Back in 1990, when I built a new garage and office space at my home in Dummerston, Vermont (where BuildingGreen started out), I installed two sections of Lightolier lighting track with dual switching for use of whatever screw-in lamps I wanted to use in can-type fixtures as well as exposed sockets. During the twenty years since, this has been... Read more

Despite being highly efficient at turning kilowatt-hours of electricity into heat or chilled air, ground-source heat pumps have a significant drawback and usually aren't the best heating system choice.

For the... Read more

Wandering around the trade show at Better Buildings, my attention was... Read more

The 30% federal tax credit for residential wind turbines (with no upper limit) opens the door to scams, which could tarnish the reputation of the wind energy industry

For several weeks now, I've addressed tax credits for home energy... Read more

Take advantage of these tax credits now, because they're unlikely to last.

I've been addressing tax credits for home energy improvements the past few weeks. This week, we... Read more

After a tumultuous, three-year development process that included the disbanding and reorganization of the committee charged with its creation, the long-awaited first code-enforceable green building standard in the nation has been approved and published.

According to an estimate by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),... Read more

Why the 30-30 Requirement... Read more

Homes that meet the specification should use 20% less water (about 10,000 gallons or 38,000 liters) than those built to... Read more

I really appreciate the quality of your articles and generally read them cover to cover. I also appreciate your inclusion of items with Canadian information and news. However, in your recent feature article, “Making Your Own Electricity” (see

EBN Nov. 2009), I was very surprised and disappointed that you made no mention of Ontario’s... Read more

In a unanimous January 2010 decision, the California Building Standards Commission approved the Green Building Standards Code—a.k.a. “Calgreen”—the first mandatory statewide green construction code to be adopted in the U.S.

Scheduled to take effect in January 2011, Calgreen will require all new buildings to reduce water consumption by 20... Read more

A new ordinance in Seattle will pilot-test exemptions for projects attempting to use innovative onsite water and energy strategies that currently run afoul of codes.

The ordinance will allow code exemptions for up to 12 buildings seeking certification through the Living Building Challenge (LBC). The exemptions will allow the buildings... Read more

Mobile PV... Read more

At 6:00 every morning, the first one into the kitchen flipped on all the lights and ventilation hoods, then turned on most of the ovens, stoves, griddles, broilers, dishwashers, and... Read more

The good news is that there’s a new 30% tax credit for residential window replacements (part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009). The bad news is that along with establishing a maximum U-factor of 0.30, it also sets a maximum solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of 0.30. The SHGC requirement fails to recognize the benefits of... Read more

DecaBDE is a brominated flame retardant that, along with other polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), has... Read more

In a surprising development, Dow Chemical’s Styrofoam brand extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation has been awarded Cradle to Cradle Silver certification by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC). When asked about the styrene chemistry and brominated flame retardant in XPS, Steve Bolton, the manager of business development at MBDC,... Read more

Radiant-floor heating is popular for some good reasons. It provides very comfortable, uniform heat, owing to the relatively low temperature and the large surface area from which the heat is radiated. It does not interfere with furnishings in a home as most other heat distribution systems do. It’s quiet. And, according to proponents, it can save... Read more