The picture of U.S. electricity usage has changed dramatically over the last few decades. In 1950, total electricity usage was 288 billion kilowatt hours. In 2001, the electricity used by U.S. households alone was nearly four times that, totaling 1,140 billion kilowatt hours. So what gives? Where does all of that juice go? And what are the factors that are contributing to that increased consumption? [Read this article]
Jerry Yudelson is about as green as they come. In his more than 25 years of work in sustainability, he has been a member of the U.S. Green Building Council’s board of directors, a LEED national faculty member, and is the co-founder and director of the Green Building Service consulting unit at Portland General Electric. So what does the industry insider have to say about where things are going? “The construction industry is going to have modest growth this year,” Yudelson said in a webinar on GreenExpo365. “It seems that most people have figured out that the sky isn’t going to fall in and they are going to get back to doing business…but with an emphasis on what I call ‘frugal green.’ In the past there was a feeling that you could spend money to add green features. I think today the real challenge for construction and design professionals is ‘How do I do this on the same budget?’ and I think that’s the core trend.” Yudelson unveiled a list of 10 other green megatrends destined for growth in 2012, both in the U.S. and abroad. And while, like the rest of the home building industry, green building will certainly face headwinds, the market is poised for growth, he says. [Read this article]
A new study has found that being able to purchase a rooftop solar panel system is often a privilege of the affluent, but that leasing rooftop solar panel systems is an increasingly popular option for those who simply don’t have the money to pay up front. If you have the money to lease a rooftop solar panel system, you’re not only helping the environment, but, within just a year after you start, you can start saving money. The real benefit for those leasing a system is seen over the next few decades of their contract, where third-party companies are touting household savings of up to $10,000 to $15,000 over two decades. How? Because as you pay a constant $40 or $50 per month lease on the solar panels, the cost of electricity is going up, saving you money. The study was conducted by analysts from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, who found that leasing solar panels is surging in southern California and is especially being adopted by those in ‘less-affluent’ neighborhoods where households are earning between $100,000 and $150,000 a year. [Read this article]
Along with solar panels, so called “green” bamboo floors are another stereotypical material that people latch onto when thinking about green homes. In the same way that those solar panels won’t make your house green all by themselves, neither will calling in a flooring contractor to install bamboo floors, unless, of course, you do everything else right. No product in itself will make a home green, and, in fact, you don’t necessarily need to use “green” products to make a home green. With the exception of a few very toxic materials, almost any common building products, when used properly as part of the whole house system, can contribute to a green home. You can put in all the green materials you want into a house, but if you don’t build it right, it will never be green. Generally, bamboo floors are a good, sustainable product. But the real reason bamboo won’t make your house green is that the finish flooring is only a small part of a green home. Green building includes energy efficiency, indoor air quality, durability, resource efficiency, water efficiency, reduced impact on the community and the site, and educating homeowners so they know how to manage them to remain efficient, healthy, and durable. [Read this article]
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has announced the top 10 states for LEED-certified building space per capita in 2011, but none of the top 10 states is even close to the amount of LEED-certified space in the nation’s capital. According to the USGBC, Washington, D.C., had 31.50 square feet of LEED-certified property per capita last year, putting it well ahead of the top 10 states. “Although Washington, D.C., is a very small geographic area compared to U.S. states, the District packs in a substantial amount of green buildings due in part to the tremendous leadership from the federal government (nearly 30 percent of all LEED projects are government-owned or occupied LEED buildings, and the federal government alone owns and operates some 500,000 buildings). After removing D.C. from the data, the state of Colorado came out on top with 13.8 million square feet of LEED-certified space in 2011. [Read this article]
The nation will be more energy independent in the future as it boosts its production of oil, natural gas and renewable power such as solar and wind, the U.S. government predicted. Domestic crude oil production is expected to jump more than 20% in the coming decade, from 5.5 million barrels per day in 2010 to 6.7 million barrels per day in 2020 – a level not seen since 1994, according to an annual forecast released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Also, U.S. production of natural gas is projected to increase so much that it will exceed consumption early in the next decade. Renewables will take off, too, accounting for 16% of the U.S. electric supply in 2025 – up from 10% today. As a result, the U.S. will import less energy. Net imports will account for 13% of total energy consumption in 2035, down from 22% in 2010. “These projections reflect increased energy efficiency throughout the economy…and projected slow economic growth,” EIA’s Acting Administrator Howard Gruenspecht said. [Read this article]
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