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3 Trends to Watch Out For in Green Construction

A view of Central Park as seen from 59th St.

We are living in an era when clean air is being canned and shipped off to highly polluted cities around the world. As a result, green technologies are a key part in de-escalating the damage that carbon-based energies have caused. Green construction will not only make a difference in how a $10.3 trillion industry lowers costs, but also on how we preserve our planet. Green construction technologies are really a wide variety of choices, materials, and processes that you can implement to lessen your carbon footprint. Here, we will discuss three trends in green construction to look out for in 2016. 

Remember, if you’re just starting to adopt green technologies in your construction project, start simple:

Cool Roofs 

The higher the roof, the more thermal emittance, and less solar intake. This means that traditional roofs just make it harder for air conditioning systems to cool down or heat up the place. This will result in costing you and the owners more in energy dollars and, of course, causing a larger carbon footprint for the planet. According to EnergySavers data, a traditional roof can reach 150ºF, whilst a cool roof can lower that by more than 50ºF. 

At a larger scale, if several buildings in an area were to implement cool roofs, they would collectively reduce the “heat island” effect. Have you ever felt warmer in a city that in the open country? That’s the effect of heat emitted by the buildings. 

Biodegradable Materials

According to the Construction and Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA), the US produces 325 millions of tons of recoverable construction and demolition materials per year. This means that you can both take advantage of recycled or biodegradable materials and recycle your own construction project’s waste.

The following are biodegradable materials you could use:

  • Milk paint. Though the name might sound a bit odd, Milk Paint Co has figured out a way to base their paints on a protein found only in milk. They add other materials to the mix to make sure it is safe, resistant, and biodegradable. 
  • Recycled fiberglass and insulation
  • Adobe-based bricks

Storm Water Collectors

The US Environmental Protection Agency works for legislation to favor eco-friendly practices and technologies in the country. When it comes to construction, they are particularly keen on storm water collection. Under the Clean Water Act, storm water collectors help us take advantage of rain by purifying and consuming it, rather than letting clean water go to waste. This also helps with sewage, lowering water connection costs (especially in rural areas) and more. This comes in handy if you are a real estate developer or construction developer handling a new housing project in the suburbs, or rural areas. 

These are some of the simplest practices you can start adopting for your construction management project. Run numbers on your construction management platform and see just how helpful they are for your bottom line, and how your stakeholders can benefit from them as well. Not only do they save you time and money, but you can manage to leave a smaller carbon footprint. Next thing you know, you might be the one shipping off your clean canned air. 

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