Does adding solar panels reduce a building's EUI?

Existing operational use of a building is 80 kBtu/sf/year. When we add solar, it will change the source of energy but does not change the usage.

My understanding is that the EUI does not change, but it would be good to hear from others.

It's energy consumption at the point... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Choosing Insulation: High-Performance Foundation & Basement Assemblies – Unit 2.

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


1. Explain the insulating performance and durability of different insulation materials.
2. Provide examples of... Read more

In our quest to create a low carbon future the lectrification/Decarbonization working group is planning spend the next 10 months creating tools to advocate for electrification:

Ace Brockwell

I was sitting in on the USGBC's monthly Advocacy call this afternoon and heard about a state-local policy proposal to use property tax incentive for GHG reductions.  Through a state-local partnership, owners of existing residential and commercial buildings who invest in qualifying outcome-based improvements would receive a property tax... Read more

Question for you all: there is this wonderful graph showing how we can shift mechanical and electrical dollars into envelope investments to make deep energy savings cost-neutral. Have you experienced this on a project?

1-minute or less survey! (two questions, more detail if you want)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/... Read more

Hello all,

We are having a mini office debate on fiberglass vs aluminum windows for use in schools (k-12) in Massachusetts. In the past we have always used aluminum windows on our schools, for durability. However, their performance is not as great as other products that are up and coming on the market. There is some hesitation to switch... Read more

Hi all,

I'm sure many (most? all?) of us have heard the changes to LEEDv4's energy standard are coming. If this is news to you, info on the balloted measures that have passed is available online here: https://www.usgbc.org/articles/leed-v4-energy-update-approved-member-ballot.

My question to MEP friends in the Green Commons: In... Read more

Hello Everyone,

We wanted to share the highlights and take-aways from the large firm Sustainable Design Leaders (SDL) 2020 Winter Summit at The Lodge at Gulf State Park, AL. Additionally, this was the first year we had a pre-summit workshop for the winter summit. Our amazing workshop facilitator, Julie Huffaker from Deeper Funner Change... Read more

Phase one of the website will not include e-commerce (i.e. paid membership) but the BIT team wants to restrict access to some parts of the site, including the full Best Practices documents and the forum. This means we'll need a rudimentary paywall, directing users to register for full access.  Current registered users of BuildingGreen and... Read more

Curious on stories when IAQ testing for LEED or WELL didn't come back with "all clear, everything's good" results we all hope for. 

I have a project right now where we are tracking down suspicious sources and look forward to telling the full story when it's done being written. 

Thought maybe this would be a good safe space to talk... Read more

CEUs are available for reading all the building-envelope product guides and primer. Click here to learn more and take the quiz.

Noise disrupts work, learning, and healing and can create stress and discomfort.

BuildingGreen-Approved Acoustic Insulation

We look for products with:

Welcome to the quiz portion of Integrated Design Meets the Real World.

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


1. Define the integrated design process and describe what makes it different from the conventional design process.
2. Describe the charrette process and list... Read more

Hello everyone,

We have a higher ed client in New Jersey that is interested in learning more about the 179D tax credit and would like to speak to someone who can help answer questions and offer guidance. If you have experience that you can offer, or you can provide some contacts - ideally with higher ed experience - who would be willing... Read more

All--

A few months ago, I sent around a note about an article I was writing about the state of post-occupancy studies. It finally came out, in the latest issue of Metropolis. Great quotes and work from Payette, EDR, KieranTimberlake, HKS, and others. Thanks to all for helping with this.

I don't believe it's available online yet,... Read more