Jerry Yudelson, green building consultant, speaker, and author, and founder of architecture firm Yudelson Associates has announced his annual list of major green building trends that will affect the industry in 2014.
Topping Yudelson’s 2014 list is the prediction that green building in North America will continue strong growth in 2014, with the ongoing expansion of commercial real estate construction together with government, university, nonprofit, and school construction.
The second megatrend is the growing focus on energy efficiency in all kinds of buildings, including the increasing role of building automation for energy efficiency using cloud-based systems. Next is design and operation of zero-net-energy buildings. According to Yudelson, “We know that green building has hit the mainstream. To distinguish themselves, many building owners and developers are taking the logical next step: getting to zero net energy on an annual basis. Why? The most widespread reason is that more people than ever believe it’s the right thing to do.”
LEED will attract competitors as never before, partly because recent Obama administration actions have now put this system on par with LEED for federal projects. The focus of the green building industry will also continue its switch from new building design and construction to greening existing buildings. This trend has been in place since 2010. Green building performance disclosure will continue, highlighted by disclosure requirements enacted in 2013 by more than 30 major cities around the country-laws that require commercial building owners to disclose actual green building performance. Healthy building products, product disclosure declarations, along with various lists of chemicals of concern, will become increasingly contentious. 

Solar power use in buildings will grow, and third-party financing offerings will continue to provide capital for larger rooftop systems on low-rise commercial buildings, parking garages, warehouses and retail stores, as well as on homes.Yudelson adds, “Awareness of the coming crisis in fresh water supply, both globally and in the US, will increase, as global climate change affects rainfall and water supply systems worldwide.”
