The building and construction industry has become one of the major cause of the exhaustion of natural resources both in the United States and across the globe. Also, it is the cause of the numerous side effects of water and air pollution, toxic wastes, solid waste, health risks, deforestation, global warming and among other negative repercussions (Quale, 2009). The United States has many specific concerns relating to construction. The country exhibit diverse climatic zones, and the existence of different old-fashioned construction technologies which varies from one region to the other. The nation’s hot summers, severe winters, and climatic variations of the northern sub-arctic, the desert and subtropical bring myriad issues relating to bio-regional sustainability in the country. Annually, approximately 22,000 pounds of Carbon (IV) oxide are emitted by a single household in the US (Quale, 2009). This diversity and other legal problems make individual states to have their ways of controlling construction and building practices (Augenbroe, & Pearce, 1998). According to the Habitat for Humanity (n.d), a sustainable building or Green building or eco-construction is one that provides housing to people that incorporates methods, products, and processes that helps in the creation of healthy homes and communities which are inexpensive in operation, durable, and conserves resources during construction and after completion.
Green building advances various ways through which the environmental impact of construction can be reduced. It has no specified method of construction, although it carries a different set of practices, construction materials and technologies which when appropriately integrated into the building helps to enhance the environmental performance (U.S. Environmental protection Agency, 2016). In reality, sustainable architecture is concerned with optimization of efficiency in energy, limiting the use of water, and maximizing the use of recycled, recyclable and non-toxic materials. Consequently, it is responsible for the generation of little wastes during the construction phase and its subsequent tenancy. An eco-construction building has been designed in helping the reduction of the general impact of environmental built-up on people's health and the environment. The efficient energy use enhances water conservation, protection of occupants’ health and improvement of productivity of employees and reduction in waste, pollutants in the environment. The construction materials used in a sustainable building includes; wooden structures, limestone, an insulating load bearing clay brick, cellular concrete, solar tiles and the Euromac2 structure.
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Wood is the commonly used product in the building and construction industry. It predominates in the green building approach. There are numerous options for wooden structures. For example, the architectural design may opt for walls having solid wood beams, laminated timber and glued walls and structures having a wooden frame (Legrand, n.d). These structures are appropriate for urban settings because when looked from outside they seem similar to conventional construction. Wood has several benefits that include, it is a clean material that neither generates radon nor static electricity. It protects itself naturally because it contains polyphenols, which acts as a disinfectant. It also offers better insulation be it in the summer or winter by its original contribution to thermal inertia sufficient to maintain warmth during the winter and coolness during the summer. The most common product of wood used is particleboard, plywood, and paper which are used extensively in the construction industry.
Limestone is the most common building material which is extracted through mining. It is used as a cladding material and thus incorporated in the production of other building materials. For example, plaster and concrete are produced from limestone. In the United States, limestone is found in the states of Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida being the largest manufacturers. Limestone is burned which results in the creation of sulfide emission which is responsible for acid rain. Calcium carbonate in transformed to quicklime which is done through heating for a longer time. It removes carbon and water from the stone and carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. The next process is crushing and screening of the quicklime before being used as cement.
In the green building, construction bricks have become a significant component. The insulating load-bearing clay bricks have the characteristics of not requiring insulating cladding which is always done either on the inside or outside. These bricks have several benefits to the sustainable construction. First, it is a self-insulating material. It produces thermal insulation which is a blend of thermal inertia and insulation generated by manifold air holes and the extended thermal path across the wall. Second, it is resistance and durable heat regulator system, and these bricks possess excellent performance. Lastly, the clay brick controls temperature naturally thus maintaining its properties during its lifetime. During the winter period, the bricks absorb heat from the heating system and through radiation it redistributes it gradually. This helps in reduction of energy consumption by almost 10%. While during the summer, it regulates the temperature naturally and retains the coolness produced by the nighttime ventilation because it has an excellent thermal inertia.
Most buildings emit carbon dioxide due to consumption of energy during its lifetime. This emission can be reduced by the use of a sustainable concrete because all buildings are constructed using it. Thus the application of cellular concrete, which is a less weighty concrete has become an essential element in green building. It is manufactured through a mixture of water, cement, siliceous sand, lime, and air. The material incorporated in its manufacturing are eco-material and thus environmental friendly. It can be used in the covering of rubble without the peril of soil contamination. It offers high thermal inertia and helps in the modification of thermal bridges. Cellular concrete also has excellent fire resistance. It is also a natural mineral and non-combustible offering protection against fire. One of the main advantage of cellular concrete over other materials is because it controls temperature through thermal inertia, which offers a high reduction in variations of external temperature.
In the traditional construction, the roofs are either extracted from the ground or are from clay or concrete, which are not energy efficient methods (Peach, 2017). After their installation, their existence is to protect the building from adverse weather elements. In reality, they are responsible for absorbing a significant portion of energy from the sun. Bearing this principle in mind, several companies are manufacturing solar tiles. Unlike the traditional solar which are stationed on top of the roof, solar tiles are integrated into the building to form roof, offering protection at the same time generating power used in the house. The last element incorporated into the green building is the Euromac2 structure. This is a building scheme that entails a pair of insulating cladding walls that are constructed from expanded polystyrene with high density. The lengthened polystyrenes are amalgamated in their flat parts by two metal reinforced using metal bands that are flat. The wall is seismic-protected, with excellent acoustic and thermal insulation properties.
In conclusion, buildings that will incorporate the use of the materials as mentioned above would be a good a sustainable building option for homes construction. Sustainability is an issue that is on the rise due to the demand for an eco-friendly environment. The existence of fully developed sustainable building materials, it is up to building owners to demand the use of them by architects during construction of their homes. In green building, the primary concern is energy efficiency. The materials mentioned offers solutions for management of electricity, reduction in consumption and contribution inefficient supply of energy.
References
Augenbroe, G., & Pearce, A. R. (1998). Sustainable Construction in the United States of America. Retrieved from http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/14/13358.htm
Habitat for Humanity. (n.d). U.S. sustainable construction standards. Construction Technologies . Retrieved from https://www.habitat.org/lc/env/pdf/US_Construction_Standards.pdf.
Legrand. (n.d). Green building-ecological construction . Retrieved from http://www.legrand.com/EN/green-building-description_12850.html
Peach, J. (2017). Five sustainable building materials that could transform construction. Smart Cities Dive . Retrieved from https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollective/five-sustainable-building-materials-could-transform-construction/17346/.
Quale, J. (2009). Building for the future sustainable home design. US Department of Energy. Retrieved from https://www.solardecathlon.gov/past/pdfs/09_workshops/09_building_future.pdf.
U.S. Environmental protection Agency. (2016). Green building: Basic information . Retrieved from https://archive.epa.gov/greenbuilding/web/html/about.html.
