BuildingGreen Report

Blog Post

Insulation is a critical component of any building--especially one designed and built to minimize environmental impacts.

October 19, 2011
Part 2 in our series, "What Type of Insulation Should You Use?" Even our savvy readers had some trouble with BuildingGreen's insulation quiz. Does it really have to be this hard to choose the best insulation for your project?

While paying yet another $3000 heating oil bill this fall, a friend of mine decided it was time to bite the bullet... Read more

Blog Post

October 18, 2011
Renovate, from Berkowitz, LLC. is a retrofit glazing that fits on the interior of single-pane commercial windows, improving the center of glass U-factor from 1.03 to 0.16. Finding the top Greenbuild products among 900 exhibitors is no easy task. This week we introduce you to our favorite windows from the show.

Greenbuild expo floors are... Read more

Blog Post

October 17, 2011

What do over a thousand protests around the world last weekend in support of Occupy Wall Street have to do with Green Building?

When NYC Mayor Bloomberg was speaking via video-link at Greenbuild, and while the Toronto Airport security strike delayed green building practitioners from returning home, a growing group of "occupiers... Read more

Blog Post

Choosing the best insulation to maximize performance and minimize environmental impacts is one of the most complex decisions you can make for a building project.

October 13, 2011
Part 1: The Basics Click to Read Part 2: Identifying Your Priorities Choosing the best insulation to maximize performance and minimize environmental impacts is one of the most complex decisions you can make for a building project.

Insulation is a critical component of any building--especially one designed and built to minimize environmental... Read more

Blog Post

October 12, 2011
The increased use of no-added-urea-formaldehyde (NAUF) wood products is great, but can occasionally cause unsightly "bleaching" of gorgeous veneers. What to do? Exotic veneers like this deliciously buttery English sycamore can be devastatingly discolored by some types of non-urea-formaldehyde boards. Woodworking experts have found some solutions... Read more

Blog Post

Are there any sustainable materials? What does that even mean?

October 12, 2011
Are there any sustainable materials? What does that even mean?

Near the end of another exciting and exhausting Greenbuild, I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with three other women deeply invested in sustainable material management: Lindsay James, InterfaceFlor; Gail Vittori, Center for Maximum Building Potential Building Systems, and... Read more

Blog Post

October 11, 2011
It's easy to get bogged down in the details of one credit or another, but Greenbuild offered a refreshing look at the bigger picture. Scot Horst opened the LEED master session series with a dramatic production of the first scene of The Tempest. Here, Prospero and Miranda watch the storm and subsequent shipwreck. The play provided the narrative... Read more

Blog Post

October 6, 2011
Our Top-10 Products for 2012 look ahead, offering forward-thinking solutions you can put in place now.

Greenbuild is one of the highlights of the year as we scout out new, innovative products for GreenSpec and Environmental Building News, and every year we present the Top-10 Building Products as selected by our editorial team. This year we... Read more

Blog Post

October 6, 2011
Microsoft releases initial results from an energy management pilot project that uses the MS campus as a test bed. The Microsoft campus is serving as a test-bed facility for a "smarter buildings" pilot project that analyzes and interprets energy data for building managers and occupants.

I had the privilege Tuesday night to attend a dinner... Read more

Product Review

October 6, 2011

BuildingGreen announced its tenth annual Top-10 Green Building Products during the 2011 Greenbuild conference in Toronto. The award highlights the most forward-looking products reviewed in EBN and featured in GreenSpec throughout the year.

InterfaceFLOR carpet tiles with non-PFC carpet fibers contain no perfluorinated compounds (... Read more

News Brief

October 5, 2011

News Brief

October 5, 2011
By Paula MeltonAlternating layers of clay and chitosan (a polymer derived from crustacean shells) have shown promise as a possible flame retardant in lab tests at Texas A&M University. When applied to foam and exposed to a direct flame for ten seconds, the coating formed a protective thermal barrier that kept the foam from igniting or melting—... Read more

News Analysis

October 5, 2011
A relatively new type of pin-based light fixture, called the GU24 base, ensures that lighting systems intended for high-efficiency lamps cannot be used with incandescent lamps. GU24 base socket-lamp combinations are gaining momentum as the new standard for lighting—guaranteeing energy savings beyond the life of one lamp.

Most compact fluorescent... Read more

Product Review

October 5, 2011
Cypress Envirosystems’ Wireless Pneumatic Thermostats (WPT) are replacement thermostats that provide wireless, digital control of analog pneumatic thermostats in older commercial buildings. WPTs allow building owners to continuously monitor thermostats and other components to maximize long-term energy performance, prolong equipment life, and... Read more

News Brief

October 5, 2011
By Paula MeltonGE Energy Financial Services and several other funders have invested $22 million in Project Frog, a company that provides climate-sensitive design and fabrication of modular high-performance buildings (see “BuildingGreen Announces 2009 Top-10 Green Products,”

EBN Dec. 2009).

Project Frog—which began as a sustainable... Read more

News Brief

October 5, 2011
By Evan DickThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has approved a rule that will ensure a 25% increase in energy efficiency for refrigerators beginning January 1, 2014 (see “DOE Proposes New Refrigerator Standard for 2014,”

EBN Nov. 2010).

While refrigerators have seen significant gains in efficiency—today’s models use about 75% less... Read more

News Analysis

October 5, 2011

A new program from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) aims to complement Energy Star Portfolio Manager—which building managers use to track and score actual energy performance—by measuring the “as-built” efficiency of commercial buildings. Like the miles-per-gallon ratings for cars, the new asset rating, announced in September 2011, will give... Read more

News Brief

October 5, 2011
By Evan DickThe Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has received $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to field-test a new hydroelectric turbine developed by research engineers at Alden Research Laboratory. The turbine is designed to maximize the use of hydroelectric resources without further jeopardizing migrating fish... Read more

News Brief

October 5, 2011

One of the largest energy-saving features of the building-wide project is a retrofit system that preserves the historic glass and window frames from the iconic building’s 6,514 windows, turning them into super-insulated glazing units that include suspended, coated film. “By earning LEED Gold, the Empire State Building has sent a powerful... Read more

News Analysis

Open workspaces are increasingly popular, and thoughtful design can help ease the transition

October 5, 2011

Open workspace designs have clear environmental benefits stemming from easier access to daylighting and more efficient use of space. A survey of more than 200 organizations recently conducted by financial services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) and Ethisphere Institute, a business ethics think tank, found that open workspaces are... Read more