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Green Building Blog

What Does Sustainability Really Mean Today?

Tue, Jun 20, 2017 @ 05:34 / by Jim Newman posted in HVAC, Commercial Building, Green Building, LEED, LEED Cerified Buildings, Sustainability, Sustainable Design, environmental justice

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Use of the word sustainability, based on recorded mentions, skyrocketed starting in the early 1980s and has grown exponentially over the past 3 decades. In the past few weeks alone I have attended two exceptional programs on sustainability, and I see many more in the near and distant future as it becomes a hotter topic at the various green building and commercial real estate industry conferences to which I am invited.

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5 Common-Sense Steps After an Energy Audit

Mon, Jun 19, 2017 @ 02:28 / by Guest Blogger Bob Wells, www.hvactraining101.com posted in HVAC, Commercial Building, energy efficiency, Energy Savings, Energy Audit, High Performance Buildings

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Just have an energy audit done? Congratulations! It’s a great step toward saving money in both the short and long term, and toward creating a more environmentally-friendly building. But the audit is just the first step, not an end in itself. Don’t let it just sit on the corner of your desk, gathering dust! Whether it’s for business or home, here are some common-sense reminders of steps you can take to implement the audit.

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Sizing Up Equipment Selection for Energy Efficiency

Wed, Dec 07, 2016 @ 02:19 / by Guest Post by Klas C. Haglid, P.E., R.A., CEM, BPE, Inc.® posted in HVAC, ASHRAE, energy efficiency, Energy Savings, indoor air quality

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Energy Recovery Ventilators Can Enhance Indoor Air Quality While Saving Energy and Money

FRESH AIR FUNDAMENTALS. Fresh air being key to good health, it's a shame we cannot rely on the supply and quality of our indoor air these days. Thanks to technology, our building envelopes - the physical separation between the interior and exterior of a structure - have grown significantly tighter. One hundred years ago people enjoyed generous amounts of OA (Outside Air) flowing through gaps in doors, windows, joints, and cracks. A cool draft through an old building was typical and necessary for a good ghost story. However, the cost of energy and technology has changed our perspective on drafts as well as mechanically cooled or heated air. We don't want to pay extra to heat or cool more air than we have to due to excessive outdoor air coming in or conditioned air leaving the building before delivering its full potential. Tighter envelopes lessen the avenues for air entry and escape in order to achieve energy savings. So ... tighter envelopes that reduce energy costs as well as the amount of emissions fleeing into the atmosphere is a good thing, yes? Naturally, but as with most things, you can have too much of a good thing.

According to the EPA, "Indoor levels of pollutants may be 2 to 5 times - and occasionally more than 100 times - higher than outdoor pollutant levels {and} have been ranked among the top five environmental risks to public health."

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What’s Preventing You From Having an Energy Audit?

Thu, Nov 10, 2016 @ 02:53 / by Jim Newman posted in HVAC, ASHRAE, PACE, energy efficiency, Energy Savings, Energy Audit, Recommissioning, Energy Use Index, Building Energy

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Energy audits are one of the best ways to discover money-saving opportunities in an existing building. A commercial or industrial energy audit, also called an energy analysis, will identify how much energy a building uses, how efficiently it uses that energy, and where changes and improvements can be made that will impact both the occupant comfort and the bottom line.

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Get Out! 4 Ways to Know Your Building/Tenants Better

Wed, Apr 13, 2016 @ 12:09 / by Jim Newman posted in HVAC, IAQ, Energy Savings, indoor air quality

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In my seminars for facility managers and building engineers, I sometimes begin with this: “How are HVAC Systems like Facility Managers?” Then I pause, and say, “Nobody knows they’re there – and nobody cares – until there’s a problem!”

True, in a well-run and comfortable building, the employees, tenants and guests should not notice the HVAC system. They have their own work to do. But the minute they are uncomfortable – too hot, too cold, funny smell – the facility manager or the building engineer hears about it. Right?

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