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Water conservation efforts have led to a decrease of flow rates in buildings, increasing water retention time (WRT) and sometimes opportunistic pathogens (OPs) growth. A novel experiment with replicated distal pipes operated at commonly used flow rates was designed to evaluate the effects of water age, flush frequency, flow rate, pipe diameter, water temperature, disinfectant residual presence, and microbial regrowth in hot and cold pipes. In cold water, total bacterial regrowth was a function of water age, plateauing after approximately 6 days at cell counts 20 times higher than influent water with minimal disinfectants. In warm (40 °C) water, most regrowth occurred in the heater tank, reducing the relative growth in the pipes. When cold water with ~1 mg/L chloramine was present, cold-water total bacteria regrowth plateaued after about 2 days WRT with cell counts 14 times higher than influent water, but regrowth still occurred in the heater tank. With 1 mg/L chloramine and elevated heater temperature (60 °C), regrowth in the tank was suppressed and cell counts in the pipes increased 82 times above cold-water influent levels at 7.5 days WRT. Legionella spp. and Mycobacterium spp. demonstrated opposite responses to flow rate with chloramine minimization. The highest levels of Legionella spp. (1.7 log higher than influent) were present when flow velocity was >2 feet per second (fps), but the highest levels of Mycobacterium spp. (1.5 log higher than influent) were observed at the lowest flow velocity (0.33 fps). This study highlights the tradeoffs between water conservation and water quality. / Master of Science / Regulations that decrease flow rates of faucets and showers have driven water conservation in buildings, increasing the time water sits in pipes and tanks (i.e., water retention time or WRT) elevating the likelihood of harmful bacterial growth. A novel faucet rig was designed to carry out a comprehensive experiment revealing the combined effects of WRT, flush frequency, flow rate, pipe diameter, water temperature, and disinfectant residual presence on water quality at the tap. In water without disinfectant, growth in cold water pipes increased with WRT, but in hot water the growth of bacteria occurred mostly in the warm water tank at 40 °C, which is a temperature known to leave a system vulnerable to bacterial growth. Cold pipes with a disinfectant residual saw a decrease in bacterial regrowth in comparison to cold pipes without disinfectant. However, if there was a disinfectant residual and an elevated water heater temperature set point in the tank, regrowth occurred when water was in the pipes at room temperature and there were lower disinfectant residuals. Potentially harmful bacteria, like Legionella spp. and Mycobacterium spp., which cause Legionnaires' disease and nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) infections, grew more readily at higher flow rates, whereas others grew less readily, but all harmful bacteria were reduced by lowering WRT to less than ≈ 2 days and maintaining the water at 60 °C with a disinfectant. This study has important implications for regulations requiring minimum disinfectant levels to buildings, faucet flow rates regulations, and design and operation of building plumbing systems.

In developed nations, 20-40% of greenhouse gas emissions and more than one-third of energy consumption are attributable to buildings. Among various available strategies, the building sector has the greatest potential for carbon emission reduction. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) took early action to promote sustainable designs in buildings and has become the most well-known rating system in the field of building sustainability. However, little research has evaluated the effects of LEED on occupant pro-environmental behavior. To examine this, a Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) was conducted in a traditional, green featured, and LEED certified building case to compare the similarities and differences in environmental awareness, perceptions, and perceived ease or difficulty of pro-environmental behaviors, as well as to assess the degree to which pro-environmental behaviors were exhibited by occupants. This was used to determine if the aforementioned factors influence occupant behavior in different building cases. Ease or difficulty of pro-environmental behaviors and environmental awareness were found to be significant factors in influencing pro-environmental behavior in the LEED certified and green featured building cases. In addition, being in a LEED building appears to influence occupant pro-environmental behavior in a positive way. Also, there is evidence to suggest that being in a green featured building appears to influence occupants to exhibit pro-environmental behavior as well. These findings are valuable for owners and designers that want occupants in their buildings to exhibit pro-environmental behavior. / Master of Science / Climate change is an issue that has risen to national and global importance with the increase of rising sea levels, temperature and precipitation, and extreme weather events. To combat the issue of climate change, changes in building design through the avenue of green rating systems have been used to encourage the building sector to reduce energy consumption and thus, a building’s environmental impact. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), is one of the most well-known green rating systems used to rate energy efficient buildings. However, the effect of LEED on occupant pro-environmental behavior has been less studied in understanding how occupant behavior impacts energy consumption in a traditional, green featured, and LEED certified building case. This thesis aims to explore if occupying different buildings influence occupants to exhibit proenvironmental behaviors. For this study, I investigated whether occupant’s environmental awareness, perceptions, perceived ease or difficulty of set behaviors and pro-environmental behavior differed between different building cases. This thesis concludes that being in a LEED certified and green featured building appear to influence occupants to exhibit pro-environmental behavior, more so than being in a traditional building.

Environmental sustainability in regards to infrastructure and the built environment is a significant consideration for the Department of National Defence (DND). As the 2nd largest landowner in Canada, the DND is making great efforts to operate in a sustainable manner through the creation and implementation of sustainable building policies. Meeting the green/sustainable buildings requirements of the recent Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, and the 2006 DND Sustainable Development Strategy to achieve accreditation within generic green building systems, has proven to be extremely challenging given the mandate and the nature of Canadian Forces (CF) operations, both domestically and overseas. This line of research was conducted in order to identify the unique requirements and the sustainability factors/criteria that are applicable to the CF / DND and to investigate how to best align these requirements within the context of sustainable development strategies. Input data was obtained through an analysis of literature and relevant documents, as well as a series of interviews with individuals at all levels within the Federal Government. The result of this research undertaking was, in part, the creation of a Sustainable Development for DND based on a thorough, comprehensive and internationally-investigated factor selection process. These results illustrate the importance for the DND to consider implementing a department-specific sustainable building strategy; one that is more representative of the unique type of infrastructure DND owns and operates. The results of such an investigation can surely be used to assist with best practices and strategic policies within DND and to potentially influence policies at the Federal level of governance in this regard. The ultimate goal of this thesis was to establish the policy framework with a view for DND to develop and implement its own unique Sustainability Standard. / Thesis (Master, Environmental Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-11-29 14:21:37.63

Sustainable construction projects are expanding in the market and green codes andstandards are advancing giving the ground for development of technology and materialsapplied. With every new material and technology utilised in the field, also risks aregrowing. The importance of risk management in sustainable construction projects isthus increasing and more experience and expertise is needed. So, the purpose of thisthesis is to examine and gain deeper understanding of project related risks in sustainableconstruction projects in Swedish companies operating in built environment. It is crucialto gain knowledge of good practices within the industry to be able to propose furtherinvestigation of the subject that could improve the existing risk management andsustainable construction project goals.This thesis examines the existing theory of the risk management process and sustainableprojects by shedding light on the trends within the construction industry. The intentionof the thesis is to add value to the existing gap in the theory that suggests thatconstruction industry is exposed to more risks and uncertainty than perhaps otherindustries, and that introducing sustainability adds more uncertainties and risks. Thisphenomenon is claimed to be due to the lack of knowledge and experience in the areaand, thus, practitioners seek for new ways how to tackle the arising issues. This thesisattempts to display how Swedish companies who are working with green and highperformance buildings identify and deal with risks.Two Swedish companies operating in built environment were chosen in order toinvestigate different ways of dealing with risks and the trend of sustainability inconstruction. Those in charge of risk and sustainability within the companies wereinterviewed applying semi-structured interviews and additional information wasgathered through multiple sources, such as annual reports, web pages and otherdocuments. This thesis has exploratory and qualitative research design and appliesabductive approach for the purpose and the nature of phenomena.The findings showed the different tools how risk management is applied in thecompanies and how it is related to the risks faced in green building construction. Theresults showed the importance of tools applied tackling sustainable construction projectsthat companies have applied and added to their processes in order to manageuncertainties that could occur if these processes were not implemented. As regards thegeneralisability towards findings, there still could be added more companies and futureresearch could imply also maturity of the companies to make findings more precise.However, after consideration of the processes learnt from companies, the proposedmodel for achievement of successful sustainable construction projects can be followedand applied in other companies operating in this industry.

<div> <p>The residential building sector is one of the most energy intensive sectors in today’s civilization. With population growth and a rise in number of homeowners the effect is bound to worsen. A wave of green and sustainable strategies is on the rise hoping to moderate some of the negative effect on the environment. From embracing renewable sources of energy as an alternative to fossil fuels, to improving existing home systems to become more efficient, the construction industry is evolving into becoming more energy conscious. One of the biggest obstacles to this wave is a lack of awareness and a fear of initial costs among contractors, homeowners and clients alike. This research will use Life Cycle Cost Analysis on a varying combination of residential energy systems and the researcher hopes to establish the trade-off between initial investment and long-term benefits. The case being considered is a residence located in Indiana, US. Using past and current utility bills and energy simulation data of different energy consuming systems in the residence over its lifetime, economic models are generated. This research establishes that a combination of passive and active energy conservation measures results in the lowest life cycle cost. The study will be beneficial for further research and as a framework for residential life cycle cost analysis.</p></div>

This paper explores how education for environmental literacy can be integrated into America's public school system. It investigates the benefits of environmental education and how green school buildings, sustainable cafeterias, school gardens and environmental education curriculum can be used to teach for environmental literacy at all grade levels. Includes sample lesson plan.

Plug loads—traditionally viewed as behaviorally motivated and beyond the control of designers and operations—are now seen as an integral part of achieving low-energy building targets. Higher education institutions are increasingly recognizing the environmental impacts of campus facilities through holistic approaches to energy savings including energy efficient design and occupant engagement. Residence halls are a compelling example because students bring large numbers of electronics to their rooms and have unlimited access to power for an all-inclusive room rate and resource usage competitions and campaigns are commonplace. However, limited research exists on residence halls plug loads. This dissertation asked the following of residence halls: (1) What are the measured plug loads and how do they compare with design estimates? (2) What role do building design characteristics play in plug loads? (3) What are the specific occupant behaviors that could influence future design? (4) How can plug loads be better understood in terms of behavior, design, and operations? To answer these questions, a sequential mixed methods study included field measurements and student surveys in six residence halls on three Oregon campuses followed by 24 interviews with designers, operators, and students. Findings suggest that plug loads in occupied residence halls are higher and usage profiles differ from design predictions. Results do not show significant correlations between design characteristics and plug loads but suggest that some room/suite level features may play a somewhat stronger role. Survey responses indicated that students are doing more with fewer smart devices, which suggests opportunities for students sharing energy intensive devices. Lighting emerged as both a practical and a social consideration. Finally, the data revealed “balance of power” as a coherent process that explicates the relationships between design, operations, and behavior. Designers have the power to recommend plug load strategies and technologies but are limited by costs, maintenance, and political concerns; operations personnel have the power to impose limits on student power usage but are often reluctant to interfere with the overall living experience; and students have the power to use plug load electricity with few restrictions. This suggests that the balance may be skewed toward student behavior.

That the construction and real estate sector is one of the energy culprits in modern society is nothing new; the industry needs to take its responsibility for sustainability and start building for future generations. This sparked an interest in us and therefore we chose to investigate whether there is an increased demand for sustainably built homes in today’s real estate market. To get an idea of the research situation, we chose to look at studies from around the world. These studies showed a relatively high willingness to pay for sustainably built housing. During our groundwork, we found a lack of research from the Nordic countries, and decided to begin this study with focus on the Swedish real estate market. In order to find out the study's question: Is there an increased demand for sustainably built homes in today's real estate market?, we chose to conduct semi-structured interviews. We interviewed five relevant actors from the swedish real estate industry who were able to share their experience and knowledge of sustainability, the industry and demand. Four of these were representatives of real estate developers and one works as a real estate agent. In the result part of the essay we come to the conclusion, with the help of the respondents, that there is anincreased demand for Green Buildings in comparison with non-sustainable built housing. During the interviews, it also emerged that there is higher demand in the commercial market than for those who buy a home for their own use. What this is due to is not entirely clear, but it is rooted in different types of financial incentives. Commercial players have a more long-term investment plan when buying properties than customers who buy for private use. This means that the lower monthly operating costs that an ecologically built home provides have a longer time to repay the initially higher investment cost. This in connection with ever higher conditions from BBR (Boverkets Building Law) places different demands on commercial buyers than private home buyers, which in turn affects demand. Further research with additional developers and real estate agents is needed to create an even clearer picture of exactly how high the demand is. Carrying out quantitative studies in the future with data on sales prices can provide a more accurate picture of the exact willingness to pay for sustainability in the real estate sector.

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo determinar si la implementación de las certificaciones Green (Leed y/o Edge) y el cumplimiento de la aplicación del Bono Verde, en los proyectos Multifamiliares que se desarrollan en la Ciudad de Lima generan una mayor rentabilidad económica para los desarrolladores inmobiliarios. Para la investigación se escogieron dos proyectos; El primero en el distrito de la Victoria (sector económico C), y el segundo en el distrito de San Borja (sector económico A). Asimismo, en las Municipalidades de los distritos de Miraflores, San Borja y Surco están promoviendo proyectos sostenibles a cambio de una mayor área de construcción, siempre y cuando estas edificaciones tengan una certificación Green. Por otro lado el Gobierno central promueve la adquisición de viviendas sostenibles a cambio del Bono Verde, el cual comprende entre un 3% y 4% del valor del financiamiento del inmueble. Para evaluar la rentabilidad económica de los proyectos con la implementación de las certificaciones Green y del Bono Verde, se realizó un perfil económico estático para determinar la utilidad y margen operativo, además se realizó un flujo de caja económico para determinar los indicadores VAN y TIR. De los resultados que se obtuvieron de la investigación. Se tiene que la implementación del Bono Verde en viviendas del sector C, aumenta la velocidad de venta, así como el VAN y TIR. Por otro lado, la implementación de una certificación Edge en Viviendas del Sector A genera un mayor margen económico y un aumento de VAN y TIR. / The purpose of this research is to determine if implementing Green Certifications like LEED or EDGE and/or the application of Bono Verde in the development of Lima’s Residential buildings generates better margins for the developer. To determine this, two proyects were analized, the first being in the La Victoria district and the second one being in San Borja district. Miraflores, San Borja and Santiago de Surco are also promoting Green building proyects, and as an incentive giving additional construction área, aslong as they achieve a Green Certificate. Likewise the federal government is promoting de purchase of sustainable aparments with the Bono Verde subsidy, which accounts for a 3-4% discount for the first owner. To evaluate the economic profitability of the Projects wtih Green certificates and Bono Verde there was an economic evaluation carried out to determine the profit and operational margin, aswell as a cash flow to evaluate the NPV and IRR. According to the results obtained from the research, the implementation of the Bono Verde in La Victoria, it will increase the number of sales and therefore the NPV and IRR will rise. On the other side an EDGE certificate in San Borja will generate a wider margin and a better NPV and IRR. / Trabajo de investigación