New Buildings Institute Blog

Building our future workforce today

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Bryce Seymour

Over 100,000 construction industry workers will be needed to electrify all of California’s existing and new construction buildings, and up to 4,900 full-time manufacturing workers, according to a recent study from UCLA’s Luskin Center. By 2045, assuming the state has...

Two influential leaders added to NBI Board of Directors

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Connie Umphress

New Buildings Institute (NBI) enthusiastically welcomes two influential leaders to its Board of Directors this year. Dr. Tina Jayaweera is a Power Planning Resources Manager at Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Susan Rochford is Vice President of Energy Efficiency, Sustainability...

New Zero Emissions Buildings Policy helps jurisdictions lead by example

Posted on May 17, 2022 by Erin Beddingfield

With building construction and operations making up nearly 40% of U.S. carbon emissions, many jurisdictions have made reducing emissions from the built environment a top strategy for meeting climate action goals. The new Model Government Zero Emissions Buildings Policy released...

Future-ready buildings: increase asset value and reduce real estate investment risks by preparing for building performance standards now

Posted on April 18, 2022 by Ralph DiNola

New construction codes have been driving toward net zero performance in jurisdictions around the country but building performance standards (BPS) with similar aims are emerging for existing buildings. Building performance standards are state and local laws that require existing buildings...

New study on electrification costs shows benefits to building owners and society

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Sean Denniston

Building electrification and decarbonization policies are being discussed by cities and states as well as in boardrooms across the country. Just last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed a much-anticipated proposal to require public companies to disclose certain...

Using Passive House to fast-track building electrification

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Bronwyn Barry

This guest blog was written by Bronwyn Barry, CPHD, board member of the North American Passive House Network and NBI Senior Fellow. A growing body of research tells us achieving deep carbon reduction targets of 75% or more will require electrification, including...

2024 IECC proposals address energy use in budding industry

Posted on February 14, 2022 by Diana Burk

With the rapid growth of new indoor agriculture facilities growing vegetables, cannabis and other plants, the increased demand for energy and carbon intensive lighting and dehumidification for plant growth has skyrocketed. Lighting can consume between 50-70% of an indoor grow...

2022 is the year of the electricity grid; new GridOptimal resources can help

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Alexi Miller

With the passing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 2022 will be a big year for energy efficiency, building codes and grid modernization. As we make gains in energy efficiency, and continue to add more intermittent renewables to our...

New coalition to tackle emission reductions in existing buildings

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Sarah Chaney

Source: IMT President Biden announced Friday the first-of-its-kind Buildings Performance Standards Coalition during remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting. The announcement highlights the importance of enacting policy to support emission reductions in all buildings—both new and existing....

Scaling up market transformation for heat pump water heaters

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Smita Gupta

While the average person might not think about it when turning on the faucet, changing the way you heat water in your home or business could drastically reduce your carbon footprint. Water heating accounts for a large share of the...