Buildings

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,

The State of our Schools April 8, 2014 is National Healthy Schools Day.  Coordinated by the Healthy Schools Network, National Healthy Schools Day is meant to raise awareness of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) issues affecting our schools’ faculty, staff, and students.

Energy costs can be an enormous burden to social service providers who typically operate on a shoe-string, and often in older, in-efficient facilities.

Unless Massachusetts communities push to update the state’s Stretch Code before July 1, 2014, the 20% boost in building energy efficiency it provides will evaporate, creating market confusion and violate the very concept behind its inception.