8 simple and cost effective tips for making your building sustainable
Also read — All you need to know to make an old building sustainable
Tips for making your building more sustainable
Interested in some proof? Read through these case studies to see how ClevAir’s smart retrofits made old Norwegian buildings smarter and more sustainable.
A widely prevalent misconception among building owners and managers is that sustainability retrofits will not only cost a lot, but also cause extensive disruptions in business. However, in reality, none of that is true. Making a building sustainable doesn’t have to require an entire rebuild, or a complete architectural and hardware revamp. It can also be done by extending functionalities of some existing modules, and incorporating some new equipment/software. Here are a few tips to get you started:
- Get insulated: Insulating a building has more benefits than you can imagine. Not only does it drastically reduce energy costs by decreasing heat loss, it also prevents moisture condensation and enhances the acoustic performance by reducing levels of noise. However, while insulating, it’s recommended to investigate if the building’s ventilation is good enough to support the installation.
- Automate your HVAC: Traditional HVAC systems have no way to automatically adjust their throttle based on the changing occupancy rates or outdoor climates. So, in a typical old building, an HVAC may keep pumping fresh air into an empty building, or keep running on maximum settings even if it starts snowing outside. This leads to a huge wastage of energy. In sustainable buildings, smart solutions (like ClevAir) can reprogram the HVAC in real-time, based on aforementioned variables.
- Go renewable: Installing solar panels on the roof and integrating with your existing electrical system doesn’t take more than a few days, and doesn’t usually cause much disruption in operations. The key is to slowly embark on the journey to go full renewable.
- Using LEDs: Simply replacing regular light bulbs with LEDs can save you up to 75% energy. When run at lower power levels, the savings rise even more.
- Use water more efficiently: Retrofitting your washrooms with low-flow faucets, urinals, and showerheads can help conserve more water. You can also go a step further and start harvesting, processing and using rainwater.
- Charging points for electric vehicles: A huge hindrance in the adoption of electric vehicles is range anxiety, which can be defined as the fear of an electric vehicle’s battery running out before the trip completes. By adding a charging point to your facility, be it a residential or commercial one, you can play a part in promoting the use of electric vehicles.
- Natural lighting: Incorporating natural light into an old building is also possible without any major architectural changes. By using light shelves, sky lights, light pipes, solar shading, and light redirecting devices, any old building can be naturally illuminated.
Final word
Up until a decade or so ago, there were only a handful of sustainable buildings around the world. For example, in 2006, there were only 296 LEED-certified projects in the United States. However, the number grew to 67,200 in 2018, representing a 226-time increase. Similarly, the availability of smart and sustainable building management systems has also risen exponentially in recent years. Solutions like ClevAir can integrate with existing building systems and start saving energy in no time. The green and sustainable building market is among the fastest growing industries in the US. Here’s hoping that with more and more buildings being made green, we can soon envision a sustainable future for our planet.
Originally published at https://clevair.io on September 21, 2020.
