Industry attributes
Other attributes
Green construction, also known as green building or sustainable building, is a type of construction utilizing sustainable design combined with recycled or other environmentally friendly materials. Green construction seeks to use resources efficiently in an environmentally responsible fashion throughout the entire construction process which includes planning, renovation, operation, maintenance, and demolition.
There are seven components of green construction according to the United States Environmental Protection agency. These components are:
- Energy efficiency and renewable energy
- Water efficiency
- Environmentally preferable building materials and specifications
- Waste reduction
- Toxics reduction
- Indoor air quality
- Smart growth and sustainable development
Energy efficiency and renewable energy is promoted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S Department of Energy's ENERGY STAR program. The Energy STAR program works with homebuilders, office building managers, product manufacturers, and other organizations to improve energy efficiency of homes, buildings, appliances, and other building components. The ENERGY STAR program has different energy efficiency requirements for products depending on what product category they fall under.
Product categories of the ENERGY STAR program include: appliances (dishwashers, freezers, refrigerators, air purifiers, clothes dryers, clothes washers, commercial clothes washers, dehumidifiers, and dishwashers), building products (residential windows, doors, skylights, roof products, seal and insulate, and storm windows), commercial food service equipment (coffee brewers, dishwashers, fryers, griddles, hot food holding cabinets, ice makers, ovens, refrigerators, freezers, and steam cookers), data center equipment (data center storage, enterprise servers, large network equipment, small network equipment, and uninterruptible power supplies), electronics (audio/video, digital media player, set-top boxes, sinage displays, slates and tablets, telephones, and televisions), heating & cooling (air-source heat pumps, boilers, central air conditioner, commercial boilers, ductless heating & cooling, furnaces, geothermal heat pumps, light commercial heating & cooling, room air conditioner, smart thermostats, and ventilation fans), Lighting (ceiling fans, decorative light strings, light bulbs, and light fixtures), office equipment (computers, imaging equipment, monitors, and voice over internet protocol phones), water heaters (commercial water heaters, heat pump water heaters, high efficiency gas storage water heaters, solar water heaters, and whole home tankless gas water heaters), and an other product category (electric vehicle chargers, laboratory grade refrigerators and freezers, pool pumps, smart home energy management, vending machines, and water coolers).
Water efficiency refers to the amount of water used by products required to produce a desired result. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) develops and sets specifications for what is considered to be a desirable level of water efficiency through the WaterSense Label. Products eligible for the WaterSense label are generally about 20% more water-efficient when compared to similar products. In 2018 America's Water Infrastructure Act was passed and the EPA reviewed existing requirements for WaterSense labelling and issued final WaterSense product specifications for tank-type toilets, lavatory faucets, flushing urinals, flushometer-valve toilets, shower heads, weather-based irrigation controllers, spry sprinkler bodies, and commercial pre-rinse spray valves.
