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Samuel Will Professor Walden ENGL 1102-003 16 October, 2013 Assignment 2: Draft 1 Introduction: As the world around us continues to progress into a more environmentally conscious one, so do the things we encounter in our day to day lives. For example our cars, what we eat, what goes into making a product etc. but, there are other things that are changing due to environmental concerns that most people are unaware of: buildings. A majority of the new construction since 2002 has become more environmentally concentrated. What does this mean exactly? It means more efficient wiring and lighting, smart buildings that turn themselves on and off at a specified time, waterless toilets, heating and air systems that use the temperature of the ground instead of harmful chemicals like refrigerant, and sites that minimize damage done to the natural environment by either building it back or integrating the building into the environment. All of these things put together in one new building, if done right, can become LEED certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design). You may be thinking all of that is great but where is this paper going? Well, this paper is meant to educate you on the topic as a whole, as well as the benefits and draw backs to LEED building. Having been a construction worker for a mechanical contractor, I have personal experience on LEED projects and have a good understanding of the differences between conventional construction and LEED projects.
Comment [S1]: Worded well, described my experience well

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Literature Review: About LEED Building I am going to start off by talking about what Green Building and LEED certification really is. What exactly is LEED? LEED is internationally recognized environmental program and is currently deployed in more than 30 countries around the world. It provides a means of verifying that a building or a group of buildings were designed and built in a way that would improve energy savings, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and CO2 emissions reduction, which means that this programs main goal is to make sure that buildings that claim to be green really and truly are green buildings (Green Work Experience). There are many different levels of LEED certification levels that include: Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points), and Platinum (80+ points). As you can see, this rating system is made up of a point system that makes certification flexible enough to apply to all project types including healthcare facilities, schools, homes and even entire neighborhoods, which makes it so that any project can become LEED certified. Because each certification level is based on a point system, there are different categories in which points are awarded which include sustainibility of sites, water efficency, energy and atmosphere, matierials used, and indoor quality (figure 1). Having talked to superintendants on previous jobs, I have learned each of these catagories and generally know what the LEED inspector is looking for at the end of each job. The site sustainibility category
Figure 1
Comment [S2]: Pictures are useful and pertinent to the context

refers to how well the building has been integrated into the environment. Basically, is the built

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environment using the space given to its full efficency, and if so, what is it giving back to the environment, and how well will the building hold up through the years. Water efficency comes down to the appliences. Things like sensor flush vlaves on toilets, sinks with sensors that turn the water on and off, water fountians with a water bottle fill up space, and even waterless urinals are more prevelant in LEED projects to save water. Energy and Atmosphere comes down to how efficently the building uses the energy it consumes and how much pollution is the building causing. There are many ways to conserve energy in a building that include more efficent lighting fixtures, efficent efficent furnaces and condensing units for the heating and air, occupancy sensor light swiches that turn on when someone walks into a room and turns off after there is no motion for a set ammount of time, and the most intriguing one I have seen has been what is called a smart building controller. This is a device that is wired into the lighting system and the HVAC (heating and air) system that will turn the lights on at a certain time in the morning and turn them off a a set time in the evening, and will do the same for the HVAC system. The Materials and Recourses section is based off of how much recycled material like cotton/newspaper spray in insulation, was the steel and metal stucture made out of recycled metal and is the building still running efficently on those materials. The final section, Indoor Environmental Quality, makes sure that even though you are saving all this energy with efficent lighting, efficent HVAC systems, and efficent water management, you are still comfortable in that built environment, because if you are not, you will end up using more energy than the building is designed to in order to make yourself comfortable. Drawbacks to LEED Building: The biggest reason there is any drawback to doing a LEED project is initial cost. As stated by the author of a research article titled The Pros and Cons of Building Sustainability in
Comment [S5]: Good way to get on both sides of the conversation; this section makes the paper not so one sided Comment [S3]: Re word; efficient is used too much; sentence it too large. Comment [S4]: (Heating Vacuum and Air Conditioning

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Architecture, green buildings dont pay for themselves right awayand can be very costly (Bella Science). Given that the cost of environmental materials can be significantly higher, over time, through energy conservation in comparison to an average building, you will eventually come out ahead both financially, as well as knowing that you did something to help. The author goes on to talk about how a LEED building can continue to be costly over the course of its lifetime, this truly comes down to the design of all of the integrated systems, and how efficient each engineer, electrical, mechanical, etc. makes their individual system. For example, I was working on a project on N. Wendover Rd. in Charlotte, which was a renovation and new construction at the same time. My company, Herlocker Mechanical Systems Inc. (HMSI) was doing both the plumbing as well as the heating and air on the job; I was working with the HVAC crew. At the end of the job after everything had been put in, and the building was a month away from being turned over to the owner, it was time to start ant test the heating and air system. To explain quickly how this works is each air vent is supposed to blow out a specific amount (measured in CFM) and all of the vents added together should be below the maximum output of the blower. However, when we went to test the system, this was not the case. Why? The engineer had done some very poor design. Because the duct work was too small and the units were also too small, even at the maximum blower speed, the units were not pushing enough air. To paint a picture, it would be like an asthmatic trying to blow through a cocktail mixer; it is just not going to happen. That brings me to my next point. Because this program and idea is fairly new, a lot of the architects and engineers are somewhat inexperienced in doing LEED design, which causes problems. In the story I just told, this building lost major points due to the fact that the HVAC system was using tons more energy than originally thought. As stated by Matt Lumelleau, If
Comment [S6]: What does CFM stand for?

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its your first time building a green building, youre not going to get everything right, which, as I have observed through my job, is a true statement (Holbrook). This is not true for just higher up positions like design and engineering, but it also pertains to the workers. If someone does not do their job correctly, for example if I did not properly seal a duct joint, the that would cause a leak of either hot or cold air, meaning the unit would have to run harder in order to keep up with the comfort demands. So basically, LEED projects are truly dependent upon whether or not the owner wants to pay the initial cost and whether or not the workers do their jobs correctly. Benefits of Green Building: Let me start off by asking why should we build green? It is because of the fact that Building construction, use and demolition, and building material manufacturing, impact the local, regional, and global environment meaning that a building has an impact on the environment at every possible stage of production (Green Building Resources for Homebuilders). So if one building impacts the environment at three different stages while it is being built, and another stage after it is complete, on at least two, if not three scales, depending on where the materials are made, why not pay a little extra to save the world we live in? If being a better person is not enough of an incentive, maybe a tax incentive will. Thats right, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides for up to a $1.80 per square foot immediate tax deduction, given that $1.80 per sqft. is the most you will get, almost all commercial buildings that are doing LEED are usually significantly more than 8,000sqft, meaning there is a potential for a rather large tax incentive. Given that the main goal of energy conservation under the LEED program is to save the environment, however, saving energy can also save your wallet. In 2002, the EPA stated buildings accounted for 67.9% of the total electricity consumption in the United States (King). Think about it, if a majority of the buildings in the United States were LEED
Comment [S7]: Great section, interesting, detailed Comment [S8]: Not necessary

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certified, we could possibly lower that standard to below 50% meaning there would be even less environmental harm due to coal fire power plants, nuclear plants, as well as hydroelectric plants. It really is all one big domino effect; once you are saving energy in one sector, you need less overall energy, meaning you have just benefited the longevity of the current environment in two different ways. Another major benefactor of green building for say an office or a school is the increased amount of productivity. According to Marissa Long, a writer for the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council), studies show that the green design attributes of buildings and indoor environments can improve worker productivity and occupant health and well-being (Long). How is this possible? It comes down to a multitude of things which make a LEED building a LEED building, but more specifically the materials and the windows. By putting in more natural materials as opposed to chemically created materials, it limits our exposure to dangerous chemicals found in insulation, caulk, paint, and drywall. Water filtration is more profound in the drinking water system running through the building limiting the amount of metals and chemicals that enter your body. Windows are just nicer than lights. A professor I had last year in an Environmental Technologies class, Dale Brentrup, specifically talked about window usage in schools and offices. He never mentioned where his research originated, however, he did say that natural light, provided through large windows, is more calming, relaxing, and better on your eyes than being in a building being lit with nothing but florescent lights, and it is also easier to concentrate without all of the buzzing. A final benefactor to building green is that With energy costs on the rise, the low operating costs and easy maintenance of green buildings make for lower vacancy rates and higher property values (Kruzan). This is basically the same idea auto makers have been striving towards for the past decade, less cost to maintain as well as more efficient makes for a product that is becoming more and more desirable. The true two benefits of

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green building really come down to long term savings as far as tax incentives, property value and energy cost, and a persons commitment to wanting to have a beneficial impact on the worlds environment both locally as well as on a global scale. Entering the Conversation: Having worked two LEED projects, Thompson Child and Family Focous, Rogers Building at Queens College, and a multitude of conventional constuction projects, I can honestly say there truly is a difference between a certified green building and a conventional project, and I fully back the idea of LEED building. Everything from the materials that go into making a green building, to the finished product a LEED built building is better no matter how you look at it. It has health benefits for the workers, health benifits for the occupants, and an outstanding ammount of envitonmental benefits. As far as I am concerned, it is an absolute no brainer to support LEED. I believe that in the future it will become more and more prevelant to the point where it may even become law like it has in Washington D.C. In fact, I plan on either rennovating my future home to LEED specifications, or buying a LEED home. Inside a LEED Project: In August of 2010, workers were putting the final touches on a brand new addition that achieved LEED Gold certification. One of the main focouses of this project was to make it a more constructive learning environment. In fact, architect Mary Rose Rankin says that the designers paid a lot of attention to the acoustics of this building because noise levels are important for learning in order for the kids to be able to hear everything anf docous properly (Cater). However one of the most intuitive things about this
Figure 2
Comment [S9]: Well explained on how everything works; everything makes sense to the reader

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building is that the entire school is served its heating and air through a gerthermal system (Figure 2). The way a normal HVAC system works is you have a large fan blowing across what is basically a radiator. In the summer when the A/C is on, the outdoor condensing unit uses pressure to supercool the freon inside the lines, sends it back to the radiator, thus making the radiator cold, and therefore all of the air blown across it will also be cold. A geothermal system works in the same way, except the ground is the condensing unit. Since the ground stays around a constant 50 degreese, water flows through a vast expanse of underground very conductive underground
Figure 3

copper piping. This transfers the heat from the water to the ground, while at the same time transfering the coolness of Earths soil to the water
Figure 4

and back to the radiator causing an astonishing drop in heating and cooling costs. Another prominent design feature of this building is the ammount of windows there are (Figure 3). This goes back to the point I was making earlier about how condusive natural light is to learning and productivity in a built enfironment (Figure 4). When you look at the picture of the classroom, it almost makes you want to go to class and learn. It is so bright, and has such a great view but at the same time only has 3

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hanging flourecent light bars (speculation from the pictures). Overall, I feel that this is demonstritave of how LEED building is not only benificial to the natural environment but also benificial to quiality of life and productivity. Conclusion: When you look back at all of the information I have provided in this paper through several sources, myself included, you are left to make a dicision. You know exactly what LEED building means, what it does both for human, environmental, and financial health, and you know what the possible fall backs are. It is up to you to take all of this information and do something with it. No matter what you do with your life you will encounter it. How? Beautiful buildings that you may walk into and not even know that they are LEED, when you make the decision to purchase your home, condominium, or apartment. If you become a big dog and end up running a company, your company needs office space, are you going to build green or cheap? Or will it even matter by then knowing that if D.C. has made it law for new construction, why not every other city. Say it becomes part of a mayors campaign, will it be a factor for your support or for your opposition? The decision has been left up to you, I have already made mine.
Comment [S10]: Talk about areas for further research

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Works Cited Pics- http://www.eekarchitects.com/portfolio/5-early-childhood-primary-secondary-schools/88stoddert-campus X Drawbacks- http://www.riskmanagementmonitor.com/green-construction-risks-and-rewards/ leed xAbout LEED - http://greenworkexperience.com/content/what-does-leed-stand xTax- http://bomali.org/LEEDbldgtaxopps_01-08.pdf

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x "Green Building Resources for Homebuilders ."conservationcenter.org. conservation center. Web. 3 Oct 2013. <http://conservationcenter.org/assets/GreenBuildingresourcesfinal_000.pdf>. x King, Jason. "Human Benefits of Green Building." 10 Feb 2011. sustainablesitescollective, Web. 3 Oct. 2013. <http://sustainablecitiescollective.com/jasonking/20484/guest-posthuman-benefits-green-building>. Kruzan, Mark. "Green Building Benefits." The City of Bloomington. N.p.. Web. 3 Oct 2013. <http://bloomington.in.gov/green-building-benefits>. x"LEED Rating Systems." USGBC. USGBC, n.d. Web. 3 Oct 2013. <http://www.usgbc.org/leed/rating-systems>. xLong , Marisa. "World Green Building Council Showcases Cost-Effective Green Building Benefits Throughout the World." USGBC. 6 3 2013: n. page. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. <http://www.usgbc.org/articles/world-green-building-council-showcases-cost-effectivegreen-building-benefits-throughout-wo>. x"The Pros and Cons of Building Sustainability in Architecture." Bella Science. (2012): n. page. Web. 3 Oct. 2013. <http://bellascience.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/the-pros-and-cons-ofbuilding-sustainability-in-architecture/>. xWill, Samuel. Observations. Unpublished Paper. University of North Carolina Charlotte. 2013. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129727547

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