Tag Archives: LEED/green design

New Energy Code for North Carolina (Tues Tip)

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energy efficient light bulbs

Did you know that new energy-efficient building rules will be required for commercial and residential construction starting in March 2012?  The new rules, passed by the NC Building Code Council last week,  are designed to promote green buildings, lower consumers’ energy bills and cut the state’s carbon emissions. 

The News and Observer reports the vote came with a highly unusual requirement – orchestrated by homebuilders and   Gov. Bev Perdue’s office – that the council make amendments to the residential code that will offset the cost of    achieving the higher standards for homes.

(Thanks to North Carolina Construction News for highlighting this new regulation).

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Photo: “Bright Idea”  by Mike Bitzenhofer via Flickr/Creative Commons license.

wind turbine

NC Green Contractors & Professionals Directory (Tue Tip)

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wind turbineUpdate 3/9/2017: The NC Solar Center is now the NC Clean Energy Technology Center.  When last visited, the Professional Directory was no longer active.

Considering a Renewable Energy project?  Professional who specializes in green construction?  Either way, check out the North Carolina Green Professional Directory, published (with disclaimers) by the NC Solar Center.  The directory is searchable by professional type, by green technology, and by location, and professionals who qualify can apply to be added to the directory.

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Photo from NC Solar Center

Greening the Cities- free webinar

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Interested in how to “Green” our Cities?  Attend a free web seminar to learn from top experts.  Entitled “Retrofitting Cities: How to “Green” the Cities We’ve Got”, the live webinar will be held this Monday, November 22nd at 1pm ET.  (Event free but registration required).

The webinar is hosted by the Sustainable Cities Collective, and it is presenting the discussion “to explore the ideas that could make retrofitting the low-hanging fruit of urban re-engineering,” including:

  • Transit networks and mobility hubs
  • Improving energy use in buildings
  • Bike infrastructure, bike-sharing, and more
  • Efficient electric grids
  • Small-scale solar power and other alternative energy sources
  • Funding: Where will the money come from? Can solutions like public-private partnerships help fill the gap?

(hat tip to Chris Cheatham, Green Building Law Update blogger and seminar speaker, who alerted me to the webinar)

LEED, HealthyBuilt Homes, and Green Building classes (Tues Tip)

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pencil

More classes from the NC Solar Center to help get you up to speed on the latest in green construction building in North Carolina.  This time, 3 half-day workshops in Raleigh:

11/3  Morning:  NC HealthyBuilt Homes (HBH) Program Orientation – an intro to HealthyBuilt Homes, statewide residential green building certificate program

11/3  Afternoon:  LEED for Homes Program Orientation – an intro to LEED for Homes, a national residential green building certificate program

11/4  Afternoon:  Green Residential Verifier/Inspector Basics Workshop – a workshop on  best practices as a “green verifier” for the various residential green building programs in North Carolina

Will you be attending one or more of these classes?  If so, drop me a line and let me know what you think of the courses you take.  Know of a course or class that might interest construction professionals in North Carolina?  Let me know in the comments below.

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Photo “pencil” by [email protected] via Creative Commons licnese. 

Wind Energy and Green Homes training (Tues Tip)

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solar center logoThe NC Solar Center (at NC State University) is hosting two week-long courses October 11-15 in Raleigh.

The first course is Renewable Electric Generation with Small Wind.  This workshop focuses on residential wind energy, but also touches on general concepts of electric generation with wind turbines. Utility and community scale wind facilities will be discussed.  At the end of the week, the class will take-down and install a Skystream 3.7 residential wind turbine. Credits: AIA, PDHs, GBCI CEs.

The second course is entitled Designing and Building a Sustainable Home or Small Building .  This workshop (part of the Green Building Diploma Series) covers integrated design concepts, green building programs, materials selection, building envelope, passive solar, and ventilation and indoor air quality.  

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Know of a seminar, workshop, or other training for construction professionals in North Carolina?  Drop me a line!