Driveways and other parking areas are typically paved with asphalt or concrete, and are not only unattractive, but detrimental to the environment. When it rains, debris and pollutants flow off these impervious surfaces into our waterways, many times via the sewer system, which contributes to stormwater runoff pollution. See the top 5 examples here……..
Energy costs are the single largest expense for commercial buildings. IMT seeks to develop and deliver new methods and approaches for appraisers and lenders to use in considering the influence of energy performance on commercial and residential property values. IMT works with appraisers, real estate agents and other real estate professionals to increase the recognition of energy costsand energy performance in commercial property valuation. IMT’s work in this area includes research, continuing education for professionals and promoting enhanced methods of documenting and benchmarking
We know that ventilation is incredibly important in developing comfortable and practical interior design – but when we’re dealing with a passive house; a highly energy efficient building that is known for its key feature of airtight insulation – the means of ventilation are paramount.
The passive house design means that through high levels of insulation and window energy efficiency, airflow into of out of the building is limited. A complete lack of fresh air amounts to an unliveable building.
Equally important as this highly energy efficient design – which generally gets all the media attention – are the ventilation processes that, as anyone who deals in passive design development knows, are the key element in providing liveable interiors.
However, air quality issues are not the only problem that faces a building that doesn’t ‘breathe’. Moisture can develop, causing mold and.
If things go as planned, Ashley Warren and Anthony Spicer won’t pay an electric bill at their new home in Whitley County. They’ll be getting a check from the power company instead.
The couple and their three daughters recently moved into a house designed to use 90 percent less energy for heating and cooling than a conventional home.
The house also has solar panels on the roof that generate power to sell back to the electric company.
Spicer said the electric bill at the house they rented before moving averaged $350 to $370 a month.
“It’s going to mean everything” to get rid of that payment, Spicer said. “We’re going to be able to buy things we couldn’t normally buy because of this.”
In the USA, most windows are probably single- or double-glazed and some builders will use triple-glazed windows for Passive House and other high-performance homes. But in Hanover, Germany, a 12-glazed window prototype by Mariusz Paszkowski and Antoni Kostka was the star of the recent International Passive House Conference, according toDer Standard. Check out these windows with aerogel!
The two scientists, in conjunction with SUPERWINDOWS, showcased INVIS160stack and INVIS160tweed, and both of the prototypes are about 160 mm thick, though they weigh no more than a double- or triple-glazed window unit.
LEED consultants are paid to lend their expertise to achieve a project’s LEED certification goals. Their decisions focus on achieving credits and their participation is absolutely vital to the project, but some can actually work against the project’s sustainability goals. Here are the top six problems I see.
#1 Discouraging bidding by specifying unrealistic LEED requirements
When a specification requires a regional source, a recycled content percentage, and certain certifications for a product, the specifier has to be certain that conforming products exist. On a recent project, the only bidder
