Vancouver’s city council approved recommended amendments/updates to building bylaws titled “Climate Emergency Requirements for New Housing 3-Storeys and Under.”

The multi-faceted intent of this recent amendment is to:

• Decrease carbon pollution and increase the energy efficiency requirements for residential buildings 3 storeys and under, including townhomes, to take effect January 1, 2022.
• Move closer into alignment with the BC Energy Step Code for residential buildings 4-6 storeys, to take effect January 1, 2021.
• Set a 2-ton carbon pollution cap (down from 3 tons) for new single-family and duplex dwellings sized 325 m2 or more, to take effect January 1, 2021.
• Close a loophole in the current lighting alterations provisions, which took effect July 1, 2020.

How would they accomplish these requirements?

Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., enact new codes.

Here are some code changes that address energy and water use: 

Summit County, Colo.

The County, as well as the towns of Frisco, Breckenridge, and Dillon adopted the Summit County Sustainable Building Code. This means that all new residential construction must comply with the DoE’s Zero Energy Ready Home program. This program applies to R-2 and R-3 occupancies as well as R- 4 occupancies of 4 stories or less. 

The second in a series of building science articles on how to improve the performance of the 90 percent of existing buildings built before energy-efficiency strategies took root.

As home builders, we get the opportunity to “build it right” the first time, but many of us own older homes—or have friends and family with older homes. Here are some thoughts on how we can employ cost-effective and impactful enhancements to our current homes to make a difference. 

Millennials and older Gen-Zers have become the housing industry’s top influencers.  They’re moving to lower-priced markets where they can get more bang for their buck and room to move.  Where are they buying?

According to COGNITION Smart Data, Green Builder Media’s suite of market intelligence services, Millennials and Gen-Zers have seized the leadership position in the housing sector.  

What can homes do for us beyond providing shelter, and how can they help keep us healthy and safe?

Now more than ever, homeowners are searching for successful strategies to improve the health of their homes in an effort to protect their families. 

A lot goes into ensuring that a multi-story residential building is energy efficient, as this case study demonstrates.

When people are dissatisfied with the thermal environment, their productivity, capacity of concentration, well-being, and health can be negatively affected. Thus, ensuring thermal comfort for any new building design project through its HVAC system, as well as positioning of windows, doors, stairs, and other components, is paramount.

Indoor air quality is top of mind for consumers. This webinar details how to provide perfect air, along with comfort and energy efficiency.

On September 22 at 2:00 pm Eastern, join Steve Swanson, the national trainer with Uponor North America, for a webinar that shows how radiant flooring and indoor environmental quality (IEQ) go hand in hand.

Remote inspections are necessary as coronavirus stymies physical walkthroughs.

If you are responsible for inspections, get a copy of ICC’s new “Recommended Practices for Remote Virtual Inspections.” This guideline can help you conduct effective and consistent remote virtual inspections.

Despite the coronavirus, Illinois lawmakers still have work to do.

Due to COVID-19, a large number of legislative initiatives were understandably sidelined to prioritize the needed public health response. Unfortunately, that meant that many good ideas were shelved until an unknown time period. Some could be resurrected later in the year, while others might have to wait for a future legislative session.

Brilliant’s smart home system is helping builders and developers make high-tech a standard option for all new homes.

Simple wins the day. Brilliant is a touchscreen control panel with built-in Alexa voice control that makes it easy for everyone (family, friends, guests) to control popular smart home products and experiences: lighting, cameras, locks, garages, music, climate, intercom, scenes, and more.

Are we facing a global water crisis? Yes, but we can start solving the problem. These 6 trending innovative technologies point the way to a water-smart future.

Building professionals and manufacturers must develop construction techniques and solutions that solve impending water shortages in the United States and worldwide. According to COGNITION Smart Data, building pros must keep these 6 trending innovative technologies top of mind:

Green Builder Media has partnered with renowned building science expert Steve Easley on a new VISION House project. This house creates a “remodeling for sanctuary” template that can be replicated across the country.

Given that buildings produce approximately 40 percent of global emissions and are responsible for 40 percent of global energy consumption, the path to a sustainable future inevitably involves the retrofitting of our existing built environment.

New products and a better understanding of building science can help you insulate, waterproof, and improve almost any underground space.

Increased comfort, high indoor air quality, HVAC savings, and moisture control are attractive benefits to finishing basements. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy reports that homeowners can save up to $390 on electrical costs per year with a finished basement (in homes where electricity is used for heating). And while the return on investment does take time, insulation upgrades actually offer a quicker payback than window replacements.

“We find the comfort factor is the biggest component for homeowners,” confirms Kevin Colwell, president of the Newton, Mass.-based building envelope solutions firm, BE RETROFIT. “Insulating the walls is counter-intuitive to some homeowners in an attempt to solve this problem, but the results never disappoint.”