Green Building posts, articles, and infographics

Building Hope and Sustainability

December 16, 2011 by Antonio Pasolini
with 132 views

Nancy Welsh. Photo credit: Builders of Hope Builders of Hope is an organization headquartered in Raleigh, NC, that rehabs doomed properties and transforms them into affordable, sustainable housing. It also works to make the new homes more energy efficient in order to reduce carbon emissions and keep electricity bills lower.... [read more]

Cost-Effective Renewable Power Homes

September 28, 2011 by A Siegel
with 445 views

One of the nation’s most important (and sadly too little discussed) intercollegiate competitions is on in Washington, DC: the biennial Solar Decathlon. Open to the public for a few more days (through 2 October), the Decathlon brings together 19 university teams from around the globe to compete across ten categories (thus, “decathlon... [read more]

Why Don't More Businesses Save Money Through Energy Management?

September 26, 2011 by David Thorpe
with 319 views

ichard Rugg, the Director of Carbon Trust Programmes, really can't understand why more organisations are not taking advantage of the free advice available from the Trust. Because at relatively low cost a wide range of industrial, commercial and public sector organisations can cut their energy bills by up to 25% if only they took energy management seriously. Payback periods can be as low as two months - and then it's into the profit zone. [read more]

Operation 'Use The Sun': The U.S. Military’s Sustainability Strategy

September 24, 2011 by Sheila Oliva
with 474 views

For those of you who did not know, our military spends a lot of money to support itself. One of its biggest expenses is its huge appetite for energy. Specifically, according to Colonel Dan Nolan, “The DOD is the world’s largest oil consumer,” accounting for 25% of the globe’s consumption. Due to that need for oil, Colonel Nolan says that... [read more]

Smart Grid Needs Smart Buildings and Policy

July 11, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 719 views

Buildings consume an extraordinary amount of energy in the USA. Commercial, industrial, or residential expend their energy in different categories, but numerous studies have shown that energy efficiency and intelligent building technologies reduce energy bills. Not only that, but smart buildings can have a strong multiplier... [read more]

Communities Key To Reducing Carbon From Buildings

July 5, 2011 by David Thorpe
with 279 views

If the Government is keen on reducing the carbon emissions from the domestic sector, it should ideally target efforts at the community level rather than individual households, according to a study of British Gas' Green Streets programme by the IPPR.Not only are there efficiencies in scale at this level, there is also the knock-on benefit... [read more]

Comprehensive Senate Energy Efficiency Bill Resurrects National Model Energy Code

June 13, 2011 by Shari Shapiro
with 262 views

On May 12, 2011 the Energy Savings & Industrial Competitiveness Act (ESICA) of 2011 was introduced by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D. N.H.) and Rob Portman (R. OH). The Act creates a national strategy to increase use of energy efficiency technologies through a national model energy code, enhanced appliance... [read more]

Lighting, Sensors and Lumens, Oh My

June 7, 2011 by Scott Edward Anderson
with 549 views

From poor lighting in the Hilton's Trianon Room to the endless parade of LED products on display in the Exhibit Hall lighting was the word at Con Ed's Energy Efficiency Summit in New York on Wednesday. Mike Jackson, director of sales with VC-backed Digital Lumens, even brought along a prop for his presentation in the Pitch Stop, Con... [read more]

Video: Energy Efficient Passive House Design

June 2, 2011 by Silvio Marcacci
with 638 views

Some homes can be designed to save energy. This one, in the Washington, D.C., suburbs is so well sealed and insulated that is requires no expensive heating or cooling equipment. It uses building techniques to keep the air inside comfortable year round. The energy costs are reduced by 90 percent by using triple glazed windows and rigid foam insulation, and making sure there are no leaks in window seams. The windows also are designed to make maximum use of sunlight and shade for heating and cooling. [read more]

IEA: Building Energy Consumption Can be Cut 33%

May 18, 2011 by Nathanael Baker
with 847 views

In its latest energy roadmap, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says dramatic energy savings could be achieved rapidly if policies which promote energy efficient heating and cooling technologies are adopted. It is estimated that buildings -- residential, commercial, and public -- account for one-third of the globe's total final... [read more]

Meet BERT, Your Energy Control Freak

May 18, 2011 by Scott Edward Anderson
with 769 views

Will Ernie be next?Remember when your mom would shout at you to turn off the lights when you left a room? Well, now there's an electronic mom that does it for you without the yelling. They call it BERT, which stands for Best Energy Reduction Tools, and it's a new "smart plug" has the witty tagline that it's "your energy control... [read more]

WEBINAR - JOIN IT NOW: Funding Green Cities

May 13, 2011 by Amelia Timbers
with 223 views

If you're in energy, you've heard it before: 40% of US carbon emissions come from buildings. Everything that uses electricity- HVAC, lighting, appliances, etc- adds to this burden. To cut down on buildings' share of emissions, we have a collective challenge to transition to low carbon forms of energy. And trust me, that sounds great; we... [read more]

Shine On: Is NYC Emerging As A Solar Hub?

April 13, 2011 by Stephen Del Percio
with 54 views

Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday that Stephen was writing about Solar One’s ambitious Solar Two Arts and Green Energy Education Center. But it wasn’t — it was May of 2007, actually, which meant that Lehman Brothers was still in business, the Mets were still in contention for a playoff spot, and Lady Gaga was not even... [read more]

Starter Homes Get Solar Panels As Standard Equipment

March 28, 2011 by Todd Woody
with 336 views

Among the standard features offered for new homes at Manzanita at Paseo del Sol, a KB Home development in a desert suburb southeast of Los Angeles, are nine-foot ceilings, six-panel doors and a 1.4-kilowatt solar array.While KB Home has offered rooftop photovoltaic panels as an option for some time, the home builder now will... [read more]

IBM’s Dave Bartlett Talking Smarter Buildings

March 21, 2011 by Tom Raftery
with 120 views

[Disclosure: IBM sponsored this interviews and paid T&E for this blogger to attend Pulse.]”I had a chat with IBM’s Dave Bartlett while we were both at at Pulse 2011 about the state of Smarter Buildings and Smarter Cities today and their possibilities. Here’s a transcription of our conversation: Tom Raftery: Hi everyone! Welcome... [read more]