Green
Building Technology
Creating environmentally sustainable buildings calls for integrated designs encompassing a "whole system" approach.
The range of "green" design features is very diverse, with options that include energy efficient materials, passive solar considerations, and structural and mechanical components. These all work together to create a building that is attractive and functional, saves utility costs over the life of the structure, and has minimal impact on the environment. The use of active solar features such as photovoltaics and thermal panels, as well as reclaimed and recycled materials, are increasingly popular in green building construction.
The overall energy use and efficiency of building features, materials, and design can be accurately predicted with Energy-10, a sophisticated software program that analyzes hundreds of variables for architects and builders. Energy-10, created by former CRES President Doug Balcomb, a Senior Research Fellow at NREL, has saved millions of dollars in utility costs in thousands of buildings, and is rapidly becoming an industry standard.
Since over 20% of our nation's overall energy consumption is used for residential heating and cooling, encouraging green building construction and retrofitting can make significant inroads in reducing fossil fuel consumption, air pollution, and, most importantly, create more comfortable interior spaces for our families with modest use of resources.
The CRES Buildings Committee is one of the largest and most active in our organization, and that group coordinates the Denver Tour of Solar Homes. Many CRES members work for companies that provide green building consulting, construction, sales, and maintenance, and some of those firms are sponsors of our Society. We encourage you to contact them with any questions and project ideas.
Green and Sustainable Building Links
CRES
Green Building Sponsors
Boulder Energy Conservation Center
http://www.conservationcenter.org
Built Green Colorado
www.builtgreen.org
Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association
http://www.coseia.org/
Colorado Energy Science Center
http://www.energyscience.org/
E*Star Colorado
http://www.e-star.com/
US DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network
http://www.eren.doe.gov/EE/buildings.html
http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings/
Building Environmental Science and Technology
http://www.energybuilder.com/
BuildingGreen.com
http://www.buildinggreen.com/
Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development
http://www.sustainable.doe.gov/
CREST/REPP
http://crest.org/
US DOE's Pollution Prevention by Design
http://www.pnl.gov/doesustainabledesign/
E-Build
http://www.ebuild.com/
EcoIQ Green Building Online Resource Guide
http://www.ecoiq.com/greendesign/index.html
ECOMALL A Place to Help Save the Earth
http://www.ecomall.com/
Environmental Building News
http://www.buildinggreen.com/
Environmental Protection Agency: Indoor Air Quality
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/
Envirosense
http://www.envirosense.org/
EPA's Energy Star Program
http://www.energystar.gov/
Greenbuilder.com: Green Building Professionals Directory
http://www.greenbuilder.com/
Green Building Concepts
http://www.greenconcepts.com/
Green Building Information Council (Canada)
http://greenbuilding.ca/
Green Building Resource Center
http://www.greendesign.net/
Green Building Resource Guide,
home of Salvaged Building Materials Exchange
http://www.greenguide.com/
GreenCommunities.com
http://www.greencommunities.com/
Habitat for Humanity International's Environmental Initiative
http://www.habitat.org/env/
National Energy Raters Association
http://www.energyraters.org/
Oikos Green Building Source
http://oikos.com
Rocky Mountain Institute
http://rmi.org
Solar Energy International, Carbondale, CO
http://www.solarenergy.org/
Sustainable Buildings Industry Council
http://www.sbicouncil.org/home/index.html
SustainableBusiness.com
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/
Sustainable Communities Network
http://www.sustainable.org/
United States Green Building Council
http://www.usgbc.org/
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