Category: Green Building

Exterior view of a modern, energy-efficient home equipped with solar panels on the roof and large, energy-saving windows, surrounded by a landscaped yard with native plants.

Unlock Energy Savings: 10 Pro Tips to Build an Ultra-Efficient Home

dannie

Design your home with passive solar principles to harness the sun’s energy for heating and cooling. Incorporate high-performance insulation and air sealing to minimize thermal bridging and air leakage. Install energy-efficient windows and doors with low-E coatings and insulated frames to reduce heat transfer. Utilize efficient HVAC systems like heat pumps, ERVs, and smart thermostats to optimize comfort and minimize energy waste.
Start with Smart Design

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A collage depicting key elements of the 2023 housing market, including ongoing construction, a sold house sign, and an upward trending mortgage rate graph, set against both suburban and urban backgrounds.

The Housing Market Rollercoaster: 5 Trends Shaping 2023

dannie

The housing market faces a pivotal juncture in 2023 as key trends converge to shape the landscape for buyers, sellers, builders and investors. Spiking mortgage rates stand out as the preeminent force guiding market dynamics this year. The average 30-year fixed rate vaulted from 3.2% at the start of 2022 to over 7% by October, radically altering affordability calculations for prospective buyers. This sharp reversal from pandemic-era record lows sent shockwaves through the market, as many buyers retrenched to the sidelines and transaction volumes plummeted. Dwindling housing inventory exacerbates the affordability crunch. Despite moderating …

Lendlease to Use Vegetable Oil in Its U.K. Construction Projects

dannie

Lendlease, an Australia-based contractor, commits to stop using liquid fossil fuels on its United Kingdom construction spots. It launched a new initiative known as the Alternative Fuels Policy.
It seeks to replace gas with liquid, petrol, and diesel with vegetable oil to power pieces of machinery. The new policy is effective immediately for its latest and existing projects until Jan. 1, 2022.
This scheme is indeed an essential milestone to the company’s goal of total zero-carbon. Presently, the contractor uses about 400,000 liters or 106,000 gallons of diesel every year in the U.K. Completely removing the fuel will cut …

Online Map Showcases Energy-efficient Careers in the Construction Sector

dannie

Employment opportunities that promote energy efficiency are among the fastest-growing in the nation. As time goes by, it becomes more important to combat climate change since space and power conditioning for infrastructures accounts for 40% of all energy usage in the entire United States of America.
Fortunately, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) created the Green Buildings Career Map to help showcase careers related to energy efficiency. It is a highly interactive tool …

Contractors Urged to Work With Owners in Reducing Building Emissions

dannie

The Associated General Contractors of America or AGC noted that while construction activities are only 1% to 2% of artificial greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, the buildings consume nearly 40% of the country’s energy. Thus, the buildings are associated with almost 31% of emissions, as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
AGC thinks that looking for ways to make the construction business more efficient will significantly impact domestic greenhouse …