Hi, this is a somewhat niche/specific question - we are working on an all-electric school (middle and high school) that includes a chemistry lab. The lab was going to have portable sources for flame experiments, but there is concern that the portable sources would be unsafe for middle school students, so they are asking for a hard-pipe natural... Read more

Hi, we need 3-4 folks to volunteer to join us to work out a draft Materials section for the Contractors Commitment.  Meeting set for 6/16 @ 2 PM CST.

Please message me at pslloyd@leopardo.com if interested in participating.  I will forward out the meeting invite. If the time doesn't work, but you want to participate, I will share info in... Read more

Buck Dodgers

Hi everyone,

As you may know the ICC has changed the way the IECC will be written in the future and most of us think that will reduce the stringency of the future energy codes that are the biggest lever in the fight against climate change within the buildings sector.

So one of the best pathways forward is via ASHRAE, which has a... Read more

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

Can you comment on successful ways you have used eQUEST and pitfalls you have seen? We are considering training our architects to use it for early building analysis on all projects. 

Hello All - It is so wonderful to virtually meet everyone and read through introductions. I'm a believer that positive change starts with groups of passionate and like-minded people organizing, and I think this group has the potential to push our industry forward, as well as offer a place for support and knowledge sharing.

I am Director... Read more

Does anyone share the same feeling of stagnation? We are supposed to hit 80% pEUI reduction now and working towards 90% mark, but I don’t see it happening for majority of our projects, even the “right” ones that we implemented integrative design process & iterative energy modeling. I am wondering whether anyone would be willing to share... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of LEED 2009: The Missing Manual.

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


1. Stay abreast of changes to LEED NC-2009.
2. Understand the more ambiguous aspects of LEED NC-2009.
3. Explain key interpretations of LEED NC-2009.
4.... Read more

Good morning SALs! Nicole's survey on restrooms inspired me to post a survey of my own.

I’ve been trying to stay useful lately. I've been posting new writing on the industry, much of it complimentary, over on Roberts’ Green Letter. (Yesterday I posted the mission statement, explained via brand-new-puppy pics.)

I have a 1-minute... Read more

BuildingGreen recommends low-emitting acoustic ceilings that do not contain formaldehyde resins or PVC coatings. Look for those that have C2C Silver or Gold certifications, are Declare Red List Free, and are third-party certified for low emissions using CDPH Standard Method. We also prefer wood ceiling products with FSC certification. The... Read more

Testing web-to-lead to existing contact in Salesforce.

Attached are the raw notes from the Design Process Conversations.

And here are the Guiding Questions from the Agenda Survey:

Design Process: how to intervene to get better outcomes?

How do I crack the nut of making a difference within my firm in the Design Process?

What strategies alter our fast-paced design... Read more

Hello,

We are having a discussion / a bit of a debate in our office about the merits and sustainability of different roofing materials. Our current standard is to use a PVC membrane, which we all know is highly toxic. TPO is an obvious alternative that is less toxic, but it has some performance concerns and can often lead to leaking (not... Read more

Hi Folks ,

Two fun and useful events to help us all do more in less time!!

1. DeCon Hackathon 4/12

These are sessions where the community comes together to 'crowdsource' standard construction details that are disassembly-friendly for a public detail library so that everyone can use it and start adapting those details in... Read more

Is anyone else working on a project doing Living Building Challenge v4.0 Energy Petal? We're working through the Imperative 08 Net Positive Carbon Resiliency Strategy requirements that ask for the project to be habitable for a week in the event of an emergency. We're curious how others are defining "habitable" and what systems assumptions... Read more