Go Green! Save Green!

As we all know building energy efficient can save the owners a lot of money on energy costs along with saving our enviornment! Be it building an Energy Star certified home or a LEED certified commercial building Renaissance can help.

Renaissance has energy efficant building expertise and knowledge of modern green building techniques. We work in close cooperation with project owners to ensure their wishes become reality. 

The Top Reasons to Build Green!

Why Build Green? Building green saves money

The cost per square foot for buildings seeking LEED Certification falls into the existing range of

costs for buildings not seeking LEED Certification.

An upfront investment of 2% in green building design, on average, results in life cycle savings of

20% of the total construction costs – more than ten times the initial investment.

Building sale prices for energy efficient buildings are as much as 10% higher per square foot than

conventional buildings. 

Estimated Value of green construction starts:

2000: $792 million

2001: $3.24 billion

2002: $3.81 billion

2003: $5.76 billion

2004: $4.51 billion

2010 (projected): $60 billion (10% construction starts)

Real estate and construction professionals overestimate the costs of green building by 300%. 

Perceived cost benefits of green building

• Operating costs decrease 8-9%
• Building value increases 7.5%
• Return on investment improves 6.6%
• Occupancy ration increases 3.5%
• Rent ratio increases 3%

Building green stimulates the economy by creating a demand for green jobs and workers that can

contribute directly to creating a sustainable future.  If the proposed green economic recovery

program is instated, the US economy could generate 2 million green jobs in as short a stretch as

two years.

Why Build Green? Green buildings consume less energy and fewer resources 

In comparison to the average commercial building:

• Green buildings consume 26% less energy
• Green buildings have 13% lower maintenance costs
• Green buildings have 27% higher occupant satisfaction
• Green buildings have 33% less greenhouse gas emissions

Why Build Green? Green building occupants are more productive

An experiment identifies a link between improved lighting design and a 27% reduction in the incidence of headaches, which accounts for 0.7% of overall employee health insurance cost at approximately $35 per employee annually.  

Sales in stores with skylights were up to 40% higher compared to similar stores without skylights. 

Students with the most daylighting in their classrooms progressed 20% faster on math tests and 26% faster on reading tests in one year than those with less daylighting. 

Corporate perception of whether green fosters innovation: 57% agree; 28% neutral and 15% disagree.

Improvements in indoor environments are estimated to save $17-48 billion in total health gains and $20-160 billion in worker performance.  

Why Build Green? Green building occupants are healthier

• People in the U.S. spend about 90% of their time indoors.  
• EPA studies indicate indoor levels of pollutants may be up to ten times higher than outdoor levels.  
• Significant associations exist between low ventilation levels and higher carbon dioxide concentrations – a common symptom in facilities with sick building syndrome.