The city of Chicago recently announced that the Sears Tower and the Merchandise Mart are being retrofitted to meet LEED certification standards, making the Sears Tower the largest green structure in the United States. News link.
This is a trend that will obviously continue. Due to the vast number of built-to-code structures already existing, it wouldn't make any business/economical sense to knock everyone of them down and build it back green. Green retrofits are a good solution; however, you have to crunch the numbers. I am sure there are some projects out there that would be better off bull-dozing and starting from scratch. You also have to be aware of the public's desire for preservation. The architectural fabric of a particular city can take decades to build and tear-down strategies are often met with public resistance.
I would be curious to hear from any of you that have done a green retrofit...whether it be a commercial structure or a personal residence. Did it cost more than you anticipated? What were some of the obstacles? How did the project turn out?
Last year we have been slowly improving the energy efficiency of our house. The easy stuff has been done. Light bulbs replaced, new weather stripping, etc. Both bathrooms have been remodeled and the fixtures replaced. I've put up solar screens and replaced some aging appliances. The next step will be to replace the A/C with a newer high seer unit. So far its turned out to be fairly inexpensive, but the big stuff like solar panels are still very pricey here.
Posted by: Las Vegas Guy | December 18, 2007 at 08:45 PM
Thanks for the update...sounds like you found some success.
Posted by: Garrett | December 18, 2007 at 09:31 PM
Interesting article. Keep up the great work...very informative.
Posted by: Bucket Trucks USA | February 09, 2010 at 07:31 AM