Green building designs are a structure that, in its design, construction or operation, reduces or eliminates negative impacts, and can create positive impacts, on our climate and natural environment. Green building plans preserve precious natural resources and improve our quality of life.
Any building can be a green building, whether it’s a home, an office, a school, a hospital, a community center, or any other type of structure.
However, it is worth noting that not all green building designs are and need to be the same. Different countries and regions have a variety of characteristics such as distinctive climatic conditions, unique cultures and traditions, diverse building types and ages, or wide-ranging environmental, economic, and social priorities all of which shape their approach to green building.
Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive design software programs. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, deck plans and much more.
CAD Pro allows anyone to share their ideas and green building designs with clients, colleagues or professional home building contractors using Dropbox®, Google Drive™, OneDrive®, and SharePoint®. Export files to Microsoft Word®, Excel®, and PowerPoint® with a single click.
Green Building Designs and Guidelines
Sustainable Green Building Designs
Ideally, green building designs preserve and restores the surrounding habitat that is vital for sustaining life and then becomes a net producer and exporter of resources, materials, energy and water (rather than being a net consumer).
1 – Optimize Site Potential
Whether designing a new building or retrofitting an existing building, site design must integrate with sustainable design to achieve a successful project and begins with the proper site selection, including the existing building’s rehabilitation. The location, orientation, and landscaping of a building all affect local ecosystems, transportation methods, and energy use.
2 – Optimize Energy Use
Green building plans should improve the energy performance of existing buildings and that is important to increasing our energy independence. Operating net zero energy buildings is one way to significantly reduce our dependence on fossil fuel-derived energy.
3 – Protect and Conserve Water
A sustainable building should use water efficiently, and reuse or recycle water for on-site use, when feasible.
4 – Optimize Building Space and Material Use
As the world population continues to grow; the use of natural resources (and the demands for them) continues to increase. A sustainable building is designed and operated to use and reuse materials in the most productive and sustainable way across its entire life cycle.
5 – Enhance Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of green building designs has a significant impact on occupant health, comfort, and productivity. Among other attributes, a sustainable building maximizes daylighting, has appropriate ventilation and moisture control, optimizes acoustic performance, and avoids the use of materials with high-VOC emissions.
6 – Optimize Operational and Maintenance Practices
Designers of green building plans can specify materials and systems that simplify and reduce maintenance requirements; require less water, energy, and toxic chemicals and cleaners to maintain; and are cost-effective and reduce life-cycle costs.
CAD Pro has helped thousands of homeowners, professional designers, builders, and contractors plan and design all types of green building plans. CAD Pro is used by NARI professional remodelers and contractors and the NRCA roofing contractors. CAD Pro is also used by NHBA home builders and contractors, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA). as well as the (NALP) National Association of Landscape Professionals.
Goals for Green Building Plans
- Life cycle assessment.
- Siting and structure design efficiency.
- Energy efficiency.
- Water efficiency.
- Materials efficiency.
- Indoor environmental quality enhancement.
- Operations and maintenance optimization.
- Waste reduction.
Cad Pro is an affordable and easy alternative to other more expensive design software. Cad Pro is great for creating kitchen design plans, innovative smart home designs, rooftop solar panel designs, custom home plans, building plans, office plans, construction details, deck plans green construction design plans and much more.