What does Green Building Cost?

By Charlie Popeck

I want to make an important point-Green Buildings, also known as "high-performance" or "low-maintenance" buildings are quality buildings. The potentially higher costs associated with a quality building are sometimes unfairly categorized as green building costs in error. Anything of quality will typically cost more, but the question must also be asked "what am I getting for the higher cost?". This is where Green Building really shines!

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We should first define the typical types of "cost" that are encountered when designing, building and operating a building over time. There are several of these cost types, so lets get them all out on the table. The most logical way to look at costs associated with a building is the "life-cycle" costs. The life cycle cost of a building consists of all cost attributed to a building throughout it's useful life, which can sometimes be in excess of 50 years! These cost types include:

First costs-Initial costs that the owner must pay for design and construction services as well as land, materials and permit fees. These are the costs that design and construction professionals come face-to-face with daily, as first costs are always a priority to the owner. My goal is to demonstrate that although first cost is important, it is not the only cost that needs to be considered when designing and constructing a building.

Operation costs-On-going costs that the owner will continue to incur for items such as electricity and water. Obviously, anything we can do with the building that lowers these costs will have a major impact on the owner's total cost of owning the building over several years. Improved building envelopes and energy / water efficient systems are typical examples of how Green Building can help to lower these costs.

Maintenance costs-Another on-going cost that the owner will pay to keep the building in good condition. Typical maintenance costs include painting, cleaning and upkeep of machinery. Similar to operation costs, keeping maintenance costs under control will also contribute to lower overall life cycle cost. High-quality HVAC and refrigeration equipment, as well as durable materials and green housekeeping programs will keep maintenance costs low.

Refurbishment costs-Costs to remodel, upgrade, or move people from place to place within the building. If the owner plans to occupy the building for several years, the ease with which refurbishment can be accomplished becomes increasingly important. Green Building practice encourages the use of under floor air systems, re-usable materials and movable / re-locatable wall systems to facilitate refurbishment of buildings.

Disposal costs-Once the building has exceeded its useful life, the costs associated with dismantling the building and finding a home for the materials. If the materials originally used to construct and refurbish the building were carefully chosen, they can be reused directly or broken down easily and incorporated into the manufacture of new building materials or products.

As you can see, when all of the real costs of designing, building, operating, refurbishing and ultimately disposing of a building are factored into the building cost equation, it becomes obvious that Green Buildings don't necessarily cost more - but they may cost "different."

Unfortunately, those of us in the construction industry are most often required to focus on the first costs, as we are responsible for the initial design and construction of buildings, so lets take a look at "first costs" of Green Buildings:

Several detailed studies have been done over the last few years that were focused on comparing the up-front or first cost of green buildings to non-green buildings. One study, done by Gregory Kats studied 33 LEED projects-25 office buildings and 8 schools. The findings of the study were: