Green Building News

A bill working its way through the North Carolina state legislature would prevent officials from seeking LEEDLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED for Homes is the residential green building program from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). While this program is primarily designed for and applicable to new home projects, major gut rehabs can qualify. certification for state government buildings because the green-rating system doesn't give enough credit for using North Carolina lumber products.

A new report says the worldwide market for green construction materials will more than double over the next seven years to reach $254 billion by 2020.

Builders who specialize in high-performance houses spend a lot of time tracking down and correcting air leaks. The process can involve a number of materials and sealants, such as special gaskets, tape, and caulk, plus a lot of time and attention to install them correctly.

Researchers at the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at the University of California-Davis think they've found a way to make the process much faster and easier.

Minnesota-based Marvin Windows and Doors expects to win certification shortly for a line of high-performance windows from both the Passive HouseA residential building construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. Developed in the early 1990s by Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist, the standard is now promoted by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. To meet the standard, a home must have an infiltration rate no greater than 0.60 AC/H @ 50 pascals, a maximum annual heating energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (4,755 Btu per square foot), a maximum annual cooling energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (1.39 kWh per square foot), and maximum source energy use for all purposes of 120 kWh per square meter (11.1 kWh per square foot). The standard recommends, but does not require, a maximum design heating load of 10 W per square meter and windows with a maximum U-factor of 0.14. The Passivhaus standard was developed for buildings in central and northern Europe; efforts are underway to clarify the best techniques to achieve the standard for buildings in hot climates. Institute US (PHIUS) and the Passivhaus Institut in Europe, allowing builders here to cut lead times for certified windows to as little as six weeks.

Massachusetts has reached its goal of 250 megawatts of installed photovoltaic(PV) Generation of electricity directly from sunlight. A photovoltaic cell has no moving parts; electrons are energized by sunlight and result in current flow. capacity four years sooner than the original 2017 target, and has set a new goal of 1.6 gigawatts by 2020, according to PV Magazine.

The 2nd Annual Passive HouseA residential building construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. Developed in the early 1990s by Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist, the standard is now promoted by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. To meet the standard, a home must have an infiltration rate no greater than 0.60 AC/H @ 50 pascals, a maximum annual heating energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (4,755 Btu per square foot), a maximum annual cooling energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (1.39 kWh per square foot), and maximum source energy use for all purposes of 120 kWh per square meter (11.1 kWh per square foot). The standard recommends, but does not require, a maximum design heating load of 10 W per square meter and windows with a maximum U-factor of 0.14. The Passivhaus standard was developed for buildings in central and northern Europe; efforts are underway to clarify the best techniques to achieve the standard for buildings in hot climates. Symposium will take place on June 8, 2013 at The Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of New York.

The NY13 Symposium will include presentations by Dr. Berthold Kaufmann of the Passivhaus Institut and Richard Leigh of the Urban Green Council as well as others.

The 18 vendors on hand will show high-performance products and services. Organizers say the day-long event is aimed at anyone with an interest in Passivhaus design, "both the uninitiated and initiated alike."

A Dillingham, Alaska, couple has claimed a world record for airtightness in a 600-sq. ft. home with 28-in. thick walls and a ceiling rated at R-140.

According to the World Record Academy, a blower-door testTest used to determine a home’s airtightness: a powerful fan is mounted in an exterior door opening and used to pressurize or depressurize the house. By measuring the force needed to maintain a certain pressure difference, a measure of the home’s airtightness can be determined. Operating the blower door also exaggerates air leakage and permits a weatherization contractor to find and seal those leakage areas. measured 0.05 air changes per hour at 50 pascals of pressure (ACH50), less than 10% of the very rigorous PassivhausA residential building construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. Developed in the early 1990s by Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist, the standard is now promoted by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. To meet the standard, a home must have an infiltration rate no greater than 0.60 AC/H @ 50 pascals, a maximum annual heating energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (4,755 Btu per square foot), a maximum annual cooling energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (1.39 kWh per square foot), and maximum source energy use for all purposes of 120 kWh per square meter (11.1 kWh per square foot). The standard recommends, but does not require, a maximum design heating load of 10 W per square meter and windows with a maximum U-factor of 0.14. The Passivhaus standard was developed for buildings in central and northern Europe; efforts are underway to clarify the best techniques to achieve the standard for buildings in hot climates. air-tightness standard of 0.60 ACH50.

Designers are accustomed to talking about high-performance houses in a language of abstractions: R-values, triple-pane windows, and blower-door testTest used to determine a home’s airtightness: a powerful fan is mounted in an exterior door opening and used to pressurize or depressurize the house. By measuring the force needed to maintain a certain pressure difference, a measure of the home’s airtightness can be determined. Operating the blower door also exaggerates air leakage and permits a weatherization contractor to find and seal those leakage areas. results. We sort of get it. But this thermal image makes the dramatic difference between a PassivhausA residential building construction standard requiring very low levels of air leakage, very high levels of insulation, and windows with a very low U-factor. Developed in the early 1990s by Bo Adamson and Wolfgang Feist, the standard is now promoted by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt, Germany. To meet the standard, a home must have an infiltration rate no greater than 0.60 AC/H @ 50 pascals, a maximum annual heating energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (4,755 Btu per square foot), a maximum annual cooling energy use of 15 kWh per square meter (1.39 kWh per square foot), and maximum source energy use for all purposes of 120 kWh per square meter (11.1 kWh per square foot). The standard recommends, but does not require, a maximum design heating load of 10 W per square meter and windows with a maximum U-factor of 0.14. The Passivhaus standard was developed for buildings in central and northern Europe; efforts are underway to clarify the best techniques to achieve the standard for buildings in hot climates. project and conventional construction really easy to understand.

A newly announced $4 million grant will subsidize the construction of at least 25 net-zero energyProducing as much energy on an annual basis as one consumes on site, usually with renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics or small-scale wind turbines. homes (NZEHs) in four Canadian provinces. The initiative is being funded by the Canadian government's ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative (ecoEII), homebuilders, and building materials manufacturers, including Owens Corning Canada.

Fire has destroyed a 3-megawatt turbine that's part of the 44-turbine Kibby Mountain wind farm near the Canadian border, according to an article in the Bangor Daily News. The newspaper published the article on April 23 but said the fire actually had taken place on Jan. 16, noting that wind farm operators in Maine are not required to report turbine fires to any state agency.