Green Building - Supportive Framework and General Conditions

Owing to rising public interest in sustainable and ecological solutions, the last few years have resulted in the establishment of numerous framework conditions that facilitate the use of energy-saving technologies, energy sources that are easy on resources and sustainable products for the property sector. The base of a sustainable energy policy can be found in various national, European and International laws, standards, norms and stipulations that specify measurable standards of energy efficiency for buildings and facilities. Further, the norms define the minimum standard for energy efficiency of buildings and facilities. The norms also set minimum standards for thermal comfort, air quality and visual comfort. Across Europe, there is currently a drive to unify these standards. On an international level, however, the different nations are setting their own guidelines and these cannot necessarily be directly compared to each other. The standards are being supported by a variety of available and targeted grants for promising technologies that are currently not yet economical on a regenerative level. Examples for this in Germany would be the field of photovoltaics, for instance, or of near-surface geothermics, solar thermics, biogas plants or energy-conserving measures for the renovation of old buildings. In the currently available laws, standards and stipulations, however, not all the essential building and facility areas are being considered. This means that many of these areas are unable to fulfil their true potential when it comes to the possibility of optimisation on an energy level. Further, legally defined critical values for energy consumption are generally below those required for Green Buildings. These critical values are usually set in a manner that allows for marketable products to be used. Laws and stipulations will, therefore, always be backward when compared to the actual market possibilities for obtaining maximum energy efficiency. This gap can be bridged by the use of Green Building labels, guidelines and quality certificates, since these can at least recommend adherence to more stringent guidelines. The higher demands placed on true energy efficiency can also be justified by the fact that the technology in buildings and facility has a great lifespan. This means that a CO2 emission limit specified today will have long-ranging effects into the future. Today’s decisions, therefore, are essential aspects in determining future emission levels.