Are you about to build a structure to live or to work? If yes, please do read on.

Earth Advantage Institute, a leading non-profit Green Building Certification organization in Portland has announced its choice selections for top ten green building trends in 2010. The trends vary from energy scores for homes to web-based displays which track real-time energy consumption, and were acknowledged by the Institute based on dealings with builders, architects, real estate brokers, lenders, appraisers and homeowners throughout 2009. A list of the trends follows.

1. The Smart Grid and Connected Home

The first on the list is the smart grid and connected home, which will work to conserve energy and increase home value – especially as grid capabilities begin to increase in the future.

While utilities will continue to make upgrades to the grid for more effective generation, storage and distribution of power, the big news is in the home. The development of custom and web-based display panels that show real-time home energy use, and even real-time energy use broken out by individual appliance, will go a long way towards helping change homeowners’ energy behaviour and drive energy conservation.

In the same way that the Toyota Prius miles-per-gallon indicator has motivated some owners to modify driving habits, these home “dashboards” may create “extreme energy” buffs intent on reaching individual energy goals specified for the home by rating systems such as the Energy Performance Score.

2. Energy Labelling for Homes and Office Buildings

The second is energy labelling for homes and office buildings to help encourage property owners to make needed energy improvements while adding worth to their building.

The advent of more accurate energy rating systems for homes and office spaces – similar to the miles-per-gallon sticker on your car – has caught the attention of energy agencies and legislators around the country. Not only can it make a building-to-building or home-to-home comparison easier, but a publicly available score on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) could galvanize owners to make needed energy improvements while adding value to their building.

A post-improvement audit can also measure the effectiveness of upgrades, a useful tool for gauging results of stimulus funding for retrofits. In Oregon and Washington, the Energy Performance Score has been written into recent bills to explore mandatory energy labelling at the time of any transaction.

3. Building Information Modelling (BIM) Software

The third trend is Building Information Modelling (BIM) software, considering that CAD software for building design has spawned fresh add-on tools with progressively accurate (and gradually more affordable) algorithms for energy. The continued evolution of CAD software for building design has produced new add-on tools with increasingly accurate algorithms for energy modelling as well as embedded energy properties for many materials and features. This will prove instrumental in predicting building performance.

BIM software is utilized during the design of buildings to optimize all aspects to increase energy efficiency. Architects and designers can model how a building will behave given certain environmental conditions, materials, solar orientation, renewable energy, HVAC systems, dimensions and size, lighting and more. Experts expect that the use of BIM by architects, designers and builders will become more widespread and even more accurate.

BIM developers will soon be offering more affordable packages aimed at smaller firms and individual builders. Contractors are predicted to show the greatest increase in usage of BIM compared with any other group, according to market research firm McGraw Hill Construction.

4. Buy-in to Green Building by the Financial Community

The fourth trend anticipates a surge in open lending for green construction projects. Seeing that operating costs are much lower than a traditional home, the financial services community is beginning to view green homes and buildings as more fiscally viable and is working to get new reduced-rate loan programs and insurance packages into place.

Lenders and insurers have come to see green homes and buildings as better for their bottom line and are working to get new reduce drate loan products, insurance packages, and metrics into place. Green buildings have lower operational costs, have healthier interiors, and are doing their part to reduce climate change, which is a great risk to insurance companies. Lenders and insurers are realizing that green home owners are more responsible, place higher value on maintenance, and are less likely to default due to lower operating costs of homes and office buildings.

5. “Rightsizing” of Homes

Fifth trend is the “rightsizing” of homes, as a bigger home no longer means greater equity. As we’ve seen during the current downturn, a larger home no longer translates into greater equity. Given that the forecast for home valuation remains conservative, that energy prices are expected to rise over time, and the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates mid-year, homeowners will likely feel more comfortable building smaller homes and smaller add-ons.

6. Eco-Districts

Eco-districts are the sixth trend, with many cities encouraging the creation of green communities in which residents have access to most services and supplies within walking or biking distance.

Portland is already on the bandwagon with this one, encouraging the creation of greener communities where residents have access to all most services and supplies within walking or biking distance. These areas would also incorporate green spaces and green certified buildings. While we have such neighbourhoods in the cities, the creation of walk-able, low impact communities in the suburban setting is also gaining steam.

Cities around the world are beginning to think and built holistic communities with green buildings, gardens, pedestrian orientated streets, public transit, bike lanes and open space. These eco-districts are not only about environmentally friendly buildings running off renewable energy; they are geared towards creating a community of people who have similar environmental ideals.

7. Water Conservation

The seventh trend is water conservation, as the precious life source is becoming endangered more so every day. Even more important than energy conservationwill be water conservation. Already millions all over the world do not have access to clean drinking water, and even here in the US, states in the Southwest are experience droughts and water shortages.

Because indoorand outdoor residential water use accounts for more than half of the publicly supplied water in the United States, the EPA finalized the WaterSense specification for new homes in December of 2009, which reduces water use by about 20 percent less water compared to a conventional new home.

Verification groups that certify single and multifamily homes will likely also train the same staff to verify WaterSense compliance when requested by builders or homeowners. Mandatory energy labelling in Europe already documents water efficiency in buildings -- it may soon be incorporated into U.S. performance scores. Water will be the essential resource in the next decade.

8. Carbon Calculation

Carbon calculation is the eighth trend, which will work to document, measure and reduce greenhouse gas creation in building materials and processes.

With buildings contributing roughly half the carbon emissions in the environment, the progressive elements in the building industry are looking at ways to document, measure, and reduce greenhouse gas creation in building materials and processes. Lifecycle analysis (LCA) of building products is underway by third party technical teams, while others are working with federal and state building authorities to educate staff, create monetized carbon credits, and develop effective carbon offset policies. This effort will be heightened once a federal cap-and-trade mechanism is launched in this country.

9. Net Zero Buildings

The ninth trend is net zero buildings. A net zero building is a building that generates more energy than it uses over the course of a year, as a result of relatively small size, extreme efficiencies and onsite renewable energy sources such as wind, solar or geo-exchange systems.

While the Architecture 2030 Challenge sets forth net zero as the goal for all buildings in 2030, we are already within striking distance on many fronts. Building extreme efficiency into a structure is highly cost effective, and achieves the bulk of the net zero effort. Oregon already has several net zero homes, and the planned Oregon Sustainability Centre is an example of a net zero office building.

One increasingly popular standard is the Passive House standard, which was originally started in Germany. These houses are so efficient, that often they don’t even need a heating system and rely on the excess heat from appliances to keep the home warm.

10. Sustainable Building Education

Lastly is sustainable building education to aid designers and builders, as well as other building industry professionals such as real estate agents, financiers and insurance agents.

While the slowdown afforded many builders the opportunity to learn about green building and establish credentials, the momentum for green building is being supplied by homebuyers, homeowners and building owners. Training for renewable energy systems like solar panelsis incredibly popular as is becoming a LEED Accredited Professional, who is trained to help consult on and certify green buildings.

The continued demand, especially in progressive cities, will supply new learning opportunities, not just for designers and builders but for the entire chain of professionals involved in the building industry, from real estate to finance, and insurance. These peripheral professionals seek to know more about the features and benefits of sustainable construction in order to place an appropriate value on a green building. In this way they can be assured that there will not be a disconnect between the homeowner’s or builder’s perceived value and the appraiser’s perceived value, and all parties can benefit from the greening of the building industry.