Economics of green buildings

Buildings account for 40% of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of electric consumption, and 12% of water consumed in the United States; we need to change these trends, and in fact, the green building technology has proven that we can. Studies have shown that green buildings save approximately 30% in reduced utility bills over conventional buildings. Besides direct savings in energy costs, green buildings have the potential of lower insurance premiums, lower waste disposal charges, reduced water and sewer fees, and increased rental rates. Green buildings are designed to be environmentally healthy and energy efficient. However, their initial cost can be 1 to 5% higher than the conventional buildings. These additional initial costs are recouped in energy savings over a few years, and as the number of green buildings increases, the cost of green materials and green design will decrease, thus the initial cost of green buildings will decrease. This paper presents the results of a few studies done on the short term and long term costs and savings of green features, and presents the data collected on two green buildings built in Western New York region of USA. Green buildings have proven to promote public health and safety, and because of these benefits, a few states, and a few towns such as, Boston, and San Francisco have mandated buildings to have LEED Silver Certification. Such mandates will increase the growth of green buildings. The green wave is moving fast. At this time, about 5% of the buildings are green; this number is increasing mainly due to long term energy savings, and the mandates by the cities, states, and the federal government.