Energy Links

BetterBricks.com
Part of a utility-sponsored initiative to promote energy-efficient commercial buildings in the Northwest, BetterBricks includes articles and links to articles on topics of interest. Also included are brief case studies, guidelines, interviews, and other information.

Building Energy Tools Directory
An amazing collection of 130 different software tools, searchable by function or computer platform. Description of each tool includes strengths and weaknesses. Many listed tools are available for free, or accessible on the Internet.

Building Envelope Research at Oak Ridge National Lab
An outstanding Internet resource on current research concerning the thermal performance of various building envelope systems. Includes an interactive tool allowing a user to punch in a wall type and learn its effective R-value.

BuildingEnvelopes.org
BuildingEnvelopes.org is a repository of the latest research on sustainability and energy-related building practices, with links to other sites. The site is a joint venture of Harvard and MIT, with a consortium of supporting companies and organizations. The material is highly technical and varies quite a bit in readability and clarity.

Canadian Association for Renewable Energies
A federal not-for-profit association that was incorporated to promote feasible applications of renewable energies. This site is home to the weekly newsletter, "Trends in Renewable Energies." You can subscribe to the newsletter, or read through the archives. Nothing fancy here, just the newsletter text.

DSIRE
A comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility, and selected federal incentives that promote renewable energy.

EcoAdvisor
Graphical and animated tools that illustrate the workings of various energy systems in buildings. Modules on HVAC systems and lighting are fully implemented, a module on daylighting is partially implemented, and others are in the works.

Energy Center of Wisconsin
A nonprofit energy-efficiency research company based in Madison, Wisconsin. Their mission is to help Wisconsin's utility customers use energy more efficiently. Formerly the Wisconsin Center for Demand-Side Research. A useful place for the energy-conscious, with nice links.

Energy Star
Up-to-date descriptions of the many energy efficiency programs and incentives available under the umbrella of Energy Star.

Environmental Energy Technologies Division
Formerly known as the "Center for Building Science," EETD, based at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, is a leading research organization on windows, energy simulation software, and indoor air quality, among other things. This vast Web site includes the interactive Home Energy Saver tool, archives of the CBS and EETD newsletters, and technical reports in PDF format.

Florida Solar Energy Center
The Florida Solar Energy Center has some of the country's leading researchers on energy conservation and comfort in hot, humid climates. This site provides details on much of their work. Check out the technical articles from the Building Design Assistance Center and the projects of the Advanced Technologies Division.

Home Energy
The best magazine covering weatherization, energy inspection, and residential energy efficiency. Targeted primarily toward energy inspectors and weatherization professionals. Homeenergy.org provides full text of all issues through 1996, plus selected articles from more recent issues. Good, clear information for both professionals and consumers.

The Home Energy Saver
Interactive Web site that assesses energy performance of homes and suggests improvements.

International Dark-Sky Association
IDA is the hub for information on light pollution worldwide. For years they have been making the win-win case for darker skies through more efficient use of outdoor lighting. In addition to links to other organizations around the world, they have an excellent collection of fact sheets that can be read online or ordered in print copy.

Lighting Research Center
Excellent resource of technical information relating to the design and specification of energy-efficient lighting.

The Masonry Heater Information Site
This site has some excellent in-depth articles on both masonry heating and sustainable construction. It is much broader in scope than the title alone would suggest and well worth a visit by green builders. This link takes you to their main page. Or navigate from here straight to the Library page and the links page. Well worth a visit by green builders!

New Buildings Institute
The New Buildings Institute promotes energy efficiency in buildings through policy development, research, guidelines, and codes. Their Web site offers links to guidelines, reports, and tools for energy-efficient lighting, architecture, and mechanical systems.

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
Non-profit membership organization. NESEA was founded in 1974 to foster the use of renewable and sustainable energy, the responsible use of non-renewable forms of energy, and to convey the value of these practices for the preservation of the environment.

The Pacific Energy Center
A wealth of articles available online in html and PDF formats on topics relating to energy use in buildings, such as lighting, HVAC equipment, motors, pumps, etc.

REPP-CREST
Web site of the Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST). The grandfather of energy-efficiency Web sites, CREST is a great starting point for any search on energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable technology. Among the resources housed here are content of the Greening of the White House CD-ROM and archives from the greenbuilding and strawbale email lists.

RoadMaps to Energy Efficiency
The RoadMaps are a guide to retrofitting commercial properties, particularly tenant-occupied office buildings, to improve energy efficiency and reduce operating costs. There are three RoadMaps, each outlining a different approach: do it yourself, hire an energy consultant, and contract an energy service company. The site provides details and links to outside resources for following through on each approach.

The Source for Renewable Energy
Over 3,000 renewable-energy-related businesses and organizations throughout the world are covered in this browsable directory. Great listings, as they have many organizations of interest that are not yet on the Web. This is an especially good place to go for electric car information.

Target Finder
This simple online calculator helps architects set rough energy targets for new buildings by comparing the new facility to the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey data. Easy to use and fairly sophisticated behind-the-scenes, this tool helps non-engineers figure out what to expect in terms of energy performance. Target Finder is an extension of EPA's Portfolio Manager, which performs a similar function for existing buildings.

U.S. Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network
EREN, a World Wide Web site that provides access to information about renewable energy and energy efficient technologies. Your tax dollars at work, and we are definitely getting our money's worth! Huge links library, and a very useful Consumer Information section.

Zion Visitor Center
Detailed Web site within the U.S. Department of Energy's Commercial High Performance Buildings Program, featuring energy-saving technologies in this cutting-edge building, using QuickTime Virtual Reality for three-dimensional views.