How Cool Roofs Lower Energy Costs

By: Scott Kriner - Sunday, December 9, 2007 Source: The Metal Initiative

In the United States, buildings are responsible for almost two-thirds of national electricity consumption and more than one-third of total primary energy use. As a result, the current energy crunch has made conservation measures within these structures more important than ever.

Heating and cooling costs are generally the major expenses associated with the operation of a building. Therefore, any reduction in these costs through the use of energy efficient building envelope components makes sense. Unfortunately, the roof can be the least energy efficient component of a building envelope. Is it any wonder, then, that cool roofing has become such a hot topic?

Cool roofing is gaining in popularity due to its ability to reduce cooling and heating energy usage. Utility companies are also interested in cool roofing because it can help reduce the peak demand in electricity during the afternoon hours of summer months, preventing power disruptions. And, from an environmental point of view, cool roofing can also help to mitigate a phenomenon known as the heat island effect.

Read the full article published on iGreenBuild.com.

Some Facts & The Future of Solar

Back in the 60’s or 70’s (too long to remember exactly) there was this myth that if the Pentagon would cover all their facilities with PV the price would drop enough that the average citizen could cover their dwelling unit. The simple answer to this question is price. The not so simple answer is thinness.

While California has 73% of the U.S. solar market is it price or efficiency holding back exponential growth. Efficiency means packing more silicon wafers into each cell. How can you do that? There is another issue, that of brittleness of the wafers. The thinner they get the harder it is to connect the poles to the edges of the wafer.

Read the complete article on iGreenBuild.com here.

Will the Electric Grid Stay On?

Going far beyond explaining the usual problems with biofuels, the video of David Fridley's June 2007 presentation "The Myths of Biofuels" explains why cellulosic ethanol won't come to the rescue anytime soon, how much biomass could possibly be grown in North America and exactly how poor ethanol really is. David is a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory staff scientist specializing on biofuels.

Read this page and learn more quick and dirty insights into the future of Energy from some very reliable sources.

Read the complete article here.

Green Schools Event Attracts An Inconvenient Speaker

Green California Schools Summit – The largest sustainable summit and expo to focus on bringing green technology and natural products into K-12 schools in California (December 4-6, Pasadena, California) announces the addition of Laurie David, Academy Award winning documentary film maker (An Inconvenient Truth), and Cambria Gordon, children’s book writer, as general session keynotes on December 6. They will join acclaimed scientist, educator and author Bill Nye “the Science Guy.”

Read more and get a free pass at iGreenBuild.com.

Green School Design Recognized

San Francisco, CA – The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) recognized notable leaders of high performance school building at the Greentools for Healthy Schools Conference awards luncheon this fall. The Green Apple Awards were distributed to outstanding school districts, school projects and industry leaders for their contributions to the green school movement.

Read the full article on SchoolFacilities.com here>

Green Lifestyle Challenge Offered To Employees

November 15, 2007 (HOUSTON, TX) – Kirksey, leader in sustainable architecture and design, today has issued a challenge to employees and the community to encourage them to live a greener lifestyle. Developed by The Kirksey Center for Sustainable ArchitectureSM, The Kirksey Carbon Copy™ is a guidebook detailing this challenge and outlining simple measures for companies and individuals to undertake to reduce our collective carbon footprint.

See some examples of the challenge and read the full article on iGreenBuild.com here.

Energy Efficiency Global Forum & Exposition

Nov. 11-14, 2007, Washington, D.C.

The Energy Efficiency Global Forum & Exposition, hosted by the Alliance to Save Energy: a first-of-its kind, comprehensive international energy-efficiency forum that will attract industry professionals, policymakers, and academics to forge partnerships and develop “best practices,” policies, and strategies to respond to the climate, national security, and economic implications of the increasing global demand for energy.

Read more about this event on iGreenBuild.com

GREEN BUILDING GROWTH IS REVOLUTIONARY

TUCSON, Arizona – October 31, 2007 – With the number of LEED-registered and LEED-certified green building projects increasing at rates approaching 70% to 80% year-over-year, a new book by leading green building consultant, Jerry Yudelson, entitled “The Green Building Revolution,” shows why this trend has become a “revolution.” Yudelson’s book not only chronicles the dimensions of this growth, but provides its manifesto as well.

Paint Goes Eco Friendly

PHILADELPHIA, PA, October 30, 2007 – The global paint and coatings industry is doing its part to build a safer, greener and more sustainable world. These were the observations of Luis Fernandez, Vice President and Global Business Leader for Rohm and Haas’s $2 billion Paint and Coatings Materials business, when he addressed ABRAFATI, the Brazilian Paint Manufacturers Association, late last week.

Read the full article here.

Lifetime achievements in green building recognized at 3rd Annual Toronto Green Building Festival

(Toronto, Canada, October 25, 2007) Three green building gurus-Peter Love, Janis Kravis and Doug Pollard-received Lifetime Achievement Awards today at the 3rd Annual Toronto Regional Green Building Festival at Ontario Place.

Read the full release here.