Yudelson Associates Green Building Blog

Australian Efficient Building Scheme Allows Buildings to Trade Carbon Reductions

2009-12-21T19:33:52+00:00

A new proposal from global real estate titan Lend Lease and WSP’s Lincolne Scott engineers shows the way for building energy retrofits and upgrades to create carbon reductions that can be traded. Called the “Efficient Building Scheme.” This is a new growth area for green building.

From Maria Atkinson at Lend Lease and Che’ Wall at Lincolne Scott, the Efficient Building Scheme is a proposal for a direct “cap and trade” scheme for building owners that would reduce building sector carbon emissions dramatically and must faster than even the supposed “agreement” at COP 15 in Copenhagen. According to the proposal, “An Efficient Building Scheme is identical to an emissions trading scheme except that it recognizes energy efficiency improvements in non-residential buildings, rather than emissions avoided. Simply put, it treats one ton of greenhouse gas emissions that is not emitted because energy is not used, in the same way that a conventional Emissions Trading Scheme treats one ton of CO2 that is not emitted due to a change in energy generation methods.” In other words, it’s far better to reduce demand than to fiddle with what the power plant has to emit to meet the (higher) demand of a building that wasn’t upgraded in terms of energy requirements. So, in this way, the proposal, “provides a competitive return on investments in emissions r eduction initiatives, which would drive significant greenhouse gas abatement through energy efficiency improvements.” Well worth a look for all large property owners in the U.S., as well as the U.S. government.

Green Building Spurs Construction Waste Recycling

2009-12-21T19:30:57+00:00

New McGraw-Hill report documents the impact of LEED and green building standards on increasing the rate of construction waste recycling.

New report quotes largest builder Turner Construction’s Michael Deane: We’re recycling better than 50 percent across our portfolio, with more than 50 percent of projects fully documented. LEED and green building standards and practices have had a huge impact on increasing the rate of construction waste recycling.

LEED Certification Challenges and Approaches: Chapter 10 of Greening Existing Buildings

2009-11-09T08:50:05+00:00

There are three keys to a successful LEED-EBOM project:

1.Getting organizational commitment to the process and managing the changes in the organization required for a successful project, such as changing peopleâs recycling behavior
2.Performing the required upgrades to building or facility operations, including adopting the LEED-required policies
3.Managing the LEED-certification process itself, including collecting all required documentation from the many project participants

This chapter addresses the specific issues associated with managing successful certification projects, including creating the project team, engaging with the commissioning and certification process, conducting team meetings, tracking team progress, and justifying economic costs and benefits. Leading consultants provide a number of tips for getting EBOM projects done on an accelerated timetable. The company or organization needs to change purchasing and operating practices, and change its specifications for remodels and renovations. Approaches also differ between government and private sector projects.

This is an excerpt from Jerry Yudelsonâs book, Greening Existing Buildings

To read the entire chapter, click here to download the PDF version.

Click here to order this book from Amazon.com.

Green Building Books Signings Next Week at Greenbuild in Phoenix

2009-11-06T01:36:58+00:00

Jerry Yudelson will be signing his two latest books on green buildings at the Greenbuild conference next week in Phoenix.

I’ll be signing Greening Existing Buildings at the McGraw-Hill booth at 10 am on Wednesday November 11th, on the show floor. On Thursday, November 12th, at 1:00 pm at the Conference Bookstore, I’ll be signing Green Building Trends: Europe, my new book for Island Press. Hope to see you there!

New Water Technologies for Green Buildings

2009-11-04T19:20:41+00:00

Yudelson Associates’ latest report, “New Water Technologies for Mechanical Contractors,” highlights changes in water conservation practices that are creating unprecedented opportunities to reduce water use in cities by 305 or more.

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF), the foundation of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc. (MCAA) in late October released a new research study. “Water-Efficiency Technologies for Mechanical Contractors: New Business Opportunities,” prepared by Jerry Yudelson of Yudelson Associates, explains how anticipated water shortages could result in unprecedented opportunities for mechanical contractors, technology suppliers and engineering consultants to supply water conservation technologies. The report anticipates that public policy will soon focus on water conservation, water efficiency technologies and onsite water treatment and reuse. The report reviews and profiles many opportunities that this will present for mechanical contractorsâfrom water efficiency audits to rainwater harvesting, gray water reuse, high-efficiency fixtures and cooling tower water conservation.

Markets for Greening Existing Buildings: Chapter 3 of Greening Existing Buildings

2009-11-01T17:46:32+00:00

For commercial building owners, the key economic factors for justifying green and energy-efficient building investments are increases in:

1. Average rents
2. Average occupancy rate
3. Resale value

Over time, these three factors, along with others such as tenant retention, ease of getting financing, lower insurance costs, etc., will help overcome any adverse consequences from the costs of greening buildings and certifying them. What are the facts today?

RREEF Research reported in February 2009 its expectation that âmajor real estate marketsâthe markets where institutional investors focus their attentionâwill be pushed even faster to the tipping point where green building becomes the market standard.â The research predicts that older, less-efficient conventional buildings will actually have their market value discounted in the years ahead. Even with the continuing global economic recession, government policies will continue to accelerate the push toward greener buildings, as will tenant demand, especially from corporate real estate executives. There is also âno pronounced indication that major institutions are pulling back from their greening commitmentsâ as investors. In this context, greening existing buildings, especially upgrading energy efficiency, can be seen as a âdefensive strategy,â since these less-efficient properties risk âmarket decayâ in the form of lower rents and higher vacancies, âas tenants increasingly migrate to more modern, greener buildings.â

This is an excerpt from Jerry Yudelsonâs book, Greening Existing Buildings

To read the entire chapter, click here to download the PDF version.

Click here to order this book from Amazon.com.

New book tells inside story of Civano development in Tucson

2009-10-17T18:56:15+00:00

Two friends of mine, Al Nichols and Jason Laros, have written a new book with the definitive account of the largest solar village in the U.S., proving once again that green homes and green development are viable in the marketplace.

“Inside the Civano Project: A Case Study of Large-Scale Sustainable Neighborhood Development” is the first book in ages to tell the inside story of a “bottoms up” effort by activists in Tucson to create an energy and water-efficient community with a New Urbanist flavor, with a special focus on using the abundant solar energy of the Sonoran desert. What makes the book especially interesting is the extensive interviews with the participants. The effort succeeded: today Civano is the largest sustainable mixed-use community in the country and a great model for others to visit. What’s also interested is that the development’s 60 percent reduction in heating and cooling energy and 55 percent reduction in potable water use is documented each year. And, what I find even more unusual, in Civano’s first phase, there are only two private pools for 600 homes, with everyone else using the two easy-to-walk-to community pools. Even in the current marketplace for home sales, Civano’s build-out continues, as more people are drawn to its community feeling.

German green home wins Solar Decathlon

2009-10-17T18:27:18+00:00

Team Germany from the Technical University in Darmstadt won the biennial Solar Decathlon for the second time in a row, beating out a spirited challenge from the University of Illinois team. The German house generated twice as much energy as it used during the just-ended weeklong competition on the National Mall in Washington, DC.

German’s PV-covered home won this year’s competition by producing twice as much energy as it used using the Net Metering final phase of the competition. The U.S. Department of Energy supported the contest and announced the final results. Why can’t every home produce more energy than it uses? It’s time for a wholesale rethinking of “traditional” home design to a “new normal” design that makes every home a net contributor to the electric grid.

Green Building Home Certifications Continue to Grow

2009-10-16T18:03:53+00:00

The NAHB GreenHotLine told us that they had just certified their 504th home since announcing the program about 18 months ago. LEED for Homes latest data show more than 3,000 certified with more than 19,000 registered.

Clearly, the housing slowdown has affected the move toward green homes. While LEED has almost tripled the number of certified homes (through September) from year-end and has increased new home registrations by 50%, the overall numbers are still disappointing, given that the program has been around for more than two years. It certainly appears that the more mainstream NAHB National Green Building Program, announced to great fanfare in February 2008, has yet to gain any significant traction among the nation’s homebuilders. One would have to conclude that the ENERGY STAR program is still the most viable and most used new home rating system in the U.S., with 17 percent market share of all new homes in 2008 and more than 20 percent in 15 states, according to the US EPA.

Trend Watch: Oro Valley Receives LEED-CS Silver Certification

2009-10-13T21:43:40+00:00

For the first time in Arizona history, a major retail project is delivering green for the state. Vestar Development Co.âs Oro Valley Marketplace has earned Silver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, marking the first retail project in the state to earn the designation, and one of the first in the Southwest.

The Oro Valley Marketplace Shops A building was awarded 30 points in the LEED for Core and Shell 2.0 rating system, achieving a Silver certification. Yudelson Associates provided guidance to the design/construction/ownership team on LEED requirements and prepared all documentation for certification. The project met all seven prerequisites under the LEED-CS system, including minimum energy performance and minimum ventilation standards, without major changes in design.

Download this Trend Report (PDF 140KB)