By: Michael Tobias on November 14th, 2016

Top 10 Inventive Green

Building Trends for 2017
SUSTAINABILITY

The Top 10 Inventive Green

Building Trends for 2017
From the nancial standpoint, a green building is superior to a
conventional one in all aspects. According to Dodge Data &
Analytics, a leading provider of business intelligence for the US
commercial construction industry, a green building is 14 percent
less expensive to operate than a traditional one, and its asset
value is higher by 7 percent. They have also found that the
amount of green buildings in the world tends to double every
three years.

This article will provide an overview of the top 10 trends in green

buildings for 2017.

Green Building provides nancial

bene ts and increases asset value.

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1) Net Zero Energy Buildings

As implied by its name, a net-zero energy building is one that
produces the same amount of energy it consumes. This is
achieved with various complementary strategies:

Deploying energy e ciency upgrades and building

management systems to reduce consumption
Once consumption is as low as possible, renewable energy
sources are used on-site. Solar and wind power are among
the most common options, but biomass and geothermal
energy can also be viable depending on site conditions.

It is important to note that a net-zero energy building normally

remains connected to the power grid, and may even consume
energy if renewable generation is not available at a speci c
time. However, the energy it exports to grid is greater than or
equal to its consumption. When a building supplies more energy
than what it consumes, it is called a net-positive energy building.

2) Energy Management Services

The Software as a Service (SaaS) business model has been
successful in the IT industry, where clients can now pay a
monthly fee for the use of software, rather than purchasing an
expensive on-premises license each time a new version is
released. This also makes software solutions more affordable
for smaller companies, who may not have the capital availability
for expensive licenses.

The mechanical and electrical installations in buildings are

becoming increasingly connected, making it possible for a
control system to monitor indoor conditions in real time and to
manage operation so that the lowest possible energy cost is
achieved. The SaaS business model is now being applied to
energy e ciency, where the client pays a monthly fee for
specialized service provider to remotely manage their energy
consumption, instead of dedicating large amounts of time and
capital to the development of an in-house solution.
3)LED Lighting Retro ts
According to Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, LED
lighting had a market share of 28% by the year 2015, up from
only 1% in 2010. Growth is expected to continue at exponential
rates, with a projected market share of over 95% by 2025

With each year that passes, LED lighting becomes an even better
investment thanks to decreasing costs and an increasing
luminous e cacy. The initial investment of LED lighting remains
higher than that of most other lighting technologies, but when
the low energy consumption and long service life are
considered, it is the lighting technology with the lowest cost of
ownership

4) Smart Batteries
Lithium-ion batteries offer an excellent round-trip e ciency and
a much longer service life than their lead-acid counterparts, but
have been held back by their high upfront cost. However, the
technology has reached a point where it is cost-effective in
power grid applications: utilities in California are already
commissioning megawatt-scale battery arrays to meet peaks in
demand, especially those that occur during the summer. This
trend is expected to continue in the residential and commercial
sectors, where batteries can provide two main bene ts:

Backup power during electric service interruptions.

Clients subject to hourly electricity rates can fully charge
their batteries when rates are at their lowest point, and
then consume the energy to avoid the highest rates. This
also applies if a client has surplus generation from a
renewable energy system.

As battery systems achieve widespread adoption among

residential and commercial clients, there will be opportunities to
collaborate with utility companies. For example, distributed
energy storage can help absorb peaks in output from solar or
wind farms, or also to help meet peaks in demand.

5)Passive Building Design

Lighting and HVAC are among the largest energy expenses in
commercial buildings, but it is possible to greatly reduce them
through smart design choices. The main goal of passive design
is to maximize the use of daylight, while also making sure there
is minimal heat gain during the summer, and minimal heat loss
during the winter. Also, natural ventilation is used whenever
possible.

The Pertamina Energy Tower is a 523-meter construction in

Qatar, whose entire design is based on the path of the sun in the
sky, in to minimize HVAC and lighting consumption. The building
uses geothermal energy for its electricity, heating and cooling
needs.

6)Visible Light Communication

LED lighting not only offers energy e ciency; it is also possible
to use light pulses to transmit data, through a concept called
visible light communication. This technology is orders of
magnitude faster than Wi-Fi, and could eventually displace it.
There are two main ways in which VLC can contribute to green
construction:

Lighting and IT installations can be consolidated into a

single system, reducing material requirements during
construction, as well as energy expenses
VLC networks can serve as the platform to build energy
management systems. It is only a matter of giving VLC
capabilities to key building installations
7)Solar Power
Solar power is already a booming industry, with over one million
photovoltaic arrays in operation throughout the USA. However,
the technology still has plenty of room to evolve, and there are
promising concepts being developed. For example, printable
solar cells promise to be much lighter and cheaper than current
photovoltaic modules. They can also be printed on any surface,
regardless of shape and orientation.

Another factor that will contribute to sustained growth in the

solar power industry is the federal tax credit, which allows home
and business owners to deduct 30% of any solar power
investment from their tax burden. The bene t was set to expire
in 2016, but was recently refreshed until 2020, so plenty of
activity can be expected in the solar power industry.

8) Variable Refrigerant Flow HVAC

Systems
Although variable refrigerant ow (VRF) systems are very
common in Japan and Europe, their adoption in the USA market
is relatively new. These systems offer a broad range of
advantages compared with traditional HVAC installations:

Energy E ciency:As implied by their name, VRF systems

can adjust their refrigerant ow depending on building
conditions in real time. They can supply both heating and
cooling loads simultaneously.
Reduced Space Requirements:VRF systems use
refrigerant as a heat-carrying medium, and the piping used
is much more compact than air ducts and hydronic water
piping.
Flexibility:Expanding the capacity of VRF systems is very
simple, thanks to their modular nature.
9) Mobile Applications
Energy e ciency and renewable energy measures provide
signi cant savings for building owners, but these may not be
evident until the next power bill arrives. There are now many
technology providers bundling mobile applications with their
products. These can be used for various purposes, including:

Monitoring the energy output of a solar photovoltaic

system
Tracking the kilowatt-hour savings of energy e ciency
measures
Self-diagnostics: detecting performance issues in real time
and notifying the building owner and the service provider

10) Green Building Materials and

Products
Building owners that are striving for LEED certi cations use
green materials as part of their effort to accumulate points.
Construction products can be considered green either because
they have a low environmental impact during production, or
because they help the building reduce its energy footprint. Some
examples of these products are:

Recycled concrete
Permeable pavement
ENERGY STAR compliant HVAC systems
Energy-e cient windows
Green roo ng materials

Concluding Remarks
Green buildings show promise at the global scale, and they can
complement renewable energy sources to reduce the energy
footprint of commercial activities. Renewable technologies help
reduce the environmental on the production side, while green
buildings are used to mitigate demand.
 

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