Championing the
Changemakers

The Hanley Award for Vision and Leadership in Sustainable Housing will go this year to Sam Rashkin, chief architect at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program. Rashkin previously helped found the Energy Star for Homes program, and he served as national director of the program for 15 years. Rashkin is widely... Read more

Will environmental product declarations end greenwashing for good? Not so fast. This is Part 3 in our series on transparency. Part 1: Why We Care About Product Transparency Part 2: Why We Need "Nutrition Labels" for Building Products We developed this visual tool to help us keep track of what EPDs really are--and what they aren't. Click the... Read more

  This green wall covers the exterior of Whole Foods in Vancouver, BC.

I live in Vermont, where agriculture is an integral part of our culture. I drive past the farms as the seasons change and see when the corn is high or when too much rain has made plowing impossible. And the family sees the results at the local farmer's market. Whenever I... Read more

Our pellet stove has DC fans and a kit that allows us to hook it up to a battery to power those fans in the event of a power outage. Photo: Alex Wilson. Click on image to enlarge.

House location and design are the starting points in achieving resilience--where the house located, how well it can weather storms and flooding, and how effectively... Read more

Is the greenest building the one you don’t build? The answer is a resounding “usually.”

Conventional wisdom about building reuse is questioned and quantified in a much-anticipated report released today by Preservation Green Lab, part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Using a life-cycle assessment (LCA) approach... Read more

Researchers from Iowa State University’s mechanical engineering department have used computer modeling to show that fabric forced-air ducts distribute air 24.5% more efficiently than conventional sheet-metal ducts. Using fluid dynamics simulations, the researchers determined that the fabric ducts diffuse conditioned air more widely in... Read more

There are more than 20 different standardized tests manufacturers can invoke to "qualify" as a code-accepted weather-resistive barrier (WRB); with our GreenSpec section on WRBs, we've picked just one that we think does the job.

It's not easy being a weather-resistive barrier (WRB): it has to stop liquid water, be tough and not tear, but also... Read more

This exterior window shade in Florida blocks most of the solar gain, yet allows some view out. Photo: Alex Wilson. Click on image to enlarge.

Over the past month-and-a-half, I've been focusing on resilient design--which will become all the more important in this age of climate change. Achieving resilience in homes not only involves keeping... Read more

BIPV has yet to reach its full potential in the U.S., but a couple companies are giving it a shot. Soltecture's Corium thin-film CIGS BIPV is installed on the company's headquarters in Berlin.

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)--photovoltaic (PV) modules integrated into functional building elements, such as roofs, glazings, and... Read more

Passive solar design is a key element of creating resilient homes. A passive solar home in Halifax, Vermont. High-SHGC, triple-glazed, south-facing windows were used to improve the direct-gain passive solar performance. Click on image to enlarge.

As I discussed in last week's blog, a resilient home is extremely well-insulated, so that it can... Read more

Major players in the U.S. green building market are joining forces with the goal of expanding high-performance building services.

The Cadmus Group acquired Constructive Technologies Group (CTG) at the end of 2011, an acquisition that fleshes out a new Building Performance Group within Cadmus led by senior vice president Chris... Read more

What's in it? Where was it made? Is the manufacturer socially responsible? These questions about green building products are getting easier to answer. This is Part 1 in our series on transparency. Part 2: Why We Need "Nutrition Labels" for Building Products Part 3: The End of Greenwashing? Five Myths about Product Transparency

There's been... Read more

Nutrition labels allow shoppers to compare two bags of chips. The transparency movement seeks that level of transparency for building materials. This is Part 2 in our series on transparency. Part 1: Why We Care About Product Transparency Part 3: The End of Greenwashing? Five Myths about Product Transparency

Building product transparency... Read more

A resilient home is a highly energy-efficient home that will maintain livable conditions even during power outages or interruptions in heating fuel. A superinsulated "Passive House" being built by Dan Whitmore in Seattle. These wall trusses provide about a foot of insulation. Photo: Dan Whitmore. Click on image to enlarge.

When most people... Read more

USGBC's Center for Green Schools lauds ten groups for taking the lead on green building education. This student services center, designed by Hill & Wilkinson for the University of Texas–Dallas, is the first building in the UT system to achieve LEED Platinum. Automated terra cotta louvers, seen on the right, help keep the building cool in... Read more

Windows, carpet chemicals, spray-foam, and LEED lawsuits: these are a few of your favorite things.

It's been a big year for green building. People are tightening up their buildings even as they tighten their belts. The retrofit market and multifamily housing have taken off in a big way in this new financial landscape.

The most-read... Read more

On August 28th Tropical Storm Irene flooded downtown Brattleboro, totally submerging Flat Street. Photo: Charlie Boswell. Click on image to enlarge.

As we look to create homes and communities that will keep us comfortable and safe in a world of climate change, terrorism, and other vulnerabilities, there are a handful of strategies that I group... Read more

By Brent EhrlichIn

EBN’s recent feature article, “LEDs: The Future Is Here,” we covered the long lifespan and impressive energy efficiency of LED lighting while also discussing the challenges LEDs still pose. LEDs are particularly strong in outdoor area lighting, however, an area where LED luminaires such as EvoLucia Lighting’s SCH Cobra Head... Read more

Low-flow faucets have become a standard water-saving feature in public bathrooms. Unfortunately, it turns out that drying your hands can use a lot more water than washing them—anywhere from 18 to 70 liters (4.8 to 18.5 gallons) per hand-washing session, depending on the drying method—according to a life-cycle assessment (LCA)... Read more

By Evan DickAn Amonix manufacturing facility in Las Vegas is using solar energy to power the production of utility-scale concentrating photovoltaic systems (CPV).

Eight of these systems installed at the 214,000 ft2 manufacturing facility generate 1,500 MWh per year, supplying 100% of the site’s electricity demand. According to Amonix,... Read more