Columbia already offers access to free EV charging for our field employees. Of the few projects that have have opted in so far, we've had to custom design and intall EV charging setups. It's good that we're doing this, but it won't scale quickly enough and cost effectively.  I think a practical next step is working with trailer companies so... Read more

Apologize in advance if this has been posted before but we are trying to get manufacturers of stage curtains to give documentation that proves that the product does not have halogenated fire retardants. Manufacturers say they don't have them or concentrations are limited to 100ppm but they don't seem to have documentation to provide for it.... Read more

I'm looking to draft some one-page briefs for my consulting engineers to outline what we would like to see in their specs regarding certain materials and systems. For example, letting the plumbing and civil engineers know that we prefer to eliminate PVC pipe and want them to specify alternatives like Polypropylene, cast iron, ABS, etc. The idea... Read more

All--

Metropolis magazine asked me to write a long piece about the current state of post-occupancy studies. I'm wrestling with whether to do it and how to approach it, but it would be helpful to hear your thoughts on the following--

--importance of the topic

--typical and atypical approaches and criteria

--examples... Read more

Hi Green Gurus (esp. Sustainable MEP leaders...)

I'm looking for suggestions of contacts for MEP consultants, especially in the Chicagoland region, ideally with sustainability highly integrated into the work, specialization in geothermal systems, and indoor agriculture. (doesn't necessarily have to be all-in-one)

For context, we... Read more

Metal roofs can also provide high solar reflectance, minimizing a building’s contribution to the urban heat island effect. 

BuildingGreen-approved

Materials and finishes recognized by Energy Star maintain solar reflectance levels after three years of use of 50% for low-slope and 15% for steep-slope. Some unpainted metals and many... Read more

I'm looking to compare using an electric tower crane vs a diesel generated tower crane.  I've got the average gallons/hour for the size of crane I'm looking at, but when I reached out to the crane manufacturers, they can only tell me what size electric supply I need to provide, not the kWh usage for the cranes.  I know that it varies depending... Read more

I'm hoping someone knows the anser to this question. For the LEED ND certification the minimum requirement is "The LEED project should contain at least two habitable buildings and be no larger than 1500 acres." Does habitable mean buildings with dwelling units?

Hello Sustainable MEP Leaders!

Over the weekend BuildingGreen received an inquiry about connecting with this peer network regarding a project. Please review David Cohan's email below to see if it is something of interest for this group.

We would invite you to reach out directly to David Cohan and let us here at BuildingGreen know... Read more

BITuser Meeting:  5/23/18

Participants:  Shane, Andrea, Angela

Notes:

Southface to provide "style tiles" before 6/15 
Greg to send to Andrea, couple dozen images for Best Practice pages
Southface will send, in week to 10 days, "full content" for BP03 - Energy Audit 
(BP03 "full content" will address... Read more

BuildingGreen is the most trusted voice in sustainable design and architecture.

This ad-free, member-supported resource is here to guide designers in using high-performance strategies, and in selecting sustainable and healthy products.

If you haven't already, start by creating your unique user profile to get your log-in, and be... Read more

Hi Fellow GG: I just wanted to make sure everyone saw the great announcement from the White House yesterday about Code updates to address energy efficiency and resilience. It's great to see these kinds of initiatives that hopefully can continue for a few more years. So let's try to take advantage of them (said by someone who lives in Missouri... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of What Makes the Building Envelope Green? BuildingGreen’s Guide to Thermal & Moisture Protection Products.

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


1. Describe attributes of the greenest building envelope products.
2. Explain how to... Read more

Hello, what acceptable levels of air quality are you using to evaluate natural ventilation strategies for your projects?  In our Living Building we only open windows when PM10, PM2.5, etc. are within LBC and WELL limits.  In a seasonally smoggy urban environment, this limits how often we can utilize natural ventilation even if the outside... Read more

Hi,

We have a market-rate housing highrise project that is going through VE right now: we need cheaper/lighter rainscreen claddings than precast concrete or GFRC.

If you've gone through this similar exercise, I would greatly appreciate recommendations for cladding manufacturers/products with EPDs available. We are open to metal... Read more