BuildingGreen Report

Blog Post

March 9, 2010

We've been writing about the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in Environmental Building News since the organization was created in 1993. We've watched as FSC pushed the mainstream forest products industry toward more responsible forestry practices even as that industry fought to prevent or slow the adoption of the U.S. Green Building Council's... Read more

Blog Post

March 4, 2010
Even if a small house has lower levels of insulation than a larger house, it's likely to cost less to heat. 1. R-19 walls, R-30 ceilings, double-low-e (U=0.36) vinyl windows, R-4.4 doors, infiltration of .50 ACH, and R-6 ducts in attic; 2. R-13 walls, R-19 attic, insulated glass vinyl windows, R-2.1 doors, infiltration of .50 ACH, and uninsulated... Read more

Blog Post

March 3, 2010
I'm a "Legacy LEED AP"--one of the 150,000 or so people who became LEED APs before the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) retired the old exam and overhauled the LEED AP program in 2009.

I've got questions. Is it worth opting in to the new system of LEED AP + a.k.a. LEED AP "with specialty"? GBCI is allowing legacies to opt into the... Read more

Blog Post

March 3, 2010
Simple is good, but high-tech can be really cool. In the case of the Parans fiber-optic daylighting system (distributed in the U.S. by HUVCO), high-tech lets you distribute daylight up to sixty feet via optical cables--bringing full-spectrum natural light to various spaces within a home or commercial building.

Here's how it works: Sunlight is... Read more

Blog Post

March 2, 2010
I've wanted to write a practitioners guide to addressing chemicals in building products for a while now, and with new developments like the Perkins+Will Precautionary List, The launch of Pharos, The EPA's announcement on a new approach to chemical policy, the time finally seemed right. By necessity, the March EBN feature article is an overview... Read more

Blog Post

February 24, 2010

Back in 1990, when I built a new garage and office space at my home in Dummerston, Vermont (where BuildingGreen started out), I installed two sections of Lightolier lighting track with dual switching for use of whatever screw-in lamps I wanted to use in can-type fixtures as well as exposed sockets. During the twenty years since, this has been... Read more

Blog Post

February 22, 2010
The most common configuration of a ground-source heat pump has tubing laid in a horizontal trench--often as a series of coils.

Despite being highly efficient at turning kilowatt-hours of electricity into heat or chilled air, ground-source heat pumps have a significant drawback and usually aren't the best heating system choice.

For the... Read more

Blog Post

February 18, 2010
I was at Efficiency Vermont's Better Buildings Conference in Burlington, Vermont last week. It's a great conference each February to learn about energy-efficient construction and find out about innovations in energy-conserving products, from lighting to heating systems.

Wandering around the trade show at Better Buildings, my attention was... Read more

Blog Post

February 15, 2010
The Skystream 3.7 is rated at 2.4 kW in a 24-mph wind. This system is in Mullica Hills, New Jersey.

The 30% federal tax credit for residential wind turbines (with no upper limit) opens the door to scams, which could tarnish the reputation of the wind energy industry

For several weeks now, I've addressed tax credits for home energy... Read more

Blog Post

February 11, 2010
Update: We have learned that SafeTouch was discontinued by Dow in spring 2011 due to poor sales. More detail in the comments below. We have confirmed that EnGuard polyester insulation, from Vita Nonwovens, remains available. – The Editors I gotta say, I was pretty surprised to come across this product recently. I make it a habit of keeping up... Read more

Blog Post

February 10, 2010
Over the years I've held a lot of job titles and have done most kitchen jobs, from cleaning a large supperclub's grease traps in mid-July after the obligatory upper-Midwestern Friday fish fry (I don't recommend that as a career path) to picking herbs and edible flowers from the garden that I'd use in lobster salads at a Relais & Châteaux... Read more

Blog Post

February 9, 2010
This gird-connected, 2.52 kW PV system in Glastonbury, Connecticut, comprised of Evergreen Solar modules, was installed by groSolar, of White River Junction, Vermont.

Take advantage of these tax credits now, because they're unlikely to last.

I've been addressing tax credits for home energy improvements the past few weeks. This week, we... Read more

Blog Post

February 4, 2010
We first wrote about TimberSIL from TimberSIL Products in a 2004 article in EBN, touting the company's treated wood as a revolution in the treated wood industry. From an environmental standpoint, a recent enhancement makes the product even better. I've just participated in the three-day Build Well conference in Sausalito--a first-ever think-... Read more

Blog Post

February 1, 2010
Five different glazing options, along with the option of having no windows, are shown here for a highly insulated house in the Boston climate. Shown are the annual combined heating and cooling loads. Energy modeling was done by Bruce Gough of Energy Building Group using the Minto Inspiration house as the baseline.

Why the 30-30 Requirement... Read more

Blog Post

January 28, 2010
Environmental Building News first introduced waterless urinals to the green building community--back in February 1998 in a product review of the No-Flush Urinal from the Waterless Company. In the 12 years since then, we've profiled as many as a dozen waterless urinals as they've entered the market.

Most waterless urinals, including those from... Read more

Blog Post

January 25, 2010

Benefiting from the 30% federal tax credit for energy improvements

There are some great opportunities right now to upgrade your home energy performance with support from federal tax credits. These tax credits, created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 greatly expanded tax credits that had been put in place... Read more

Blog Post

January 25, 2010
The Family School is a "community of learners." Classes are composed of multiple ages and parents are active in the classroom. Each student's day is split between home schooling and coursework led by professional APS staff. Their parents may elect to participate in the classroom with their child. Monthly, parents are asked to attend workshops at... Read more

Blog Post

While we continue to feel great about small companies embracing FSC, we also find it exciting when larger players enter the FSC world--because these companies will help FSC become more accepted by the mainstream timber and building-products industries.

January 20, 2010

 We've promoted the Forest Stewardship Council's wood certification program in the pages of Environmental Building News since FSC was formed back in 1994. We've always looked for companies offering FSC-certified wood products to highlight in EBN and GreenSpec. Over the years, most of those products have been from small companies; larger more... Read more

Blog Post

January 18, 2010
The PV system on this Lafayette, Colorado home, providing 100% of the power requirements, was installed with no money down through Boulder County's ClimateSmart program. The cost will be repaid through the homeowners' tax bill.

One of the greatest challenges to energy improvements is the financing needed to make those improvements.... Read more

Blog Post

January 14, 2010

Here at BuildingGreen.com, we recently announced our picks for the Top-10 green building products of 2009. The list is a pretty cool selection of newer products that could come in handy on your 2010 green projects. But what were your picks? If you were a subscriber to BuildingGreen.com (which, I feel compelled to add, is a steal at our trial... Read more