Hearings to settle proposals for the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)—the code that serves as the model for states and localities across the country—have ended, finalizing some marked differences from the 2012 version.

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“We’re working on filling in some of the gaps” with the underlying data that informs LCA, Firth told EBN. Although there are rules specifying how to conduct an assessment (see “The Product... Read more

Skirmishes over the validity of major green building rating systems continue, even as the federal government recognizes Green Globes as on par with LEED. A board member of the Green Building... Read more

Maryland may soon authorize an alternative path to its LEED Silver requirement for state-owned buildings.

As Stuart Kaplow reported in the Green Building Law Update,... Read more

In the movie Monsters, Inc., the title characters extract the energy needed to run their city by sneaking out of closets in the night and making human children scream. But the novelty is wearing thin, and as the children become less scared, the community’s power supply is threatened. Our monster heroes, whose true nature is more goofy... Read more

There is a new polypropylene pipe available in North America: Polystar.

Manufactured in Germany by Baenninger, Inc., imported by Watts Water Technologies/Orion, and distributed nationally by ISCO Industries and other companies, Polystar is the first polypropylene pipe to be introduced in North America since Aquatherm (see “Fusiotherm... Read more

I’m just back from Philadelphia, where I spent most of last week at Greenbuild, the... Read more

Corn-based... Read more

I’ve recently worked on revising the... Read more

Recent BuildingGreen resources give a pretty good picture of just what building enclosure commissioning (BECx) is and how its use is on the rise in high-performance buildings. But a logical follow-up question I get asked a lot is: how can I get the necessary education to become proficient in BECx—or actually get credentialed or certified as... Read more

I recently reported that a new mineral wool insulation product from Roxul can be readily used in place of foam-plastic insulation materials like polystyrene in certain applications. As part of our ongoing research into how builders and designers can make better insulation choices (see our full webcast and report on the topic),... Read more

Switching from a furnace fan with a permanent split capacitor (PSC) motor to one with a constant-torque brushless permanent magnet (BPM) motor would improve efficiency to the level of the standard, according to the Appliance... Read more

What if you could take a concrete deck and replace a lot of its material with air—getting not only a stronger, lighter, thinner deck, but also one that can be delivered to the jobsite for quick assembly? You’d have BubbleDeck—a matrix of plastic spheres, steel reinforcement, and concrete. It’s not only capable of replacing a significant... Read more

A new campaign called Resilient Communities for America (RC4A) is drawing on the power of mayors and other local officials to make communities across the nation more resilient. Quickly gathering... Read more

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Once the ordinance is finalized, new... Read more