Basic page
Building Green is the longest continuous running green building publication in the world. Its originator, West River Communications, was founded in 1985 as "a company that would translate technical information on energy efficiency and other environmental topics for the public and building... Read more
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I was recently asked about potentially specifying concrete with wood nanoparticles and concrete with biochar as a way to further lower the embodied carbon and to increase concrete strength. These approaches are something I know nothing about, and wondering if anyone in this group has any experience and/or observations that might be relevant to... Read more
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Dear fellow SCL'ers,
Recently one of our members, Ryan Poole, sustainability leader at DPR, has been facing some personal challenges. His wife is 35 weeks pregnant and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. They have moved across country - from Colorado to South Carolina - to be closer to thier parents and their support system, but they can... Read more
Peer Network Event
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Hi all!
I'm working on my first energy positive / passive house multifamily building and trying to figure out the trash/recycling chute. I am curious what solutions you have employed to make the trash chute air tight? We have excluded the whole chute from the envelope. Do you use airtight doors (and which ones?) at each floor trash/... Read more
Reports, Courses, Study Guides, Live Webinars
Avoiding Toxic Chemicals in Commercial Building Projects
We’re excited to issue our special report, Spec This, Not That.
In updating the report in 2020, we engaged a respected toxicology and regulatory-compliance firm to review and assist in our revision of the entire publication. This edition reflects the latest science in... Read more
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We considering PV glazing for a project in SW Louisiana. Anyone have any successful PV glazing projects? Is this ready for primetime?
Quiz
Welcome to the quiz portion of The BuildingGreen Guide to Insulation!
Learning Objectives
Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:
News Analysis
Forum topic
Hello!
As perhaps one of the newest members, I wanted to take a moment to say hi.
I have recently joined Lois Vitt Sale at Wight & Company and look forward to engaging with the group.
Like many of you, my interests and work tend to span a wide range of topics – a necessity as we approach the complexity of today’s... Read more
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Hey there, Tally users. I'm looking for some answers to a few basic questions about using Tally:
When do you typically run a WBLCA? As soon as you have a Revit model? Later, maybe end of DD, when the Revit model is more fully developed? At the end of CDs? Are you mostly using Tally for targeted studies or WBLCA for the purpose of... Read moreForum topic
ASHRAE posted this year's list of honors and right there at the top of the list is our SMEPL colleague, Cindy Cogil - now able to add FASHRAE to her signature block! Well done, Cindy and congratulations to ASHRAE for recognizing your accomplishments.
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Our firm was asked by a government client in Canada to update their specifications for concrete to capture low embodied carbon as a performance metric. From the SDL group's knowledge of concrete procurement:
What are the chances of systematically obtaining cement specified with 10% lower carbon intensity? What's viable in the current... Read moreForum topic
I'm hoping for some help answering the question of whether buildings/communities should pursue net-zero energy on site versus investing in new renewable energy (i.e. through the electric utility) that can be built at a more efficient scale elsewhere in the state. Our utility is asking us this question as we are working through how to get the... 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
Quiz
Welcome to this practice session for the LEED AP v4 exam, and good luck!
All the exam questions and explanations that follow were authored by Alex Spilger, LEED AP BD+C of GreenStep Education, and are provided in this BuildingGreen "exam simulator" through a special partnership with GreenStep and with our friends at the Poplar Network.... Read more
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The deadline for submitting presentations is coming up. This year ASHRAE is hosting a joint conference with Simbuild. We are just about to send out an extension announcement (It is now Feb 9th) , so there is still time to get an abstract for a presentation.
Possible ideas for topics:
Daylight - new metrics and... Read more