Hub: Building Innovation
Existing Building Retrofits: An integrated solution set for energy and occupant benefits
Webinar / June 22, 2021
Today’s work environment is rapidly changing. Keeping it comfortable and controllable with the latest technology helps occupant experience, tenant retention, reduces energy costs, and provides operators with flexibility and detailed space utilization data. The Integrated Technologies for Energy-efficient Retrofits (INTER)…
Partner Event: Greenbuild International Conference + Expo
Event / September 21, 2021 - September 23, 2021
The Greenbuild International Conference + Expo, taking place September 21-23, 2021 in San Diego, CA, provides the opportunity for architects, designers, builders, sustainability professionals, consultants and governments to connect and learn. The event is also being hosted virtually so that…
Partner Event: ASHRAE 2021 Virtual Annual Conference
Event / June 28, 2021 - June 30, 2021
The ASHRAE 2021 Annual Conference originally scheduled to be held June 26-30, 2021 in Phoenix, AZ is now going to be held online in a virtual format. The conference will include a mixture of live and on-demand technical and interactive…
NBI Study Sheds Light On Ways Existing Buildings Can Reduce Energy Costs
News / June 11, 2021
Forbes puts the spotlight on NBI-led study: High-quality automated shading slashes lighting energy use, while at the same time enhancing occupant comfort. Modern LED lighting with advanced controls also greatly cuts lighting energy use, and offers superior results. These are...
Getting Control of Comfort and Energy: The Benefits of Upgrading to Automated Shades and Advanced Lighting in Commercial Buildings
News / June 10, 2021
Published by Lighting Design and Specification: Interior lighting and window shading innovations have advanced leaps and bounds in the past two decades. Each innovation offers benefits to existing buildings, ranging from improved occupant comfort and wellbeing to significant energy savings....
Video: White House Social Media Briefing with Jen Psaki
News / June 8, 2021
Published by the White House: Watch as the Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott, sit down with White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki. In the video, Jonathan Scott expresses the interest of his audience to save money on energy bills...
Solving for the 11% embodied carbon footprint in the built environment
Webinar / July 22, 2021 @ 10:00 am - 11:15 am PDT
As clean energy policy and practice ratchet down operational carbon emissions in the built environment, embodied carbon becomes a larger share of buildings’ carbon footprint. In this webinar, participants will learn about primary sources of carbon embedded in manufacturing processes…
Automated Window Treatment Case Study
Case Study / June 1, 2021
Several manufacturers offer innovative window treatment solutions that allow daylight into spaces while controlling for glare and allowing views to the outdoors. In this case study, we focus on Indoor Sky’s Daylighter Shading System. The system has two parts: automated…
California State University Dominguez Hills—James L. Welch Hall
Case Study / June 1, 2021
The Welch Hall building on the CSUDH campus partnered with the project team to retrofit their existing Enlighted lighting system and manual shades to the INTER package – which included LED lighting with Luminaire-level lighting control (LLLC), solar-powered automated shades,…
Santa Ana City Hall Tower on 20 Civic Center Plaza
Case Study / June 1, 2021
The City Hall building in Santa Ana sought to improve their indoor environment and save on energy costs with automated shades, upgraded lighting fixtures and networked lighting controls. The project updated the existing T8 lamps to LEDs and controlled the…
Integrating LLLC Technology with Building Systems
News / May 26, 2021
Published by EC&M: Luminaire level lighting controls (LLLC) technology enables greater control over a building’s lighting system, all the way down to the individual fixture level, resulting in optimized lighting for the space. One of the most promising features of...
DOE Announces Support for Program on Advanced Water Heating to Cut Carbon Emissions
News / May 26, 2021
Published by Renewable Energy Magazine: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced its support of a new nationwide campaign to drastically cut carbon emissions and energy use from heating water with advanced heat pump technology. The Advanced Water Heating Initiative...
U.S. DOE announces support for national program on advanced water heating to cut carbon emissions and energy use
Post / May 21, 2021
Clothes washer, shower, kitchen sink. These are the places where hot water lives. In fact, water heating accounts for a large share of energy use in buildings—up to 32% in single-family and multifamily homes. Today, the U.S. Department of Energy...
Existing Building Retrofits: An integrated solution set for energy and occupant benefits
Webinar / June 22, 2021 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am PDT
Today’s work environment is rapidly changing. Keeping it comfortable and controllable with the latest technology helps occupant experience, tenant retention, reduces energy costs, and provides operators with flexibility and detailed space utilization data. The Integrated Technologies for Energy-efficient Retrofits (INTER)…
Biden administration to announce new Energy Star standards, develop emissions targets for federal buildings
News / May 17, 2021
Published by Washington Post: On Monday afternoon, the Biden administration will announce a major push aimed at cutting carbon emissions from federal buildings and homes by setting new efficiency standards and investing in innovative research. The White House says that,...
New Report Highlights Activities of Advanced Water Heating Initiative
News / April 7, 2021
Published by HVAC & Plumbing Product News: The recently released Advanced Water Heating Initiative Playbook and 2020 Progress Report by NBI summarizes the activities of AWHI through the end of 2020. The West Coast AWHI has made tremendous progress on...
New GridOptimal LEED pilot credit encourages designers to help solve grid issues
Post / March 31, 2021
In 2019, renewable energy provided more energy in the U.S. than coal. The last time this happened, in 1885, the Edison Electric Company had been running the first American central power plant for all of three years and was serving...
Future-Proofing Buildings for a More Resilient Tomorrow
Post / March 23, 2021
This is the second in a series exploring the COVID-19 pandemic’s relationship to buildings. In the first blog, Buildings’ Impact on Pandemics — we discussed how the building industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can help fuel pandemics. These blogs are...
Building Decarbonization
News / March 2, 2021
Published by Impact Cafe: In this Impact Café webinar and podcast the focus is on the transition to net zero carbon energy networks and the decarbonization of buildings. Amy Cortese, Director of Programs, participated in this panel discussion.
Buildings’ Impact on Pandemics
Post / February 26, 2021
As the people across the globe respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, a concerted effort has been made to keep occupants safe as office buildings reopen, an endeavor that can inherently use more energy from carbon-intensive generation resources exacerbating climate change...
It’s Getting BETR: The Building Electrification Technology Roadmap is Here
Webinar / February 25, 2021
Building electrification technologies are potential game changers for getting to zero in the built environment. Listen to NBI’s Cathy Higgins and Alexi Miller and NBI Senior Fellow Alexis Karolides from Point Energy Innovations to learn about new research on market-ready…
Advanced Water Heating Initiative Playbook and 2020 Progress
Webinar / February 11, 2021
Water heating is the second largest energy use in U.S. homes. Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWHs) are a decades-old, proven technology, and are two to four times more efficient than electric resistance or standard gas water heaters. HPWHs support a…
How Your Water Heater Can Be a Secret Weapon in the Climate Change Fight
News / February 11, 2021
Published by Bloomberg News: Nearly every home has a water heater, but people tend not to think about it until the shock of a cold shower signals its failure. To regulators, though, the ubiquitous household appliance is increasingly top of...
Bringing Heat Pump Water Heaters into the Mainstream
Report / February 10, 2021
The Advanced Water Heating Initiative (AWHI) Playbook and 2020 Progress Report summarizes the activities of AWHI through the end of 2020. The West Coast AWHI has made tremendous progress in the two years it has been underway. The Initiative includes…
The Building Electrification Technology Roadmap
Paper / February 2, 2021
The Building Electrification Technology Roadmap (BETR) is a guide for utilities and other organizations developing, implementing, and supporting electrification technology programs as a way to advance high efficiency technologies, reduce GHG emissions, and improve public health. It’s the first study…
New Building Electrification Technology Roadmap Shows Pathways to Achieve Zero Carbon
News / February 2, 2021
A first-of-its-kind study from New Buildings Institute provides a comprehensive analysis of electric technologies that can displace fossil fuels in buildings. Energy use in California’s buildings is a leading source of climate-changing emissions. Homes and commercial buildings must be electrified...
It’s Getting BETR: The Building Electrification Technology Roadmap is Here
Webinar / February 25, 2021 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm PST
Building electrification technologies are potential game changers for getting to zero in the built environment. Join NBI’s Cathy Higgins and Alexi Miller to learn about new research on market-ready and emerging electrification products and their role in supporting California program…
Advanced Water Heating Initiative Playbook and 2020 Progress
Webinar / February 11, 2021 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am PST
Water heating is the second largest energy use in U.S. homes. Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWHs) are a decades-old, proven technology, and are two to four times more efficient than electric resistance or standard gas water heaters. HPWHs support a…
Building Electrification Technology Roadmap
Paper / January 12, 2021
The Building Electrification Technology Roadmap (BETR) is a guide for utilities and other organizations developing, implementing, and supporting electrification technology programs as a way to advance high efficiency technologies, reduce GHG emissions, and improve public health. It’s the first study…
Get ready for grid-integrated buildings
News / January 5, 2021
Published by The Keneda Fund: Imagine an energy system in which each building serves as an extension of the power grid. When all buildings were simply at the receiving end of electricity generated by a few big power plants, that...