<img alt="" src="https://secure.frog9alea.com/152466.png" style="display:none;">

Green Building Blog

Critical Strategies for Safely Reopening Buildings after COVID

Tue, Feb 02, 2021 @ 09:12 / by Jim Newman posted in HVAC, Codes & Standards, ASHRAE, indoor air quality, EPA, coronavirus, COVID-19, water quality

0 Comments

With entire buildings, and even campuses, being shuttered for months on end, you can’t simply reopen a closed building and assume it will be business as usual. In reopening closed buildings during – or after – the pandemic, how building owners and maintenance staff manage the essential building functions of indoor air quality and potable water can have an enormous impact on the health and safety of tenants and visitors.

Read More

IAQ and COVID - Moving from What Now? To What Next?

Thu, Aug 27, 2020 @ 06:34 / by Jim Newman posted in IAQ, ASHRAE, indoor air quality, COVID-19, bi-polar ionization

0 Comments

Three steps to take now to improve Indoor Air Quality in the Age of Coronavirus.

People wearing masks at work.

(Updated chart 2/25/21) Whether your building is open, opening soon or closed until next year, you are behind if you’re not already planning to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) at your facility. (See “Why Good IAQ Matters in the Age of COVID-19.”) If you made changes to improve safety back in May or June (as we transitioned out of total lockdown), new information, products and tools that we discuss here may mean you’re looking at making changes again.

The good news is that there’s a lot of useful information out there. Some of it, however, gives conflicting messages. (See “100% Outside Air - Is it Really One of the Best Solutions for Flushing Buildings?”) Don’t jump in and grasp at the first shiny penny. Study the options, talk to experts, and then do what makes the most sense for your people and your bottom line.

Read More

Three Coronavirus Prevention Techniques for Your Building - a Comparison

Tue, May 19, 2020 @ 05:27 / by Jim Newman posted in HVAC, ASHRAE, indoor air quality, BOMA, coronavirus

5 Comments

(updated chart, 2/25/21) As those of us in the building management and maintenance field prepare to “re-open” buildings, the health and safety of our tenants, guests, patients, staff and residents remains top-of-mind. Soon the general public will leave the comfort and safety of their homes where they have been limiting human contact for weeks, and venture out into the world with other people.guy with cold

We must be prepared for them so they can feel safe when returning to shop, work and play in “the new normal.”

Nothing about building maintenance will be normal – perhaps for quite a while.  Every commercial building in the US and probably in most industrial nations, is now taking – or should be taking – extra precautions to ensure safety. People should feel safe going back to work, and building owners and managers must enact measures to both ensure safety and prevent, or at least minimize, potential litigation.

Read More

Bring the Way We Use Power Into the 21st Century

Wed, Sep 05, 2018 @ 03:51 / by Guest Post by Klas C. Haglid, PE, RA, CEM, BPE posted in Retrofit, ASHRAE, Building Energy, Internet of Things, Energy

0 Comments

This past June, Klas Haglid of Haglid Engineering attended the ASHRAE Annual Conference in Houston, TX. I always recommend attending these kinds of advanced learning events. They will help you in your job and your career! I did not attend this year as I was speaking across the state at the BOMA International Conference and Expo in San Antonio. So while I could not be there in person, I am grateful for the other industry leaders like Klas who attend and share their key takeaways with us.
                                                         - Jim

Read More

Why Your Energy Star Rating May Go Down in 2018

Wed, Sep 27, 2017 @ 03:05 / by Jim Newman posted in ASHRAE, Energy Audit, EPA, Energy Star

0 Comments

And What You Can Do About It in 2017

The good news is that EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager is getting a much needed data update.

The bad news is that it may cause some Energy Star scores to go down.

How Portfolio Manager Works

ENE_prt_v_c.jpgAs you probably know, Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM) is a well-known and widely used program for comparing energy use among existing buildings. Building owners and managers use ESPM to see how well their building performs with regards to energy use. The ESPM rates the building on a 1-100 scale against buildings of similar size and use. It also takes into consideration climatization so that buildings in different climate zones can be compared with each other. 

Energy Star requires a score of 75 or better to earn Certification. For details, click here. If your score is below 75, or you would like to see a higher score – and lower utility bills – consider implementing some low-cost or no-cost Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) with relatively fast paybacks. Other ECMs might be more expensive with long paybacks. In that case you may want to consider alternative financing, such as Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE (Click to learn how PACE can help you.)

Read More

Join our email list for monthly news and useful tips on green and sustainable building, operations and maintenance.  

Popular Posts

hello