green building

Buildings are the largest consumers of energy in the United States.  According the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, buildings consume 72% of America's electricity, account for 55% of the nation's natural gas consumption, and are definitely the country's energy hog -- eating 40% of all energy produced.  The energy costs for America's buildings are estimated to be US$350 billion p

The Obama administration is pushing more and more federal agencies to go green and find sustainable energy resources. But the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is significantly ahead of the curve.

In a move that is certain to change the color paradigm for roofing shingles, last week U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu directed his agency to implement cool roof technologies in all new buildings, roof replacements and roofing retrofits whose energy savings justify the cost of replacement.

In the second part of my three-part interview with SCI's CEO Russ McMeekin, he talks about the state of energy efficiency in the U.S., Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and the SCIwatch.

Greensburg, Kansas was devastated by a tornado in 2007.  Only a week later, the town had already started working on plans to become the greenest town in the U.S. 

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced awards totaling more than $76 million in funding to support energy-efficiency building technology programs and training for commercial building equipment technicians, building operators, and energy auditors.

20 communities have been chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to share $60 million in funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs.

This is part three of my interview with Autodesk's John Kennedy.

Q. Are you just talking about designing new efficient buildings or can older buildings be effectively retrofitted?

A fast growing segment of the green construction market is building retrofits. Numerous reports indicate retrofitting will become a huge market over the next three to four years.

This is the second part of my two-part Q&A with VFA’s CEO Jerry Kokos.  VFA provides integrated software and services for facilities asset management and capital planning.