California Solar Energy Mandate Soon in Effect October 01, 2019 New homes built in California after January 1, 2020, must be equipped with a solar electric system. They must be sized to offset 100% of the home’s electricity usage, though homes can still use energy from other sources, such as gas. The size of solar arrays can be reduced if other energy efficiency improvements are […] Read More
Denver Replaces 2017 Green Roof Law March 03, 2019 Denver City Council has voted to repeal and replace the green roof law it passed in 2017. The older law required rooftop greenery on reroofs or new commercial buildings larger than 25,000 sq. ft. The revised law will require light-colored, reflective cool roofs. Building developers can choose several new options for attaining environmental goals, including […] Read More
Recent Experience Questions Storm Predictability Designation Value January 01, 2019 The National Weather Service called the rain dropped in September 2018 during Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas and Virginia a “1000-year” event. Upward of 50 inches of rain fell in some areas of the Carolinas, equivalent to 8 trillion gallons of rain. The classification of 1000 years refers to probability, not history, because it has […] Read More
Water Tank Morphs Into Library for Kenyan Kids December 01, 2018 An abandoned rainwater collection tank was transformed into a children’s library in a small farming community in the Nyeri West region of Kenya. The project was designed by San Francisco firm Natoma Architects and bankrolled by the Nobelity Project, an Austin, Texas-based group that builds school infrastructures. The organizer’s cofounder, Turk Pipkin, conceived of the […] Read More
Termite Mounds Hide Secrets to Sustainable Buildings of the Future December 01, 2018 The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology has been awarded $475,000 from the National Science Foundation to study how termites construct mounds with the idea that humans might one day adapt the energy-efficient homebuilding techniques of the insects. The award is a follow-up to a previous grant by NSF of $300,000. Mines faculty researchers […] Read More
Cities Make Net-Zero Carbon Pledge October 01, 2018 The World Green Building Council is calling upon companies, cities, states, and regions to pledge to the Net-Zero Carbon Buildings Declaration (NZCBD) to maximize the chance of limiting global warming to below 1.5°C as part of the Paris Agreement signed in 2015 by 196 countries. The mayors of 19 global cities—including eight U.S. and three […] Read More
RCI TAC Releases New Statement on Reuse of Insulation September 06, 2018 The RCI Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) responds to industry issues, policy, and standards as they occur, and recommends association policy to the RCI Board of Directors on matters related to these items. This committee has recently released a Technical Advisory, available here, on the reuse of existing roof insulation during the replacement or repair of […] Read More
First 3-D-printed Housing Project Planned in Netherlands September 01, 2018 The city of Eindhoven, Netherlands, will be the site of what developers are claiming will be the first 3-D printed concrete homes. Project partners are the municipality of Eindhoven, Eindhoven University of Technology, contractor Van Wijnen, real estate manager Vesteda, materials company Saint Gobain-Weber Beamix, and engineering firm Witteveen+Bos. The first, a single-floor house, is […] Read More
Roof Shingles Reducing Smog? August 01, 2018 A newly released specialized coating, when applied to a roof shingle, is said to reduce air pollution. The 3M Industrial Mineral Products Division has launched 3M Smog-reducing Granules to help remove nitrogen oxides (NOx) when applied to roofing shingles. Integrated throughout the shingle’s surface, the granules are designed with a specialized photocatalytic coating applied to […] Read More
Zero-Energy Building Numbers Explode August 01, 2018 The number of zero-energy (ZE) buildings in the U.S. and Canada has seen a 700% increase in just six years, according to the New Buildings Institute (NBI). The Portland, Oregon-based organization says there are nearly 500 verified and emerging zero-energy buildings now in North America. ZE buildings are ultra-low-energy buildings that consume only as much […] Read More
