While thermal bridging is widely acknowledged to exist in modern commercial building envelopes, little is known on the significance of its impact. Utilizing infrared images taken from targeted... Full Description

The U.S. energy system is undergoing a remarkable transformation to decentralized and renewable power. Transportation and heating are becoming electrified.

Leaders of one of the world’s largest toilet manufacturers and a visionary nonprofit will share stories from the leading edge of current water conservation technologies, and a future of entirely... Full Description

Every project is a learning experience. On some projects, we set out deliberately to learn new tricks. Mark Doughty, a luxury home builder near Boston, sought out Zero Energy Design to help him... Full Description

Everyone is talking about getting to zero energy by 2030. It’s easy to say, but very hard to do. What is the process and how do we ratchet down our EUI on each project? How can goal setting and... Full Description

With its smaller carbon footprint, timber construction should be considered alongside steel and concrete to build both low and mid-rise projects. This session will introduce innovations in timber... Full Description

Airtightness testing has long—since the 1980’s—been used to test high-performance housing. The 2012 version of the International Residential Code requires testing of every new home. Recently there... Full Description

PHI stands by 4.75kbtu/sq ft/yr for AHD. PHIUS has recently reworked its performance standard. Energy Star now has Version III. Living Building Challenge requires net zero. Green building... Full Description

We will show two mid-rise multi-family projects in the northeast that meet either the Passive House or PHIUS+ building energy standard. The Distillery’s 28-unit Phase 1 building in South Boston,... Full Description

In the United States we have historically thought in terms of high-performance buildings: we set our boundary conditions at the lot line. But buildings only work in a context of networks and grids... Full Description

Buildings presently account for a third of the world's energy use, and the operational energy of buildings is projected to double between now and 2050. As the building sector grapples with its... Full Description

As the A&E industry continues to focus on improving the energy performance of buildings, it’s clear that some energy saving measures are outside the designer’s control. Occupants play a... Full Description

Decisons, decisions. Residential design is always part education, part therapy, and part architecture. This panel will showcase the work of two designers and a builder who have climbed high on the... Full Description

Climate change has made mainstream adoption of high-performance buildings a priority, and the Passivhaus standard provides a means to assess and drive the performance of these buildings. With 16... Full Description

Municipalities and other owners of large buildings are increasingly setting their sites on net-zero. This session will feature a case study of the 190,000sf Martin Luther King, Jr. School, the... Full Description

This session will be a workshop focused on design and refinement of strategies to reduce the exposure to traffic-related pollution for people who live and attend school in buildings that are near... Full Description

Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) can provide cost-effective power, heating, and cooling, reduced emissions, lower costs, and energy surety—under the right conditions. But how do we... Full Description

Spray foam is an essential tool in the high performance building toolbox, yet many builders have concerns about using the material including subpar installations; how to protect workers, occupants... Full Description

A panel of Architects and Manufacturers steeped in the offsite construction industry will discuss the future of offsite construction. Topics include the stigma of the industry itself in the US... Full Description

In May of 2011, TD Bank opened the first zero net energy bank in the United States. The LEED Platinum certified store, which is located in Ft Lauderdale, FL, achieved net zero operations in 2012... Full Description

A modular home factory in Wilder, VT has opened to build zero-net energy mobile home replacement units. While there have been other efforts to replace mobile homes outside Vermont, they have done... Full Description

This session will educate participants on drivers, tools, and trends for healthier materials selection. As LEED v4 and the Living Building Challenge's Materials Petal become mainstream, designers... Full Description

The LED revolution has come a long way, and options for the retail consumer are hugely improved in just the past two years. Now many models of screw-in LEDs exceed the efficiency of CFLs. And... Full Description

The terms “sustainability” and “resilience” drive us to address a bigger, long term picture while managing the details at hand. The skills needed to accomplish this feat of ever-changing... Full Description

The selection of a glazing type for a project is based on factors like thermal performance, impact on occupant thermal comfort and cost. Double pane glazing units with a room-side low-e coating... Full Description

In recent years, increasing levels of distributed generation have led to challenging questions about how utilities charge customers for the electricity they use. To date, this has largely been a... Full Description

The ideal client hires you to build a net zero energy home, or to complete a deep energy retrofit of their existing home. Two questions arise: How will the energy efficiency improvements impact... Full Description

The Living Building Challenge (LBC) can be applied to any building project, including historic renovation and new construction.

As much as it is about expert, experienced practitioners exchanging ideas, Building Energy is also about fostering the next generation of sustainable energy leaders. And, it’s a two-way street.... Full Description