Championing the
Changemakers
BuildingGreen champions the changemakers in sustainable design and building, with trusted insight, unparalleled education, and communities that are transforming the industry.
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Image: Piranka
Blog Post
When you use tape to seal a seam or flash a sill, you need peel-and-stick performance—not “stick-and-peel.”
This is part of an ongoing series. Read all the Sticky Business posts here.
Their location means that they cannot be inspected, repaired, or replaced; we need to know that they will maintain their integrity and function for the full service life of the assembly.While liquid sealants most often are used on... Read more
News Brief
Since LEED for Homes launched in 2008, more than 20,000 homes have achieved certification; a recent study says one-third of residential construction will be green by 2016.
More than 20,000 U.S. homes have achieved certification through LEED for Homes since the program’s launch in 2008, with nearly four times that number currently registered and working toward certification.
Green building is expected to account for about one-third of the residential market by 2016, according to a recent McGraw-... Read more
Blog Post
Food, toys, furniture, building products—just... Read more
Blog Post
Photo Credit: Fedders
My wife and I did the outside work early, while the weather was still bearable. Since mid-day we’ve been holed up in the house. It’... Read more
News Analysis
Urban Green Council has announced the winners of the first “EBies,” which the group is touting as “the Oscars of sustainable building.” This year’s awards honor ten projects in six categories, with the goal of acknowledging “’unsung heroes’ who have made great strides in improving environmental performance but whose accomplishments may... Read more
Blog Post
Passive solar design features have helped define what energy-efficient buildings look like. Have newer design practices left them behind?
News Brief
News Brief
News Brief
Compiled from the organization’s online newsletter,... Read more
Product Review
News Brief
News Brief
The Honest Buildings online platform is intended to help connect building owners, architects, and service... Read more
Product Review
The CarbonCure Block System takes CO2 from industrial emitters and injects it into CMUs during production, sequestering CO2 and creating a stronger block.
Could injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) directly into concrete masonry units (CMUs) during production be a tool for lowering carbon emissions from construction? The makers of the CarbonCure Block System say that their system both lowers the environmental impact of CMUs and improves their overall strength.
The production of portland cement... Read more
News Brief
The International Living Future Institute (ILFI) has announced the creation of new leadership positions in a reorganization that gives CEO Jason McLennan time to focus on innovation and reconnect to private-sector building projects.
A new executive director, Richard Graves, will manage day-to-day operations; Graves has served as the U.S... Read more
Feature
Using the sun for most of a building's heating needs is in the DNA of green building. But in an age of superinsulation, does it still make sense?
I was fortunate to have been involved in the glory days of the passive solar energy movement. In the late 1970s I worked in Santa Fe for the New Mexico Solar Energy Association, which was at the epicenter of the burgeoning movement to create buildings that relied on south-facing glass, integrated thermal mass, and carefully designed... Read more
News Brief
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has produced a guide to help architects implement the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), which was introduced in March 2012 by the International Code Council, and to advocate for adoption of the code in their own jurisdictions.
“The AIA Guide to the IgCC” points out that architects... Read more
Explainer
Dry-bulb and wet-bulb thermometers measure two different types of heat. Understanding them is crucial to understanding building science.
Although the acts of melting ice and boiling water are mundane occurrences, the underlying physics are not so simple. The illustration shows what happens to the temperature of water as heat is added (Btu per pound on the horizontal axis). The graph shows plateaus at 32ºF and 212ºF. Why does the temperature hold steady, even as heat is being... Read more
News Brief
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is adopting the stricter efficiency standards specified in ASHRAE 90.1–2010 in a new rule affecting heating, air conditioning, and water heating equipment. ”Energy Efficiency Program for Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment” addresses air conditioners and heat pumps defined as packaged terminal, single... Read more
News Brief
The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC) has become a council of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS). Founded in 1981 as the Passive Solar Industries Council, SBIC has been a leading advocate of a high-performance, whole-building approach to sustainability. SBIC programs such as the Beyond Green high-performance building... Read more
News Brief
The plan will coordinate efforts among agencies involved in health and environmental quality to target services to communities most at risk; to increase understanding of its causes; and to test preventive measures. For example, the plan recommends that federally assisted housing include policies to reduce exposure to secondhand smoke, pests,... Read more
