Blog - New Buildings Institute

Does the changing policy landscape pit efficiency against renewables?

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Stacey Hobart

With cities and states pursing renewable portfolio standards and national calls to decarbonize the grid by 2035, does efficiency still matter with a clean grid? The first answer: yes, energy efficiency benefits are, as they have been for decades, delivering...

Bringing Heat Pump Water Heaters into the Mainstream

Posted on August 12, 2020 by Amruta Khanolkar

It takes a village to change technology. We in the efficiency industry have witnessed decades of partnerships to bring transformative change to refrigerators, lighting, motors and HVAC. With increasing concern over the energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated...

Electrification Nation?

Posted on July 29, 2020 by Stacey Hobart

Natural gas, once the darling to replace carbon-intensive coal in electricity production, is increasingly being recognized as a significant cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are fueling climate change. The main component of natural gas is methane, which when...

2021 Energy Code Progress Challenged: Climate and Affordability Stand to Lose Unless We Speak Up

Posted on July 28, 2020 by Kimberly Cheslak

Update: If you have not requested to participate in the hearings directly but would like to watch live, a registration link for a livestream of each hearing will be posted at the top of the 2019 Group B Appeals web...

Delivering Climate Solutions From Existing Buildings: No Time to Waste

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Kimberly Cheslak

With buildings accounting for up to 75% of carbon emissions in U.S. cities, addressing carbon emissions from the built environment is essential to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and limit the rise in global average temperature to below...

Finalizing the 2021 IECC takes the next step forward

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Maria Ellingson

The 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) development process has officially entered an appeals phase and we wanted to share an update. With the International Code Council’s (ICC) release of the Final Action Results in early April, six appeals were...

GridOptimal Metrics Offer Guidance on Optimizing Building-Grid Interaction

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Alexi Miller

Measurement and metrics are at the core of nearly all business activity today. Those in the buildings and energy efficiency field are accustomed to some standard metrics: Energy Use Intensity (EUI), percent better than code, cost per square foot, and...

Could coronavirus be a wake up call for climate action?

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Ralph DiNola

We are living through an unprecedented global health crisis that has upended our daily routines and halted the economy in a matter of weeks. Rebounding from the loss of lives and the economic fallout caused by the coronavirus across the...

Improved Building Energy Model Code Challenged

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Kimberly Cheslak

Update: Finalizing the 2021 IECC takes the next step forward Better building codes mean lower energy bills, which results in lower costs for consumers and fewer carbon emissions for the planet. Sounds like a winning combination, right? That’s why we were...

Reilly Loveland Wins USGBC Green Schools Ambassador Award

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Reilly Loveland

NBI Project Manager Reilly Loveland was recently awarded the USGBC Center for Green Schools Ambassador Award at the March Green Schools Conference and Expo held this year in NBI’s hometown, Portland. Ore. We asked Reilly some questions about the award,...

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