Championing the
Changemakers

Energy-recovery ventilators (ERVs), including the sub-type known as heat-recovery ventilators (HRVs), provide whole-building ventilation while reducing the amount of energy lost during air exchange. An HRV is a simpler system that enables exchange only of sensible heat (energy you can measure with a thermometer); the term “ERV”... Read more

Updated May 21, 2025; updates by Elene Drosos

Natural ventilation, daylighting, rainwater harvesting: these and many other “climate-responsive” strategies are hallmarks of sustainable design because they take advantage of freely available, inexhaustible resources. Working with nature is all very well as long as nature is fairly... Read more

The Lighting Research Center (LRC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently released a design guide for light scoops—skylights that provide more strategic light through daily and seasonal fluctuations than conventional skylights do.

Particularly effective in cloudy and overcast climates, light scoops face south and are angled at... Read more

A three-unit condominium project under construction in Brooklyn is one of many Passive House projects that are springing up in the Borough The unit on the right, constructed of ICFs, is expected to achieve Passive House certificationPhoto Credit: Alex Wilson

I was in New York City over the weekend where I spoke at the ... Read more

With EarthCraft certification being a requirement, energy performance of homes in Serenbe is relatively good; transit options being planned will also help save energy. The net-zero-energy Bosch Demonstration Home at Serenbe.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

After bringing some of the unique features of Serenbe, a New Urbanist... Read more

Practical guidance to start getting higher performance from your building assemblies.

In a one-hour on-demand webcast, BuildingGreen Vice President of Technical Services Peter Yost will give you the building science knowledge and practical guidance to start getting higher performance from your building assemblies.

Developer Steve Nygren is putting New Urbanist principles into practice at the Serenbe Community outside Atlanta A wide range of architectural styles are represented at Serenbe. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: Alex Wilson

I’m just back from Atlanta, where I spoke on Saturday at the new Bosch Experience Center located... Read more

This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.

When the Wingnut Test Facility (WTF) took its tape testing protocols on the road, as I reported in my last post, a stranger stepped forward to politely offer some “adult supervision.”

It’s true that... Read more

The pending closure of Vermont’s only nuclear plant will hurt the local economy, but it could catalyze sustainable economic development The Entergy Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant will be shut down in late 2014. Click to enlarge.Photo Credit: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The big energy news in my part of the... Read more

A new study finds long touted “sustainable” small hydropower projects are cumulatively causing more ecological damage than big dams. A five-year study conducted in China’s Nu River basin by researchers at Oregon State University suggests that the cumulative effects of small hydropower projects cause more ecological damage per megawatt produced... Read more

The largest net-zero-energy building in the world is also a triumph of adaptive reuse.

A previously abandoned pornography mega-store recently became the largest net-zero-energy building in the world to be certified by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). At 16,533 ft2 (1,536 m2), the regional office of DPR Construction in Phoenix... Read more

Cities with high urban sprawl offer less economic mobility, say Harvard and Berkeley economists in a new study. Children from low-income homes have a harder time climbing the economic ladder in cities with high levels of urban sprawl, say economists from Harvard University and the University of California–Berkeley. A new study for the Equality... Read more

Laminate flooring offers recycled content and low emissions in an economical, low-maintenance product that has overcome aesthetic and performance challenges. Laminate flooring offers the look of hardwood, tile, or stone flooring at a lower cost. It is easy to install and maintain and is made from lower-value timber. Invented in the 1970s in Europe... Read more

Faced with steep rent deductions if energy benchmarks weren’t met, the Wynkoop project team produced a building that out-performed contract requirements.

A performance-based building contract for the Wynkoop building in Denver is being credited with bringing about even better energy performance than originally requested by the building’s... Read more

Efficiency advocates have taken opposite sides on the Shaheen-Portman energy bill. Will a new compromise bring them back together? Net-zero energy use in all federal buildings may sound like a distant dream—but in fact, it’s the law. Starting in 2030, all new federal buildings and major renovation projects must be designed to consume no fossil... Read more

Whether you choose a refrigerant-based or a desiccant-based system, dehumidifiers use energy and produce waste heat.

Dehumidification, sometimes abbreviated as DEH or DH, removes water from indoor air. Active dehumidification is mechanical moisture removal intended to maintain comfort and protect building materials.

There are two primary... Read more

A focused effort to make healthcare facilities more sustainable takes hold in Austin, Texas, with the littlest patients.

Water-efficient appliances, sensory gardens, and low-emitting furniture and finishes have all helped the recent expansion of Dell Children’s Medical Center earn the first-ever LEED for Healthcare (LEED-HC) Platinum... Read more

A new ice energy-storage system better integrates wind energy at a campus in Ireland. At Dundalk Institute of Technology, tanks of ice store wind energy produced at night and cool classrooms during the day. A thermal-energy-storage system designed by Calmac maximizes the amount of renewable energy that can be used onsite for the university’s PJ... Read more

By Candace Pearson and Tristan Roberts

Even the best cladding will allow some moisture to collect; that’s why ventilated rainscreens have caught on to prevent moisture problems. However, rainscreens are still new to a lot of builders, and due to labor costs and their own susceptibility to moisture, not everyone has fallen in love with... Read more

An office tower shows even a massive building with a glass façade can achieve Passive House certification—in Austria, at least.

A 20-story office building in Vienna recently became the world’s first high-rise building to be certified under the international Passive House standard. With a glass façade 262 feet (80 m) high and office... Read more