blogging the latest news and technology for
sustainable construction and net zero energy

ARRA Projects: Energy funding for sustainable buildings

June 28, 2010

On June 17, 2010, U.S. Department of Energy secretary, Steven Chu, announced that $76 million dollars of energy funding would be awarded to 58 selected projects for the advancement of sustainable buildings.   As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), these task specific projects cover many aspects to advance the energy efficiency in the sustainable construction and operation of buildings in the United States.  Proprietors of these projects include universities, research groups and corporations. 

The funding is split between 45 building technology projects and 13 training programs for sustainable building operations.  As private funding has been raised, the final combined budget for technology and training projects nears $109 million dollars.

Building Technology Projects

The building technology projects were selected to cover the following aspects of a sustainable building:  Electronic system controls, Energy design and analysis tools, Building envelope and window technology, HVAC components, Water heating and electrical loads.

Some specific project selections include: electrochromic windows, energy saving glass, EIFS walls systems, advanced insulation, energy management systems, cold climate heat pumps, and innovative reactor technology.  Several companies share similar project initiatives with minor differences in technology.  This is a safe way for the government to stimulate the sustainable construction industry.  The ARRA funding supports projects for companies producing competing technology.  This will help generate a fair market with lower prices making the use of their products more feasible.  It is also wise because they are all new technology.  Some of the projects support technology that is being produced for the first time.  There is no saying which technologies will be the most energy efficient and sustainable over time, not to mention the use of many energy efficient building products will vary regionally due to climate and site differences. 

Building Maintenance Training

Building equipment technicians and operating engineers across the country will be challenged by the new technology being implemented into new buildings.  The ARRA invests money into training programs to prepare these organizations to handle this new technology.  Many of the training programs with focus on how to repair and use software and hardware associated with different energy management and HVAC controller software.  Artificial light consumption, HVAC levels, and unique renewable energy sources have adopted automated management systems to control a building’s energy consumption as efficiently as possible.  This technology will not be effective in lowering energy consumption if operating engineers are unfamiliar with how to use it. 

In order to function at full potential these systems must be monitored and maintained correctly, hence the building maintenance training programs funded by the DOE.  Selected organizations who were awarded funding for this training include universities and technical colleges, union operating engineers, and energy conservation organizations. 

Click here for DOE selected project listings

Blog posts about specific projects receiving funding:

Soladigm Inc: Dyanmic Windows
Dow Corning: Sustainable Insulation

 

Sustainable Construction ROI: the true value of sustainability

June 26, 2010

 
McKinney Green Building: sustainable ROI project


An engineering consulting group, HDR, based out of Omaha, Nebraska has developed a new process that is used to evaluate sustainable project benefits.  The process and its viability are becoming accepted by the building industry as a means of justifying the value of sustainable investments.  Now project owners can compare a financial return on investment to a sustainable return on investment and clearly see a reason to build sustainably or not...


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Architecture 2030 for sustainable building codes

June 24, 2010

Building codes and standards are undoubtedly the answer to overall sustainability in the commercial and private building sectors.  While sustainable construction projects are becoming more popular, incentive to build sustainably only convinces some of the population of business owners, and homeowners.  For now, building standards not affiliated with mandated building codes offer no official financial incentive.  Sustainable construction is left to those who understand the necessity to build...


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The sustainable classroom: Project FROG

June 22, 2010



Project FROG is a company based out of San Francisco, California that has developed and produced a complete line of prefabricated modular classroom buildings.  These state of the art structures achieve net zero energy standards and provide an optimal learning environment.  The company was founded in 2006, when co-founder Mark Miller set out to design “the most technologically advanced, energy efficient building system on the planet.”  As it states on their website, they claim they have ...


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A sustainable building joins the Charlotte skyline

June 13, 2010



On June 7th, 2010, Wells Fargo & Company announced that their recently constructed Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, NC has achieved Platinum certification under the USGBC’s LEED for Core & Shell version 2.0.  LEED for Core & Shell is a very compelling category that proves a skyscraper to be sustainable.  Duke Energy announced its long term leasing agreement with Wells Fargo back in February 2009.  Duke Energy supplies and delivers electric and natural gas to customers all over the United ...


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A Leader in Green Education

May 31, 2010


On Sunday, May 16th, Philadelphia University celebrated over 125 years of educating by honoring their graduates.  The University has been changing their approach to education to become a model university for the 21st century.  Their strategic plan under the new president Dr. Stephen Spinelli is based on interdisciplinary projects and design for innovation.  This direction has led the schools of design, engineering, and business to collaborate on projects throughout the academic year.  These...


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Energy Tax Incentives

May 13, 2010

On March 6, 2010 the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act was passed, allowing 6 billion dollars to be set aside for energy efficiency tax rebates.  The act, more commonly known as “Cash for Caulkers,” aims to stimulate the economy as it creates jobs and encourages citizens to spend money.  At the same time energy efficient homes will cut back on our nation’s dependency on non renewable resources. 


The six billion dollars will provide rebates in several areas: 


Replacing windows, doors, ...


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Happy Earth Day 2010: My take on sustainability

April 23, 2010

Seeing as it is Earth Day I felt it was only proper that I acknowledged it on my sustainable construction blog.  To be honest, I never thought of myself as a tree hugger and, in fact, the recycling bin at my home doesn’t get used as much as it should.  I also must confess the first thing I did this morning was buy a coffee from Dunkin Donuts that was served in a Styrofoam cup which I eventually contributed to the Philadelphia municipal waste.  While I usually take my own “eco-friendly tra...


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Welcome to the Sustainable Construction Blog!

April 22, 2010
This website will cover many interesting aspects of sustainable construction practices as new products and technology are implemented into the construction industry.  Follow along as breaking news stories and products are analyzed and reviewed.  This blog was created by Architectural Engineering student John Noriega in order to interact with other professionals in the industry and discuss sustainable construction.  The blog is also made to appeal to America's homeowners as it will discuss the...
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John Noriega © 2012 Sustainable Construction Blog.   Blogging the latest news and technology for sustainable construction and net zero energy.

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