Author
Products & Materials Specialist Brent Ehrlich excels at deep, unbiased, and nuanced technical research on the health and environmental impacts of green building products and materials. Some areas of focus include:
product and material constituents, including their risks
product certifications
third-party product... Read more
Product Guide
Pint-flush and non-water urinals can save tens of thousands of gallons of potable water per year. A single non-water-using urinal can save more than 10,000 gallons of water per year compared with the U.S. EPA standard of 1.0 gallon per flush (gpf).
When older 3.0 gpf urinals are replaced, the savings can be as great as 50,000 gallons... Read more
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is anyone aware of some guidance about citation protocols for when a person/team/org uses an AI tool to generate some base components for a report (which is then heavily edited by humans)?
I'm inclined to disclose in detail which tools were used and how ... but would love to know if there are some industry protocols shaping up about this... Read more
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of Raze or Retrofit? Six Extraordinary Answers to an Everyday Question.
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
1. Understand how the embodied impacts of renovation compare to those for new construction.
2. Provide three reasons why building... Read more
Forum topic
Good Morning;
I wanted to share a resource that everybody might not be aware of - HomeFree by the Healthy Building Network which can be found here: https://homefree.healthybuilding.net/products
Most of us know that HBN exists, but i think many folks just think HBN = Pharos, which is an extensive database behind a paywall that can... Read more
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We have several projects that are small enough that we don't hire consultants to run energy models. I just received permission to do some training so that I can run these models myself. I am looking at doing this training on eQuest:
https://www.udemy.com/course/equest-energy-modelling-detailedtraining/?c...
I am thinking it would... Read more
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I am working on a new community development in St. Paul that is striving to achieve net-zero energy. We are able to get there mathematically by using the extra generation on light industrial rooftops to offset medium-density housing energy use (all buildings are anticipated to have different, private owners). However, this puts us over... Read more
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Hey team,
We're working with some institutions in the midwest that are trying to understand what kind of partnerships they could build with architectural salvage enterprises as they demolish many buildings to elevate land uses. I'm not overly familiar with the midwest market. Does anyone have any good circular economy / architectural... Read more
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Hi: I'm writing to share a unique opportunity to make a difference at SCALE as a Sustainability Manager at Amazon Global Services.
This comes from Lisa Matthiessen, FAIA, LEED Fellow who some of you may know. Lisa just joined Amazon's Worldwide Sustainability Team who is charged with making real their Net Zero for all operations by 2040... Read more
Author
Katherine keeps BuildingGreen’s physical and digital spaces running smoothly. A graduate with honors from the University of Iowa, Katherine has a background in filmmaking and administration. She lives in southeastern Vermont with her partner and enjoys hiking, board games, writing, and cats.
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I took a first pass at content for the Energy Audit best practice, see the uploaded file.
Forum topic
I just saw this post from Conor on LinkedIn.
Starting in January 2019, all new Columbia Construction Company projects require LED temp lighting.
Are others doing this too? Frankly, given all the benefits and how quickly the industry is matured, it's hard for me to understand why anyone would use anything other than LEDs on a job.... Read more
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I've been hearing a lot of talk about density becoming a thing of the past. Like with the danger of antimicrobials, it would be great to have some more in depth backup information on whether density is really a danger factor, or if other factors are more important, when we go into these conversations. Does anybody have any new or better... Read more
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Hello, does anyone have experience with thin film solar? We're looking to add it to a city wide bus station application. Thanks!