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07/30/2010 09:06 AM
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It's much more convenient. Unlike filling from a standard drinking fountain, it only took one hand, so I didn't have to contort my body to keep my computer bag from slipping off my shoulder as I stooped over and waited for my bottle to fill. It's a lot faster, with a 1.1 gallon-per minute (gpm) fill rate--close to three times that of a standard drinking fountain. And I didn't have to keep raising and lowering the mouth of the bottle to keep the water flowing in as the pressure changed and the stream rose and fell. Mostly I like the new bottle-filling station for the environmental benefits of avoiding the use of plastic water bottles. Consider: [More] |
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07/27/2010 10:27 PM
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The Therma-Stor Santa Fe Max Dry Dual XT is one of the most efficient stand-alone dehumidifiers on the market, with an Energy Factor of 3.75 liters/kWh. Photo: Therma-Stor. Click on image to enlarge. |
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07/26/2010 11:07 PM
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The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has now released several sets of LEED addenda for LEED-EBOM 2009—corrections and changes to the rating system since its official release. The earliest of these start in November 2009, and the latest batch came out in July 2010. Following is a summary of the more useful LEED-EBOM addenda to date. Most of the rest is less critical to project teams unless you need clarification on things like understanding that "includesincludes" on page 23 of the Reference Guide really means "includes."
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07/22/2010 03:08 PM
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Wasco offers a new high-performance , triple-glazed, dual-low-e skylight that meets the 30-30 requirement for the federal tax credit. Photo: Wasco Products. Click on image to enlarge. Both fixed and venting options provide a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of 0.22, meaning that just 22% of the total solar energy striking the glass gets through. To provide a little context, the "30-30" designation on a window or skylight refers to a performance requirement developed for the current round of federal tax credits in which both the total unit U-factor and SHGC can be no higher than 0.30. With such a designation, windows can earn the $1,500 federal tax credit through the end of 2010. [More] |
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07/20/2010 12:29 PM
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This LG window air conditioner at the BuildingGreen office has a setting that maximizes moisture removal. Click on image to enlarge. |
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07/15/2010 10:31 PM
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Isokorb K uses EPS to reduce the thermal bridging at cantilevered concrete slabs. Photo: Schöck Bauteile, GmbH. Click on image to enlarge.In commercial buildings where cast-in-place, reinforced-concrete balconies extend through the insulated building envelope, tremendous heat loss occurs, and this thermal bridging often leads to condensation and associated mold problems. The German company Schöck Bauteile, GmbH, has the answer with the Isokorb product line. How Isokorb works For thermal breaks in cantilevered slabs (such as with balconies in high-rise residential buildings), Isokorb K provides an expanded polystyrene (EPS) layer of insulation--either 80 or 120 mm (3.1 or 4.7 in) thick--with carefully engineered steel re-bar passing through it to carry the loads. The Isokorb module includes both straight pieces of re-bar at the top that function in tension and specially bent re-bar that functions in compression to maintain the strength that is lost by substituting EPS for some of the concrete (see illustration showing loads and forces). [More] |
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07/13/2010 02:03 PM
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High relative humidity is a significant problem in many regions of the country during the summer months. In hot weather, the higher the humidity, the less comfortable we are--partly because moisture does not evaporate from our skin as readily. More worrisome over the long haul, high humidity levels in the air and high moisture content of materials in our homes can result in mold growth, which, in turn, can cause allergies and other health problems (as well as damage the building itself).
There are two broad strategies for minimizing indoor humidity problems during the summer months: eliminating moisture sources, and removing moisture from the air. This week we'll take a look at controlling moisture sources; next week we'll examine moisture removal. Keeping moisture out of a home is almost always less expensive and less energy-intensive than removing that moisture.
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07/08/2010 06:31 PM
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Fi-Foil GFP Insulation showing expanded (above) and as shipped (below). Photo: Fi-Foil. Click on image to enlarge.About gas-filled panels It is well-known that low-conductivity gasses, such as argon and krypton, significantly improve the energy performance of windows. They do this because they have a lower gas-phase conductivity than air, so they retard heat flow through the window. Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) have long argued that this same principle could be used to create high-performance building insulation, and they developed technology for encapsulating gasses in flexible foil and plastic honeycomb material. LBNL licensed this technology to the radiant barrier manufacturer, Fi-Foil, which introduced a gas-filled panel (GFP) insulation material at the International Builders Show in January of this year. [More] |
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07/07/2010 02:04 PM
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You would think that establishing a definition for “showerhead” would be simple. But, as the Department of Energy (DOE) is discovering after issuing a draft interpretive rule on the matter, nothing is simple when it comes to getting people wet. |
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07/06/2010 10:16 AM
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We're into those hot days of summer--really hot--with temperatures predicted in the mid- to upper-90s, even in Vermont, this week. In this column I'll provide some simple tips for keeping (reasonably) cool in hot weather or, if you use air conditioning, operating that air conditioning equipment most efficiently.
Keep the sun out
Shading windows is the easiest way to keep your house cool or keep your air conditioning bills down. Pulling down interior window blinds will help (the more reflective the outer surface of the blinds the better), but shading is even more effective if you can block the sunlight on the outside of your windows. In Europe, exterior roller blinds are often used, and these are beginning to catch on here, but they're not yet widely available. I've improvised exterior shading on a wide patio door facing west by propping up a tarp on the outside of the door, and that makes a huge difference. Climbing vines on a trellis, nearby trees, large potted plants that can be rolled in front of doors or windows, and awnings can also help a lot. If there's no way to block that sunlight on the outside of windows and patio doors, install and use interior blinds.
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07/01/2010 10:55 AM
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The highly glazed CORE Building on 7th Avenue in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. Upper floors are residential. Photo: Alex Wilson Click on image to enlarge.The energy penalty of more glazing In researching and writing this article, "Rethinking the All-Glass Building," I got energy modeling support from Fiona Cousins, P.E., Scott Bondi, P.E., Ph.D., and Cameron Talbot from the New York City office of Arup, one of the world's leading engineering firms. I used that data to make the case that highly glazed façades don't make sense from an energy standpoint. [More] |
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06/29/2010 08:20 PM
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One of Vermont's longest and most treasured covered bridges now has the newest, most environmentally responsible lighting. This past weekend, the 267-foot West Dummerston Covered Bridge (the longest operating covered bridge fully within Vermont), built in 1872 by Caleb Lamsom and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, was fitted with state-of-the-art LED lighting.
Ten new fixtures replace very old high-pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures. Those of the older units that were still working at all (see photo of fixtures that were removed) had greatly reduced output and resulted in poor visibility in the bridge. While some people might have liked the dim, warm-yellow light that the aged HPS lights provided, the efficacy (lumens per watt) of that lighting was horrible. Despite the very low light output, each of the HPS fixtures was still using 100 watts of electricity as much as 17 hours per day. (Both old and new lights are controlled by a photosensor that turns them off when outside light levels are high enough.)
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06/28/2010 08:56 AM
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North America's largest water heater manufacturer, A.O. Smith, is shaking up the water heating industry with its NEXT Hybrid gas-fired water heater that combines key features of both tankless and storage water heating technology.
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06/24/2010 03:17 PM
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Pressure-reducing valves, an element of EPA’s WaterSense® new homes specification, are green: they can save water, increase the service life of plumbing system components, and reduce risks of water leaks. |
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06/23/2010 11:23 AM
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While our homes and cars get most of the attention relative to energy savings, our materials stream also has a huge impact on energy use. Nationally, the U.S. generates about 236 million tons of municipal solid waste each year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That works out to about 4 pounds of waste for every American every day.
Recycling our waste saves a lot of energy. Just how much depends on the material. With very energy-intensive materials, like aluminum, carpeting, and copper, a phenomenal amount of energy is saved because the new materials take so much energy to produce. Recycling just one ton of aluminum cans saves 209 million British Thermal Units (Btu), according to EPA; with 5.8 million Btu in a barrel of crude oil, that's equivalent to 36 barrels of oil.
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