Benefits of American Green Building Council certificates

Benefits of American Green Building Council certificates

What are the Benefits of American Green Building Council certificates?

Before, LEAD is a term that refers to the abbreviation of the pioneering system in energy and environmental designs
((Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED))

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

It is an internationally recognized system that is a measure of the design, construction and operation of environmentally friendly and high-performance buildings, where the rating system assesses and measures the impact of any facility and its performance, which takes into account several points including site selection, energy saving, water efficiency, carbon dioxide emissions, improvement of the interior environment of design and others, Where the buildings that obtain this certificate are classified into three ranks according to their application of the required standards, which are the platinum, gold, and silver ranks.

 

Leed has evolved from a single standard for new construction to a comprehensive system of six standards covering all aspects of the development and construction process. Leed has also grown in the number of volunteers and committees and Leed is working to achieve its goals in the six main areas, which are sustainable sites, water and energy efficiency and the atmosphere, materials and resources Interior quality, innovation, and design process.

 

The goal of using these codes is to reduce the thermal loss as much as possible and to increase the thermal gain through the building structure, and in the requirements of walls, floors, and surfaces, reduce the thermal transfer coefficient as much as possible.

 

Architectural design principles for energy-efficient buildings

Among the requirements and principles of the architectural design of energy-efficient buildings is to reduce the necessary thermal and cooling values, that is, to reduce the capital cost of smaller heating and cooling systems, and the effect of the initial design of building envelopes on reducing energy consumption.

 

Among the positive methods in design:

Climatic architectural design.
Improve the thermal performance of the building, with the aim of improving the level of thermal satisfaction.
The lowest possible cost of energy and maximum benefit, i.e. optimal utilization.

It is also a design requirement for buildings to know the climatic zone and taking into account when designing:
Inside the building:

The interior design temperature is winter and summer.
Ventilation.
Expected relative humidity.

 

Outside the building:

The external temperature in winter and summer.
Wind speed and direction.
Solar intensity.
The motion of the sun and the angle of the rays.

Likewise, knowing the location and the geographical direction to show the effect of the site on the thermal performance. If it is on the mountain peaks, it is more vulnerable to solar radiation and wind, and in the flatlands (coasts) medium exposure to solar radiation and winds according to the geographical direction of the earth.

Among the mandatory requirements:

The building should be designed in such a way that the natural lighting is not less than (50)%, with the exception of ceiling lighting openings, and that the obstruction angle (the vertical angle between a solar beam that touches the top of the building and the horizontal projection) should not exceed (70%) for residential buildings, and it should not The ratio of the total area of ​​the windows to the area of ​​the outer wall is less than (10)% for service spaces in residential buildings, and 15% for living spaces and the visible permeability of the used glass should not be less than (0.45), and the proportion of the total area of ​​the skylights should not exceed The area of ​​the ceiling in it is about 12%, and the finishes of the interior surfaces must be in relation to the spaces A light or medium color living, to increase the effect of natural lighting and reduce the use of industrial lighting in the day as much as possible, in cold and hot areas, and shading methods should be used to reduce the negative impact of heat.

In addition to the LEAD system, it is one of the systems used to audit environmental buildings, such as the Environmental Assessment Institution for Building Research Corporation
(Green Star).

Building materials that are usually considered “green” materials
It includes timber from forests that are certified according to specific criteria.
Rapidly regenerating plant materials such as bamboo and straw.
Recycled stone.
Recycled minerals.
Other non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and / or recyclable products such as:

(Plates made of paper flakes, clay, vermiculite, linen, cork, coconut, wood fiberboards, calcium sandstone, etc.).

Environmental Protection Agency

The Environmental Protection Agency proposes to use recycled industrial goods, such as:

Coal combustion products, foundry sand, and demolition debris in construction projects.

Extracting building materials and making them locally at the construction site to reduce energy as it is an integral part of their transportation, whereas if possible, building elements should be manufactured outside and delivered to it, to maximize the benefits of off-site manufacturing that includes limiting Waste, recycled to the max, high-quality items, and improve management occupational health and safety.

EPA goal:

LEED standards aim to produce a greener built environment.
Buildings with better economic performance.

These standards that architects, engineers, developers, and investors are provided with consist of a simple list of criteria used to judge the building’s compliance with green controls.

According to these standards, points are awarded to the building in various aspects, as energy efficiency in the building is granted within (17 points), and water efficiency is granted within (5 points), while the quality and safety of the internal environment in the building reach limits (15) Points), and additional points can be gained when adding specific building benefits such as renewable energy generators, or CO2 monitoring systems.