Championing the
Changemakers

If you’ve ever screwed an LED replacement bulb into the same fixture that used to hold an incandescent, you can thank Thomas Edison, who invented not only the incandescent bulb but also the “Edison screw.” It quickly became an international standard in the early 20th century.

Standards can make our lives easier, but even something as... Read more

A recent report titled “Seduced by the View” makes the case that all those floor-to-ceiling windows that New Yorkers pay for with higher rents and energy bills usually end up covered by blinds.

In a small, rather anecdotal, study conducted by New York’s Urban Green Council, researchers focused on 55 residential and commercial buildings... Read more

Fair warning: EBN usually focuses our coverage on commercially available products, and usually on products that we would actually recommend. We’ve relieved ourselves of those standards here, including some forward-looking innovations—and some that we’ll wait and see on.

Structural and Insulation Products

We are continually on... Read more

Within five years, the United States lost more than 360,000 acres of coastal wetlands, according to a federal study, revealing restoration and re-establishment programs are barely making a dent when pitted against land development, sea-level rise, and violent storms.

A status report conducted by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s... Read more

I spend a lot of time writing about innovations in the building industry—the cool stuff that’s coming out all the time. But I also like to think about what’s needed: stuff that’s not (yet) on the market or performance levels not yet available.

1) Rigid insulation with no flame retardants and insignificant global warming... Read more

Can we replace foam insulation? What does energy modeling really tell us? Find out what you, our readers, have picked as this year’s top 10 stories!

Our resident number-crunchers have spent hours slaving over metrics to bring you … your own most-read BuildingGreen stories of the year. Ta-da!

We just have to say, you guys have great taste... Read more

Are we going to find the same NIMBY opposition to larger solar systems that we’re experiencing today with wind farms?  The 197 kW solar array at Logan Airport in Boston—on the top level of the Terminal B parking garage. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

When the economy-of-scale with wind power led to larger... Read more

Beacon Power pushing the envelope and creating a more resilient utility grid with large-scale flywheel power storage Schematic of Beacon Power's Energy Smart 25 flywheel.Photo Credit: Beacon Power

After I wrote last week about a company developing power grid electrical storage systems using lithium-ion battery... Read more

A recent memo hints that the Department of Defense will accept Green Globes certification for buildings—but that was already the case.

It started with a press release from the Green Building Initiative, developer of the online Green Globes tool—“Department of Defense Recognizes Green Globes for Assessing Building Sustainability”—and it spread... Read more

I should have known I was in for something unexpected when I walked into this year’s Greenbuild session on “biophilia”—humans’ love of living things—in a dark, windowless auditorium.

The irony of the setting was not lost on the four presenters of “Biophilia; Moving from Theory to Reality.” Amanda Sturgeon, vice president of the Living... Read more

Solar Grid Storage is at the forefront of efforts to use renewable energy to create a more resilient utility grid  The PowerFactor250 from Solar Grid Storage. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Solar Grid Storage

Last week I reported on The Navy Yard in Philadelphia, a remarkable 1,200-acre business campus with 300 companies... Read more

Eco-certified hotels do not bring in more booking revenue, but researchers say it’s safe to go green, if only for the operational benefits.

A report published by the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research has found that sustainability certifications don’t allow hotels to charge higher rates or increase bookings—but they also don’t hurt.... Read more

Sefaira introduces new software that models a building’s energy use while architects are still drafting initial designs.

Sefaira recently unveiled its new plug-in for SketchUp that provides real-time energy analysis for the conceptual stage of building design; Sefaira claims the tool will allow architects to make early performance-enhancing... Read more

The new tool aims to help architects with whole-building LCA calculations for LEED v4 right along with their BIM process.

With demand for whole-building life-cycle assessment (LCA) increasing, a partnership of architects, LCA experts, and software developers has worked to release Tally—a new tool that allows designers to track environmental... Read more

ASHRAE’s 62.1-2013 standard gives project teams more flexibility to determine appropriate exhaust rates, providing potential energy savings.

The 2013 version of ASHRAE’s indoor air quality standard has been published with 10 addenda to the 2010 standard. According to Roger Hedrick, Standard 62.1 committee chair, the updates will allow... Read more

This year’s winners are recognized for their innovation and commitment in diverse fields—from university president to town mayor.

Among those recognized is Joel Ann Todd, chair of the LEED steering committee and a 20-year supporter of sustainable design. “Joel Ann Todd has been a tireless and passionate advocate for quality and meaningful... Read more

Aspiring to build green learning spaces for every child on earth within a generation, the group will share ideas around the globe.

Green building councils around the world have come together to form the Global Coalition for Green Schools.

With 29 founding members from Botswana to Brazil and from Singapore to Slovenia, network members... Read more

New testing would detect the presence of endangered species or genetically modified organisms in wood products. Is that “birch” plywood cabinetry you specified actually made of an illegally logged rainforest species? A new partnership between the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL, a division of the U.S.... Read more

Bird-safe glass is worthwhile, but keeping cats indoors would prevent far more songbird deaths. A new study finds an estimated 105–348 million birds in Canada each year are killed by domestic cats, making these pets and their feral compatriots the biggest human-related threat to wild birds—more lethal by far than large office buildings and wind... Read more

The 2015 IECC applies to historic buildings and offers a performance path based on the HERS Index.

Hearings to settle proposals for the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)—the code that serves as the model for states and localities across the country—have ended, finalizing some marked differences from the 2012 version.

... Read more