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Features

Alternative Water Sources: Supply-Side Solutions for Green Buildings

Both the recent drought in the normally-wet Southeast and impending water shortages in the Southwest are a reminder that water efficiency should be a top priority for our buildings. At the same time, finding alternative sources of water is also important for sustainability and passive survivability. Several sources of water can be harvested at the building level as well as through municipal-scale wastewater treatment and desalination.
Environmental Building News—May 1, 2008

Navigating Incentives and Regulations for Green Building

When used in combination, incentives and regulations can be a powerful force for encouraging green buildings. Incentives can be complicated to navigate, but are often well worth the effort. Regulations, on the other hand, can be slow to change, but can raise the baseline for building performance.
Environmental Building News—April 1, 2008

Is Nano a No-No? Nanotechnology Advances into Buildings

Nanotechnology takes advantage of the novel properties that particles can exhibit at a billionth of a meter in size. Those properties are being used in building materials, where they can improve thermal performance and the effectiveness of photovoltaics, among many possibilities. The field has little regulation, however, despite significant health and environmental concerns.
Environmental Building News—March 1, 2008

Water: Doing More With Less

The U.S. uses about 400 billion gallons of water a day, and water shortages are becoming more common. Water conservation is possible in several areas in and around buildings, however, with water-saving products and technologies currently on the market and in development.
Environmental Building News—February 1, 2008

Behind the Logos: Understanding Green Product Certifications

The number of environmental product standards and certifications is growing rapidly, putting numerous different "green" logos on products. This article reviews the key programs and evaluates their rigor, and offers guidance in using them to accomplish project goals.
Environmental Building News—January 1, 2008

Controls Go Wireless

Particularly for lighting and ventilation controls in retrofit situations wireless systems offer potential energy, money, and resource savings. The technology is still new, however, and potential drawbacks like health risks, interference, and even the potential for increased energy consumption need to be examined.
Environmental Building News—December 1, 2007

Investing in the Environment: The Financial Industry's Approach to Green Building

Recent changes in the financial industry are providing new opportunities for financing green buildings. However, lenders and investors have different approaches to documenting the benefits of green, which affect how they use rating systems and other metrics. To navigate effectively in the financial world, green designers and builders need to understand the territory.
Environmental Building News—November 1, 2007

Prefabricating Green: Building Environmentally Friendly Houses Off Site

Prefabricated housing offers several potential environmental benefits, including reduced transportation impacts, reduced waste, and quality control for better durability and performance. Aside from a few industry leaders, however, most manufacturers do not take full advantage of those efficiencies to create affordable high-performance houses.
Environmental Building News—October 1, 2007

Driving to Green Buildings: The Transportation Energy Intensity of Buildings

The energy used traveling to and from an average office building—its transportation energy intensity—can be more than twice the energy used to run it. This article addresses the significance of this issue and examines strategies for lowering transportation energy intensity through increased density and improved transit options.
Environmental Building News—September 1, 2007

Antimicrobial Chemicals in Buildings: Hygiene or Harm?

Carpets, door handles, and a myriad of other building products now contain pesticides targeting fungi and bacteria, offering potential benefit to the indoor environment, but also raising health concerns. This article asks whether antimicrobial products live up to their marketing claims and whether relying on them is a sound path to a hygienic environment.
Environmental Building News—August 1, 2007
Member Comments
More Solar Gain, Not R-Value, Better for Heating Climates

Steven Konstantino says, “Thermotech has been manufacturing windows with very low U-Values for years and has always addressed solar orientation in selection of...” More...

pat sapinsley says, “WIndows, solar heat gain and R value Posted by pat sapinsley on May 2, 2008, 06:25 PM The...” More...

pat sapinsley says, “The real solution was discussed in a June 2006 EBN article. Dynamic glazing, which allows solar heat gain to enter...” More...

Boulder County Limits Energy Use for Homes

Kim Calomino says, “The BuildSmart code enacted by Boulder County, Colorado, is unreasonable, impracticable, over reaching, and is going to be very costly...” More...

Universities Gain New Sustainability Reporting Tool

Allyson Wendt says, “A draft of STARS is now available for public comment from AASHE. The public comment period goes through May 9...” More...

How the Sun's Path Can Inform Design

Mark Smith says, “Using the sun instead of roads as the primary organization principle, solar orientation can be applied to production SFD and...” More...

Revolutionary Vacuum Glass Coming from Guardian

Laura Catanzaro says, “What would the R-value be of the frame of such a window?” More...

Incorporate Passive Survivability into Building Codes

Claire Barnett says, “This is a particular strong issue for schools everywhere, since schools are large community facilities often used as shelters in...” More...

LEED Delivers on Predicted Energy Savings

Nadav Malin says, “The complete report based on the data mention in this article is now available for download from New Buildings Institute:...” More...

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