Last week, we took a look at practical, easy-to-implement strategies for keeping our buildings cool during hot weather. This week, I'll describe a fascinating way to cool buildings using electricity at night to make ice. This isn't... Read more

Green insurance coverage is not a new concept, nor are the risks associated with green building considered extraordinary. Nevertheless, American International Group (AIG) is now offering two advanced insurance policies for property owners and managers of LEED-certified buildings via its Risk Management Green (AIGRMGreen) product line: Indoor... Read more

By 7group and Bill Reed, 2009, Wiley & Sons; 416 pages, $75

Seeking to “redesign the design process,” as they put it, the authors of this remarkable book share their unquenchable spirit of inquiry. At the core of the book is an expanded and updated presentation of their method of integrative design—“integrative”... Read more

Men should pee sitting down. Now before you call me a strident feminist, let me say that I'm backed up on this one by male colleagues and the reasons aren't what you think.

I'm not arguing for toilet equality here. I'm talking about urine-separating toilets, which are much easier to use for men and women when sitting down. The bowl of... Read more

If yesterday's forecast was correct, today may be the hottest day of the year for much of New England--with temperatures rising into the mid-90s. This may not draw much sympathy from friends in Austin, Texas where today's temperature may rise to 100 in this... Read more

In the wake of the pictures of that 13-story apartment building that fell over, here's video of a multistory factory building rolling over and coming to rest upside-down, largely intact.

(click image to enlarge)

Last week I wrote about "deep-energy retrofits"--strategies for dramatically reducing the energy consumption of an existing house. In northern climates, such retrofits often involve adding a layer of rigid insulation to the exterior of a house. If you're removing... Read more

Portfolio Manager, the interactive energy management tool operated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), will receive significant updates at the end of August 2009, which could affect energy performance ratings for various building types.

Updates include a new rating for houses of worship, a revised rating for warehouses, a... Read more

President Barack Obama, together with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, announced new energy-efficiency standards for lighting in June 2009. The announcement extends the provisions in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which set standards that would phase out conventional incandescent lamps by 2014 (see

EBN Feb. 2008).

I was initially excited to read about the R-etro System, designed to make exterior insulation retrofit applications easier (see EBN June 2009). After reading the article and checking out the installation details on the manufacturer’s website, however, it looks to me as if the R-etro System addresses some of the easy problems about applying... Read more