Newsletter Issue #146, April 30, 2008

Green Facts:

• Swapping 16 incandescent bulbs for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) saves emissions equivalent to taking a car off the road for a year. (Source: EnergyStar)
• Americans use about 385 million gallons of gasoline every day, which means more than a gallon of gasoline every day for every man, woman and child. (Source: Energy Information Administration )
• If you replace just one out of four of your light bulbs with fluorescents, you can save about 50% on your lighting bill. (Source: EPA)

Cost of Green

Do green buildings cost more?

Whether green buildings cost more is probably the most common question asked about sustainable design, with the follow-up often being: "How much more?"

While the building industry generally understands that "you get what you pay for", there remains a fixation on the first costs for green buildings. The answer to the question, "Do green buildings cost more?" is, of course, "It depends".

Many seasoned sustainable design practitioners have maintained that any added costs can be minimized or even eliminated through experience and integrated design. There has been considerable interest in this topic, for obvious reasons, and several recent studies have analyzed construction costs of green buildings.

RC3D will work with you, guiding you through the design and construction, to achieve a cost effective green building.

Budgeting Methodology for Green

When establishing a design and a budget for a green building, the key point to remember is that sustainability is a program issue, rather than an added requirement.

Our analysis indicates that it is necessary to understand the project goals, the approach to achieving the goals, and the factors at play in for the project. Simply choosing to add a premium to a budget for a non-green building will not give any meaningful reflection of the cost for that building to meet its green goals. The first question in budgeting should not be "How much more will it cost?," but "How will we do this?"

This must be done as early as possible in the project and it must be considered at every step of design and construction. This is done by:

• Establishing team goals, expectations & expertise.
• Including specific goals in the Program.
• Aligning budget with program.
• Staying on track through design and construction.

Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that sustainability is not a below-the-line item.

Return on (Green) Investment

When looking at return on investment for Green Building, it is important to differentiate between first cost and life cycle cost. First-cost includes how much more (if any) it costs to incorporate green features into a building project. Life-cycle costs are different. When factoring in energy savings over time, or increased durability, or enhanced worker productivity, green design features and materials become much easier to justify.

First Costs of green buildings will vary significantly depending on the specific project goals. While there are many significant benefits that are “no additional cost” (e.g., south facing windows), some features will cost more in both design and materials costs.

Estimates for additional first cost are as low as 0-3%, for LEED Certified, to 10% or more for higher LEED ratings. Existing incentives aimed at offsetting additional first costs leads to a significant return on investment.

Specifically one can expect return on investment in terms of:

• Lower operating costs—more efficient subsystems.
• Lower life cycle ownership costs—design integration can lower lighting and HVAC loads.
• Higher employee health and well being—reduced absenteeism, illness and fatigue.
• Higher worker productivity and morale—a friendlier work environment.

Please call on our services to help you ensure high return on investment in all aspects of your green building and design project.

Quote of the Day:

A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience.
Sydney Smith [English writer and clergyman (1771 – 1845).]