LEED Site Designs (Research Paper Sample)

LEED Site designs
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LEED Site designs
“Leadership in energy and environmental design” is an evaluation program that acknowledges the best building plans and practices. Attaining the evaluation will require that the building projects satisfy certain prerequisites and earn some points to allow the gaining of various levels of certification. The prerequisites and credits differ from the rating systems and groups have to select the best fit for their projects. Green building is known not to be an apparent trend that is developed rather, an approach to developing desired needs of its time that are relevant and important and that will increase with time. The benefits that come along with the green building are known to be manifold, and they can as well be grouped along with the environmental, economic and social factors.
In the environmental context, one benefit is the reduction of emissions. It is found that the pollutants that are released by fossil fuel and are transmitted electrically play significant roles in the global change in climate. It causes particular air quality issues that include the acidic rains and smog-causing the human health to be exposed to risks. Another benefit is the water conservation where the rainwater and the greywater can be recycled to be used in cases of urinal flow or irrigation preserving the moving water and storing significant water savings. There is also the advantage of managing the storm water where the runoff can cause erosion, flooding and can ferry pollutants to the water sources. The redirecting and harvesting of the storm water as well as building the surfaces with the permeable materials including the use of green roofs can be adopted to control and make use of the overflow. Waste reduction is another environmental advantage where the construction and demolition bring about a large solid waste in the U.S. The use of building deconstruction as an alternative can lead to the significant decrease in the production of waste (Cotgrave & Riley, 2013).
In the economic benefits, there is a common impression about the green building where people believe that it is too expensive to be regarded as financially feasible. One advantage in this context is that it promotes the saving of water and energy as the efficiency that is offered by the green model and advancement may lead to a reduction in the costs of operation. Also, there is an increased property value with energy costs on the rise and low operation and maintenance costs that result in low vacancy rates and high property value. Sales improvement is another economic benefit as various studies have shown better sales in the stores that make use of the natural light. Most retailers use the daylight increasingly aiming at attaining associated real benefits (Venhaus, 2012).
There is also the social benefit that includes the improved health. It is assumed that poor indoor environmental quality that comes from the limited ai...