Hub: New Construction
NBI Unveils New Multifamily Energy Guide
News / October 30, 2017
Published in EC&M: Multifamily buildings offer a largely untapped opportunity for improving energy efficiency, according to a recent report from the New Buildings Institute (NBI). Despite tremendous potential for savings, the organization explains why the multifamily market is hard to...
New Multifamily Guide Offers Solutions that Deliver Up to 25% Energy Savings
Post / October 10, 2017 / Energy Codes
Multifamily buildings pose a conundrum for advancing energy performance. As a building type, they are caught somewhere between commercial buildings and single-family residences – they are often constructed like commercial buildings, yet used as residential buildings. Energy-efficient technologies and design...
National Grid Presents — Office Worker Performance and the Indoor Environment
Webinar / August 31, 2017
Offices pose a unique opportunity for advancing energy efficiency. With relatively consistent activities and energy loads, energy efficiency strategies can be highly targeted for maximum effectiveness. This webinar presents best in class approaches to improving energy efficiency in offices. It…
NBI Completes Study into Energy Performance of Commercial Buildings with Radiant Systems for Cooling and Heating
Post / August 10, 2017
During the renovation of the Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building, a variable air volume (VAV) system was replaced with a radiant design system. The design team included numerous CBE industry partners, including SERA Architects, Stantec, Interface Engineering, and Charles...
Energy Performance of Commercial Buildings with Radiant Heating and Cooling
Report / August 10, 2017 / HVAC
This report is part of the California Energy Commission (CEC) EPIC project (EPIC-14-009), Optimizing Radiant Systems for Energy Efficiency and Comfort. The main goal of this research was to determine the building characteristics of projects with radiant heating and cooling…
Best Practice Options for LED Lighting in Multifamily Offer Illumination Without Negative Impacts
Post / July 5, 2017 / Lighting
This material has been excerpted from the soon-to-be-released Multifamily Guide offering best practice design for high performance multifamily new construction projects. Stay tuned for more information on the Guide’s release. LED lighting had some of its earliest and broadest successes...
Quantifying the Water-Energy Nexus at the Building Project Scale
Online Tool / June 1, 2017 / Water-Energy Nexus
NBI has laid the groundwork to connect the water-energy nexus at the power plant with the energy consumed at the building level. With the support of existing research and funding from the Edwards Mother Earth Foundation, NBI has created a…
Smartglass International’s retrofit project with SPD-SmartGlass will protect priceless paintings at the University of Edinburgh and increases energy efficiency in buildings
News / September 23, 2016
Research Frontiers licensee Smartglass International addresses the long term savings that commercial organizations can realize when they install SPD-SmartGlass in their buildings. From 2016-2023, it is estimated that $960 billion will be invested to make existing buildings more environmentally friendly....
2018 IECC Code (Base Codes)
Codes & Policy / September 14, 2016
NBI demonstrated its leadership in codes by submitting proposals for the IECC that included a unified chapter for multifamily housing codes and a lighting measure to begin to tackle indoor agricultural energy usage before the industry expands further. FINAL STATUS...
Savings Verification for Performance Contracting
Case Study / December 23, 2015
Washington’s Department of General Administration supervised an energy system retrofit of Spokane’s Westlake State Hospital and then was responsible for verifying the energy savings resulting from the improvements. However, when the hospital’s energy management system experienced a partial loss of…
The Runaway Building
Case Study / December 23, 2015
EZ Sim showed its versatility and its accuracy when analyzing a building with run away winter energy bills. While the building was initially modeled using a traditional engineering method, EZ Sim provided a quicker alternative to identify the nature of…
EZ SIM – Shows Bonus Energy Savings for County Office Building
Case Study / December 23, 2015
When a county building’s facility manager wanted to know if it was time to upgrade the building’s heat pumps, EZ Sim’s detective work helped to uncover more savings in more places than she bargained.
EZ Sim
Online Tool / December 23, 2015
New Buildings Institute worked with Stellar Processes to acquire the management of EZ Sim software. The partnership was forged with the intention of increasing the utilization of EZ Sim as an innovative tool for analysis and screening of commercial building…
New England Regional Council of Carpenters
Case Study / December 23, 2015
The New England Regional Council of Carpenters (NERCC) represents 22,000 carpenters, pile drivers, shop and mill men, and floorcoverers working in the New England states.
Gibney Family Vision Center
Case Study / December 23, 2015
The Vermont Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (VABVI), a non-profit organization founded in 1926, is the only private rehabilitation agency to offer free training, services and support to visually impaired Vermonters of all ages. VABVI offices are located…
Fidelity Bank
Case Study / December 23, 2015
Fidelity Bank is one of the oldest and continually growing independent, local community banks in Central Massachusetts. In January 2007, the bank opened its new Corporate Center and Branch in Leominster, Massachusetts. The four-story building includes office space as well…
Duxbury Bay Maritime School
Case Study / December 23, 2015
Serving more than 1,800 students annually, the not-for-profit Duxbury Bay Maritime School aims to connect the community through educational and recreational programs with its primary resource, Duxbury Bay.
Child and Family of Newport County
Case Study / December 23, 2015
Child and Family of Newport County (CF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening families and communities through services such as preschool childcare, counseling, home care for the elderly and disabled, substance abuse education, home-based child welfare, transitional housing for…
Abraham Lincoln Elementary School
Case Study / December 23, 2015
In September 2010, the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School opened its new green building, ready to accommodate 600 students. This new building includes masonry and steel construction, a 3,300 square foot state-of-the-art library and media center, a 5,700 square foot gymnasium,…
New Construction Project Directory & Case Studies
Case Study / December 23, 2015
Information about New Construction projects that have utilized Core Performance are available here and, when available, include links to case studies or project profiles.
Daylighting Pattern Guide
Online Tool / December 20, 2015 / Daylighting
The Daylighting Pattern Guide is a free, interactive tool that helps design teams incorporate proven daylighting strategies into commercial building projects for substantial reductions in lighting power consumption and overall building energy use.
Teaming with Technology: A Manufacturer’s Panel
Webinar / October 21, 2015
Leading manufacturers will share their approaches to meet technical and market needs for low and zero energy buildings. The showcased technologies and manufacturer approaches highlight the energy and non-energy benefits of supporting the move to net zero.
Proposed Multifamily Building Section for the 2018 IECC
Document / October 16, 2015
NBI presented the first public “straw-man” of a proposed section for multifamily buildings in the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) to the Department of Energy's Denver Energy Codes Stakeholder Meeting on October 13, 2015.
Danfoss’ Galyen: Incentives Will Boost Building Technology Development
News / September 24, 2015
On September 17, John Galyen, president, Danfoss North America, addressed the importance of taking a holistic approach to improving the efficiency of the U.S. commercial building stock as part of a broad objective to double energy productivity. Galyen was joined...
New Construction Guide and the Architecture 2030 Challenge
Post / July 1, 2015
In 2006, Architecture 2030 took a bold step: Challenge everyone involved with the built environment — designers, owners, government, utilities, operators and tenants, everyone — to reach for the goal of Zero Net Energy by 2030. Using the average performance...
New Construction Guide endorsed by Architecture 2030 to meet the 2030 Challenge
News / June 16, 2015
The New Construction Guide has also been incorporated as the prescriptive path to comply with the energy prerequisites for both USGBC’s LEED v4 and the Northeast Collaborative for High Performance Schools standard. The guide has also been adopted as the...
New Construction Guide endorsed by Architecture 2030 to meet the 2030 Challenge
News / June 1, 2015
New Buildings Institute (NBI) and Architecture 2030 are excited to announce that Architecture 2030 has endorsed a prescriptive path to meet the current 2030 Challenge goal based on NBI’s New Construction® New Construction Guide. With this path, design teams now...
Staying ahead of advancing energy codes with the New Construction
Webinar / December 16, 2014
With significant increases in stringency in the 2010 edition of ASHRAE’s Standard 90.1 and the 2012 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code, what was once high performance design is becoming minimum code. With the release of the New Construction…
Occupants, Plug Loads & Controls: What Happens After The Design Plug Load Best Practices GuideTeam Goes Home?
Webinar / June 18, 2014
Achieving zero net energy is not a point in time indicated by a plaque on the wall. It is a continual and ongoing process that requires the engagement of facility managers and occupants.
New Challenges in Net Zero Design
Webinar / June 16, 2014
Designing and delivering zero net energy projects brings a new set of challenges to designers: new building elements and technologies, new tools, and issues that in the past have been outside the scope of design efforts. Successful teams have found…