Hello Sustainable MEP Leaders!

I have an exciting announcement today, fall Peer Network events are now open for registration! You can see all the event details and register here!

Based on feedback we received from past events and the most recent surveys, we decided against doing one long week of events for this fall and instead... Read more

Hi all,

Thanks again to those who presented at the AIA Show & Tell! Here are the slides for some of the fascinating presentations we saw. Please do not share the slides outside of the networks unless they are marked “PUBLIC.”

There may be more to come; if you presented but did not yet provide permission for your slides to be... Read more

Hello all, 

Wondering if anyone has experience with lead limits in electrical cable and wiring? 

LEED for Healthcare allows a limit of 300 ppm of lead in electrical wire and cabling - my search for compliant products has been all dead ends. (MRc PBT Source Reduction - lead, cadmium, and copper)

Acceptable regulations for... Read more

Hello everyone - 

I'm writing today to let you all know that as of this month, I am retiring from SERA, and that I'm going to be beginning a new journey as a consultant/volunteer!

I'm going to continue dedicating my time to policy and advocacy work (focused on decarbonizing the built environment) but now I'll be doing it as a free... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Getting Flame Retardants Out of Foam Insulation.

Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:


1. Summarize why and how flame retardants are used in foam insulation.
2. Elucidate the case for taking the chemicals out of foam insulation.
3.... Read more

Hi folks,

You may have seen this posted to the Green Gurus forum. Paula got some good responses from architects and engineers, but not so much from GCs so she asked me to follow up and post it here. Please reach out to her if you're willing to be included in these articles/reports. Thanks!

Hi! I’m working on two reports about... Read more

Does anyone know where one can locate weather files (EPW) that has predicted future data for climate change?

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the quiz portion of Essential Playbook to Managing LEED Construction.

Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:


1.  Understand the transition from LEED BD+C or ID+C v4 to LEED v4.1, especially in regard to material-related credits.

2. Discern how to properly... Read more

I'm writing an article surveying and comparing various embodied carbon tools, including whole-building LCA tools. I'm looking for interviewees who have used at least TWO of the three major LCA tools currently in use in North America (Tally, Athena IE, and One Click LCA). If you've tried all three, all the better! If you or someone in your firm... Read more

We should probably agree on the correct spelling for what we at BuildingGreen are calling "BITuser." I noticed that on the Salesforce portfolio screenshot provided by Dennis, it's spelled "BIT User."

BITuser has the advantage of more closely resembling LEEDuser, but it has the disadvantage of looking a little weird in all-caps, as in... Read more

Hi everyone - in doing a carbon footprint for our firm, does anyone know if buildings that we design as Architects considered scope 3 emissions, or are they beyond the boundary of emissions? LMN's buildings, despite best efforts, are cumulatively multiple orders of magnitude above our scope 1 and 2 emissions. We have never included these... Read more

Hello Green Gurus,

Here is the information for December's Peer Networks Webinar, Architects in the Blue Zone: The AIA at COP26. We hope you will join us!

Register HERE

Architects in the Blue Zone: The AIA at COP26
Wednesday, December 15th, 2021
4pm - 5pm ET (1pm - 2pm PT)

Description

The American... Read more

Hi all,

As you know, the Carbon Leadership Forum has been busy in recent years growing the tent of discipline-based commitments for reducing embodied carbon. SE 2050 and MEP 2040 provide the platform and commitment for structural and MEP respectively, and there is now interest brewing for an additional commitment in support of civil... Read more

I'm working with a project team that is looking into bird control options to prevent nesting/roosting/pooping on the scrim that is designed to scrim their building's facade.  They are looking at electrified tape, repellents, laser systems, etc -- Options that don't dramatically impact the building design.  The products they're looking at claim... Read more

Standard HVAC systems require large fans and ductwork to move conditioned air throughout a building, which wastes energy and building space.

BuildingGreen-Approved Chilled Beams

BuildingGreen lists chilled beams that rely on water and smaller ducts to provide HVAC throughout a building.

Performance and Health Considerations... Read more

Here is a fundamental question regarding measuring operational carbon emissions that I'm sure many of you can clarify for me:  Let's say you are considering design options and you want to know the relative contribution of GWP of adding an additional inch of continuous insulation to the building envelope.  The GWP from embodied carbon will... Read more

Hi MEP Leaders!

Here's a reminder that our monthly meeting is coming right up--today at 2:00 pm ET.

There is a lot to talk about: James has put together a starting point for our "how to make the best use of your engineer" guide. And Summit plans...

You can view the agenda here.

All members of the SMEPL network are... Read more