Costing

Carbon Footprint

Life Cycle Costing

Property performance reporting

Green building rating assessment

Building Information
Modelling (BIM)
• GREEN COSTING
With the increasing prevalence of green building ratings, the Quantity
Surveyor has to be adept in the knowledge of new and emerging
technologies that are being utilized in green buildings. Cost models have to
be updated to cater to Clients‘ needs in regards to the extra over
costs for achieving the different levels of green building certification.
• CARBON FOOTPRINT
The first step in developing a carbon management strategy for buildings will
be to accurately measure the current level of carbon emissions – that will
be your carbon footprint. Carbon footprint is essential for building owners
to set benchmarks to measure carbon performance and
to compare amongst other properties. These measurements would also
enable building owners to maximize energy efficiencies and returns through
identification of energy inefficient areas.
• LIFE CYCLE COSTING
The field of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) will grow in importance in the next few
years and the Quantity Surveyor, who is an expert in cost management, is in
an excellent position to gear itself for this role. LCC is a technique to
establish the total cost of the building throughout its functional lifespan.
LCC can be used to produce a spend profile of the building over its
anticipated life-span and the results can be used to assist the management
in the decision-making process to go green.
• Life Cycle Costing and Facilities Management, in
particular, were two services quantity surveyors
could offer - and specialise in - to achieve
sustainable building.
Life Cycle Costing, basically, can be defined as the
sum of all recurring and non-recurring costs over
the full lifespan or a specified period of applicable
structures, goods or services. This includes the
purchase price, installation and operational costs,
maintenance and upgrading costs, and the
remaining value at the end of ownership of the
commodity in question - in other words: the total
cost of ownership.
Facility management role of QS in Sustainable
Construction
• Construction, building technology and maintenance costs
• Estimating and budgeting
• Cost control and reporting
• Managing building operations
• Life Cycle costs
• Understanding building components and functionality
• Procuring goods, services and leases
• Managing contracts and sub-contracts
• Understanding building management systems
• Integrating information and management systems
• PROPERTY PERFORMANCE REPORTING
The emphasis on energy efficiency and the changing demand of
today‘s tenants requires building owners to work their way through
the existing performance measurement tools to understand where
they fail to meet new standards. In the first instance what is needed
is an assessment process that provides a clear gap analysis that takes
the owner towards a balanced improvement strategy.

• GREEN BUILDING RATING ASSESSMENT

The prevalent use of green building rating systems such as LEED and
Green Mark in international projects has created new inroads for the
quantity surveyor to exploit. Courses such as the LEED Accredited
Professional and the Green Mark Manager certification have been
created to enhance
the understanding of the relevant Green Building rating system and
environmentally sustainable designs. With a greater understanding
of the green building rating systems, the QS would be able to in a
better position to advice the Client both on the costing and
sustainable designs.
• BUILDING INFORMATION MODEL
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an integral
platform for the management of information
throughout the project lifespan. The BIM model is best
suited for use where visual presentation is required.
With the advancement in building information
modelling (BIM) systems, the use of object
orientated CAD may be able to contain information
such as Green Assessment points, intelligent advice on
usage, LCA with carbon, specifications and real time
costing as well.
The other key advancement to note is the automatic
generation of bills of quantities from BIM, which is
called Quantity Information Model (QIM). QIM relies on
the data within BIM to extract the relevant data and
process into bills of quantities. The apparent advantage
of utilizing such systems would be a fundamental shift
in the role of Quantity Surveyors to focus on higher
value added cost estimating activities.
 FUTURE DIRECTIONS
IN GREEN, HIGH
PERFORMANCE
BUILDING
TECHNOLOGIES
 I

Today's tip of the day is about the meaning of N

the term "high-performance building." R

U
C

"High-performance" is actually a much more T

encompassing, and frankly, more accurate, term than I

"green" when it comes to describing the buildings facility O

managers own, manage, and maintain.

Green Building
 I

But what does "high-performance" actually mean? T

D

Does it mean LEED-certified buildings that are energy R

U

O
C
and water efficient? T
O
NI

Facilities that are people-friendly and get high marks

from occupants for creature comforts?

Highly automated, integrated buildings that turn big

data into big efficiency gains with smart analytics?

Green Building
 I

U
C

Green Building
 I
N
T

C
T

Green Building
 I

The answer, of course, is yes. N

A high-performance building is all of those things

R

and more. The key to a high-performance building is D

optimization and integration of all things — whether U

C

fan speeds or fire safety, whether landscaping or T

lighting efficiency. I

It means thinking on both a micro and macro level

about how building systems interact, and how
building occupants interact with those systems
Green Building
 I

Yes, "high-performance" does tend to have a bit more to it N

than the traditional definition of green (a building that is T

environmentally responsible).
R

Thinking about making a building "high-performance" means U

considering aspects of the building— fire/life- safety, ADA

C

T
compliance, communication plans, even art work or other I

occupant-focused "bonuses" — that were certainly also O

considered in a green building, but may not have been N

emphasized.

Green Building
 I

"High-performance" is how those in the industry will

R

think about and define successful buildings in the D

future. U
C

Green Building
Tha n
k Yo