Building Technology, Clean Grid Technology, Efficiency in Action, Renewables, Whole Building
Net Zero Energy Becomes Elementary in Arlington County, VA
Taylor Patterson, 4/6/21. Zero energy buildings are the future of sustainable living – be it commercial, industrial, or residential settings. Arlington County, VA embraced this future with the design and construction of their zero-energy public elementary school. The building is powered by over 1,700 solar panels, has a geothermal athletic field that funnels into a […]
arlington county, geothermal, Net Zero Energy, solar, Virginia
Building Technology, Codes & Standards, Programs & Policy, Whole Building
ICC in a Pickle After Developers Argue City Voting Rights
huffpost.com, 3/30/21. Kim Havey had a problem. Minneapolis was generating more and more of its electricity from renewables, dropping climate-warming pollution from power to record lows. But emissions from natural gas, which is used to heat buildings and stovetops, were climbing ― overtaking power plants as the city’s top source of carbon pollution in 2017. […]
building codes, cities, climate policy, green buildings, ICC, Minneapolis
Building Technology, Efficiency in Action, Markets & Business, Whole Building
Waste-to-Energy Plant Inspires Innovative Efficiency
Taylor Patterson, 2/3/2021. The clean energy and technology industry thrives on innovation to provide sustainable solutions to some of the world’s biggest efficiency problems. Amager Bakke, a waste-to-energy plant operating in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the epitome of this outside-the-box thinking. Construction of this 4.4-million-square-foot facility began back in 2013 and was completed in 2017, replacing […]
Amagar Bakke, clean energy, copenhagen, Denmark, waste, waste-to-energy
Building Technology, Energy Storage, Intelligent Efficiency, Whole Building
Building Technology Couples with EVs to Power Denver Facility
renewableenergyworld.com, 1/28/21. Today, The Alliance Center, a Denver-based organization, announced a partnership with Fermata Energy, a clean technology company based in Charlottesville, VA, to use the energy stored in an electric vehicle (a Nissan LEAF) and power its six-story, 40,000-square-foot office building originally constructed as a warehouse in 1908 (1536 Wynkoop St, Denver, CO 80202). This new […]
Building Technology, Programs & Policy, Whole Building
New Buildings Face Drastic Changes with Boston Zoning Plans
energynews.us, 1/18/2021. The initiative is among the most aggressive of existing or proposed strategies to cut energy consumption in buildings, which are responsible for 70% of the city’s carbon output. The city of Boston is laying plans to require newly constructed large buildings to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a move supporters hope will help […]
Boston, buildings, carbon free, Eversource, net-zero, new construction
Building Technology, Clean Grid Technology, Whole Building
Energy Audit the First of it’s Kind, Brings in New Clientele
Alex Schultz, ERS Energy audits are commonplace in the efficiency services industry. Engineers and consulting professionals are frequently conducting audits in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors to help clients assess where they are at and what improvements they can make in order to reach efficiency goals. However, December 2020 will stand as a monumental […]
audit, Electrification, energy audits, energy efficiency, heat pump, led lighting technology, north pole
Building Technology, Whole Building
Building Electrification: Why is it Such a Hot Topic in Efficiency?
greentechmedia.com, June 5, 2020. Buildings were first electrified nearly 150 years ago. So, why is it that “building electrification” is now among the energy industry’s most popular buzzwords? Most buildings run on multiple fuels. They use electricity to power lights, refrigerators and electronic devices. And they consume fossil fuels such as natural gas or propane to power […]
electric, Electrification, heat pumps, solar, whole building
Building Technology, Whole Building
Coal Power Plant Buildings Re-Purposed by St. Louis Company
This article was published on renewablenergyworld.com on March 23, 2020. A St. Louis firm specializes in getting environmentally challenged properties ready for reuse, including coal plants. As coal-fired power plants become uneconomic and are shut down for good, a new sort of recycling industry is taking shape: the repurposing of those plants. Utilities across the […]
buildings, coal-fired power plant, data centers, Midwest energy, Recycling, St. Louis
Building Technology, Whole Building
Solar Envelope is the Latest and Greatest for New Netflix Office
This article was written by Jim Paull, ERS Building integrated photovoltaics (or BIPV) are solar PV modules that are also part of the building itself. BIPV can take on different forms, such as windows, roofing, or spandrel (the space between windows in curtain-wall buildings). BIPV is becoming increasingly important as more buildings strive to reduce […]
Building Technology, Whole Building
Residential Energy Savings Potential in Better Walls
This article was originally published on pnnl.gov on Oct. 31, 2019. Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are leading an effort that ultimately could result in residential homes that are tighter and better insulated, blocking cold air and moisture that cause higher energy bills and reduce homeowner comfort. PNNL is joined in the three-year […]
homeowners, insulation, PNNL, residential, retrofits, wall assemblies