With 700 Percent Net-Zero Building Growth Since 2010, You Can Use Energy Modeling Software to Jump on the Bandwagon The idea of net-zero buildings has been around for years as an alternative to traditional buildings, which now consume about 40% of total fossil fuel energy in the US and the European Union. However, recently, net-zero buildings have become more… Continue reading “With 700 Percent Net-Zero Building Growth Since 2010, You Can Use Energy Modeling Software to Jump on the Bandwagon”
Last Chance to Enroll in ASHRAE 62.2 Ventilation for Single-Family Dwellings The ASHRAE 62.2 Ventilation for Single-Family Dwellings course begins February 20th and you have until the end of the week to enroll so don’t miss out! This is one of our top rated courses which has earned an impressive 9.1/10 rating… Continue reading “Last Chance to Enroll in ASHRAE 62.2 Ventilation for Single-Family Dwellings”
New Format for Deep Energy Retrofits by Marc Rosenbaum We’ve just released a new version Marc Rosenbaum’s renowned Deep Energy Retrofits Course. Instead of a scheduled session which happens once a year, this course is now offered as a self-study on demand course which students can begin anytime. We’ve… Continue reading “New Format for Deep Energy Retrofits by Marc Rosenbaum”
Building & Powering an Award-Winning Net Zero Energy Home Can a home be beautiful, powered entirely by solar energy, use sustainable heating and cooling systems and save it’s owners roughly $3,500 a year? Why, yes it can. Just ask Joanne Coons, who built her award winning, single-family, Net Zero Energy… Continue reading “Building & Powering an Award-Winning Net Zero Energy Home”
Grow Your Green Building Skillset Online — From Design to Retrofits From building science to retrofits, energy modeling, smart homes, and beyond, HeatSpring offers a comprehensive marketplace of green building courses. Join your expert instructors for weeks of top notch technical training. Deep Energy Retrofits – Upgrade existing residential and commercial buildings… Continue reading “Grow Your Green Building Skillset Online — From Design to Retrofits”
Fostering Sustainability in Prisons + Reducing Emissions/Consumption How can prisons act as a catalyst for sustainability efforts? In 2003, Dan Pacholke, Superintendent of Cedar Creek Corrections Center in Washington, attempted to answer that question by implementing rainwater harvesting and composting measures designed to reduce waste, cut costs,… Continue reading “Fostering Sustainability in Prisons + Reducing Emissions/Consumption”
Deep Energy Retrofits for Historic Buildings Historic buildings are a special case in the world of Deep Energy Retrofits, as they bring additional constraints and special structural issues to the forefront. Still, bringing a beloved (but usually energy inefficient) community building into the resource climate of… Continue reading “Deep Energy Retrofits for Historic Buildings”
UW Greek Community Perpetuating College Sustainability Movement Officially launched in November 2015, the Green Greek Representative Program (GGRP) is a student-run program at the University of Washington working to make the Greek Community a more sustainable place. Working through UW EcoReps and supported by the UW Sustainability office,… Continue reading “UW Greek Community Perpetuating College Sustainability Movement”
Selling Home Performance: 4 Traps to Avoid You want the sale. We all want the sale! Maybe you’re very hungry to post some numbers or push to hit the plan. That’s OK. But don’t let that get in the way of good approaches… THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN… Continue reading “Selling Home Performance: 4 Traps to Avoid”
Amassing & Analyzing Zero Energy Building Data Many believe that the future of net-zero energy is already here. At the forefront, the Net-Zero Energy Coalition is not only leading the movement, but also creating what their team refers to as “The Hub,” a place where all-things-Zero-Energy (ZNE) can… Continue reading “Amassing & Analyzing Zero Energy Building Data”
Geothermal HVAC Design: From Building Loads to Bore Field Design Learn geothermal HVAC design fundamentals, with emphasis on building load (residential, commercial and institutional) development, leading to bore field specification. Watch Al’s lectures (one introductory, the other highly technical), and download a Geothermal HVAC Design Performance Simulator excel file in… Continue reading “Geothermal HVAC Design: From Building Loads to Bore Field Design”
GRID Alternatives’ International Program Expands to Nepal In July, HeatSpring published a Sustainable Women Series article featuring the Founder and CEO of GRID Alternatives, a national non-profit that facilitates affordable solar power projects, oftentimes in low-income communities. In this follow-up article, I spoke with Jenean Smith, the… Continue reading “GRID Alternatives’ International Program Expands to Nepal”
Building Automation Systems and Open Building Systems: Design Specs Building Automation Systems (BAS) specifications are a required piece of any building construction, upgrade or retrofit project. Learn about Building Automation Systems and Design Specifications for Open Building Systems in Ron Bernstein‘s latest course. Typically developed by a consulting engineer,… Continue reading “Building Automation Systems and Open Building Systems: Design Specs”
Water in Sustainable Building: Distribution, Uses & “Zero Net” Strategies In this free course, sustainable building expert Ann Edminster discusses the uses of water in sustainable building practices. Enroll and learn about… -The distribution of water on Earth -How water gets to and leaves building sites -How water is used… Continue reading “Water in Sustainable Building: Distribution, Uses & “Zero Net” Strategies”
Energy Models: Design Tools & Energy Use Simulators “What is an Energy Model?” In this brand new free course, P.E. and LEED Fellow Chris Schaffner explains. Chris describes a variety of methods for modeling building energy consumption. He starts with simple energy estimating tools of increasing complexity and… Continue reading “Energy Models: Design Tools & Energy Use Simulators”
Zero Energy Homes: Economics, Efficiency & Renewable Energy Integration What are Zero Energy Homes? How are they cost efficient and how do they help significantly lessen energy use? In this $30 course, sustainable building expert Ann Edminster has the answers. This course, designed as an introduction to all things Zero… Continue reading “Zero Energy Homes: Economics, Efficiency & Renewable Energy Integration”
Sustainable Brewing: A Small, Solar-Powered Company in the Business of Beer Throwback Brewery: where great beer, solar and sustainable business practices collide. In 2010, co-Founders Annette Lee and Nicole Carrier opened their brewery in North Hampton, New Hampshire with the vision to create 100% locally-sourced beers, as well as to promote other aspects of… Continue reading “Sustainable Brewing: A Small, Solar-Powered Company in the Business of Beer”
Volta: A Start-Up Company Powering West Africa As the solar and clean energy industry grows, it’s no surprise that the target market for renewable energy technologies is now expanding to include developing communities and countries. In fact, a host of new start-ups and innovative business models are… Continue reading “Volta: A Start-Up Company Powering West Africa”
Building Leak Detection and Measurement: Zone Pressure Diagnostics (ZPD) Want complete building leak detection and measurement? Zone Pressure Diagnostics (ZPD) is one of the most powerful analysis tools available…. …and the calculation aid from Residential Energy Dynamics (RED) is the most accurate and easy to use ZPD tool available. This… Continue reading “Building Leak Detection and Measurement: Zone Pressure Diagnostics (ZPD)”
Rethinking the Global Economy with Sustainable Solutions In 2002, sustainable business guru and Time Magazine’s “Hero of the Planet” Hunter Lovins founded Natural Capitalism Solutions, an organization that helps communities, companies, and countries implement genuine sustainability solutions to change the way business is done worldwide. NCS is a… Continue reading “Rethinking the Global Economy with Sustainable Solutions”