Despite evidence of changing climate, in the United States it is still common for building project teams to reference U.S. Climate Normals derived from three consecutive decades of historic data for broad-based climate analyses and to utilize Typical Meteorological Year datasets for building energy modeling exercises.

Trees are also a tremendous carbon sink and may contribute significantly to reducing the lifecycle carbon intensity of any site development. Better yet, we have the tools to quantify the carbon sequestration potential of trees.

Broadly considering our aging building stock, two threats in particular are Legionella and lead contamination.

With the emergence of environmental, social, and governance reporting, companies are working rigorously to identify, assess, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

A building's enclosure and mechanical systems must be designed to confront the weather extremes of its locale. The weather "extremes" can be described in myriad ways using several data. 

USGBC publishes an annual announcement to celebrate the "Top 10 States for LEED." Now in its 12th year, the annual list is based on the gross square footage of LEED-certified space per capita added in each state over the past year, using U.S. Census data.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a well-documented impact on the US economy, the construction industry, and real estate. But what impact has the COVID-19 pandemic had on the momentum of green building projects in the Unite State over the past two years?

Though they may be comprised of seemingly permanent materials such as concrete, masonry, metal, glass, or wood, our buildings slowly deteriorate; or may be adapted to changing needs; they may be gutted, expanded, or sometimes even contracted.

Whole-building pressurization testing is becoming standard practice for building projects. Many common energy conservation standards and model codes now exhibit requirements for enclosure airtightness, which are to be achieved through measured air leakage rates.

There is one type of refrigeration cycle that has the potential to provide clean, low-carbon air conditioning: absorption refrigeration.