In recent years, it is undeniable that technology has changed how businesses work – and the construction industry is no exception.
Construction has a lot of negative impacts on the environment because it uses many resources and creates so much pollution and trash. According to an article by World Green Building Council, the construction industry is responsible for 39% of all the energy-related carbon dioxide in the world (Embodied Carbon – World Green Building Council (worldgbc.org)). As a result, many large organizations in both the private and public sectors have turned to sustainable methods to reduce their negative effects on the environment. Many construction companies embrace green project management technology, eco-friendly building materials, and efficient design and building methods.
This growing trend of utilizing sustainable practices and environmentally friendly solutions has led to green construction technology used on-site. In this article, let us discuss why you should shift to green technology and sustainable methods.
Why Now is The Perfect Time to Go Green
This cannot be stressed enough, but using green technology on your next project or encouraging the use of sustainable materials and environmentally friendly alternatives can help lessen the construction industry’s environmental damage.
By going green, you can have a building that lasts longer, is more comfortable because it uses less energy, needs less maintenance, and leaves less of a mark on the environment. It allows you to deliver high-quality projects that are visually pleasing, functional, and with the best value for your clients’ hard-earned investment.
What are the Different Types of Green Construction Technologies?
Green building technology involves looking at different parts of the building process and finding ways to make them less harmful to the environment.
Several green building technologies are used to ensure that buildings will last for a long time. From smart appliances to construction process improvement software, we have shortlisted some of the best green construction technologies that you can try out for your next projects.
Net Zero Concept
The Net Zero Concept is more commonly known as Zero-Energy Green Buildings – meaning these buildings get their power from sources of clean energy from renewable sources like the wind or the sun. These buildings use no net energy and don’t release any carbon into the air.
Materials with Low Emissions
Choosing green building materials can make a difference in the environment and your client’s health. Using eco-friendly, low-emitting materials in your building process can help people be sensitive to the environment by improving the air quality inside the home.
Solar Energy
Solar power is one of the most common yet effective green building technologies using less energy, and it is used in green construction: active and passive solar energy.
Active Solar Power
With the help of strategically placed windows and heat-absorbing surfaces, the system’s design lets the sun’s rays warm homes. The windows let in solar energy, and the heat from the sun makes it less important to keep the house warm in the winter.
Passive Solar Energy
The system uses working solar panels that soak up the sun’s rays and turn them into heat and electricity. It also helps cut down on how much gas or electricity is used. While installation costs are higher upfront, this system can help lower energy bills.
Thermal Insulation
Insulation is one of the most important things to consider when building homes and buildings. A building stays warm with energy-efficient heating with enough thermal insulation to keep the heat inside. This might seem intimidating initially, but insulators are just wall filters that do not need expensive or highly finished materials.
Smart Appliances
Since homes and businesses use a lot of energy, it is becoming important to use smart appliances when building green buildings. Refrigerators, dishwashers, smart home systems, and washing machines are examples of smart appliances. These green technologies can help you give your clients a better experience and build better structures for the environment.
Construction Software
Software for construction projects can make the whole process much easier and more efficient. If utilized properly, these can help increase profits and reduce fuel consumption by planning optimized time management in construction. This also lessens the risk of miscommunication or document mismanagement because everything is stored in the cloud. You can get access to important information with just a few simple clicks.
Top Benefits of Embracing Green and Sustainable Practices
Following green and sustainable ideas is more than a trend – these can help businesses become more efficient, competitive, and profitable. Incorporating these changes into your company’s operations and processes is better for the environment. You can also realize many short-term and long-term benefits.
Cut Down Carbon Emissions
One of the most important things green buildings do for our climate and natural environment is to cut down on carbon emissions and stop them from directly affecting the ecological system. Green construction techniques use less water and energy because the builders recycle and use sustainable design techniques, such as installing large windows, solar panels, skylights, airtight and watertight exterior access doors, acoustic walls, and the right amount of insulation.
Reduce Energy-Related Costs
Manufacturers worry most about how much it costs to use energy and water. By focusing on improvements, these costs can be cut. For example, long-term electricity costs can be cut by switching to lights that use less energy and adjusting the amount of light based on your production schedule. Or something as simple as changing how you package your goods and supplies can save money and make more room at your facility. Also, as mentioned earlier, solar and wind energy and equipment and machines that use less energy will greatly cut utility bills.
Boost Your Construction Crew’s Morale and Innovations
Improvements to sustainability are a group effort. When employees work together to find and implement green and sustainable projects, it creates a culture of teamwork and constant improvement. Sustainability can also spark new ideas, allowing your employees to take more interest and work harder.
Societal Impact
Your actions can make a difference in addition to helping your company make money. By making changes, your carbon footprint will be smaller, and you will put fewer harmful chemicals into the air. The air and water quality will improve for future generations, with fewer landfills and more renewable energy sources.
Green buildings are good for people’s health and minds in addition to being good for the environment. Many studies have shown that green buildings and a healthier environment make people more productive, happier, healthier, and less likely to miss work.
Improve the Quality of Life
Over the past few decades, many construction professionals worldwide have made a lot of progress in creating sustainable buildings that have a big impact on the people who live in them and have a much smaller negative effect on the environment. People who live or work in green buildings have noticed a big difference in their health, stress levels, and overall quality of life. This is due to better lighting sources, thermal conditions, ergonomic features, and air quality.
Create a Healthier Environment
Living in a building that is good for the environment can save your life. Studies show that the eco-friendly materials used to build green buildings have many health benefits for those living there. Green buildings, for example, lessen the use of building materials that may contain harmful compounds that may give off toxic fumes and cancer-causing chemicals into the air.
Efficient Use of Resources
With the world’s population constantly growing, especially in big cities, the shared local resources are in danger as more and more people want to use them. Vital resources like water and energy are being protected thanks to the innovations, sustainable practices, and technologies that smart architects worldwide have developed. By making buildings more efficient, green structures can reduce the damage they do to the environment.
Tips on How You Can Incorporate Green Construction Technology for Your Next Project
The main way green technology helps is by using energy more efficiently. Every part of the building, including its location, design, building materials, and systems for running and maintaining operations, is chosen to be as energy-efficient and environmentally friendly as possible.
Doing everything more efficiently is key to making the environment last long. In this section, let us look at some ways you can incorporate green construction technology for your next project.
Use Prefabricated and Modular Construction
Using modular or prefabricated parts speeds up the building process and saves time, money, and materials. When designing modular parts, you should also consider how often they can be used and if they can be changed to meet new needs. When combined with LCA and eco-friendly materials, building in bulk with prefab or modular methods can also help lower green premiums for lower-carbon alternatives.
Automate Your Processes
As AI and robotics improve, businesses can automate more of their processes, and this lets them put people to work on tasks that robots cannot do. For example, construction inventory software can help automate how you monitor your stock levels. You can also get valuable insights on buying your resources and where you can store them.
Boost Profitability and Cost-Effectiveness
When efficiency goes up, money gets better. It helps businesses’ bottom lines the most, but it also helps protect the environment in the long run. Since they have more money, organizations can make bigger commitments to sustainability if they are more cost-effective.
Analyze Critical Data
Data is an important part of making the environment sustainable. Breakthroughs in technology are made possible by the data that researchers gather. In turn, new pieces of tech make it easier and more accurate for researchers to get data. Also, data gives us a clearer picture of the problems we are up against. Using construction scheduling software can help you look for any possible roadblock and stop it before it becomes a bigger problem.
