Thinking Green: International Living building Institute (ILBI)

As we move forward in our industry to reshape the way we design and build we look for stepping stones to help us find our way. LEED Certified buildings are the first step. LEED is helping us understand the areas we need to concentrate on and helps with the hows. But as I stated in previous postings we need to be able to move past LEED requirements and create more sustainable building environments to reshape our surroundings.

The Living Building Challenge is a program initially launched and continues to be operated by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council www.cascadiagbc.org (a chapter of both the US Green Building Council and Canada Green Building Council) and has quickly become the most advanced green building rating system in the world.
Started by the Cascadia Building Counsel in 2006, it is comprised of 16 prerequisites and six areas of concentration. It takes LEED and pushes it to the next level. There are no points to be achieved just prerequisites. Check out my previous blog about all the details of this challenge.

The International Living Building Institute is where you can find educational forums and support on the hows of this movement. Check out their website www.ilbi.org.

Thinking Green: Green Building Policies and Programs

You don't have to have a PHD in policy to understand the importance of regulations in Green Buildings. You only need to know that there is need to develop Green Building initiatives; there is need to make changes and innovations in markets and organizations; there is need to create green building program services and more. How can change be made? Where do I start? Can I make a difference? These are some questions we ask ourselves. The answer is yes. We all can make a difference, we just have to have the dedication and passion to make these changes and understanding the need for action.

Having the drive to be a leader in initiating these changes is one thing but also having some guidance of those who came before us is another. The book by Lucia Athens is one of the first books published on this subject that I have found. I met the Author last month and her actions in the community and strive in this field have given her a large knowledge base that she has shared with us in this book.

I recommend this book to all that have a passion of sustainable living.

Eco Products: Greener Product LLC

Looking for a great green search engine for green products, that are also LEED approved from the start.

Look no further than Greener Product LLC.

This company is a web-based platform that supports the manufacturer by cataloging their qualified green products and providing the ability to quickly search for building products, evaluate each product against the United States Green Building Council’s LEED standards (LEED) and then save or print the evaluation report, which can be easily inserted into your project file.

This free service platform allows the building specifiers to quickly search for green building products and then once identified evaluate those product against the LEED standards they are to be applied to. A simple 4 step search engine helps you narrow down your search. Here is how it works:

1st step – you choose the product type you are looking for and what LEED credit attribute you are looking for. Example, within 500 miles, certified woods, rapidly renewable, etc.

2nd step – you are given a list of products with a check on the attributes they carry. Here you can choose one or more of the products you want and add it to your project list. You also have manufacture information and contact number, if you need more information, samples, etc.

3rd step – you will be asked to what LEED rating system you are looking to achieve. Example, LEED New Construction 2009, LEED for Schools or even for projects registered under LEED v2.0

4th step – is the documentation summary, where all the information on the product is listed as well as how many LEED points can be achieved by choosing it.

This website cuts down on the time needed to research the products for a LEED project. Getting the right documentation is very time consuming, with this site you can concentrate on the more important parts of the project.

For more information check out the website @ www.greenerproduct.com

Thinking Green: 6 easy steps to greening your home further then just recycling:

Greening your home should not be a stressful endeavor. Here are 6 easy ways to do it:

1. Install a rain barrel:
Rain barrels typically hold about 40 to 60 gallons each ― enough to irrigate houseplants or pots on the deck. The best type is made of recycled food-grade plastic or use a recycled wine barrel, with an intake line, spigot, overflow attachment, screen cover to keep out leaves, and removable solid cover. Position the barrel beneath a downspout. To keep the rainwater pure, remove the solid cover an hour or two after rainfall has washed pollen and other pollutants off the roof.

2. Reduce water use:
• Time your showers - take max 10 min. showers, do not keep water running when you are doing something else, use the dishwasher as much as possible, if you don’t have a dishwasher rinse the dishes in a bowl of water and soap down then rinse them off.
• Installing Low-Flow shower heads and faucet aerators is the single most effective water conservation savings you can do for your home. Inexpensive and simple to install, low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators can reduce your home water consumption as much as 50%, and reduce your energy cost of heating the water also by as much as 50%.

3. Watch the temp:
Almost half a home's energy consumption is due to heating and cooling.
• Turn down the thermostat in cold weather and keep it higher in warm weather. Each degree below 68°F (20°C) during colder weather saves 3%-5% more heating energy, while keeping your thermostat at 78°F in warmer weather will save you energy and money. A programmable thermostat will make these temperature changes for you automatically.
• Clean your furnace's air filter monthly during heavy usage.
• To keep your cool in warmer weather, shade your east and west windows and delay heat-generating activities such as dishwashing until evening.
• Use ceiling fans instead of air conditioners.

4. Green Cleaning products:
Use cleaning products that have eco-friendly ingredients and perform effectively. These include grain alcohol instead of toxic butyl cellosolve, commonly found in carpet cleaner and some window cleaners as a solvent; coconut or other plant oils rather than petroleum in detergents; and plant-oil disinfectants such as eucalyptus, rosemary or sage rather than triclosan, an antifungal agent found in soaps and deodorant. Check out www.naturessourcecleaners.com for some products.

5. Energy savers:
• As you need new appliances make sure you are buying them with Energy Star rating
• Change all bulbs to LED bulbs
• Buying outdoor lights and Christmas lights that have the Energy Star label and LED lights are also available

6. Compost wastes:
Composting is when you combine food wastes and yard waste and let them decompose to be used as a natural fertilizer for your yard, garden or potted plants. This not only helps plans grow and provides food for the eco system it also diverts these items from landfills. Composting has become much easier to accomplish with all the products available to purchase on line; from barrels made from recycled plastics to guides on how to.

Thinking Green: First dimmable LED bulb -Pharox60

LED (light emitting diodes) is a form of lighting that does not use a filament such as found in the standard light bulb. They Offer More Efficient Technology than Incandescent Lights and CFLs. According to HowStuffWorks.com, LED bulbs are lit solely by the movement of electrons. Unlike incandescents, they have no filament that will burn out; and unlike CFLs, they contain no mercury or other toxic substances. Proponents say LEDs can last some 60 times longer than incandescents and 10 times longer than CFLs. And unlike incandescents, which generate a lot of waste heat, LEDs don’t get especially hot and use a much higher percentage of electricity for directly generating light.

LED bulbs also:
• Long lifetime: 25 years (based on 4 hours average use per day).
• Eco-friendly
• Recyclable
• Have no UV radiation
• Do not produce hazardous waste

The Pharox60, the first true replacement for the incandescent bulb. The design of the Pharox60 bulb resembles a traditional incandescent bulb and fits US residential fixtures, allowing consumers to easily make the shift to more energy efficient lighting without sacrificing light quality or aesthetics. The bulb features technologically advanced dimming capabilities and a warm, soft glow that sets it apart from previous LED bulbs. The Pharox60 is made from non-toxic materials and may be safely recycled with other metals and glass.

This bulb is only sold on line so for more information on a Pharox60 bulb go to www.mypharox.com.

Thinking Green: Local Law 86

Urban Green Council (who is the USGBC New York City’s chapter) has been working hard to educate and make changes to better our environment. It has demonstrated the success of their efforts when New York City's milestone Local Law 86 regulating green building came into effect. This development alone will result in an estimated $12 billion in municipal construction being built to USGBC's LEED standards by 2017.

An interesting variety of green building projects have begun to dot the City including those that have already received actual LEED ratings. And now LL86, known as the “LEED Law” requires construction satisfying various LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) qualifying criteria for many Agency and City-funded projects. The law requires LEED Silver for all the projects.

As of June 26, 2009 the Law has been modified to use the all new LEED 2009 rating systems as before the law only applied to new construction, commercial interiors and existing buildings. In the new revision LEED for Schools, Major renovation and Core and Shell were added into the text. An example of the regulations of Local Law 86 establishes a series of mandates for non-residential municipal construction in New York City:

1. All buildings (or building renovation projects impacting either half the structure’s square footage or two major building systems), costing a minimum of $2 million must be designed to achieve a LEED Silver rating. Schools and hospitals need only meet a LEED Certified rating. This requirement also applies to all capital projects to which the City provides at least fifty percent of the funds, or projects where the City contributes more than $10 million.

2. Projects costing more than $12 million must exceed New York State energy efficiency standards by twenty percent.

3. Projects costing more than $30 million must exceed New York State energy efficiency standards by twenty-five percent.

4. Projects with plumbing costs exceeding $500,000 must reduce end water use by thirty percent from New York State code (only twenty percent if an application for waterless urinals is rejected).

As we educate the public we will also need to change the laws and create standards for green thinking to become part of our everyday life. As ADA accessibility guidelines have become part of our design thinking and practices so does environmental sustainability.

Check out the Urban Green Council at www.urbangreencouncil.org for information, educational seminars and volunteer opportunities.

Thinking Green: Free Energy Modeling Software

The US department of energy (DOE) developed free energy modeling software that is an information resource on national model energy codes. They are COMcheck, for commercial applications, and Rescheck, for residential applications. The Materials (software, manual code compliance, and reference guides) simplify and clarify commercial, high-rise residential and general residential energy code compliance. Forms and checklists are included for documenting compliance. Example: The COMcheck software simplifies energy code compliance by offering a flexible computer-based alternative to manual calculation.

It is simple download the program, go to the DOE website www.energycodes.gov. There you have software, technical support and info about all energy coeds for all the states.

Making sure energy savings are in place will help us reduce our carbon footprint and take a step forward to help reduce our environmental impact. We need to start thinking in all ways to how we can design, build and renovate our surroundings to generate environments that benefit our planet not hinder it and use all the resources we have to help us do so.