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Green on the Outside / UNDER THIS ROOF


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• Harvest storm water for reuse in irrigation and washing of indoor animal runs, and designing of infiltration swales and retention ponds.


• Make sure windows, walls, doors and roofs—known as your building’s “envelope system”— are properly designed to keep out moisture while providing thermal comfort.


• Pick durable materials. Durability means longevity and the ability to weather well in both wet and hot weather as well as resist ultraviolet damage. Building materials should be selected based on their ability to interact with your climate zone.


• Reduce the use of dark surfaces. Dark, nonreflective surfaces on parking areas, roofs and walkways contribute to the “heat island effect.” These types of surfaces absorb incoming solar radiation and radiate heat to the surrounding areas, which increase the temperature by as much as 10° F, which can raise your building’s temperature, requiring more energy for cooling.


• “The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that one- sixth of the electricity consumed in the United States is used to cool buildings,” Owens said. “By installing reflective surfaces and increasing the amount of vegetation and shade coverage on a site, the Department of Energy estimates that the nation’s homes and businesses could save $4 billion a year in reduced cooling energy demand by 2015.”


• To counterbalance the “heat island effect,” hospitals should also install high-reflectance pavements, such as concrete with white cement in lieu of traditional bituminous pavements. Although these types of pavements may be more expensive, reflective pavement surfaces can increase lighting


Trends magazine, April 2012


levels, which may result in your needing fewer lighting fixtures. The costs of installing more expensive pavements or coatings should be weighed against possible savings from reduced lighting.


• Speaking of lighting… Although outdoor lighting is important to human safety, poorly designed exterior lighting adds to nighttime light pollution, which can interfere with nocturnal ecology, reduce observation of night skies and cause roadway glare. It also can hurt relationships with neighbors as a result of light extending beyond the boundaries of the site. Thoughtful exterior lighting strategies (e.g., choosing fixtures that put maximum light output in the vertical direction versus horizontally) may also reduce infrastructure costs and energy over the life of the building.


In order to save energy costs, hos-


pitals could reduce their energy use by installing automatic lighting controls that reduce interior lighting levels dur- ing nonbusiness hours,” Owens said. Emergency care centers, which are open 24 hours, should consider lighting con- trols on different zones of the building, because turning off all lights might not be possible.


Do your research With the explosion of all things green,


organic, natural, eco-friendly and envi- ronmentally conscious has come decep- tion marketing, Owens cautioned. “Be careful of companies promoting a prod- uct or feature as environmentally respon- sible when it has little to no effect on the environment.” Your best bet, Owens said, is to hire


reputable architects and landscape designers who are knowledgeable about local practices and plantings. n


Carleen Brice is an award-winning freelance writer and frequent contributor to Trends magazine.


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