Thermal Mass | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

Green Building is for Conservatives: A Financial Case

By Andrew Michler on July 30, 2010 1 Comment actual loads, advanced framing, building plan, energy efficiency, energy prices, environment, green building, IEQ, indoor environmental quality, Leadership in Efficient and Environmental Design, LEED, LEED commercial buildings, Mark Benjamin PE, over engineer, productivity, reduce risk, thermal mass, United States Green Building Council, USGBC

Our buildings are central to our lives, and we put a tremendous amount of our wealth and skills into making them. The modern green building movement is a highly tuned, intensive, and measured approach to building that values efficiency, health and durability.The success of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has not been based on their radical agenda but on the practical results of the types of building they have helped shape. The improvement in productivity in LEED commercial buildings alone can pay for the entire building. These large projects have demonstrated the value gained by investing in green building principles

The Green Economy’s Living Skin

By Chris de Morsella on August 24, 2009 3 Comments "Energy Saving Potentials and Air Quality Benefits of Urban Heat Island Mitigation", "Thermal Performance of Green Roofs through Field Evaluation", air pollution, brownfield restoration, Climate Change, CO2, concrete jungle, Department of Energy, DOE, energy, energy efficiency, environmental footprint, evapotranspiration, global warming, green design, green economy, green parking lots, green roofs, green walls, heat wave Europe 2003, heat waves, insulation, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, National Research Council of Canada, natural environment, natural habitat, peak energy demand, potable water, shade trees, shading, smog, South Coast Air Quality Management District, sustainable economy, thermal mass, urban design, urban forest, urban habitat, urban heat island, water pollution, water quality, Water Scarcity, wetland restoration

Green roofs, green walls, green parking lots, shade trees, the greening of urban spaces in general, the restoration of urban waterways, wetlands and the re-greening of brownfield areas; can all be thought of as different techniques to nurture a green living skin over regions of urban development. While there are many important differences between each of these separate techniques as well as their underlying technologies they all share a common overarching goal of bringing an analog of the natural living green skin that characterizes the natural landscape back into our urban areas. They all promote the restoration and re-integration of these heavily populated areas back into the surrounding natural environment.

Geothermal Heat Pumps: Good for the Bottom Line, Good for the Nation and Good for the Earth

By Chris de Morsella on June 1, 2009 17 Comments air conditioning, American Physical Society, and Actions to Overcome Barriers, Asia, Barriers to Adoption, Department of Energy, desuperheater, DOE, energy efficiency, energy saving, Energy Star, Europe, Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency, Geothermal (Ground-Source) Heat Pumps: Market Status, geothermal heat pump, geothermal units, GHP, GHP infrastructure, ground-source heat pump, heat pump, heating, hot water, How America can look within to achieve energy security and reduce global warming, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, peak demand, renewable energy, solar energy, tax credit, thermal mass, US, wind energy

Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs), also known as ground-source heat pumps, are similar to ordinary heat pumps, but use the thermally stable mass of the earth below the ground instead of outside air to provide heating, air conditioning and, in most cases hot water as well. Because these systems use the earth’s natural reservoir of stable temperatures, they are among the most efficient and comfortable heating and cooling technologies around. GHPs can save substantial amounts of energy and significantly reduce peak demand in buildings that incorporate them.