Offices and commercial buildings have a major impact on environment. Designing sustainable buildings not only augurs well for the environment, but also improves the company's profit over time. For long, green construction was mostly limited to homes. However, with time, the concept is fast catching up during construction of commercial apartments. Let's take a look how real estate developers are making office buildings more green.
Green roofs
Eco-friendly advances do not just focus on the building's structure and architecture. It starts from the top. Layers of plants and grass on the top moderate outdoor heat during summer and retain warmth during winter. Though such roofs are expensive, yet they reap benefits in the long run.
Living walls
Vegetation covers living walls. These walls improve air quality and reflect solar radiation. The walls absorb rainwater and play a big role in reducing building temperature. The walls improve the overall aesthetics of a room and act as effective noise barriers.
Passive solar building design
In this type of design the walls, floors and windows distribute solar energy in the form of heat in winter and reject it during summer. Sun is a part of the building's lighting in this design. Although complicated, passive solar building design does not cost much. An apartment using this design uses materials that have high thermal mass along with large windows and deciduous plants on its southern side.
Smart lighting
Lighting is an important aspect of eco-friendly buildings. Developers are installing automated systems that turn off lights when not required. A green commercial property focuses more on using natural daylight to cut the dependence on artificial lights during the day.
Smart glass
Small glass or electrochromic glass allows users to control the amount of heat or light passing through the glass. Through these glasses, one can regulate temperature of the room. These glasses, based on the principle of electrochromism, change their opacity or color when electricity passage through them. They save air-conditioning cost and most of them block the harmful ultraviolet rays.
Dual piping system
Green apartments focus on water conservation. Dual piping system is an effective way to conserve water. Water gets divided into two types – portable and reclaimed – in this system. While portable water is used for drinking, reclaimed water is used to clean toilets.
With time, green building has become a big business. In many countries of the world, developers get grants and incentives for construction of such apartments. Companies also look for eco-friendly buildings to conduct their business. Because of their huge benefits, the demand for these apartments will further rise in coming days.