The ingenious office building designs that are making business greener and more sustainable
If we look at the evolution of office building design, it is easy to see how architects are adding greener and sustainable elements to their creations. Depending on where you live in the world, you have probably noticed an increase in the use of solar panels and wind farms for commercial spaces. There are other less obvious ways, that office buildings are becoming greener and more sustainable.
Water Systems
Effectively, saving water provides business with tangible cost savings as newer water systems will use less water and use it more productively and efficiently. Low-flow urinals and showerheads use less water, while recycling water can supplement water use by staff. Both of these measures reduce costs.
Rain water is now often collected and used to irrigate plants. As time goes on you will see more office spaces collecting rain water for this purpose.
It’s Solar Power, but not as we know it
We all know about solar panels taking the sun’s heat and using it to generate electricity, but few of us know about organic roofs. The idea here is that rooftops are covered in plants which absorb solar heat. This is in effect natural insulation as heat that would be lost is captured by the plants. It also gives aesthetic appeal as well as facilitating water runoff.
Geothermal Heating – Drawing the Heat from the Earth
Geothermal systems draw heat from beneath a building or from the surrounding grounds. This heat can be used in heating systems and to power hot water. Once installed a geothermal heating system will create energy for no cost other than the maintenance cost of the system.
LED Lighting
Many office buildings now have LED lighting. The reason is that they consume about 1/10 of the power of regular bulbs, and they last for 40 times longer. This simple measure reduces energy consumption and related costs.
How can you make your Office more Sustainable and Green?
Here are simple tips to make your office more sustainable and green:
Start Recycling Paper
Recycling waste paper is easy to implement and an effective step to sustainability. It is simply a question of segregating paper waste by type. A small investment in recycling bins and a shredder for sensitive documents, and you could be up and running within a week.
Recycle Food Waste
Recycling food waste is another easy recycling element you can introduce. With minimal cost and training, you can separate organic food waste and food packaging from regular waste. Finding someone to collect your food waste should be fairly straightforward. Start by finding waste couriers in the first instance.
Recycling is easy for your business to do, and this combined with green architecture will soon make your organisation sustainable.
Source: Rew-online