Championing the
Changemakers

The last BuildingGreen field trip we wrote about was at the Syracuse Center of Excellence. This week, we... Read more

In your June issue, it is recommended that cellular shades not be used [with high-performance windows] until more is known because modeling found temperatures exceeding 200°F and this might affect window seals (see “Making Windows Work Better,” EBN June 2011). Although I champion the research Peter Yost is doing, I disagree with this statement... Read more

Home appraisals have traditionally ignored the value added by green building features, but a new form would aid appraisers in documenting green features—particularly energy-saving equipment and assemblies. The form is an optional addendum to Fannie Mae Form 1004, the most widely used appraisal form for mortgage lending purposes, and provides... Read more

By Peter Yost & Martin Solomon

We ask even more of our doors than we do our windows; we use them more, slam them more, load their thresholds with feet (human, pet, and even piano…), and typically secure them at just one point (the lockset) along their longest dimension. We expect sustained performance and security, and we would like... Read more

Oregon-based alternative energy start-up Agilyx says it has developed a system to convert difficult-to-recycle discarded plastics into synthetic crude oil. The technology has been in development for a year and a half, and the company predicts that it will be ready for commercial sales in mid-2012.

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories have developed a technology that prevents solar heat gain without blocking visible light, allowing for “smart windows” that can respond to outdoor conditions without a visible change in the window.

A report published in

Environmental Science & Technology suggests that, as a group, consumer electronics are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than household appliances are. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology used life-cycle assessments, including emissions during manufacture, in their... Read more

The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced grant recipients for the i6 Green Challenge, which aims to spur economic development by creating green jobs. More than $12 million was awarded to six groups working on the common goal of expediting the transition from green technology development to commercial implementation.

KB Home, one of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., has developed ZeroHouse 2.0, a house designed to achieve net-zero energy. The home is currently available in Tampa, Florida, and in San Antonio and Austin, Texas, but the company plans to expand the availability of net-zero options to other cities throughout 2012. Energy Star is now a... Read more

Researchers in applied physics at the University of Michigan have discovered a method that uses the magnetic component of light to generate electricity without using semiconductors or photovoltaic (PV) panels.

Many projects are claiming net-zero-energy status, often based on modeling with little documentation to verify their performance post-occupancy. McLennan told

EBN that ILFI has received many inquiries about a net-zero-energy certification. “The market needed someone to step up and provide some clarity. People are making claims about... Read more

A committee of 19 scientists and academics has issued a draft opinion for the European Environment Agency criticizing the European Union’s method for calculating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the use of biofuels. They charge that the European Union has failed to fully take into account the carbon sequestration and storage... Read more

[Editor's note: After asking him to pen his series of 10 Riversong's Random Reflections on our blog earlier this year, we asked Vermont builder Robert Riversong back to discuss fire safety... Read more

By Asad Syrkett

The clamorous convergence of elevated highways I-81 and I-690, in the upstate city of Syracuse, New York, would be rather unremarkable were it not for the glass-fronted building nestled in the nook the interchange creates. This angular structure is the new Toshiko Mori Architect (TMA)-designed building for the... Read more

It‘s a sunny November afternoon in downtown Syracuse, New York. Though the day has been unseasonably warm, the sun has just started to go down, and the temperature drops sharply. Throughout the quiet hallways of a LEED Platinum test-bed facility designed by Toshiko Mori and owned by the Syracuse Center of Excellence, small green lights... Read more

Blower doors are variable-speed fans that are installed into a tightly fitting shroud in an exterior door opening. With the rest of the building closed up tight and interior doors open, the fan can be used to depressurize (or pressurize) the building and evaluate its airtightness.

Building scientists did not fully understand until the... Read more

I recently caught up with where the rest of the world was in 2005 by watching the hit documentary "March of the Penguins." It's been on my list for a while but when evening arrives I'm much more prone to watching films about people--people like James Bond, for example. But my wife and I had a baby two weeks ago, and suddenly movies... Read more