Buildings

Rental horror stories, we’ve all got one. Whether it’s you or someone you know, it’s common to hear tales about moving into a new apartment or home and being caught off guard by some feature in the house that leads to skyrocketing energy costs or an uncomfortable living situation. Mine goes like this:

Before last week, I (like most) had never stepped foot in a high performance school. It wasn’t futuristic in terms of its aesthetics, no chrome-plated walls or robots roving through the corridors. However, it was futuristic in the sense that it carefully considered the health of the students, their learning atmosphere, and our environment as a whole.

Over 900 stakeholders from around the country gathered last week in Washington D.C. to showcase the accomplishments made thus far in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Initiative. The initiative was launched by President Obama in 2011 with the goal of reducing national building energy usage by 20% over ten years.

Since our last update for Highlights in August, the following code adoption progress has occurred:

The energy-efficient home market in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic continues to grow at a steady pace. The market penetration of high-performance homes in the United States reached $36 Billion in 2013 and is projected to hit $72 Billion by 2016 (Source, McGraw Hill Construction). Consumers are seeking green and energy efficient features, and builders are striving to meet the demand.

• CLICK HERE to access a March 2015 webinar recording featuring LED Street Lighting Conversion Strategies, feauturing a case study of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

On December 5, Vermont finalized an update to its Residential and Commercial Building Energy Standards (RBES and CBES), thereby becoming the first state in the country to adopt* a building energy code based on the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (2015 IECC). The 2015 IECC is the newest and most efficient version of the IECC, a model code used by the vast majority of the country (including every state in NEEP’s region).

Last week, during a special meeting of the Cambridge City Council that ran for more than six hours, through the night and into the next day, the Cambridge City Council approved a Building Energy Usage Disclosure Ordinance.  What brought the meeting beyond the midnight hour?  Continue below to find out…

First Things First: What is Building Energy Benchmarking?

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Along with being a trite yearbook quote, this phrase also describes the impetus behind NEEP’s workshop on the path to zero net energy buildings — buildings th

NE-CHPS Releases Version 3.0 On April 8, in conjunction with national healthy schools day, NEEP released the latest update to the Northeast Collaborative for High Performance Schools (NE-CHPS)’s construction and renovation criteria,