Tag Archives: ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Thatch-covered Enterprise Centre may be the world’s greenest building

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Prefab thatch wall panels (built indoors during the off season) and materials palette which the Treehugger writer calls ‘almost edible’.

“John French, CEO of the university’s Adapt Low Carbon Group and project director, … was eager that the next generation of buildings at UEA should move away from high thermal mass and a dependence on carbon-intensive concrete, towards natural and locally sourced materials.”

ThatchedPassiveHousePlus

“The building also features a wide array of other sustainable materials including recycled timber finishes, wood wool acoustic boards, spray-on cellulose, and wall coverings made from hemp, nettle fabric and reeds”

More at:

http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/thatch-covered-enterprise-centre-may-be-worlds-greenest-building.html

http://passivehouseplus.ie/magazine/new-build/is-this-the-uk-s-greenest-building.html

Los Angeles is first major city to require Cool Roofs

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The Los Angeles City Council has voted unanimously to require “cool roofs” for all new and refurbished homes, becoming the first major U.S. city to do so. “Cool roofs” incorporate light- and heat-reflecting building materials, which can lower the surface temperature of the roof by up to 50 degrees F on a hot day, according to Climate Resolve, the local organization that pushed for the ordinance. Such roofs do not necessarily need to be white, the Global Cool Cities Alliance says; they can also be shades of gray, or even red. Research suggests that by mid-century temperatures in Los Angeles will increase by 3.7 to 5.4 degrees F, with the number of days above 95 degrees F tripling in the city’s downtown. “The changes our region will face are significant, and we will have to adapt,” said UCLA scientist Alex Hall, who led the research. The cool roof mandate will not cost homeowners additional money because of expanded incentives.

Lighting section re-do

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Our lighting section just got a major overhaul, courtesy of meticulous researcher Paul Robbins of the Austin Environmental Directory.

Paul sifted through a lot of material and presents a coherent and understandable overview of the differences between incandescent, fluorescent, CFL, and LED lights.  He answers (with numbers to back it up) some of the common questions: how efficient are they, really; does the energy cost of manufacturing these fancy bulbs negate the savings; why do some CFLs and LEDs burn out prematurely; and more.

Have a look!

PS: comments are open in lighting – got a question or an update?

Note to those in the lighting industry: Now would be the time to list your company in the lighting page’s Resource Listings.  And if your company’s web address is listed in the article (or should be) and you want it to be a live link, please contact us!

“New Energy Star Standards for Dishwashers and Furnaces” is locked New Energy Star Standards for Dishwashers and Furnaces

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From Environmental Building News, Vol. 20 No. 9

By Evan Dick

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced revisions to Energy Star requirements for residential dishwashers and furnaces.

Effective January 20, 2012, Energy Star dishwashers will be 8% more efficient than previous Energy Star models and 10%–30% more efficient than conventional models. Standard Energy Star dishwashers will consume no more than 4.25 gallons per cycle and 295 kWh per year, down from 5.8 gallons per cycle and 324 kWh per year for 2009–2011 Energy Star models.

For furnaces, the rules become effective February 1, 2012 and will be regional for the first time, mirroring the U.S. Department of Energy’s new minimum HVAC efficiency standards announced in July 2011 (see “New HVAC Standards Will Be Regional,” EBN July 2011).

Energy Star furnaces must now be 12% more efficient than the baseline in the South and 16% more efficient in the North. Energy Star furnaces in the South will have a special label that lists the states in which the certification is valid.

In addition to the introduction of its Most Efficient label (see “Energy Star to Label ‘Most Efficient’ Appliances,” EBN Aug. 2011), EPA has promised revisions to 20 Energy Star product requirements in 2011.
September 1, 2011

To keep up with the latest, see https://www.buildinggreen.com/product-guide/residential-dishwashers and https://www.buildinggreen.com/product-guide/furnaces .  Both are behind paywalls.