{"id":185,"date":"2016-10-24T13:23:30","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T13:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metromech.com\/blog\/?p=185"},"modified":"2022-11-23T21:04:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T21:04:20","slug":"185","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metromech.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/185\/","title":{"rendered":"SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION: A GLOSSARY OF TERMS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sustainability is a growing trend in the construction industry. With a multitude of terms ranging from acronyms like LEED and IAQ to keywords like geothermal and grey water, it can be difficult to understand what the sustainable construction trend is all about. Knowing the below five terms is a great start to a green building vocabulary.<\/p>\n

Net-Zero <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNet-zero buildings are, by definition, buildings that use less energy than they produce over time. Effective net-zero design demands more than just piling on renewable energy sources. It requires an integrated process of evaluating needs, setting goals, and tailoring solutions to each project, site, and client.\u201d \u2013 Building Design + Construction<\/em><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.bdcuniversity.com\/net-zero-energy-design-and-living-building-challenge<\/a><\/p>\n

IAQ<\/strong><\/p>\n

IAQ, or Indoor Air Quality refers to the relative \u201chealth and comfort\u201d of the air in a building. Factors like gases, pollutants and other contaminants can all impact a building\u2019s overall IAQ.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/indoor-air-quality-iaq\/introduction-indoor-air-quality<\/a><\/p>\n

GEOTHERMAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

The term geothermal is used to describe a method of energy efficiency that utilizes the earth\u2019s natural heat to create the energy needed to heat and cool buildings.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/energy.gov\/energysaver\/geothermal-heat-pumps<\/a><\/p>\n

GREY WATER<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the name suggests, grey water refers to the \u201cwaste water\u201d that comes from systems like our showers, sinks, dishwashers and washing machines. From a sustainability perspective, grey water can be recycled and reused in applications like irrigation.<\/p>\n

LEED<\/strong><\/p>\n

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a points-based certification that buildings can receive for efforts made towards sustainability and efficiency. There are four different ratings a project can receive: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.usgbc.org\/articles\/green-building-101-what-leed<\/a><\/p>\n

For a full list of terms, the Green Resource Council<\/a> provides a great glossary of terms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sustainability is a growing trend in the construction industry. With a multitude of terms ranging from acronyms like LEED and IAQ to keywords like geothermal and grey water, it can be difficult to understand what the sustainable construction trend is… Continue Reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,10],"tags":[13,39,43,41,42,40],"class_list":["post-185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-construction","category-sustainability","tag-construction","tag-energy-efficiency","tag-geothermal","tag-green-building","tag-leed","tag-sustainability"],"yoast_head":"\nSUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION: A GLOSSARY OF TERMS - Mechanical Services Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A few key terms to know to be able to speak the language of sustainable construction and green building in the commercial construction industry.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.metromech.com\/blog\/2016\/10\/185\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Neary\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.metromech.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/185\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.metromech.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/185\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Laura Neary\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.metromech.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ae0499eec5090df6af50630146a70d61\"},\"headline\":\"SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION: A GLOSSARY OF TERMS\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-10-24T13:23:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-23T21:04:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.metromech.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/185\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":295,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.metromech.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/185\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.metromech.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/geothermal.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"construction\",\"energy efficiency\",\"geothermal\",\"green building\",\"LEED\",\"sustainability\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Construction\",\"Sustainability\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.metromech.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/185\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.metromech.com\\\/blog\\\/2016\\\/10\\\/185\\\/\",\"name\":\"SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION: A GLOSSARY OF TERMS - 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