The ASTM roofing and waterproofing committee is developing a new standard for green roofs:

Guide for Selection of Roofing/Waterproofing Membranes for Vegetative Roof Systems (ASTM WK29304). Task group leader Michael Sexton, a senior systems engineer at Firestone Building Products, told EBN, “[The standard] will combine requirements for both the vegetative system standards and the roofing and waterproofing standards that are commonly referred to in the industry.” Vegetative roof systems have gained popularity because of their environmental benefits—which include reducing the heat island effect and stormwater runoff—but the right membrane is essential to green roof performance. Membranes for green roofs must be waterproof and support the continued functioning of the vegetative roof system. In addition, says Sexton, appropriate membranes must withstand potential damage from “excessive roof traffic, membrane abrasion and impact, plant root penetration, ultraviolet damage, exterior fire, thermal shock, and wind events.” The ASTM standard will also require membranes to meet all applicable codes and industry testing standards.

An organization that has certified home energy raters for 15 years is moving into the commercial building market. RESNET has created COMNET, which currently offers guidelines for energy modeling and is working on certification for commercial energy auditors and raters. The energy modeling guidelines, “COMNET Technical Guidelines & Procedures for Energy Modeling & Rating,” seek to create standardized modeling practices that can be used to pursue the federal commercial buildings tax deduction, green building ratings, and energy labels. Each of these applications requires comparison to a different baseline—a different version of ASHRAE 90.1, for example—making it difficult to find percent energy savings. COMNET is working with software companies to make it easier to automatically generate baseline models from a design model, making the comparison to a particular code or standard easier. The guidelines also include the first standardized practices for modeling unregulated loads. More information is available at www.comnet.org.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) has launched a third-party verification service to confirm volume and energy-use claims about refrigerators and freezers. Energy claims for appliances have been called into question recently thanks to a study that showed that the Energy Star label, once considered a good measure of energy performance, was susceptible to fraud and misleading energy claims (see “Energy Star Beefs Up Requirements and Enforcement,”

EBN June 2010). AHAM has been testing products since 1967 and already has verification programs for room air conditioners, dehumidifiers, and room air cleaners. More information is available at www.aham.org/industry/.

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A 1000 MW parabolic trough solar power plant will be built in Blythe, California, with the first 250 MW going online in 2013. The plant’s developers received approval from the California Energy Commission to build; the developers are still finalizing financial backing for the project.

The plant would dwarf most other solar plants in the U.S., which top out at around 300 MW. Only 481 MW of solar energy were installed in the U.S. in 2009, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The new plant would bring California closer to its ambitious goal of having 33% of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2020.

More information is available on the California Energy Commission website for the project.

Google released SketchUp 8 on September 1, 2010, with a number of notable enhancements, many of which will make SketchUp more useful as a sustainable design tool. Environmentally speaking, the two big innovations with this release are volumes and geographical context. As with past versions, most of these features are available in the free product, but improved tools are reserved for SketchUp Pro.

SketchUp 8 improves support for defined volumes, which are needed to create accurate energy models, among other things. Volumes can now intersect and combine without losing their boundaries. In the past, to run EnergyPlus on a SketchUp model users had to trace over the model’s images to define the volumes for the energy calculations. Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) has improved on that recently with an energy modeling plug-in for SketchUp 7; this new version should further improve that workflow.

In SketchUp 8 users have direct access to geospatial data from Google Earth and Google Maps. “Models in SketchUp 8 can be built on top of high-res aerial photography, with terrain data from Google Earth,” explained Google’s Chris Cronin. Modelers can pull in street view images from Google Maps and even pull in models of adjacent buildings, including those built using Google’s online Building Maker application. All these features help connect digital models to their geophysical location. “Buildings thought about in context are better buildings,” noted Cronin.

SketchUp 8 also moves incrementally closer to being a stand-alone project delivery tool, with improved layout capabilities for design documents, and the ability to export DWG and DXF files from layouts.

– Nadav Malin

For more information:

Google SketchUp

sketchup.google.com

An environmental rating system for shoreline developments created by the Sustainability Centre for British Columbia is being adapted for use in the U.S. The Coastal Developments Rating System (CDRS) covers commercial and residential developments as well as public walkways, parks, and other waterfront developments. Developed with the aid of technical and ecological advisors, CDRS covers siting and construction of permanent structures, preservation of habitat and coastal ecology (like riparian zones, hatcheries, and tidal pools), stormwater management, and the design and development process. Four pilot projects—including the Vancouver Olympic Village—tested the rating system, which was released in March 2010. According to officials with the Sustainability Centre, the pilot program led to the addition of a climate change adaptation credit and a streamlined application process. Several organizations in the U.S. have gotten approval and funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to adapt CDRS for residential use in the U.S.; development of the revised system should take about four years. For more information, visit www.greenshores.ca.

Associated Builders and Contractors, a national organization representing 25,000 construction firms, has rolled out a green certification for its members. To earn the certification (which has one tier), companies must meet several prerequisites that cover office practices like recycling, green cleaning, purchasing Energy Star-qualified equipment, and writing a sustainability statement. They must also meet 12 out of 36 optional items—these include energy audits, bike racks, insulating water pipes, and carbon-neutral status for central offices. Although the prerequisites don’t touch the jobsite, there are several electives that do, including waste and energy requirements for jobsite offices, construction waste management, and reuse of building materials. Finally, companies can earn points by showing that staff have completed a variety of forms of sustainability awareness training. Each requirement must be documented, and a certification fee of $495 is good for three years. More information is available at www.greenconstructionatwork.com.

The Montreal Protocol, the international treaty in effect since 1989 to limit the use of ozone-depleting substances, may save your eyes. According to a report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the more robust ozone layer resulting from the Montreal Protocol will prevent more than 22 million cases of cataracts for Americans born between 1985 and 2100; increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation, which occurs with a thin ozone layer, increases the potential for cataracts. The report also notes that the ozone layer, which is broken down by common refrigerants and foam insulation blowing agents that have been largely phased out under the protocol, is expected to recover to pre-1980 levels by 2065. It is available for download at www.epa.gov/ozone/science/effects/index.html.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched a website for integrated environmental modeling. The online tool, called iemHUB, allows scientists to share digital modeling tools, data sets, and other information. Scientists use integrated environmental modeling to predict the spread of pollutants (during oil spills, for example), the effects of development, and other environmental impacts. According to EPA, iemHUB will help scientists from varied backgrounds work together to understand and solve environmental problems. The site currently has over 250 registered members, and is online at www.iemhub.org.