Industry News



 

11/14/2012

More Green, Less LEED?

 
The focus on green and sustainable continues to increase, but will certifcation programs take a hit moving into 2013?

Turner Construction Company has announced the results of a new Market Barometer survey focused on green building and sustainable practices in general. Key findings revealed that companies remain committed to constructing green buildings. While executives remained committed to incorporating sustainable building practices into their building programs, fewer said their companies were likely to seek LEED certification from the US Green Building Council when constructing a green building. 

Brightening Outlook for Construction Projects
Among real estate owners, developers, and corporate owner-occupants, 64% said they expect to undertake new construction projects over the next 12 months (up from 46% in the 2010 survey), and 71% said they expect to undertake renovation projects over the same period (up from 58% in the 2010 survey).

Widespread Commitment to Sustainable Practices
Ninety percent of respondents said their companies were committed to environmentally-sustainable practices. Of that percentage, 56% of executives said their companies were extremely or very committed to following environmentally-sustainable practices in their operations, while an additional 34% said they were somewhat committed.  In addition to citing financial reasons for this commitment, executives were most likely to cite broader considerations as extremely or very important including belief that it's the 'right thing to do,' (68%), impact on brand/reputation (67%), and customer requirements (61%), along with cost savings (66%).

Reducing Energy Costs and Operating Expenses are the Key Drivers to Green Construction
Executives were most likely to cite financial factors as being important to their companies' decisions on whether to incorporate green features in a construction project. Respondents indicated that energy efficiency (84%) and ongoing operations and maintenance costs (84%) were extremely or very important to their decisions.

More than two-thirds of executives also said that non-financial factors were extremely or very important including indoor air quality (74%), health and well-being of occupants (74%), satisfaction of employees/occupants (69%) and employee productivity (67%). However, only 37% of executives said it was extremely or very important to their companies to minimize the carbon footprint of their buildings.

This suggests that the decision to incorporate green features is driven by a desire to reduce cost followed by an interest to improve the indoor environment for building occupants, rather than broader concerns about the impact of buildings on the global environment.


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Lower costs. Increase operational efficiency. Detect problems before they're problems. Johnson Controls is reinventing building efficiency.

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Lower costs. Increase operational efficiency. Detect problems before they're problems. Johnson Controls is reinventing building efficiency.

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Sloan Performance Also Comes in White

Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating is transforming HVAC with advanced Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning solutions that totally redefine efficiency. VRF zoning systems offer lower lifecycle costs, less maintenance, better performance and reliability which lead to increased overall building efficiency. And all at a price that fits within your budget. Let Mitsubishi Electric help you redefine your HVAC efficiency as well as what you can achieve in your buildings.
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Lower costs. Increase operational efficiency. Detect problems before they're problems. Johnson Controls is reinventing building efficiency.

Learn more .

Lower costs. Increase operational efficiency. Detect problems before they're problems. Johnson Controls is reinventing building efficiency.

Learn more .

Lower costs. Increase operational efficiency. Detect problems before they're problems. Johnson Controls is reinventing building efficiency.

Learn more .

We Can Help You Reduce Energy by 30%

Our mission is to help our customers manage their buildings' energy costs, improve reliability, and enhance performance while having a positive impact on the environment.
CLICK HERE to find out how.

Need portable cooling?

Rent or buy spot coolers from full-service locations nationwide. On call “24/7”. Primary, supplemental or emergency cooling. Atlas Sales & Rentals, Inc., or call (800) 972-6600.

Click here for more info

Sloan Performance Also Comes in White

Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating is transforming HVAC with advanced Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning solutions that totally redefine efficiency. VRF zoning systems offer lower lifecycle costs, less maintenance, better performance and reliability which lead to increased overall building efficiency. And all at a price that fits within your budget. Let Mitsubishi Electric help you redefine your HVAC efficiency as well as what you can achieve in your buildings.
Learn more www.mitsubishipro.com/redefined
05/16/2013
Net-zero is often on the facility management radar as technology allows for increasingly efficient energy management strategies and techniques.  But could net-zero become the real deal for homeowners as well?
05/15/2013
Walmart has announced that it will conduct in-depth safety inspections at 100% of the factories in Bangladesh that produce goods for the retailer. The company will complete all reviews within six months and will publicly release the names and inspection information on all 279 factories. As a result, workers in these facilities can be assured of safer working conditions, and the entire market will be lifted to a new standard.
05/09/2013

The struggle to obtain maximum temperature comfort for building tenants at an affordable cost has long been a challenge in the commercial real estate market. With new commercial HVAC technology coming into the marketplace every day, the innovative performance of two-stage water source heat pumps are starting to become more widely accepted for achieving maximum comfort at minimum cost. 

05/08/2013
A longtime concern of the facility manager, electrical fires are a persistent issue for home structures and buildings. 

The Home Electrical Fires report estimates that an electrical failure or malfunction factored in 45,000 to 55,000 home structure fires reported to the U.S. fire departments every year since 2000.
05/06/2013

An old microwave oven headed for the dumpster may lead to significant developments on the solar energy front.  Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction.
05/01/2013
Do You Smell That? Odor complaints are the most challenging problems I am asked to solve as an Indoor Air Quality Professional.  Often only one or two of the building’s occupants out of 50 or 100 can detect the odor
04/29/2013
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the winner of its third-annual Energy Star National Building Competition. More than 3,000 schools, businesses, and government buildings across the country competed to see which could reduce its energy use the most in one year—and a New Jersey elementary school emerged victorious.
04/25/2013
The microbial population in the air of the New York City subway system is nearly identical to that of ambient air on the city streets.
04/25/2013

The United States ranked first among 21 countries most actively using the tax code to influence sustainable corporate activity, according to the inaugural edition of the KPMG Green Tax Index, reflecting the country's extensive and long-established program of federal tax incentives for energy generally, including specific incentives for energy efficiency, renewable energy and green buildings.

04/24/2013

Let this stat sink in: 98% of lamp's energy goes to lighting the street instead of the night sky. 

Streetlights illuminate the night, shining upon roadways and sidewalks across the world, but these ubiquitous elements of the urban environment are notoriously inefficient and major contributors to light pollution that washes out the night sky. Recent innovations in light emitting diodes (LEDs) have improved the energy efficiency of streetlights, but, until now, their glow still wastefully radiated beyond the intended area.

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