Green Engineering Archive
New York City's Greener, Greater Buildings Plan
The GGBP is part of PlaNYC, an effort undertaken by New York City’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability to prepare the city for 1 million more residents, strengthen the local economy, combat climate change, and enhance quality of life. So far, PlaNYC has built and preserved parks and housing, enhanced mass transit, and made existing buildings more energy-efficient....
Fred Dougherty Letter to Newspaper
The article “skeptic finds that global warming is real” misleads. As noted by Professors Patrick Michaels and Robert Balling in their book “Climate of Extremes” (2009), there is no serious disagreement with the degree of climate warming since 1900, or the change since 1950 confirmed by Professor Muller. The questions of climate change, however, are fourfold, of which only one is recent global temperature rise. ...
Green HVAC: Flattening the Learning Curve
This article will explore the learning curve in innovation and the challenges of green HVAC systems in both new construction and renovation. ...
Achieving Net Zero Requires Innovative Thinking
If a building owner has enough money for renewable-energy systems and the space to install them, any designer can achieve net-zero performance. Achieving net-zero performance economically, however, is a different matter. ...
A New Path to High-Performance Buildings
When a team prepares to design a sustainable or high-performance building, the designers usually seek to comply with a rating system such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Green Globes. Now, there is a third option available to designers: meeting the criteria spelled out in ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings....
Energy Retrofits: When Is the Time to Act?
This article will explore whether an existing building is a candidate for energy savings through measures such as adjusting a building-automation program, addressing years of deferred maintenance, recommissioning existing mechanical systems, and training in-house maintenance staff. When appropriately applied, these measures have the potential to reduce current energy consumption, extend equipment life, and improve comfort levels. Additionally, they typically can be tied into local utility rebate programs....
Planning for Energy-Efficiency Retrofit Projects
Accounting for nearly all existing commercial space, private commercial buildings present the largest untapped opportunity for energy-efficiency retrofits. However, federal and state facilities and other institutional buildings are more likely to receive funding and, therefore, have more opportunities for energy-efficiency retrofits....
Benefits of a Whole-Building Design Approach
Whole-building design refers to a design and construction technique that incorporates an "integrated design approach" and an "integrated team process."1 Basically, all of the elements of a building’s design need to be considered, and all team members/design stakeholders need to be involved in new ways earlier in the process. ...
Utilizing Plant Effluent for Heating and Cooling
The design team was chartered by DeKalb County to develop the most cost-effective and sustainable improvements possible for the plants. As part of this green effort, the design team developed a concept that would utilize the plant effluent for heating and cooling....
From "The Ecological Engineer: Glumac" Kelley Engineering Center
The following is an excerpt from the forthcoming "The Ecological Engineer: Glumac," a book offering a comprehensive look at the unique projects, processes, and personalities behind the success of Glumac (http://glumac.com/), an award-winning full-service mechanical, electrical, and plumbing consulting engineering firm specializing in the cost-effective, sustainable design of commercial, institutional, health-care, and advanced-technology facilities worldwide. ...
Consultant/Author Publishes List of top 10 Green-Building Trends for 2011
Despite continuing economic difficulties in most developed countries, the green-building industry will rebound in 2011, green-building and sustainability consultant Jerry Yudelson said in announcing his annual list of top 10 green-building trends....
The True Cost of LEED-Certified Green Buildings
Many industry professionals believe that seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification will put an additional financial burden on new and existing/remodeled buildings. Let's take a closer look at what goes into the cost of a LEED design...
Who Will Be Held Liable for Green Designs?
While the USGBC has brought more awareness to the green movement, it also has prompted agencies and associations, such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and ASTM International, to adopt guidelines without proper scientific scrutiny. While adopting and mandating third-party guidelines, these agencies inadvertently have positioned themselves to promote, sanction, and even demand design and construction practices that result in "green" buildings that are less efficient, more costly, and less sustainable than well-thought-out non-green/"traditional" buildings. ...
Thousands Gather in Chicago for USGBC’s 9th Annual Greenbuild Conference, Expo
Focused on the future of the green-building industry and "generation green," the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC's) ninth annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, held Nov. 17-19 in Chicago, drew more than 25,000 attendees from 112 countries....
Green Buildings and Energy Efficiency
People not intimately familiar with building design and operating efficiency take it for granted that a building classified as "green" will be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Proving design efficiency, however, is rather difficult. Programs that promote (or require) green designs but do not point out possible pitfalls are misleading....
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