our GREEN solutions to save youR money and energy
creating cool, comfortable, and sustainable healthy buildings
We design and build green architecture which is sustainable, healthy, and most of all saves money and energy. We would like to educate you about the problems of most buildings on Aruba, how these can be solved, and why we are your #1 experts in green design and construction. Here are 10 ways which improves the comfort of your building:
1. A cool roof is key
The most important thing to insulate is your roof, because the sun is always high in Aruba. That is why the roof is the first thing we insulate to keep the heat out. Another option is to have a light shaded or white reflective roof.
2. the wind BLOWS FOR FREE
Another important part is passive ventilation. If you cannot insulate your roof on the outside, you can place insulation on the ceiling, and ventilate the attic space above the insulation to let the heat escape with the wind by making extra holes with insect screen in the roof area.
3. AIRCO IS UNHEALTHY
Most buildings are not ventilated because of the airco. A building needs a fresh air intake, because airconditioning is super unhealthy. Ventilation also brings in an airflow in your house at night, for a comfortable temperature. We can lower the temperature with 2 - 3 degrees with the passive wind or with mechanical ventilation.
4. building A COOLBOX
All our walls are insulated to keep the cool air inside your building like a coolbox. Existing masonry block walls can store the cold in their mass, and can be insulated on the outside. For new buildings we use our fully insulated walls of sips.
5. standing strong
We make insulated concrete foundation floors with less risk of cracks, which keeps the cool air from leaking through the floors. We notice a lot of problems with the traditional thin floors like 80 or 100 mm thick. These have low resistance for earthquakes and are sensitive for soil like clay and sand. The movement can make the floors crack and even collapse. We make our floors at least 150 - 200 mm thick with a double reinforcement steel mesh to secure it. Also, the floors are insulated, what will keep the cool air inside your building and protects the concrete.
6. block the heat
Heat enters your house via the windows. Single layer glass windows can heat your house up by more than 40 degrees Celsius. This is why we block the sun by (movable) shutters or louvers, which also gives a the Caribbean vibe. We also use double layered glass windows with high heat resistance. We use insulated window frames like UPVC and aluminium in combination with double glazing. We offer our clients our own green windows from Europe with better prices than Aruban windows, included shipping for bi-fold, turn and tilt.
7. control the airflows
Air leakages are a way to get the uninvited heat in. That is why we make our buildings air-tight and use controlled ventilation. It is sustainable to have 100% control over ventilation. You can get more ventilation when it is needed, for example, when you are cooking or showering.
8. no or low maintenance materials
We provide durable green materials, like Accoya wood, composite, UPVC and aluminium windows and doors, which need almost no maintenance. This means less concerns and less headaches, and living comfortably.
9. re-use your waste water
We use water-saving sewage tank which clean your sewage water up to 98%. This means you can re-use the filtered water for other uses, like watering the garden. It reduces your usage of clean drinking water.
10. Less demand for active energy sources
Our fully insulated and ventilated buildings bring the energy demand down to a minimum. Once this point is reached, we can install less solar panels to keep the building running. All of our solutions can lead to a much smaller energy bill and a healthy, comfortable building.
"what are the problems and consequences?"
Do you know how much money you waste by living in a house which is not insulated?
Chances are that your air-conditioning is turned on at all times, just to create a house in which you can comfortably live. Meanwhile, the expensive conditioned air leaks immediately out of your house through open seams, poorly sealed window frames, and most of all, through un-insulated walls and the roof. At the same time, the sun blazes its heat - quickly heating up your walls and roof on the outside. This is simply a waste of energy. Because of this, living in this house is expensive and comfort can only be created by an active A/C unit. With Airco as the big energy eater, wasting around 50 to 70% of his energy.
Energy-inefficiency does not only reduce on your home's comfort, it harms your wallet, too. Because of the constant active airconditioning, your monthly energy bill is really expensive.
You are not the only one - energy-inefficient buildings are common on Aruba. Buildings are responsible for 68% of the total electricity consumption and 38% of air pollution by CO2 (1). These statistics are concerning.
Summary
Airconditioned air leaks out - a waste of energy
Continually airconditioning is expensive
Unhealthy recirculation of germs and dust
Unhealthy demoisturizing causes dry skin
The home is not comfortable
It is time to change
Living in airconditioned rooms is unhealthy, too. An A/C unit recirculates the same air in the room over and over again, which can also recirculates germs and dust. A/C units also demoisturize the air - taking down the humidity - which causes dry skin, lips, and dry coughing.
It is time to adapt existing buildings and make new buildings which are more durable, energy-efficient, functional, viable, and comfortable.
1. source: U.S.A. EPA (2009). Buildings and their impact on the environment
"what are the benefits of green building?"
"what is our approach to solve the problems for existing buildings or new builds?"
We offer a green scan with which we can check how much energy you can save on your building. All of this is to improve the comfort of your home. Based on the green scan, we can also advise you with building solutions to make your home more energy-efficient. We can advise you over the costs of the renovation, and we can calculate the return of investment time.
For new buildings, we would like to implement sustainable ideas as much as possible. But of course, to which extend, is up to the client. That is why we have developed a Green Checklist: a checklist with which the clients themselves can find out their green ambitions. The document contains multiple subjects, each with multiple green solutions. Click here to download the Green Checklist.
"why choose grp architects & construction?"
We use green products and green methods in our projects, as one of few in the Caribbean. On top of that we use innovative tools, such as 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) Archicad, drone point cloud terrain surveying, BIMx interactive visualization, and most importantly, our green products such as SIPS insulated panels, composite decking, accoya wood, aluminium and UPVC windows and doors, and much more.
We offer different packages of services, ranging from making just permit drawings to doing entire turn-key projects, which means that we design and also build your building - we are contractor with architectural services.
We use sustainable approaches to development of your building.
“We are your expert in green design and construction”
With over a decade of experience in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, and construction, we have proven ourselves to be experts in these different important fields of building. Our strong team consists out of a number of creative designers, skilled craftsmen, innovative engineers, and well-trained administrators, and we firmly believe working with a strong team unlocks the guaranty of a successful project.
We believe Aruba has much potential for sustainable development. If you choose for GRP Architects & Construction, you will soon be a proud owner of a sustainable building, leading the Caribbean into realizing that it is time to change.
Gershon Pocorni
Architectural engineer, owner
On behalf of the green team of GRP Architects & Construction