Blog

After years of inspecting multifamily housing developments across the country for compliance with regulatory requirements for accessible design and construction, our accessibility team has compiled a list of common violations that could easily have been avoided before construction even began.

Massachusetts has stretched its energy code since 2009, making it the first state to implement a stricter, above-code option. This occurred as part of the Green Communities Act, where municipalities are provided financial and technical support if they meet specific…

The main reason so many programs are pushing heat pumps is to avoid greenhouse gas emissions. Burning fossil fuels emits CO2, and CO2 is a greenhouse gas. But the refrigerants used in most heat pumps we’re installing are also potent…

Thermal energy demand intensity—or TEDI—is the new kid on the block for evaluating building performance and has worked its way into several major building codes in North America.

Our accessibility consultants are constantly on the lookout for new products that will make it easier for our clients to comply with accessibility criteria while meeting their overarching design goals.

Maryland is implementing a state-wide Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS) for buildings 35,000 square feet and over as a requirement under the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. Let’s take a look at what we know so far.

Projects targeting Passive House certification must comply fully with all applicable accessibility requirements.

We like to say that a building is not sustainable if it does not sustain the health and wellbeing of all its occupants. This includes considering how the materials, technologies, and building systems affect indoor air quality, comfort, and the…

EPA is adding a second level to its Indoor airPLUS specification for homes and residential buildings: Indoor airPLUS version 2. What changes should we expect?

SWA has come across several challenges and learned a lot through our benchmarking data verification efforts. While some of the data corrections may be unique to the buildings, some are more general. Here are five of the issues we’ve seen…

Cooking inside your home or apartment produces contaminants, and without an exhaust strategy, pollutants remain inside and diminish indoor air quality.

When ventilation systems are designed correctly, but installed, commissioned, and operated incorrectly, the system ends up being leaky and inefficient and uses more energy than expected.