Building Science
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Building Science
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Buildings on Ice: Making the Case for Thermal Energy Storage
Feature
Thermal energy storage uses ice to shift daytime cooling loads to nighttime, when electricity costs are lower. You may be able to reduce the size of chillers as a result, saving money and energy and lowering the environmental footprint of a building
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Polystyrene Insulation: Does It Belong in a Green Building?
Feature
Polystyrene is widely used as a rigid insulation in North America, offering high insulation values, moisture resistance, strength, and affordability. But a flame retardant in the material, as well as its life-cycle impacts, raise questions about whether it should be used at all.
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Commercial Kitchens: Cooking Up Green Opportunities
Feature
Commercial kitchens run energy- and water-intensive equipment for long hours, sometimes even when not in use. While the challenges of saving water and energy in commercial kitchens are daunting, they're not insurmountable. Careful equipment selection and a commitment to conscientious kitchen practices can dramatically cut down on waste-and utility bills.
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Passive House Arrives in North America: Could It Revolutionize the Way We Build?
Feature
The Passive House standard, imported from Germany, sets a high bar for energy performance in buildings. But some see it as inflexible and inappropriate for some U.S. climates.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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Radiant Barriers and Reflective Insulation
Explainer
Shiny materials control radiant heat flow, but there is a great deal of misinformation about these systems.
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How Air-Source Heat Pumps Work
Explainer
Heating with cold air? Cooling off with hot air? Heat pumps performing these feats (especially mini-splits and VRF systems) have taken off, but how do they work?
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Power Flushing With Pressure-Assist Toilets
Explainer
Many of today's best-performing low-flow toilets enhance their flush with air pressure to force water into the bowl at high speed.
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Radiant Floor Heating: Wrong Choice for Green Homes?
Explainer
While very popular, radiant-floor heating is not well-suited to highly insulated, green homes.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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TerraClad Rainscreen Cladding
Product Review
Boston Valley uses high-efficiency kilns to make this handsome recycled-content terra cotta rainscreen.
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Phoenix Solar Tank Does it All-Efficiently
Product Review
The Phoenix Solar hot water tank stores both primary solar-heated and secondary gas-heated water.
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Alpen Fiberglass Windows-Leading the High-Performance Race
Product Review
Alpen Energy Group manufacturers some of the highest-performing windows in the world, with center-of-glass R-values reaching R-20 in some cases.
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Innovation in Urinals from Caroma
Product Review
Caroma has introduced two new urinals, one with a pint-sized, fluid-sensing flush mechanism and the other a waterless unit with a diaphragm rather than a trap.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Alpen Acquired by Serious Materials
News Analysis
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Autodesk, Bentley Continue to Expand, Agree to Collaborate
News Analysis
Design software giants Autodesk and Bentley Systems have announced plans to support each other's software as both companies continue to push towards real-time performance feedback during the design process by acquiring and partnering with software companies that offer energy and other green design analyses.
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Mazria Publishes Code Equivalents for 2030 Challenge
News Analysis
Architecture 2030 has published a white paper showing the amount by which buildings have to beat various codes to meet the 50% energy reductions called for by the 2030 Challenge. More than a dozen codes and standards are presented, with 20%-30% improvement required for most.
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LEDs Get Energy Star Label, Amid Controversy
News Analysis
Just before a Department of Energy standard for Energy Star LEDs becomes effective, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its own standard, taking the industry by surprise.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Water: The Back Seat Driver
Blog Post
Welcome to our new blog dedicated to the issues of water, water efficiency, and water policy.
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4 Insider Tips for Choosing Flashing Tapes, from a Real-Life Engineer
Blog Post
A research engineer at Pella Windows finally offers some adult supervision for our benchtop tape tests.
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Testing Pressure-Sensitive Tapes: Rounds Two and Three
Blog Post
Tension and pressure, tears and creeps. The Wingnut Test Facility (WTF) gets dope-slapped in our latest round of experiments.
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Our Real-World Flashing Tape Tests Find a Clear Winner
Blog Post
We took the best PSA tapes from our last round of testing and worked them over on rough OSB and window flanges. One tape worked no matter what.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Just For Fun
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