Agoura Hills, California, will design, install and maintain their own solar system
on your buildings at no upfront costs; you just pay monthly solar use fee (priced
at a rate much lower than than conventional energy). Check with local renewable energy companies about other opportunities that may be available to you.
Visit www.solarcompanies.com or www.windustry.com for more resources.
Greening Your Building
The green building industry has matured to such an extent that it is possible
to incorporate a wide range of green features in new construction as well as exist-
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ing building rehabs with minimal cost
impacts. A true green building is oriented to maximize solar gain in winter
and minimize it in summer. It provides fresh air without heat loss in
cold weather or heat gain when it is
hot, and is designed to allow natural
light to enter throughout occupied
spaces without creating glare. This will
minimize the size and need for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and
lighting all while providing an environment that enhances well-being and
productivity. In fact, a study published
in the Engineering Economist found that
building a new efficient building
increased productivity by 25 percent
while also reducing energy use by 30
percent per square foot.
There are a lot of resources available that can provide you with ideas
and sources for green building. Start
with the U.S. Green Building Council,
the sponsor of LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design),
which provides the most widely recognized green building guidelines.
While a building can be LEED certified, you can also use the guidelines
to create an equivalent green building. You don’t get quite the same
bragging rights, but you do get all the
environmental, social and economic
benefits.
Another resource is Environmental
Building News, a monthly newsletter
that is authoritative, unbiased and
chock full of information. The publisher, BuildingGreen, LLC, also puts
out Green Building Products, a listing of
materials, products and sources that is
useful in any building related project.
Patagonia, which uses 100 percent
organic cotton in their sportswear
line, has seen a variety of benefits
from green building. Its Reno Service
Center, originally built in 1996 and
expanded ten years later, incorporates
a myriad of green features including:
• Pervious paving, detention ponds,
and oil separators to manage
