Honeywell TranStar Transformer Offers Significant Savings

“Exciting transformers” might seem like an oxymoron, but Honeywell has one for you—the new dry-type, ultra-low-loss TranStar™. The iron or steel core in conventional transformers has been replaced in the TranStar by a highly efficient MetGlas® amorphous metal core.

The TranStar... Read more

Re-Evaluating Stormwater:

by Bruce Ferguson, Richard Pinkham, and Timothy Collins, 1999. Rocky Mountain Institute, Snowmass, Colorado; 970/927-3851, www.rmi.org. Oversize spiral-bound, 32 pages, $24.95 (plus $5.50 shipping)

Re-Evaluating Stormwater presents the results of an intensive three-day “charrette” in 1998 by 60 local and... Read more

T-5 Fluorescent Lighting Outshines HIDs

It has long been believed in the design profession that, for indoor settings, fluorescent lighting made the most sense for low ceilings—below about 15 or 20 feet (4.5 m to 6 m)—and high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting was the best choice for higher ceilings (high-bay applications). No longer. New... Read more

Draft Report Predicts Climate Change Impacts for U.S. by Region

On June 12, 2000 the National Science Foundation released its

National Assessment Synthesis Report for a 60-day comment period. This report is the culmination of a research program initiated in 1990 by the Global Change Research Act. Included in it are the results of... Read more

Adapting to a Greenhouse World

Now that any lingering doubts about the reality of human-generated global climate change are disappearing (see news story, page 5), I’m faced with a sobering reality check.

I’ve been harboring this illusion that once the doubts were adequately addressed, the world would wake up and take real action to... Read more

New Energy Efficiency Bill Is Performance-Based

On June 13, Senator Bob Smith (Republican–NH) introduced the Energy Efficient Buildings Incentives Act (S. 2718) to Congress. The bill would provide tax deductions for the following residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements: whole-building performance, PV systems, certified solar... Read more

Newsbriefs

In response to ongoing environmental concerns with refrigerants such as HCFCs and HFCs, a naturally occurring fluid may be making a comeback:

carbon dioxide. Although CO2 is the principal greenhouse gas, compared to most other refrigerants on a per-molecule basis it is extremely benign. According to the July 14, 2000 issue of... Read more

Erie-Ellington Homes: Affordable + Green

A new affordable housing development in the Dorchester area of Boston demonstrates that affordability and green can go hand-in-hand with publicly funded housing projects.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 50-unit Erie-Ellington Homes housing project was held on June 22. The triplex units cost $94... Read more

LEED in Seattle, and an Eleventh-Hour Change

I’d like to thank you for publishing such an excellent article on the LEED™ Rating System (EBN

Vol. 9, No. 6). Not only does it provide a helpful snapshot of the system’s content, but it also pointed out some of the history, challenges, and unresolved issues in the system. I need to provide a... Read more

On June 30, 2000 two dozen representatives of various design-related organizations (joined by deans from some of the nation’s leading architecture schools via video teleconference) met at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C. to discuss

sustainability in architectural education. The event was organized by The American... Read more

The Green Skyscraper:

by Ken Yeang, 1999. Prestel Verlag, Munich. Paperback, 304 pages, $29.95

The challenges presented by Ken Yeang in

The Green Skyscraper start right with the cover shot—an arresting model of the Tokyo Nara Building revealing several floors of skyscraper devoted to gardens and a soft, sculptured form—and... Read more

Lighter AAC from Matrix

Matrix PAAC, LP (formerly Hebel Southeast), makers of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) block, have introduced the AAC-2.5LT. The AAC-2.5LT has the same dimensions as the standard 2.5, but is 23% less dense. Even though the block is light enough to reduce shipping costs on a full load, it is still suitable for structural... Read more

Civano: Is the Debate Over This Project Sustainable?

It’s not surprising that a project with such comprehensive and intensive sustainability goals as Civano would draw as much fire as interest. It’s hard to find anyone familiar with the project who doesn’t have a pretty strong opinion about it. In our review of Civano,

EBN conducted an... Read more

A study released in May by the Harvard School of Public Health links

air pollution from two coal-fired power plants—in Salem and Somerset, Massachusetts—to 43,000 asthma attacks and 159 premature deaths. More than 32 million people in New England, New York, and New Jersey are exposed to plant emissions. Both plants are owned by PG&E... Read more

FTC Revises EnergyGuide Labels for Clothes Washers

As of July 14, the spurious distinction made by the Federal Trade Commission between horizontal axis (front-loading) and vertical axis (top-loading) clothes washers with respect to energy consumption will end.

Previously, the FTC maintained two categories for measuring energy... Read more

The Natural House:

by Daniel D. Chiras, 2000. Chelsea Green Publishing Co., White River Jct., Vt. Paperback, 470 pages, $35.

Simply put, this is the most comprehensive and most useful introduction to natural building systems and practices available. Author Daniel Chiras is an educator and writer (his high school textbook,

... Read more

DOE Clothes Washer Standards Raised

Federal minimum standards for the energy efficiency of domestic clothes washers are to increase by 35%. The two-step process requires manufacturers to meet new modified energy factor (MEF) standards. MEF calculates energy used while accounting for remaining moisture content in the clothes—the drier the... Read more

Perspective: Green Building Tax Credits? No, Thanks!

Call me grumpy, but I’m against this new generation of tax credits for green buildings and renewable energy systems.

Tax credit legislation supporting green buildings was recently signed into law in New York (see EBN

Vol. 9, No. 5), and the push for similar legislation seems... Read more

Newsbriefs

A proposal has been submitted in the Canadian House of Commons for a

nationwide ban on “cosmetic” pesticides for residential lawns—those used to get rid of dandelions or make the grass look greener. Dozens of small communities in Canada have already banned or severely limited use of such chemicals, according to a June 5... Read more

Electrolux Buys “Electrolux”

The Electrolux Group, the world’s largest home appliance manufacturer, is purchasing for $50 million the trademark and company name from Electrolux LLC, a U.S. company well known for its vacuum cleaners.

The Electrolux Group held a 38% share in the predecessors of Electrolux LLC until 1968, when it sold its... Read more