Top Ways to Green Commercial Remodeling

It’s official: green’s the way to go in commercial building construction. Every business out there is going green – retail stores, warehouses and offices too. The demand for eco-friendly commercial buildings gains steam every passing year, so it’s a safe bet to adopt green practices when remodeling commercial spaces. Let’s look at some ways to achieve this.

Passive Solar Heating

This doesn’t quite refer to your run-of-the-mill solar panels. Passive solar heating is all about adapting the design and materials of the building in order to maximize the sun’s heating powers. So you may increase the size of the current windows, or add more windows that face southwards in order to collect more solar energy. Similarly, materials like concrete, tile and brick will allow more energy to be absorbed and retained, and then radiated back indoors. Small changes can work wonders when you’re undergoing green commercial remodeling.

Radiant Heat Flooring

Forced air heating can be inefficient, especially if the commercial facility is large and has high ceilings. After all cold air will rise, and there isn’t much point to heating an entire space if only one small area is populated by workers and needs heating. Go for radiant heating in order to only heat a few areas and not the others, even within the same room. Plus, radiant heating can be adapted so it works with solar panels.

Recycled Building Materials

Preserve both money and natural resources by using recycled building materials. For example, you can utilize recycled steel materials in order to build the structure as well as the exterior.There are many other methods you can reuse, reduce and recycle during a commercial green remodeling project, so make sure to discuss this option with your contractors.

Low-Energy Light Fixtures

Commercial buildings often keep their lights switched on for the whole day, even when this isn’t required. Large facilities make it especially difficult to make sure all of your employees are switching off the lights in non-common rooms and areas. To resolve this problem of wasted energy, switch to low-energy lighting fixtures. While they do sometimes have a somewhat higher upfront cost, they use less power and burn a lot longer, so you’re saved the hassle of frequent replacements. Plus, if you also use passive solar heating, you may bring enough daylight into your work areas that lights may not be required at all in the day.

For more information about green solutions and commercial construction services in Pittsburgh, give us a call at (412) 896-1455.

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