Insights

The 2015 Paris Climate Conference, also known as COP 21, was a big, news-making event, with the world’s attention mostly focused on global leaders’ plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil fuels. But for the first time in the UNFCC’s conference history, green building had its day at the conference, too. […]

With the construction of every new building comes a big pile of construction and demolition waste. On an annual basis, the construction and demolition industry creates more waste than any other industry in the United States. The average new construction project creates 3.9 pounds of waste per square foot, and the average demolition project creates 155 […]

A team at the University of Nottingham has developed an innovative test to measure the airtightness of buildings. The PULSE test determines the infiltration rate of cold air and the loss of heated air through gaps and cracks in a building, making it possible to create targeted strategies for eliminating drafts which in turn leads […]

The solar power industry in Nevada experienced something of a rollercoaster this past December. The federal government, despite fears to the contrary, maintained the federal solar investment tax credit at 30 percent. Yet despite this vote of confidence in solar power from the federal government, the federal tax credit did not solve the regulatory battle […]

There is no doubt that, in the green building industry, LEED sets the standard, but with the emergence of WELL, LEED is not the only four-letter certification available to green builders. The WELL Building Standard (WELL) is a performance-based system for measuring a building’s impact on human health and well-being. WELL is the first certification of […]

The California Energy Commission (CEC) updates the Building Energy Efficiency Standards every three years, and 2016 is such a year, with all changes going into effect January 1, 2017. These standards are designed to achieve energy efficiency and improve indoor and outdoor air quality. The Building Energy Efficiency Standards cover new construction and construction on […]

On one unspecified day in February, the 200,000th electric car was sold in the state of California, which is home to about half of all electric cars in the United States. Governor Jerry Brown signed an executive order in March, 2012 establishing a path to 1.5 million zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) in California by the year […]

Even with an El Nino and the wettest March on record, the prognosis of California’s drought is mixed. In Southern California, El Nino has been a disappointment, but parts of the state have been thoroughly drenched. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which provides almost 30% of water used in California, is at about 87% of it’s long-term […]

San Francisco just became the first major US city to mandate solar panel installation on new construction. Since 2014, California’s Title 24 energy standards have required that fifteen percent of all commercial and residential rooftops in buildings ten floors or fewer be solar ready. While “solar ready” can mean different things, in the context of […]

The City of Palo Alto recently approved the city’s first Zero Net Energy ready policy. The “Energy Reach Code” outlines local amendments to the 2016 California Energy Code, Title 24, Chapter 6. The Development Services Department and the city’s Green Building Advisory Group teamed up to craft the requirements. Although the state of California has […]