Green Technology: What it is and its

benefits
Green technology is an encompassing term. It deals with using science and technology
in order to protect the environment. A lot of techniques fall under this term such as the
use of green chemistry, environmental monitoring, and more. All of these things have to
deal with making sure that the environment remains protected. This technology is used
to breathe life back into a damaged ecosystem. It is also referred to as environmental
technology or clean technology.
The main goal is to conserve nature, and to remedy the negative impact that humans
have on it. Since the 1990’s a lot of focus is being put on green technology. It offers a
lot of benefits to not only nature itself but also for a clean and greener human lifestyle.
Human beings need Earth to stay alive. This technology ensures that the Earth remains
healthy for all life to continue existing.

Coming to the benefits of Green

Technology, here’s a list of them!

Recycling
Green technology helps manage and recycle waste material. It allows it to be used for
beneficial purposes. This technology is used for waste management, waste incineration,
and more. A lot of recyclable material has allowed individuals to create plant fertilizer,
sculptures, fuel, and even furniture.

Purifying of Water
Green technology purifies water. The scarcity of pure drinking water is a major concern.
Through the use of various technologies a lot of campaigns have been successful in
providing people with clean drinking water.

Purifying the Air

Dealing with carbon emission is another focus. While the human race is improving in
terms of various technologies. The automobiles, factories, etc. are emitting a lot of
carbon that is detrimental to the planet. Green technology helps to reduce carbon
emission and purify the air. This allows people and other living things to breathe
properly.

Conserving Energy
Energy is being conserved through the use of such technology. Alternatives to devices
that use a lot of electricity or fuel are being introduced to the public. The use of electric
cars is on the rise, especially in the UK. People using environment friendly devices and
appliances is encouraged. While installation of such devices, namely solar panels,
might be expensive for some people the benefits it offers with regards to reducing bill
expenses are tremendous.

Rejuvenating Ecosystems
Green or Clean technology is also being used to breathe life into ecosystems that have
sustained a lot of damage due to human involvement. Through the use of this
technology tress are replanted, waste is managed and recycled. This ensures that the
affected ecosystem is able to start again, and this time remain conserved. This helps to
ensure that a lot of plant and animal species don’t go extinct.

The Earth needs protection and green technology can help in providing exactly that to
the planet we all depend upon in order to live.

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The world of green technology solutions within the construction industry are fast

improving, and countless definitions exist regarding what green technology is as

well as its related benefits. Simply put, green technology in the construction

industry involves producing new buildings that incorporate one or more aspects

of environmentally friendly solutions. Building green has raised the bar for the

housing industry in its entirety by establishing new standards for livability and

sustainability.

What is more remarkable is that companies with green solutions have also

improved financial efficiency, as when compared to conventional businesses that

do not implement green applications. Business’ survival in the current harsh

economic times calls for efficiency and innovations. As a result, green

remodeling and building are quickly becoming hallmarks of contemporary

business efficiency.

Green Technology Benefits within the Construction Industry

Reduced Expenditures

While the procurement and installation costs of green buildings might be slightly

more expensive initially, the long-term benefits are more reasonable for your

business overall. These particular types of technologies are designed to use

resources more efficiently, which in turn, leads to reduced costs for owners.

Many companies are realizing the need for green technologies and are slowly

adopting such methods in their businesses. For instance, buildings that

incorporate solar energy systems use up to 70% less electricity than

conventional systems, this according to the U.S Department of Energy.

Environmental Benefits

Perhaps the single most significant benefit of building utilizing green solutions is

the environmental impact. Conventional technologies, such as petroleum

generators for example, cause extensive damage to the environment, thus

making it essential that businesses opt for green technologies. In particular,

green technology helps reduce a business’ carbon footprint, reduces waste,

conserves water and consumes reduced energy as compared to traditional

technologies.
Creates Employment

The green energy sector is responsible for a host of job opportunities on the

market today. There is a need for people with adequate expertise when it comes

to sustainable solutions in the construction industry. The green energy sector is a

developing market niche that is here to stay for many generations to come. As a

result, many employment options come up for people, and some of them include

environmental health engineers, solar energy experts, and efficient lighting

experts as well.

Tax Incentives

Buildings that have satisfactory green solutions in place, whether residential or

commercial, are eligible for government tax rewards. In most cases, the building

will be assessed for working green solutions such as photovoltaic cells, solar

heaters, geothermal power or even small wind systems. The government will

provide tax incentives to entice businesses to adopt green solutions in their daily

operations.

Benefits to a Construction Company

There is hardly any denying that businesses are always looking for alternative

solutions to help cut down on costs. To be specific, construction businesses can

benefit from green energy solutions in many ways. Countless studies have

shown that there is a compelling need for construction businesses to adopt green

technologies. The main theory being that green buildings are not just about

maintaining the environment, but sustainable solutions make genuine sense for a

constructions company. It is important to note that businesses adopting green

solutions are more likely to attract clients than their counterparts. This particular

type of benefits relates to corporate social responsibility of the given company

whereby they are inclined to give back to the society in one way or another.

Clients will see that the given company is concerned with preserving the

environment, thus increasing the chances of their company being selected for a

particular job.

Furthermore, a construction company that has sufficient sustainable solutions in

place has reduced energy and operation costs. For instance, resorting to solar

power instead of electricity can help cut down utility bills by almost 30%.

Moreover, construction businesses that leverage green technology are eligible to

receive tax incentives from the government. The extra cash can then be invested

in the operations of the business, thus increasing overall service provisions.

Conclusion

Overall when taken together, green technologies are a worthwhile investment for

any company that wants to improve its operations, enhance company thinking,

and reduce expenses. While green technologies may be more costly to

implement initially, their long-term benefits surpass the short-term benefits for

any construction company.

1. Cool roofs are specially designed to offer increased solar

reflectance and decreased thermal emittance. In other
words, they reflect more of the sun's rays than your average
shingle roof, and prevent the warm or cool air inside from
escaping through the top of a building. Under the intense
heat of the summer sun, dark shingle roofs can reach
 temperatures of 150 degrees Fahrenheit (65.5 degrees
Celsius). The reflectance of a cool roof can cut that down by
more than 50 degrees [source: EnergySavers].

Lowering the temperature of the roof itself is an advantage,

of course, but the real savings are inside. A cool roof
improves the interior temperature of a building, either by
reflecting intense heat or trapping the air inside. That
reduces the strain placed on air conditioning systems,
thereby reducing the emissions that result from powering our
heating and cooling. Cool roofs can be constructed with a
number of materials, including special reflective paint and
cool roof shingles and tiles. If you need an environmental
reason to believe in the cool roof, look no further: Their
reflectance can help lower the heat island effect of urban
and suburban areas, which causes dramatically higher
temperatures under harsh sunlight compared to surrounding
rural areas [source: EPA].

2. Insulation is some of the nastiest stuff in construction, as

anyone who's gotten fiberglass shards stuck in their skin can
attest. The stuff doesn't need to be pretty or pleasant, since
it's essentially wall filler. If it's going to stay out of sight, why
not make insulation out of any old junk? That's the basic gist
of green insulation, which uses recycled materials to line our
walls. Cotton insulation is a great example: The soft blue
insulation is primarily composed of recycled denim -- aka old
jean scraps [source: GreenYour]. Did you ever imagine the
material that makes up your favorite pair of pants could also
be used to insulate your house?

Cellulose insulation takes an equally common product and

recycles it. Any guesses as to the identity of the mystery
material? It's the humble newspaper. Recycled paper
insulation comes in several forms, but one of the most
 common is blow-in cellulose, which can be sprayed into
walls or attics rather than being laid out in sheets
[source: GreenFiber]. Even fiberglass insulation can include
recycled glass, but there's a downside: Melting down the
glass and forming fiberglass insulation is far more energy-
intensive than producing cellulose insulation from paper.
Cellulose insulation often consists of 75 to 85 percent
recycled material, higher than fiberglass' 30 to 40 percent,
and cellulose is even better at preventing airflow than
fiberglass [source: HouleInsulation]. Cellulose and cotton are
definitely better choices when it comes to green insulation,
and neither poses the discomfort or health concerns of
fiberglass

3. Biodegradable MaterialsSince construction is

all about building something new, we sometimes forget
about the flip side of the coin: tearing something down and
disposing of building materials. Biodegradable materials can
change that disposal process into something more eco-
friendly: Instead of a giant scrap heap of waste products and
chemicals, they result in products that degrade naturally
without contaminating the soil. An excellent example is
biodegradable paint, which mimics the old practice of
creating paint from a milk-based recipe. The Old Fashioned
Milk Paint Co. uses milk protein, lime and mineral pigments
to create an organic paint mixture [source: MilkPaint].

Using recycled products -- like recycled fiberglass insulation,

for example -- is a good start toward being eco-friendly, but
products that naturally break down without releasing toxins
 into the Earth are even better. Outside of the United
States, hemp is used in construction for everything from
building foundations to insulation [source: Hemphasis].
United States laws forbid the growth of industrial hemp -- a
low-THC cousin of marijuana -- but at least one company is
importing the hemp to create Hemcrete, a hemp and lime
mixture similar to concrete

4.Rammed Earth Brick -Rammed earth is an ancient

construction technique similar to adobe that uses the raw
materials of the Earth to form sturdy buildings through a
simple process. Rammed earth has been around for
thousands of years -- portions of the Great Wall of
China were constructed using the rammed-earth technique.
Today, the process of forming a rammed-earth structure isn't
so different than it was centuries ago. A moist mixture of
earth and hard substances such as clay or gravel are
combined with a stabilizing element like concrete and
compressed to form dense, hard walls. After forming,
rammed earth must cure for months -- or as long as two
years -- in a humid climate to fully cure and completely
harden [source: USC].

The density of rammed earth makes it an ideal material for

regulating the temperature of a building. It will stay cool in
the summer and warm in the winter, and constructing
rammed earth produces fewer emissions than the typical
 building process [source: USC]. Modern rammed-earth
equipment makes the compacting process a bit easier than it
was thousands of years ago, but there are still tools out
there specially designed to compress the walls by hand.

5. Storm Water Management

In rural areas, water runoff from heavy rains and snowfall

can carve out large swaths of land and wash away plant life.
Erosion can be a seriously damaging phenomenon, and the
power of storm water in urban areas is similarly dangerous;
overflowing sewer systems can flood streets and buildings,
creating hazardous driving conditions and millions in
property damage. That's where storm water management
comes in: it involves landscaping and designing systems to
properly manage large volumes of water. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is dedicated to
managing storm water with a green infrastructure, which
involves using plants and soil in urban areas to control
absorption and purify storm water.

The EPA's green infrastructure offers a wide range of

benefits: By encouraging the growth of greenery in urban
areas, the infrastructure helps lower the heat island effect
produced by heat-absorbing pavement and metal, reduces
sewer overflow by absorbing water, and simultaneously
reduces the pollution of storm water as it passes through
plants and soil. An increase in green coverage reduces
 overall runoff, and the plants improve air quality by
absorbing carbon dioxide [source: EPA]. The EPA employs a
number of techniques to build a green infrastructure. Plant
boxes, small installations of dirt and greenery along the
street, are among the most basic solutions. Some of its other
green technologies, including green roofs that are entirely
covered in plant life and permeable pavements, which allow
water to flow down to the sediment layer, demonstrate the
powerful potential of green storm water technology

5
Geothermal Heating
4
Solar Power
3
Electrochromic Smart Glass
2
Smart Appliances
1
The Zero Energy Home
Zero energy buildings, or zero net energy buildings, are
constructed to successfully operate independent of the normal
electric grid. In other words, they provide their own power through
renewable energy. The "zero" refers to both energy consumption
and carbon emissions -- a zero energy building consumes zero
net energy yearly, and produces no carbon emissions since it
relies on renewable energy supplies like solar or wind power.

Zero energy homes are specially built to be extremely energy

efficient with excellent insulation and techniques like passive solar
design. Of course, efficient design is just the start -- the buildings
still need power from somewhere. Active solar panels and wind
collectors are common solutions, while some buildings use
biofuels for heating. Zero energy construction is most efficient in
small communities where several homes can benefit from a
shared renewable resource.