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Introduction

As technologies and scientific research in the building and construction industry improve, there are growing environmental and sustainability concerns about the impacts of such buildings. This resulted in the emergence of green buildings, which governments that seek to battle environmental pollution and degradation encourage citizens to adopt. As a result, the growing need to understand the differences and commonalities between green and non-green buildings has attracted a lot of scholarly attention. One major reason for this trend is that some consumers are beginning to express their interest in going green by purchasing a green building. The primary factor that makes green buildings distinct from non-green buildings is eco-friendliness. Others include indoor air quality, depreciation cost, as well as indoor environmental quality. Thus, unlike non-green conventional buildings, green buildings are eco-friendly, environmentally sustainable, and efficient in saving resources such as energy and water.

Green Buildings and Non-green Buildings: Comparison and Contrast

Construction costs

Various factors distinguish green buildings from conventional buildings. One particular area that this difference stands out is the expenses incurred in constructing the two types of buildings. When assessed against factors such as costs, green building construction costs are significantly higher on average than non-green buildings. However, this difference is not statistically high (Rodi et al. 2015). This is partly because green buildings come with many features that play a role in reducing environmental pollution, unlike conventional buildings, which lack such components. Also, the cost premiums that are related to the purchase of Green materials are high regarding initial expenses. However, the added costs are not severe if the life cycle cost is taken into account. In the long-run, the broader costs that are related to the construction of green buildings are lower than non-green buildings (Rehm & Ade, 2013). For instance, for non-green buildings, there are social costs such as greenhouse gas emissions that can be monetized through carbon pricing.

While the cost of constructing green buildings may be higher than non-green buildings, a lot of money is saved when one occupies green buildings. These costs are related to the emission of carbon, regular purchase of energy, as well as vulnerability to diseases (Rehm & Ade, 2013). Since non-green buildings are prone to such challenges on a regular basis, they are more expensive in the long-run. However, when it comes to construction costs, green buildings are more expensive. From the above facts, knowing how the kinds of building elements that tend to attract premiums or savings is important since it allows such costs to be efficaciously addressed through cost management techniques (Rehm & Ade, 2013). Also, the utilization of innovative project delivery methods such as integrative designs can be considered.

Indoor Air Quality

Green buildings have higher indoor air quality than non-green buildings, although green buildings are more expensive to construct. Eco-friendly green buildings are designed with the utilization of strategies that are aimed at reducing indoor air pollutant sources and raise the level of energy efficiency (Coombs et al. 2016). In as much as sealing or tightening of buildings can be a significant step towards saving energy and reducing the penetration of outdoor air pollutants as is the case with non-green buildings, adverse impacts can emerge. Such effects may take the form of piling or build-up of pollutants from indoor sources. In green buildings, there are relatively lower carbon concentrations compared to non-green buildings, which amass high amounts of indoor carbons over time. This suggests the need to improve the indoor air quality of non-green buildings (Coombs et al. 2016). One way to attain this goal is to ensure that there is careful selection of indoor building materials and making sure that there is sufficient ventilation for the free flow of air into and out of the house.

Sustainability in the Design of the Sites

The environments in which non-green buildings are built are not usually taken into consideration. Such buildings can be constructed even in areas that do not wisely contribute to the consumption of resources. The reverse applies to site design and selection when building green buildings. Green building development takes into account not only the building but also its surroundings (Cheng, 2002). Before starting a construction project, green building developers are often keen to consider a site that is most likely to contribute to wise utilization of resources and facilitate human and environmental health. Unlike the conventional non-green buildings, green building developers employ major strategies such as space efficiency, preservation of wetlands, and other valuable natural and physical resources. Also, green building architects orient and develop the building to make proper use of physical dynamics. These range from insulation, free flow of air and microclimate variables.

Green buildings are designed in a manner that reduces the excess urban heat island impacts and light pollution. Furthermore, since they appeal to nature, they are built to ensure that they generate aesthetic appeal to owners. For non-green buildings, there are minimal options to enjoy such qualities since very few factors mentioned above are taken into consideration when developed (Edwards & Naboni, 2013). The only options to ensure that non-green buildings are improved in a manner that taps the above resources include landscaping the building concerning the surrounding environment. Beyond, this, the options for these building owners are limited. Another option is to plant trees, vegetation, and grass in areas that they are likely to offer shade. However, when there is minimal space for construction, it is not often easy for one to improve (Edwards & Naboni, 2013).

Water Quality and Preservation

Water quality and preservation is another area that distinguishes green buildings from non-green buildings. In this respect, green buildings are more equipped with mechanisms that support water conservation. Non-green buildings, on the other hand, have minimal features for the conservation of water (Cheng, 2002). For instance, the only conservatory feature of such buildings is water reservoir tanks. For green buildings, however, designers aim to mirror and preserve the site's natural water cycle via the utilization of rainwater catchments, progressive storm water management strategies like permeable pavements, as well as the native landscaping and water-securing devices (Edwards & Naboni, 2013). While challenges often arise particularly in all aspects of conservation whenever existing infrastructures are expected to be supportive of new regulations, green buildings are still more conforming to such regulations than non-green buildings. For instance, it is often hard for non-green commercial property managers to install new water-efficient toilets (Cheng, 2002). Drain lines found in many older buildings were designed in ways that work with higher volumes of water. Thus, they are almost horizontal, making it harder to push wastes using small quantities of water. Furthermore, they sometimes sag over time, making them unsatisfactory in managing both water resources and wastes (Cheng, 2002). None-green buildings also have high cases of clogged sewages and drainage lines, something that makes it harder to conserve water in comparison with green buildings.

Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is one of the most important factors that come to the mind of many consumers when deciding whether to purchase green or non-green buildings because of the many cost-saving options. Most non-green buildings do not have alternative sources of energy such as solar and other natural mechanisms. As a result, they solely depend on electricity and other gasses that emit carbon to the atmosphere. These sources of energy are costly in the long-run (Edwards & Naboni, 2013). Green buildings have technologies and designs that help to improve building performance to attain more energy conservation with minimal inputs. Some of the main features that green buildings possess that are favorable to energy conservation include insulation, high-efficiency glazing, passive heating and cooling systems, as well as high-efficiency lighting mechanisms. Furthermore, green buildings make use of solar and other renewable forms of energy that helps the users to minimize costs (Cheng, 2002). As stated earlier, while green buildings are expensive to construct or purchase, they are sustainable regarding energy conservation in the sense that the owner incurs minimal costs that are related to energy consumption. While humans may not adequately respond to factors such as micromanagement of energy, they develop buildings that efficaciously respond. As such, many real estate developers consider it worthwhile to introduce parameters that track and control power consumption of individual units or zones (Edwards & Naboni, 2013). Part of this strategy involves adding energy-saving and green sources of power to ensure that they cut costs dramatically.

Conclusion

Environmental concerns are increasingly becoming relevant in the process of decision-making by consumers on whether to purchase green or non-green houses. These factors are the main issues that distinguish green buildings from non-green buildings. Also, issues that are related to sustainability, construction cost, indoor air quality, as well as water preservation. The above discussion suggests that green building and non-green buildings possess various features that make them distinct from each other.

References

Cheng, C. L. (2002). Study of the inter-relationship between water use and energy conservation

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Coombs, K. C., Chew, G. L., Schaffer, C., Ryan, P. H., Brokamp, C., Grinshpun, S. A., &

Ross, J. (2016). Indoor air quality in green-renovated vs. non-green low-income homes of

children living in a temperate region of US (Ohio). Science of the Total

Environment, 554, 178-185.

Edwards, B. W., & Naboni, E. (2013). Green buildings pay: Design, productivity and ecology.

New York: Routledge.

Rehm, M., & Ade, R. (2013). Construction costs comparison between ‘green’and conventional

office buildings. Building Research & Information,41(2), 198-208.

Rodi, W. N. W., Hwa, T. K., Mahamood, N. M., Said, A. S., & Abdullah, M. I. (2015).

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