The International Builders’ Show returns to Orlando, Florida, next week. As always, hundreds of manufacturers will be on hand showcasing new products for residential contractors, including an array of options for sustainably minded builders. Here’s a look at 11 green products that will be on display. [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]

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]

Along with 15 partners, the U.S. Green Building Council today released a report that recommends nearly three dozen executive actions across 23 agency programs where the Obama Administration can drive the economic and environmental benefits of green building without new legislation. The report, Better Buildings Through Executive Action: Leveraging Existing Authorities to Promote Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Multifamily, Residential and Commercial Buildings, builds on a 2010 report that identified nearly 100 legal authority opportunities across 30 existing federal programs worth more than $72 billion to improve energy efficiency in U.S. building stock. Partners included The Real Estate Roundtable, HDR, Schneider Electric, Johnson Controls, Enterprise Community Partners, Natural Resources Defense Council, United Technologies Corporation, Lennar Homes, Energy Foundation, Ingersoll Rand, Siemens, National Association of State Energy Officials, The Center for American Progress, National Housing Conference and Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International. “Identifying and implementing these new opportunities could create more than a million green building retrofit jobs and save Americans $130 billion a year,” said Jason Hartke, Vice President, National Policy, USGBC. [Read this article]

Earth Advantage Institute, a nonprofit green building resource that has certified more than 12,000 homes, announced its annual prediction of 10 green building trends to watch in 2012. The trends, which range from a boom in certified multi-family construction to the advent of consumer friendly home energy technology, were identified by Earth Advantage Institute based on discussions with a broad range of audiences over the latter part of 2011. These sectors included policymakers, builders, developers, architects, real estate brokers, appraisers, lenders, and homeowners. “While the economy has not been kind to most new home builders, we have seen a surging interest in home energy management and energy improvement among homeowners,” said Sean Penrith, executive director, Earth Advantage Institute. “Those builders and remodelers who have adopted a transparent green message have been quite successful.” [Read this article]

The Consumer Electronics Show is partly a playground for inventors and partly a glimpse into what technologies consumers will actually adopt in the next few years. Into the first category fall gyro-stabilized electric unicycles, a human-powered hydrofoil and 3-D pet portraits. It seems that home energy management, on the other hand, has finally landed in the second. The home energy management ecosystem is rife with competition across the entire value chain, creating a range of viable solutions for consumers. Zigbee and Sigma Designs have developed standards that enable stand-alone devices to become intelligent networked nodes that can be controlled and monitored wirelessly. This enables interoperability between home entertainment, security systems, lighting, HVAC systems and appliances. Utilities and service providers like NRG, Verizon and ADT are fully embracing home energy management and providing easy ways for consumers to get started and go deeper if they so choose. Service providers are also offering ways for consumers to better understand the connection between their monthly bill and their energy use. [Read this article]