Green Building Design Guide // Introduction
Welcome to a (r)evolution in the access of environmental building design information.
Yesterday, to truly understand environmental design, you had to search the Internet and read thousands of individual documents of which many were incomplete or their validity and usefullness was unclear. Your alternative was to buy a book (often expensive) and then wait for it to arrive by snail mail, when you then found out that the book provides a good summary of environmental design but is then limited in scope and not connected to the Internet where much more information is available.
"Someone needs to organize all this information into one source!" you cry.
Good News. We are fixing both of these problems for you.
This online guide is bringing together the best and most useful information from those thousands of web pages into one source. It offers information in multiple formats so that you get the information you want and need when you want it and how you want it.
Exciting Features:
+ Dynamic environmental design glossary (move mouse over blue words)
+ Export of page content to Adobe PDF 
Enjoy.
Let us know what you think - info@whygreenbuildings.com
Table of Contents (225 pages)
Introduction to Green Buildings (4 pages)
Making Your Building Green | Design | Retrofit/Renovation | Operation
Background (5 pages)
The Key Problems | Population Growth | Resource Consumption | The Concept of Waste | Biomimicry
Sustainable Siting (17 pages)
2 or More Sites to Choose From | Setting Goals | Minimizing Ecological Footprint | Forming a Design Team | Collecting Data | Assessing Data | Access to Sunlight | Brownfield/Urban Redevelopment | Avoidance of Virgin or Signifcant Land | Access to Alternative/Public Transportation | Sediment and Erosion Control | Stormwater Management | Soil and Soil Ammendments | Vegetation and Grounds Management | Landscape Design to Reduce Heat Islands | Pervious and Impervious Surfaces | Outdoor Public Amenities
Environmental Design (43 pages)
Pre Design/Life Cycle Analysis | The Design Method | Optimizing Each Element | Optimizing All Elements | Climatic Considerations | Building Grounds | Human Scale Neighborhoods | Infrastructure | Building Form and Orientation | Thermal Efficiency | Passive Solar | Passive Solar Heating | Passive Solar Cooling | Thermal Mass | Overhangs | Active Solar | Active Solar Heating | Active Solar Hot Water | Design Process | Daylighting Systems | Fenestration and Form | Artificial Lighting | Design Process | Light Fixtures | Light Pollution | PreDesign | Design Process | Control Systems | Air Delivery Systems | Central Equipment | Efficiency Enhancement Options with HVAC | Minimum Energy Performance | Optimize Energy Performance | Balance Energy Performance and IAQ | Measurement and Verification | Other Design Issues | Doors and Windows | Entry Vestibules | Building Manual | Design for Decommissioning | Heat Recovery | Writing Specs | Writing a Building Manual
Materials (63 pages)
Overview | Needed at all? | Building Reuse | Resource Reuse | Material Efficient | Recycled Content | Natural vs Synthetic | Toxic? | Local or Regional | Recyclable | Biodegradable | Impact Displacing | Rapidly Renewable | Certified Sustainable or Organic | Packaging | Maintenance Required | Health and IAQ Issues | Life-cycle Cost | Embodied Energy | Common Building Materials | Concrete Issues (DIV3) | Concrete Alternatives and Solutions | Masonry Issues (DIV4) | Masonry Alternatives and Solutions | Metal Issues (DIV5) | Metal Alternatives and Solutions | Wood Issues (DIV6) | Wood Alternatives and Solutions | Plastic Issues and Alternatives | Thermal Insulation and Moisture Protection (DIV7) - Issues | Thermal Insulation and Moisture Protection Alternatives and Solutions | Cladding and Roofing - Issues | Cladding and Roofing Alternatives and Solutions | Sealants - Issues | Sealants Alternatives and Solutions | Gypsum Products Issues | Gypsum Products Alternatives and Solutions | Engineered or Composite Wood or Plastic Panels Issues | Engineered or Composite Wood or Plastic Panels Alternatives and Solutions | High Pressure Laminates Issues | High Pressure Laminates Alternatives and Solutions | Ceramics and Terrazzo Issues | Ceramics and Terrazzo Alternatives and Solutions | Wood Flooring Issues | Wood Flooring Alternatives and Solutions | Resilient Flooring Issues | Resilient Flooring Alternatives and Solutions | Carpets and Underpads Issues | Carpets and Underpads Alternatives and Solutions | Finished Concrete Flooring Issues | Finished Concrete Flooring Alternatives and Solutions | Paint Issues | Paint Alternatives and Solutions | Ceiling Tiles Issues | Ceiling Tiles Alternatives and Solutions | Finishes - Specialties | Furniture Issues | Furniture Alternatives and Solutions | Straw Bale | Cob | Adobe | Rammed Earth | Gabion Baskets
Energy Efficiency (19 pages)
Efficiency, Pollution, Role of Fossil Fuels | Energy Conservation | Energy Systems | Electrical Power Systems | Electrical Power Systems - Renovation Issues | Plumbing Systems - Hot Water Heating | Plumbing Systems - Water Pumping | Outdoor Lighting and Electrical Systems | Heat Recovery Systems | Renewable Energy Systems | Solar Electric Photovoltaics | Building Integrated Photovoltaics | Wind Energy | Small or Micro Hydro | Fuel Cells | Biomass | Green Power | CFCs/HCFCs/Halons | Elimination of CFCs/HCFCs/Halons
Water Conservation (16 pages)
Water Cycle, Pollution | Preservation of Soils and Drainage | Porous Paving Materials | Drainage of Concentrated Runoff | Overview | XeriscapingTM | Irrigation Equipment | Water Use Reduction | Collecting Precipitation | Innovative Wastewater Treatment | Greywater | Blackwater | Composting Toilets | Water Reclamation | Water Conditioners | Pool and Spa
Indoor Environmental Quality (21 pages)
Indoor Environmental Quality | Overview - Indoor Air Quality, Sick Building Syndrome, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity | Source Control | Moisture Control | Ventilation | Occupancy Activity Control | Building Maintenance | Minimum IAQ Performance | Environmental Tobacco Smoke | CO2 Monitoring | Increase Ventilation Effectiveness | Low Emitting Materials | Indoor Chemical and Pollutant Source Control | Controllability of Systems | Thermal Comfort | Daylighting and Views | Natural vs Artificial | Planning | Design | Finishes | Electro Magnetic Fields
Commissioning (15 pages)
Design Guidelines | Site | Materials | Energy | IAQ Management | Administrative Practices | HVAC System Practices | Source Control Practices | Resource Efficiency | Continuous Commissioning | Construction Phase | Post Occupancy Phase | Energy Systems | HVAC Systems | Lighting Systems
Certification (9 pages)
Overview | LEED 2.1 | LEED Certified Professional | Green Globe 21 | BREEAM | GB Tool | ISO 14000 | Green Leaf Eco-Rating Program | ECOTEL
Operation (6 pages)
Environmental Impacts Operation vs Construction | Storage and Collection of Recyclables | Composting Organic Waste | Renovations and Retrofits | Rebates and Assistance | Organic Produce and Local Food
Environmental Management (5 pages)
Benchmarking | Continual Improvement | Maintaining Building Efficiency | Educating Employees | Becoming a Leader in the Community
Decommissioning (2 pages)
Building Decommissioning | Building Reuse and Recycling
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