By submitting your email, you gain access to hundreds of BuildingGreen articles about green building and innovations and agree that BuildingGreen may send you communications with updates about sustainable design and construction. You may unsubscribe at any time. Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply.
Your email address is safe with us
Thousands of architects, designers, and engineers trust our research and advice... you can trust us with your email address.
BuildingGreen will never share or sell your contact information.
Your email address is safe with us
Thousands of LEED professionals trust our research and advice... you can trust us with your email address.
LEEDuser will never share or sell your contact information.
Loading, please wait a moment...
destination: /, mode: buy
You already have a BuildingGreen account — please enter your password:
Your reset password email has been sent.
Click here to send a password reset link to
Loading...
You are already entitled to LEEDuser premium access through .
To get started, create a personal profile. This will give you full access to LEEDuser Premium through .To get the free reports, please create a personal profile
Loading...
Create your account to join
The most trusted voice in sustainable architecture and design
For more than 25 years BuildingGreen has never accepted ads or sponsorship, making us an unbiased resource you can count on.
“I’ve relied on BuildingGreen for over a decade—it’s one of the most reputable sources for cutting edge green building news & product research.’
—Mara Baum, Sustainability Director, HOK
Thank you for signing up for LEEDuser
IMPORTANT: Please check your email to verify your account.
You are now part of ’s group.
Watch your email for tips from our experts on getting the most from LEEDuser.com.
Here are three special reports you can use today:
Can We Replace Foam Insulation? – There are a lot of reasons to avoid foam, but its high performance can make it a hard habit to kick, as designers are finding out.
How WELL Got Green Building’s Groove Back – WELL is the hottest four-letter word in sustainable design. But will it work to the benefit or the detriment of green building?
20 Ways to Advance Sustainability in the Next Four Years – In this age of political revolution and environmental urgency, it’s time to step back and take a look at priorities, challenges, and opportunities. Here’s our founder Alex Wilson’s take on the best ways to advance sustainability.
Explore and analyze design alternatives for energy use analyses to compare the cost-effectiveness of your design choices. For example, do you get better overall performance from a better window or from adding a PV panel? Will demand-control ventilation outperform increased ceiling insulation?
Further develop energy optimization strategies with the design team. Look at reducing loads while creating a comfortable environment within the shell. Look at reducing east and west exposures, and at providing south windows with exterior shades to make a design feature out of passive techniques. Discuss highly efficient system design at this stage, before your design is finalized—for example:
Encourage your design team to brainstorm design innovations and energy-reduction strategies. This provides a communication link among team members so they can make informed decisions.
Consider a broad range of energy-efficiency strategies and tools, including passive solar, daylighting, cooling-load reduction, and natural ventilation to reduce heating and cooling loads.
Consider highly efficient systems like heat pumps for heating and cooling, district energy and cogeneration, ice storage for off-peak cooling, or energy recovery ventilation—to attain a substantial energy reduction of 10%-20%.
Your mechanical engineer and energy modeler need to work in collaboration with the architect when finalizing building form, façade treatment, and programming—to give real-time input on the energy impact of all the design features.
Follow the guidelines on identifying energy-efficiency strategies to achieve the owner’s energy efficiency goals per the Owner’s Project Requirements, developed for EAp1: Fundamental Commissioning.
Projects generating renewable energy onsite should use Option 1 to best demonstrate EAp2 compliance and maximize points under EAc1. Other options are possible but won’t provide as much benefit.
