The Rebirth of the Light Switch
“On and off like a light switch.” That’s the saying, anyway. But what if a light switch could do so much more than simply switch lights on and off? What would the saying be then? Right now most tech...
View ArticleBoston’s District Energy Network Gains New ‘Green’ Steam
A recently completed revitalization of an extensive district energy network in Boston, including a brand new pipeline extension, has begun delivering steam to connected facilities. Veolia North...
View ArticleLEED v4 has a New and Improved Registration Contract
USGBC proudly boasts that LEED v4 has 80% fewer forms when compared to LEED 2009. Not only are there fewer fields to document with the removal of low value content, but the user experience is further...
View ArticleWhy Don’t Commercial Building Owners Install Modern Controls?
Commercial buildings use large amounts of electricity and natural gas. Significant reductions in energy use can be achieved by installing new modern systems but this requires a significant capital...
View ArticleGreen Building Bonds as a Game Changing New Source of Capital
Regency Centers Corporation, a publicly traded REIT, completed the sale of $250 million of “green building bonds” on May 14, 2014. Proceeds from these corporate bonds will be used to fund “eligible...
View ArticleCan LEED Certification be Revoked?
Revocation of LEED Certification is the title of the largest section within the U.S. Green Building Council’s Guide to LEED Certification: Commercial. The more than 2,800 word section consumes over 3...
View ArticleCoating for Roof Tiles Could Help Clear Smog-Causing Air Pollutants
Engineering students have created a roof tile coating that, when applied to an average-sized residential roof, breaks down the same amount of smog-causing nitrogen oxides per year as a car driven...
View ArticleSix World Cup Stadiums Achieve LEED Certification from U.S. Green Building...
Brazil’s global leadership position in high-performing green buildings has been reaffirmed further with the U.S. Green Building Council awarding LEED certification for six of the country’s World Cup...
View ArticleRethinking the Swimming Pool CleanTechies Style
Just in time for a nice summer weekend, here is a great video for our readers to enjoy. Learn all about building and enjoying a natural swimming pool that’s clean and enjoyable for humans as well as...
View ArticleBaltimore May Adopt the IgCC Green Building Standard
Last week, an ordinance was introduced in the Baltimore City Council for the purpose of adopting the International Green Construction Code. The IgCC will be adopted as an overlay in conjunction with...
View ArticleE-Cigarettes will be Prohibited in Future LEED Buildings
On July 1st the U.S. Green Building Council released a change to LEED classifying electronic cigarettes as a form of tobacco smoking for the purposes of the smoking prohibitions of the LEED...
View ArticleLawyers’ Opinions in Green Building Transactions
We are increasingly called upon to give legal opinions that a green building is LEED certified, ‘certifiable’ or otherwise really a green building. The purpose of a legal opinion given in a commercial...
View ArticleWhere are America’s Greenest Buildings?
Ok, no surprise to see Washington, D.C. or San Francisco ranked high in a list of the cities with America’s greenest buildings. But Atlanta? Georgia’s capital was the only southern state to make the...
View ArticleLawsuit Over LEED Documentation
A case filed last week in a California court is a prime example of the importance of contract documents in a LEED project. Earlier this year the City of Palo Alto gave notice firing Flintco Pacific,...
View ArticleThe ABCs of Building Energy Efficiency: Which Building Certification is Right...
DOE. LEED. USGBC. EPA. ISO. The number of certifications for energy efficiency, as well as the organizations that can help guide you, can make your head swim. Does the EPA have anything to do with...
View ArticleAfter GRESB: Four Things to Consider After (and Just Before) You Submit
You’ve purged your inbox of property manager emails and compiled a mountain of data into one gleaming, “almost-final” 2014 GRESB response. Just one last meeting with the Powers That Be stands between...
View ArticleLitigation Over First Ever LEED Platinum Building Tarnishes Green Building
Last week, a federal appeals court brought back from the dead, a more than $6 Million lawsuit filed over materials supplied in 2000 for the first ever LEED certified Platinum building. Despite that the...
View ArticleEnterprise Green Communities Criteria Being Updated
In 2015 the use of LEED v4 will become mandatory, a new 2015 International Green Construction Code will be available, an updated ASHRAE 189.1 will be published, the new ICC 700 National Green Building...
View ArticleSaint Paul has an Alternative to LEED
Much has changed, but much has remained the same, in the arena of green building law mandates since March 18,2002, when the city of Normal, Illinois enacted Ordinance 4825, the first ever mandatory...
View ArticleRedefining an Old Commercial Building – 435 Indio
Take one outdated commercial building in Sunnyvale, California, one crack engineering and architecture team, some top Silicon Valley technologies, and one audacious design challenge. The result? 435...
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