Building New
Montgomery County Real Estate?
To those individuals contemplating building a new
Rockville Maryland home, I would like to inform you that the city is revising its building codes and regulations. A copy of the proposed new building codes can be found at city hall or on the City’s website. One of the reasons for the change is the city’s building codes are to be more environmentally conscious when building, these codes touch on the issues of energy and water efficiency, as well as setting green standards. The City will host 2 public meeting in May for the public to give their opinion on these code changes. Currently the city is planning on putting these new building codes into effect in June.
How Will building Green Effect
Rockville Maryland Real Estate?
Our old construction habits used to build homes, businesses, roads and associated infrastructures in our cities had a negative impact on its environment. Some of the negative effects that the old construction habits had on our environment were decreased native vegetation cover, increased stormwater flows, accelerated atmospheric and water pollution. Now if we were to convert to green building tactics it is predicted that we would use 30 to 50 times less energy, emit 35% less carbon dioxide, Consume 40% less water, and Produce 70% less solid waste.
Once you decide that you want to have a green building your approach to the design construction and building operations are focused on reducing or eliminating any negative environmental impacts that the building would have on its surrounding environment, while not effecting productivity. One of the most important facts when designing a Green Building is that the designers and engineers look at the whole picture; this is known as integrated design. During this process individuals that specialize in different areas of the design and construction process get together from the very beginning and work together to design a building that will have a minimal environmental impact on its surroundings.
Most green building programs look at
- Environmentally responsible site practices
- Stormwater management
- Energy Conservation
- Use of a renewable energy Source
- Water conservation and reuse
- Recycled and sustatinable materials
- Waste minimization
- And a healthy indoor environment
AS of now the LEED rating system for green buildings is the most popular. LEED Stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED has certification levels for green buildings they are certified, silver, gold, and platinum. Another rating system for green buildings that is becoming more and more popular is known as Green Globes. This is a web-based checklist that builders and designers can use allowing them to add up points throughout the construction process. Knowing all of this it is no surprise why building green has become more and more popular.
