Green Building

As energy efficiency and heating efficiency, in particular, increasingly become the focus of home upgrades and boost a home’s value, options for home heating have another addition, thanks to Canadian firm EcoRad.

Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin will be launching action plans to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings through a collaboration with the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center).

The importance of energy-efficient buildings in mitigating effects of climate change was highlighted Friday at the climate conference taking place in Copenhagen. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released a report Dec.

By way of a deal reached Nov. 17, the European Union is expected to enact laws to set energy efficiency standards for all public buildings by 2018 and thereafter all commercial buildings and homes. Converting existing buildings to near-zero energy standards is a major part of negotiations that took place between European Parliament and Council in hopes of using the public sector as an example for the rest of Europe’s buildings and homes.

Cutting energy consumption stands as a lucrative opportunity for the commercial real estate market, according to a report just announced by KPMG LLC. It is possible to reduce energy use by 30-50 percent in commercial buildings, providing a positive return on investments, KPMG found.

Within seven years, NeoCon East has established itself as the “premier design exposition for commercial interiors on the East Coast.” The annual exhibition, held Oct. 28-29 in Baltimore, has more than 250 exhibitors showcasing new products, innovative design and building resources.

Since its release on the U.S market the smart fortwo has been selling out car lots across the country with an initial backorder of a year, yet Yahoo Autos rated it the worst car of the decade.

As LEDs (light emitting diodes) garner greater presence in the energy efficiency market, universities across America are taking advantage of the savings the new technology has to offer. Several large schools have led the way towards sustainable energy through energy reduction projects.

Although building new buildings to green standards is taking off, retrofitting existing buildings to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy-related pollution is poised to boom, according to a new report conducted by McGraw Hill Construction, a leading provider of project and product information to industry news, trends and forecasts.

By choosing to replace the lighting in one of its California-based cold storage warehouses with high efficiency lighting, Dole is poised to reap immense energy savings, while doubling the light level in the warehouse.