Don't miss the CaGBC summit 'Shifting Into the Mainstream' on June 11-12 in Toronto

There's still time to register for Shifting Into the Mainstream, the Canada Green Building Council's summit in Toronto, June 11-12.

Don't miss this must-attend event of the year, where you will learn about the CaGBC's plans for enabling green building certification over a building's entire lifecycle... for all building types.

Delegates from commercial, institutional & residential sectors will hear about:

• the LEED Canada for Existing Buildings rating system (planned for release in early 2009) which will enable financial, energy efficiency and tenant benefits in high performance buildings.
• actual energy use in existing buildings from CaGBC national pilot projects involving various sectors, including over 70 government administration buildings (> 1 million m2), 60 commercial buildings (> 3 million m2) and 200 schools
• the LEED Canada for Homes rating system (planned for release in Spring 2009)
• the LEED for Homes delivery model which makes the rating system accessible for home builders
• financial, energy efficiency and market benefits of green homes from the nearly 500 green home projects across Canada.

Readers may also be interested in two market reports the CaGBC published that are helpful for the leased properties sector, and which can now be downloaded from their website. Authors were: Sonja Persram, BSc., MBA, LEED AP, Mark Lucuik, P.Eng., LEED AP & Nils Larsson, FRAIC:
Marketing Green Buildings for Owners of Leased Properties
Marketing Green Buildings for Tenants of Leased Properties

Registration for summit delegates (online) closes May 30, and reopens at the summit venue.

See you there!

Michaels Engineering Completes Comprehensive Ground-Source Heat Pump Study for State of Minnesota

La Crosse, WI - May 9, 2008 - Michaels Engineering has recently completed a ground-source heat pump study for the state of Minnesota.

The study compares the performance of ground source heat pumps to conventional gas heating / electric cooling systems in school, office, and residential buildings.  Results include annual electric and gas energy usage, annual energy costs, simple payback, life-cycle costs, and annual emissions levels.  The study includes 120 building simulations of varying building types and sizes, age (new construction or retrofit), and climate zones.  Results are presented in concise tables for ease of comparison.  The study also includes the current status of the industry and market potential of ground-source heat pump systems for the state.

The study can be found at the Minnesota Department of Commerce website by clicking here.