Once considered something of a luxury, sustainable features have become a value-adding aspect to building, as highlighted in Earth Advantage Institute’s top 10 green building trends for 2011.

Sustainable techniques and features, once considered something of a luxury, have become a value-adding aspect to building. As the market for more energy-efficient homes grows, Earth Advantage Institute has released its top 10 green building developments to watch in 2011.

1. Affordable Green: Green homes and features have traditionally been associated with higher costs, yet the development of new business models and technologies as well as the “mainstreaming” of high-performance materials are bringing high-performance homes within reach for more homeowners. Energy upgrades are now available through low-cost audits and utility bill-based financing.
2. Sharing and Comparing Home Energy Use: Several websites and programs currently enable users to track and share their home energy usage. As social networks and purchasing sites become more popular, a lot more people are expected to share and compare their home energy consumption.
3. Outcome-Based Energy Codes: Current prescriptive energy codes used in commercial remodels don’t encourage effective retrofitting. Under outcome-based energy codes, owners could pursue the retrofit strategy they decide is most effective, but they’d be required to achieve a pre-negotiated performance target through mandatory annual reporting.
4. Community Purchasing Power: More groups interested in renewable energy are expected to band together to obtain better pricing on eco-friendly materials and installations. The Retrofit Philly program, for example, leverages contests between residential blocks in Philadelphia to get neighborhoods involved in energy upgrades.
5. “Grid-Aware” Appliances: Manufacturers are introducing appliances that are “grid-aware,” meaning they have sophisticated energy-management capabilities and timers. These developments will begin forging the convergence of a smart grid infrastructure and the control applications needed to manage energy savings in our buildings and homes.
6. Accessory Dwelling Units: Many people are building accessory dwelling units (ADUs), which can be used for offices or studios. These independent units are “the ideal size for energy savings and sustainable construction.” They also help cities increase urban density and restrict sprawl, while allowing homeowners to add value to their property.
7. Rethinking Residential Heating and Cooling: Advances in applied building science have led to structures so tightly sealed and insulated that furnace-less, ductless homes are now a reality. For example, the “Passive House” standard calls for wall and ceiling insulation that is so thick the home is heated by occupants’ everyday activity, from cooking to computer use.
8. Residential Gray Water Use: Recycling gray water — any household wastewater except toilet water — is gaining traction, especially as certain regions face looming water shortages. Benefits include reduced water use, reduced strain on septic and stormwater systems, and groundwater replenishment.
9. Small Commercial Certification: “Soft” costs such as commissioning, energy modeling, project registration and administrative time can be prohibitively expensive for small building owners and developers. To encourage more small commercial projects to go green, alternative energy certification programs are becoming more widespread.
10. Lifecycle Analysis (LCA): A new type of analysis will determine the impact of building materials over their lifetime — from raw material extraction through disposal and decomposition — using environmental indicators, including energy waste and pollution. LCA for building materials can help builders determine what products are more sustainable.

Earth Advantage Institute based its 2011 forecast on discussions with builders, architects, real estate brokers, appraisers, lenders, policymakers and homeowners late in 2010.

Earlier: 5 Green Building Trends to Watch in 2010

Resource

Top 10 Green Building Trends for 2011
Earth Advantage Institute, Jan. 6, 2011