Green building saves money

Berryville Main Street is hosting a Green Advantage residential training and certification workshop March 5 and 12 at Olympic Flame Restaurant.

The one-day workshop will include topics such as green building industry and materials, site considerations and passive building design, energy and water-efficient building technologies that enhance resistance to disaster and biological hazards, construction operations to reduce environmental impact, window benefits and technologies and indoor environmental quality.

The workshop will be taught by David Johnston, co-founder of What's Working, Inc., a green building consulting company based in Colorado.

Christie Dunkle, president of Berryville Main Street, said that it is important to maintain the infrastructure of Berryville's historic districts and to "re-use and up-grade existing structures rather than building new ones."

Citing increasing water prices, Dunkle said that green buildings help bring down water costs, which she termed as "the next gas problem," and will help stave off looming drought threats.

Grady O'Rear, Green Advantage representative, said the workshop is designed for residential contractors, trades peoples, building related practitioners, Realtors, developers, appraisers and anyone else who is involved in building construction.

O'Rear stressed the importance of builders and contractors keeping up with the industry trends of green building.

The government at the local, state and federal levels are requiring newly constructed buildings to achieve green status "because they are more durable, healthier for the occupants and helpful in increasing the amount of tenants."

He said Green Advantage certification is important to staying current with residential and commercial building.

"Engineers can distinguish themselves in the marketplace as a way to show that they can demonstrate their knowledge in this area," O'Rear said.

According to Allen Kitselman, green architect and town council member, going green is "A rethinking of how we build buildings."

He cited the foremost green certification in the country, Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as the guideline for building design.

The more energy saved, the more points on the LEED scale it has towards being green, he explained.

For example, practices high on the LEED scale are "recycled windows and water conservation design combine to make our preservation here more sustainable," Kitselman said.

If a building is sufficiently designed, he said, you are creating spaces that are better performing for the people that occupy them. O'Rear said that green buildings prevent and mitigate the indoor environment of young children by creating a regular exchange of air. Air quality is an effect that is often overlooked, he said.

Both Kitselman and O'Rear cited LEED studies in green schools, which found that student learning increases and absenteeism rates of teachers are reduced after the improvements were made

LEED requirements are meant for new homes and are more vigorous than the Green Advantage requirements that can be accomplished on small home projects.

Green Advantage building advocates the use of locally produced materials that boost the local economy, O'Rear said.

Additionally, lower utility bills and power -saving practices that lessen the cost of energy but that are still environmentally safe are more direct advantages, he said.

O'Rear said that one of the main goals of going green is to design a building that produces as much energy as it uses, making the building more sustainable. He said he plans to make his own home net-zero, which he said is all the more important considering the high price of energy that will undoubtedly rise in the future.