Hi everyone,

Just a reminder to please fill out the SDL 2024 Events Attendance Poll by the end of next Monday, December 18th. Thank you so much to those who have filled it out already! :) 

-Amanda

Hi All:  We are in the design phase for a 5,700 SF project in NH. The team is taking care to drive down embodied carbon where possible. It will be NZE.

A1-A3 emissions are coming in at 67.15 kgCO2e/sf, of which 11.97 kgCO2e/sf is a hot spot attributed to permeable paving and concrete pavers (a little skewed, since lot and patio sizes... Read more

Do any of you have experience with Design For Freedom yet? It came to my attention and I'm trying to investigate. I would love to hear feedback and experiences that you may have at this point. It seems like an opportune moment for this issue of forced labor (yikes! so much I don't know...) to come to the forefront, and I'm curious to hear how... Read more

As the managing editor at BuildingGreen, Elizabeth oversees the day-to-day operations of the editorial department and writes and edits content for publications. As sustainability consultant, she leads components of consulting work related to sustainable strategy, organizational change, socially responsible practices, and stakeholder engagement... Read more

Hi All,

USGBC MA is doing a study on the cost of net zero energy buildings in MA.  I’m wondering if you all have any data to share on plug loads in ZNE projects. I’m looking for single family res, 2-4 unit residential, +/- 60 unit residential, 10-12 story office, and k-12.  The engineers have presented initial results and their... Read more

Hi SCL,

I realize that there are already a couple of threads on this topic, but I didn't see anything from the past year.  We have been trying (unsuccessfully) to work with large rental companies to request jobsite trailers that are at a minimum energy efficient, and ideally solar/battery ready and/or built to passive house or similar... Read more

Many of today’s surface coatings are either too toxic or lack durability and require too much maintenance to be viable choices for commercial or heavy residential use.

BuildingGreen-Approved Coatings

Products approved by BuildingGreen meet California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District’s strict VOC limits. They also:... Read more

Hello All,
Checking in on experience with Armstrong's Tectum E-N with NEOPOR Graphite polysytrene GPS rigid foam insulation core in roof panels for exposed structure?
BASF says that NEOPOR uses up to 30% less material than other rigid foam; it is greenguard gold cerified. 

Interesting that the NEOPOR increases in R-value as... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of The Cost of Comfort: Climate Change and Refrigerants!

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


Explain how refrigerants work, the energy challenges they present for design teams, and the opportunities for efficiency and building performance.

... Read more

Hi folks,

A press release about this just showed up--most of what they're including in their "Clean Construction Declaration" involves reducing embodied carbon in materials, but they're also calling out construction equipment:

"Procure and, when possible, use only zero emission construction machinery from 2025 and require zero... Read more

Following up on the Decarbonizing Existing Building: Envelope + MEP Solutions Integrative Design Jam, a cohort of us determined a "Decision Making Tree Toolkit" that begins to classify decisions into and "if/then" framework using region, market, climate, scale of intervention, and other factors would be useful in helping us collectively move... Read more

The COTE Toolkit just launched on AIA.org's site, please go and check it out and share with your networks. The project spanned over the last year+ with over 40 authors, subject matter experts, and reviewers contributing to the process, (including many Green Gurus!)

With the goal of closing the information gap to designing high... Read more

Seeking a dashboard system that will take energy use data from individual (college student) apartments to display in the lobby. Something where the display is both educational, easy to understand, and that could inspire a little friendly competition. Welcome any recommendations you have installed on projects or have seen that would be cool to... Read more

Hi folks,

No details have been sorted out yet, but I wanted everyone to have a heads-up that the SCL Steering Group is proposing that we graduate to a full, stand-alone SCL Summit in 2020. (Until now we’ve been squeezing our Summit into the day before Greenbuild, which is good in some ways, but problematic in others—and limits our time... Read more

I have a client that is very interested in automated shades for a mid-rise multi-family housing project. Do you have any examples of projects that have attempted this? I assume it would involve occupancy sensors and/or an over-rideable default setting dependant on sun position and temperature. I also have an MEP Engineer team that is having a... Read more