Green Mechanical Contracting
Studies Confirm Energy Savings of LEED Buildings
Two recently released studies, one by the New Buildings Institute and one by CoStar Group, have validated that third party certified buildings outperform their conventional counterparts across a wide variety of metrics, including energy savings, occupancy rates, sale price and rental rates....
Standard 189.1P: The Future of Green Buildings
There is no question that high-performance green buildings are quickly becoming the norm of the building industry — as they should. Such buildings represent an enormous potential for saving energy and reducing carbon emissions worldwide....
Contractors Encouraged to Take LEED Role
Las Vegas — The co-founder of the U.S. Green Building Council's regional chapter here encouraged union contractors to take advantage of the opportunities available under the USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system....
States, Cities Offer Green Initiatives, Incentives
Many energy and water saving initiatives are local, coming from state and municipal governments, such as Austin, Texas, or the City of Chicago, and on the state level in California and Florida....
Green Building Products Gets Update
BuildingGreen, the publisher of Environmental Building News, has released the third edition of Green Building Products, a product directory for homebuilders, remodelers and homeowners....
GREEN PRODUCTS
editor's choice THE STRATOS ECO HIGH-EFFICIENCY RESIDENTIAL CIRCULATOR automatically adjusts to system demands by means of ECM motor technology; pressure...
Calif. state building gets green designation
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. -- The California Department of General Services announced at the end of February that the California Department of Rehabilitation’s headquarters in Sacramento has become the first state building to be awarded green building certification after undergoing a major renovation....
GreenPlumbers partners with American Standard
SACRAMENTO, CALIF. -- American Standard Americas has become the first founding partner of the innovative GreenPlumbers USA training and accreditation program....
Model house spreads green building message
Chicago The Museum of Science and Industry here is well-known for its ride down into a model coal mine, a tour of the U-505 submarine, the only captured...
Town aims to be first green suburb
Levittown, N.Y. In a town known for its pioneering history, residents, businesses and community leaders here are forging ahead with a plan to create the...
Just about everybody asks Congress to extend renewable energy credits
Washington A coalition of more than 100 business, trade, and advocacy groups called on the U.S. Senate in March to pass bipartisan legislation as soon...
Standard 189.1P up for second review
Atlanta - A proposed standard that essentially will define high-performing buildings in code-intended language is one step closer to completion. Proposed...
Bring back consumer energy tax credits
There is no question that today's economy is in peril. Both consumers and small businesses are feeling the financial squeeze. In an effort to stimulate...
Minn. house remodel could hardly get much greener
Minnetonka, Minn. Environmental organization Live Green, Live Smart has retrofitted a 1948 house here into one of the greenest houses in the country....
Green building education key to survival in the marketplace
Chicago According to the 2008 FMI U.S. Construction Overview, this year a projected $21.2 billion of new nonresidential construction will use green-building...
LEED for Homes Reference Guide available for pre-order online
Washington The LEED for Homes Reference Guide, a comprehensive tool for residential builders using the LEED for Homes Green Building Rating System, is...
Grids to show energy, green initiatives
Baltimore The codes, standards and legislative initiatives related to engineering, energy and the environment are as numerous as the world is diverse....
Builders finally figure out how to sell green
It seems like homebuilders have finally figured out how to sell energy and water conservation by calling it all green. It wasn't too long ago that plumbing-heating-cooling...
GREEN PRODUCTS
editor's choice A VARIETY OF VENTING SOLUTIONS for the company's line of tankless water heaters is now available that significantly reduces installation...
Advanced energy design guides are free
Atlanta To encourage energy efficient design in a range of building types, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air-conditioning Engineers and...
Government, homeowners propel green: FMI
Raleigh, N.C. According to FMI's 2008 U.S. Construction Overview, construction industry stakeholders are increasingly recognizing green building capabilities...
City commits to LEED Platinum rebuilding plan
Greensburg, Kan. The city council here has passed a resolution to certify all city-owned buildings LEED Platinum, making it the first city in the U.S....
GreenPlumbersUSA is a great step forward
We're delighted that Steve Lehtonen has gotten the GreenPlumbersUSA program off the ground. As we report on page 1 of this issue, Lehtonen, executive...
The future of plumbing is green Green
Sacramento, Calif. The amount of water on planet Earth has not changed in the last two billion years but in the last century, water use increased at twice...
School installs solar pool heating
Palatine, Ill. An Illinois state grant has helped officials of a high school here to initiate a pilot project to heat an indoor swimming pool using solar...
