Blog - Page 2 of 16 - New Buildings Institute

Technology Talk—Getting to Zero Energy in Existing Buildings

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Cathy Higgins

Without upgrading our existing buildings to higher efficiency technologies we have zero hope of getting to zero energy (ZE)–or at least ultra-low energy performance–and our carbon reduction targets. We know that there are many roads to retrofits but rapid scaling...

2019 is the Year of Energy Codes

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Ralph DiNola

If there’s a defining theme for the building sector in 2019, it’s energy codes. Actions to update the rules that cities and states set to determine how effectively new residential and commercial buildings use energy are progressing on several fronts...

New York Invests in Energy-Saving Strategies to Meet Climate Action Goals

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Mark Lyles

New York has emerged as a shining star in local energy policy with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement early last year of an ambitious energy efficiency target to reduce energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs (British thermal units) by...

Four States Make Strides on Advancing Energy Codes

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Kevin Carbonnier

Massachusetts, California and Rhode Island come out on top in the 2018 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard released this fall. The three states ranked high on six categories including utility programs, transportation, building energy codes, combined heat and power, state initiative and...

Ithaca Leads in New York for Net Zero Energy Building Standards

Posted on November 29, 2018 by Stacey Hobart

The energy use in buildings across the town and city of Ithaca is responsible for nearly 75% of carbon emissions, according to the local sustainability officials. To reduce its carbon footprint, the two jurisdictions are taking important steps to increase...

Aiming for Zero Energy in Existing Buildings

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Alexi Miller

This blog was originally published as an article in Facility Executive on October 9, 2018. As the extreme weather impacts of a changing climate become more urgent, cities and states are racing to put in place strategies that will reduce...

Energy Efficiency and Equity

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Webly Bowles

A recent article from CityLab highlights the squeeze on low-income households—primarily renters—from rising energy cost and dwindling funding for low-income energy assistance programs. Disadvantaged communities—low-income and largely minority neighborhoods–spend a much higher share of their income on energy, according to...

Zero Energy Ready Oregon Supports Governor’s Mandate to Transform Buildings to Zero Energy Ready Performance

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Amy Cortese

When Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed Executive Order 17-20 in the fall of 2017, she set Oregon on the path to addressing climate change by ramping up efficiency in Oregon’s buildings. Addressing building efficiency is a critical climate action strategy...

Better Buildings Can Limit Climate Change

Posted on September 4, 2018 by David Goldstein

This guest blog was written by David Goldstein, NBI Board Member and NRDC Co-Director, Energy Program. It was originally published by NRDC on August 28, 2018. Climate change is the most important known-to-be-solvable problem of our time. Because buildings are...

GridOptimal Buildings: Achieving Maximum Benefit for Smart Building-to-Grid Integration

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Mark Frankel

As policymakers and the building community encourage improved building efficiency and reduced carbon impacts, the rapid proliferation of distributed renewable energy resources–on local businesses and homes–creates technical challenges for grid operation, even as traditional revenue models for utilities face significant...