Press Releases

New Buildings Institute Welcomes New Executive Director

Ralph DiNola to head nonprofit's work advancing energy performance in buildings; retains ties to Green Building Services as strategic advisor

May 23, 2013--New Buildings Institute (NBI) today announced that Ralph DiNola has been named the organization's new executive director. The nonprofit NBI acts as a technical resource working to improve energy performance in commercial buildings, including promoting advanced design practices and technologies as well as development of public policies and program strategies that reduce energy use. Read more »

2011-12 Leading Edge Student Design Competition winners announced

November 29, 2012--Twenty architecture students from around the United States are being recognized by the 2011-2012 Leading Edge Student Design Competition. Administered by New Buildings Institute and sponsored by Southern California Edison and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Leading Edge challenges students to incorporate principles of energy efficiency and sustainability as a basic standard of building design. Read more »

COMNET Energy Modeling Portal automates uploads of energy data to LEED Online

August 1, 2012--New Buildings Institute (NBI) today announced the official release of one of the first LEED Automation tools available to LEED project teams. The COMNET Energy Modeling Portal is an online platform used to collect energy modeling simulation results, perform quality assurance checks, and submit the results to LEED Online for Energy & Atmosphere Prerequisite 2 and Energy & Atmosphere Credit 1. Read more »

New guide outlines best practices for cutting energy used by plug-in devices

July 19, 2012--The number of things office workers plug into the socket is growing rapidly. To help commercial building owners and occupants get control of the energy used by office equipment and other electronic devices, New Buildings Institute (NBI) today released the Plug Load Best Practices Guide. The guide, based on research by Ecova and NBI for the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program, offers actionable information on how to save money by reducing plug load energy use in office spaces. Read more »

Zero Energy Buildings on the Rise Across the U.S. New Report Finds Projects Expanding in Number, Geography and Building Type

March 6, 2012--A new report released today by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) and the Zero Energy Commercial Building Consortium (CBC) reveals that zero energy commercial buildings—highly efficient buildings that produce as much energy as they use through on-site renewable resources—are cropping up across the United States from sunny California to snowy New York state. Read more »

NBI studies impact of design decisions and operations on building energy use

November 29, 2011—With growing energy needs to run equipment and more complex HVAC and lighting systems in today’s commercial buildings, architects and engineers can only go so far in delivering on energy efficiency. A new study by New Buildings Institute (NBI) summarizes the extent to which operations and occupant behavior impact a building’s energy use compared to design characteristics. Read more »

Online tool helps designers apply real-world experience to create daylit spaces

September 19, 2011—New Buildings Institute (NBI), a nonprofit working to improve energy performance of commercial buildings, announced today the official release of its Daylighting Pattern Guide, an online, no-cost resource to help industry professionals integrate proven daylighting strategies into commercial building projects. Read more »

2012 IECC is released with efficiency gains of up to 30 percent

July 28, 2011--The International Code Council today released the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which includes efficiency improvements of up to 30% over conventional commercial building practices. The IECC is updated every three years and serves as a model for jurisdictions to use as a starting point for local code development. The 2012 version represents the largest single-step efficiency increase in the history of the IECC. Read more »

NBI’s technical director honored with BetterBricks Award

February 11, 2011—Mark Frankel, Technical Director at New Buildings Institute (NBI), was recognized for “Outstanding Industry Contribution” during the BetterBricks Awards breakfast today in Portland, Oregon. A licensed architect and experienced project manager and technical consultant, Frankel has spent his career working to improve the energy performance of buildings. Read more »

Historic changes to commercial building energy codes will drive energy efficiency

November 2, 2010—Local and state building code officials last week approved a package of revisions to the commercial section of the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that represent the largest single-step efficiency increase in the history of the national model energy code. The changes mean that new and renovated buildings constructed in jurisdictions that follow the 2012 IECC will use 30 percent less energy than those built to current standards. Read more »

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