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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding a second level to its Indoor airPLUS specification for homes and residential buildings. What does this mean for building designers, developers, owners, and property managers that earn the Indoor airPLUS label for their buildings? Below, we have an overview of the changes to expect when Indoor airPLUS version 2 is launched.

If you’re new to Indoor airPLUS and are here looking for ways to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and occupant health as part of your projects, you’re in the right place. We’re starting with an overview of the Indoor airPLUS specification:

Quick Refresher: What is Indoor airPLUS?

Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors, where, according to the EPA, they can be exposed to indoor air pollutants associated with irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat; headaches, dizziness, and fatigue; and respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer. (more…)

New York City buildings over 25,000 square feet must display a Building Energy Efficiency Rating Label, as required by Local Law 33 of 2018 and Local Law 95 of 2019.

Each year, buildings are given new energy efficiency grades based on benchmarking data from the previous calendar year.

New labels are available to building owners every year on October 1. Labels must be downloaded and posted in the lobby of each building by October 31. Failure to display the label by this deadline will result in a violation from the Department of Buildings and fine of $1,250 for applicable buildings.

Keep reading to get answers to all your questions about New York City’s building energy efficiency letter grades and labels from our energy experts. (more…)

To meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, we must make decisions that will result in the greatest near-term carbon savings. This means taking into account both embodied carbon—those upfront emissions associated with the extraction, manufacture, transportation, and assembly of building materials—as well as the carbon that’s emitted over the course of the building’s operational phase.

We can build a high-performance building with very low operational emissions, but if its embodied emissions are so high that even if it’s a net-zero energy building (meaning it has net-zero operational energy consumption) it would take decades for the building to reach net-zero carbon (meaning it has net zero whole-building lifetime carbon emissions), we’re not actually helping to solve the critical issue of near-term carbon.

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Currently, to receive ENERGY STAR® certification for multifamily new construction, you would get your certification through the ENERGY STAR Certified Homes program or the ENERGY STAR Multifamily High Rise program. This may change by early 2020. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a recent statement, multifamily will soon have a single program, rather than splitting them across the Certified Homes program and the Multifamily High Rise program.

“To better serve the multifamily sector, EPA is in the process of creating a single ENERGY STAR multifamily program by merging the current requirements and adopting the most appropriate from each.”

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