Three years ago, the fire at the Grenfell Tower in London led to the deaths of 72 and the disruption of lives of many more. A ban on constructing with timber is one of the more misguided responses to Grenfell according to Rowan Moore in an article on The Guardian website. What are your views? … Continue reading The environmental benefits of using timber in the construction of tall buildings are compelling
Category: buildings
Over the past decade, the trust that owns the Empire State Building has invested more than $30 million to make it more energy efficient
Steve Hanley writes on the CleanTechnica website about what has happened to improve the energy performance of the Iconic Empire State Building in New York City.. What are your views? Empire State Building Slashes Carbon Emissions By 40% With Energy Saving Upgrades Construction of the Empire State Building in New York City couldn’t have … Continue reading Over the past decade, the trust that owns the Empire State Building has invested more than $30 million to make it more energy efficient
EIB partners to accelerate energy efficiency projects in Spain and Portugal
It is good to see the European Investment Bank getting involved in important investments in Portugal and Spain. The latest developments are in a news item on the Renewable Energy Magazine website. EIB and Unión de Créditos Inmobiliarios Join Forces to Boost Energy Efficiency in Spain and Portugal The European Investment Bank and Unión … Continue reading EIB partners to accelerate energy efficiency projects in Spain and Portugal
Need to “think bigger and focus on designing or redeveloping entire communities that are zero energy”
Charles F. Kutscher, Fellow and Senior Research Associate, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder writes on The Conversation website about the need to take an entirely different approach to reduce emissions from the building sector to zero. What are your views? Buildings consume lots of energy – here’s how … Continue reading Need to “think bigger and focus on designing or redeveloping entire communities that are zero energy”
Efforts to preserve historic buildings have greatly hampered their ability to be retrofitted with energy-efficient solutions
Academics find that preservation policies preventing historic buildings from being fitted with energy-efficient measures added £5.6 billion to energy bills across an eight-year period in England. These costs ought to be weighed against any benefits of preservation. Chris Lines explains in an article on the City, University of London website. The energy costs of … Continue reading Efforts to preserve historic buildings have greatly hampered their ability to be retrofitted with energy-efficient solutions
With buildings empty, service providers hungry for work and capital cheap, it seems a great time to bring buildings into the 21st century
Sarah Golden writes on the Greenbiz website about the opportunity right now during the lockdown to improve the energy performance of commercial buildings. Now is a great time to optimize energy in buildings. You'd think Despite being mostly empty, commercial real estate energy bills are mostly unchanged. Commercial buildings in the United Kingdom have … Continue reading With buildings empty, service providers hungry for work and capital cheap, it seems a great time to bring buildings into the 21st century
European Court of Auditors states that greater focus on cost-effectiveness still needed in co-funded energy efficiency investments in buildings
The European Court of Auditors recently assessed whether EU co-funded energy efficiency investments in buildings had cost-effectively helped the EU toward its 2020 energy saving target. Cost-effectiveness is not a determining factor for allocating public funding to energy efficiency measures in residential buildings, according to a new report from the ECA. Despite improved guidance from … Continue reading European Court of Auditors states that greater focus on cost-effectiveness still needed in co-funded energy efficiency investments in buildings
Our buildings need to be ready for the changing climate
The European Commission wants us to start a renovation wave for our buildings and it considers that the national long-term renovation strategies are an important input to the 'renovation wave’ initiative announced as part of the European Green Deal. While they were due early March, only six Member States have submitted their strategies and of … Continue reading Our buildings need to be ready for the changing climate
Strong argument for renovating homes in America’s Great Lakes region
Increasingly, arguments are being made that strategies to encourage renovation of buildings to address climate change. Nicholas Rajkovich, Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York explains in an article on The Conversation website the many benefits from renovating buildings. To protect people in the Great Lakes … Continue reading Strong argument for renovating homes in America’s Great Lakes region
The buildings sector is essential for an economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis
The construction sector is essential for an economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis. It can rapidly create large amounts of jobs and involves far-reaching value chains of small and large businesses. At the same time, the building sector presents a massive – and largely unused – opportunity to respond to the climate crisis. Christiana Hageneder … Continue reading The buildings sector is essential for an economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis
Energy in Demand - Sustainable Energy - Rod Janssen 