MD’s first net-zero energy school opens its doors Construction Dive, January 5, 2017 Maryland school officials opened the first net-zero energy school in the state on Monday, according to The Baltimore Sun. In addition to energy-efficient elements like insulation, a geothermal heat pump and programmable lights, Wilde Lake Middle School in Columbia, MD, also includes 2,000 … Read more
Ask the Expert: What’s the difference between “net-zero” and “carbon-neutral” in relation to buildings and efficiency? Ryan Pollin, ERS, for Zondits There are many different but nearly synonymous terms for buildings, campuses, and communities going in the general direction of net zero. Per the Department of Energy, the best term is a zero energy building (ZEB). This is … Read more
HOW BUILDERS ARE MEETING THE CALL FOR NET ZERO ENERGY HOMES Builder, November 9, 2016 With energy codes becoming more stringent in many states, Myers and Thrive are at the vanguard of a growing group of regional and national production builders who are building highly efficient, zero energy ready homes—meaning they’re wired for photovoltaic panels, … Read more
Precast concrete walls are durable and energy efficient The Kansas City Star, July 15, 2016 Homeowners thinking outside the traditional wood-framed residential box are pouring on the creativity when building houses with precast concrete walls. Not only used in below-grade applications, concrete shows its durability and energy efficiency from the ground up in new home … Read more
Two emerging code developments to targeting improved building performance Matt Lockwood, ERS, for Zondits This month, our State of Technology series focuses on energy codes. Let’s talk about two innovations in development over the last decade in energy codes: outcome-based energy codes and zEPI. Both started as dreams of energy code wonks to address the … Read more
Valerie Eacret, ERS, for Zondits March 9, 2016. Image credit: geralt The Mass Net Zero Data Center (MassNZ) is an experiment in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which is a testing center for using renewable energy for data center applications. Not surprisingly, the key is storage, and MassNZ uses heavy flywheels as part of a distributed energy storage demonstration … Read more
Presented at the AESP 26th National Conference on February 3, 2016 Ari Michelson, Brian McCowan, Frances Chase, ERS Building energy codes in the U.S. have come a long way in the past three decades, increasing in complexity along the way. This is especially true for the commercial building sector, where codes have rapidly transitioned from … Read more