Hi there Hive Mind! Hope everyone's doing well and staying cool in the heatwave all over.

An engineer on one of my projects reached out about contact switches for operable windows that are empowered to shut down the associated FCU in dormitory bedrooms when the window is open. This functionality allows the FCU to run at something like... Read more

Hi All - I have a 3 bdroom close walking distance to Greenbuild venue - but I don't need it.

Last call before I cancel it - if anyone wants it - I can transfer!

Just shoot me an email directly to bb@sustainable-performance.org

Thanks and see you there!

This might be going down a rabbit hole, but in moving to California this year I noticed that "zero net energy" (ZNE) is the standard term, whereas "net zero energy" (NZE) was more common back east. The DOE's 2015 definition (below) uses "zero energy building" (ZEB), which to me implies a building uses no energy at all.

Regional... Read more

Hi SDL: sorry to send another missive so soon but I wanted all to be aware of a great new effort just announced today coming from Greg Kats and Vivian Loftness among others - The Smart Surfaces Coalition. This effort brings together resources and research around city-scale resilience. "The Coalition is committed to the rapid, cost-effective... Read more

THIS WEBINAR PURCHASE AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.

Glazing is by far the most complex single component of our enclosures and it must be climate-tuned to boot. Getting the amount, the location, and the performance attributes of glazing is key to... Read more

Hi all,

As follow-up to the summit, I’m attaching a draft letter on MEP embodied carbon written by our group (Luke, Kristy, Adam).  The goal is to start a dialogue with manufacturers to include embodied carbon info for major equipment.  Will explain more on the call.  Please read in advance if you get the chance!

Thanks!

Thank you to everyone who signed on to the Materials Pledge letter.  It was officially released on April 15th with 56 signatory firms.  The Materials Pledge will soon have a new home online and a way to continuously add more signatory firms.  I'm keeping a list for now and there are already four more firms who want to join.  I will let everyone... Read more

Hi Green Gurus,

In this stressful time, I think it is important for us to continue to feel connected and supported.  Also, it is difficult to come to terms with the reality of what is happening.  So, I thought it would be helpful for us to share some information about the response of our respective firms to the Coronavirus.

The... Read more

With extensive environmental science research background, Elene Drosos provides contemporary commentary on the current climate affairs. She contributes up-to-date trends and shifts in regulations in major green building issues such as LEED and natural disasters. Her passion is to strive for biophilic design where native landscapes can dominate... Read more

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

This summit was pre-approved for 10 AIA HSW LUs and 10 GBCI CE hours.

Please complete the survey question to confirm your attendance and receive your CEUs.

By providing your credential numbers in your profile, you will enable us to automatically report these CEUs to the organization. Please first check your profile to be sure your... Read more

CEUs are available for reading all the building-envelope product guides and primer. Click here to learn more and take the quiz.

Standard spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation is made using blowing agents with extremely high global warming potential (GWP), which can cancel out much of the potential energy savings from use over its life... Read more

Does adding solar panels reduce a building's EUI?

Existing operational use of a building is 80 kBtu/sf/year. When we add solar, it will change the source of energy but does not change the usage.

My understanding is that the EUI does not change, but it would be good to hear from others.

It's energy consumption at the point... Read more

Welcome to the quiz portion of Deep Material Vetting (That Won't Chew Through Your Design Budget).

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


1. Align product vetting with goals that aim to mitigate occupant exposure and environmental toxicity.
2. Foster partnerships with... Read more

Happy Friday, SDL!

We're running a Tally WBLCA for an environmental education center, which has a very small floor area but a fairly robust concrete/steel structure. Still, I was surprised to find an intensity of over 1,000 kgCO2/m2 for the building.

This is way higher than the general benchmarks I've found in the CLF's database,... Read more

Does anyone here have a draft spec for low embodied carbon concrete they could share? I see the GSA has a standards sheet with MGWP limits, but we are hoping to actually specify the mix for upcoming projects.

Hello! Long shot here, but I thought I would try.

Alex Wilson and I are working on an article about priorities for the next four years under the Biden-Harris administration. We'd like to feature some recent photos of climate demonstrations, protest signs calling for the Green New Deal, or other environment-focused illustrations of... Read more