The first public version of the rating system designed for colleges and universities by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) was made available in October 2009.

Granite, which is known to naturally accumulate uranium, made headlines last year when it was reported that granite countertops can release radon gas into homes. Now, a new study, “Implications of Granite Counter Top Construction and Uses,” raises concerns that as many as half of all granite-cutters may be at risk of radiation exposure up to 3,... Read more

Trane, acquired by Ingersoll Rand in June 2008 and the largest North American manufacturer of commercial HVAC equipment (#2 in the world), has completed the conversion away from R-22 in its unitary HVAC product line in the Americas. (Unitary equipment is self-contained, often rooftop-mounted, HVAC equipment that typically includes a motor-... Read more

Most buildings could achieve better energy performance through operational changes that ensure systems are operating at peak efficiency. New York City officials joined 32BJ, the local property service workers’ union, in harnessing the possibility of operational changes by launching the One Year, One Thousand Green Supers program.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) began using building information modeling (BIM) in 2003; by 2007, the agency was requiring basic models for all projects and encouraging more complex models incorporating energy performance and construction scheduling. Now, both Wisconsin and Texas have adopted BIM programs for state construction... Read more

The homes range in size from 2,400­ to 2,512 square feet (220–230 m2) and have HERS ratings of 85, 64, and 30 (the... Read more

A thermostat controls a heating (and cooling) system, turning it on and off to maintain... Read more

A common design solution for green buildings, at least in temperate climates, will now get more complicated. The American Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigerating Engineers (ASHRAE) has decided that natural ventilation alone cannot meet indoor air quality needs in most commercial and high-rise residential buildings. The... Read more

I just finished reading the piece on heat-pump water heaters in the October issue of EBN [“Heat-Pump Water Heaters Ready for Prime Time”].

I just don’t get the support for heat pumps. The process is sold as “free heat from the ground” and “simply moving heat from one place to another.” However, the truth is that the compressor used to... Read more

In 1980, after living without electricity for five years, I bought a photovoltaic (PV) module for $275. Once the 33-watt Arco panel was hooked up to a 12-volt car battery, my kerosene bill dropped significantly. For a few hours each night, I was able to listen to a radio and operate a tiny 12-volt fluorescent light.

Twenty-nine years... Read more

Vermont made history last week, becoming the first state to offer "feed-in tariffs" for electricity generated from renewable energy sources.

Feed-in tariffs have been... Read more

Last week I wrote about a high-tech solution for water heating--heat-pump water heaters that can cut costs by more than half compared to conventional electric water heating. This week, I'll address the low-tech efficiency side of water heating.

First, some... Read more

The California Public Utilities Commission recently approved a budget that will funnel $3.1 billion to energy-efficiency efforts statewide over the next three years—an initiative that the commission says is the largest such program in American history.

The budget will fund, among other things, the California Statewide Program for... Read more