National Market Survey for Architects, Engineers, and Design Professionals

Posted on June 6, 2017June 9, 2017 by Sara Smith

The Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) needs insights from architects, engineers, and design professionals across the country. BCAP is conducting a national market evaluation in 2017 to help better inform efforts to develop effective training for design professionals. Our overall goal is to support strong growth in the design industry for the benefit of architects, engineers, and their clients. Participants who complete the market survey will be entered to win one of six $100 Amazon g...

Miami takes the next STEP with solar training for design professionals

Posted on January 11, 2017January 11, 2017 by Kamaria Greenfield

by Kamaria Greenfield, BCAP As of last summer, Florida’s energy code incorporates Section 406 of the 2015 IECC: the Energy Rating Index. This provision – which includes a backstop to ensure an efficient building envelope – represents a huge opportunity to integrate the power of renewable energy into new building designs. With over 100,000 new housing unit permits authorized in 2015 alone, Florida is a state poised to have a huge impact on national building energy usage patterns in the coming ...

Timely Solar Training for Design Professionals Coming Soon

Posted on July 26, 2016January 12, 2017 by Kamaria Greenfield

by Maria Ellingson, BCAP Program Director NOTE: This blog post is part of the SunShot Initiative’s series on solar and real estate. Read all the posts here. Learn more about the SunShot Initiative and register for training hereAmerica’s demand for solar energy is spreading - and fast. In just the last eight years, solar electricity generation has increased 30 fold and solar jobs are growing 12 times faster than the rest of the economy. Recent federal policies are making solar even more favorab...

Measuring The Real Impact Of Building Design

Posted on June 24, 2015May 20, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

Last month, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) had its national annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia. At the convention, BCAP’s President, Maureen Guttman, along with three other architects, gave a presentation on building commissioning to make one thing clear: building commissioning is here to stay and architects have big business opportunities to help shape the future direction of commissioning. In the session, Architects Leading the Commissioning Process, the presenters provid...

Taking a Closer Look at Commercial Construction Data

Posted on April 17, 2015May 18, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

More regional energy efficiency organizations are examining commercial construction data to gain insights into the commercial construction trends and the economic impact of building energy code adoption and implementation on the construction trends. Raw construction data on permits can provide valuable information especially when paired with volume and accuracy. Permit data helps understand the state of both current and future market. It helps understand what kind of impact newer state-level ene...

Outreach to Architects in Pennsylvania

Posted on February 24, 2015May 18, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

by Maria Ellingson, BCAP As often the first point of contact with prospective owners of new homes and buildings, architects are a key influencer in determining the level of energy efficiency that is included in new construction and major renovation projects. But architects have been largely absent from an important issue that’s left Pennsylvania unable to adopt an updated building code. The process for adopting the state building code - the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) - is currentl...

The Architect as Superhero

Posted on December 22, 2014January 5, 2017 by Kamaria Greenfield

Maureen Guttman, President of the Building Codes Assistance Project, exhorts architects to take more responsibility for model energy code adoption and implementation. How can architects build a new world of sustainable communities? By taking more responsibility for model energy code adoption and implementation. At the Hanley Wood Vision 2020 Sustainability Summit, held in conjunction with the 2014 Greenbuild in New Orleans, BCAP President Maureen Guttman encourag...

Moving Building Technology To The Era Of Zero-Energy Buildings

Posted on November 5, 2014May 18, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

Paul Torcellini, principal engineer with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, discusses how we can achieve zero-energy buildings by integrating the cost of energy efficiency into design decisions. This is the first presentation captured from Ecobuilding Review’s 2014 Vision 2020 Sustainability Summit. The original article can be viewed here. For more information on the year-long Vision 2020 project, which aims to establish and tra...

Codes, Standards and Rating Systems

Posted on October 20, 2014May 18, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

Are architects unaware of their legal obligations under licensure, or are they simply negligent? Maureen Guttman, AIA In the United States, national model energy codes were created in response to the energy and economic crises of the 1970s. In 1978, Congress passed the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, which required states that received federal financial assistance to initiate energy efficiency standards for new buildings. In 1992, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act (EPAct), whi...

Closing The Gap Between Architects And Energy

Posted on October 9, 2014June 30, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

In his book Designing Energy Simulation for Architects: Guide to 3D Graphics, published earlier this year, Kjell Anderson explores how architects have become divorced from thinking about how their designs will actually perform--and how we can fix this disconnect. The publication could not be more timely: as building energy codes become stricter (new commercial buildings compliant with ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2013 will have to be nearly 9% more efficient than those under 2010), design professionals ...

Health, Safety, And Welfare Also Includes Building Performance

Posted on May 7, 2014June 27, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

Hanley Wood Sustainability Council members Steven Winter and Maureen Guttman discuss the role of incentives and regulations in moving high-performance building into mainstream practice. By Katie Weeks This article also appeared in EcoBuilding Pulse. What's more successful in moving an industry forward: Carrots or sticks? Or is a specific combination of the two? Since 2012, Hanley Wood has consulted building and architecture experts under its Vision 2020 program to discuss the role of sustain...

Are Architects and Building Professionals Overlooking a Critical Role?

Posted on March 6, 2014August 9, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

Stop avoiding the conversation: Policy makers need to hear from people who design buildings, says the Alliance to Save Energy's Maureen Guttman. by Katie Weeks Maureen Guttman is the vice president for buildings and utilities at the Alliance to Save Energy and the executive director of the organization's Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP). As part of the Hanley Wood Sustainability Council for 2014, she will lead the Vision 2020 initiative in Green Building Codes, Standards + Rating Syste...

Applying 2013 Energy Codes

Posted on February 18, 2014June 27, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

Looking back at this year's green projects, it seems architects should have placed greater concern on energy code compliance.

Engaging More Architects To Meet The Compliance Goal

Posted on January 15, 2014July 20, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

by Seul Rhee While many states have worked hard to adopt the 2009 or 2012 International Energy Conservation Code, implementation and compliance are sometimes overlooked. But that is changing. National, regional, and local focus is shifting to address meeting the 90 percent compliance goal set by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Working with numerous state energy offices (22 states and counting) to investigate and assess a state’s existing energy code infrastructure, one comm...

Understanding (a Few) of the Challenges of Implementing the Energy Code in Existing Buildings

Posted on November 25, 2013June 30, 2016 by Kamaria Greenfield

By Dennis Hidalgo Addressing building energy code compliance has proven to be a difficult task, one that becomes considerably more daunting when the subject is existing buildings. In the past year, BCAP has increased its focus on examining the challenges facing the implementation of the energy code in existing commercial buildings. The countless possibilities in existing building modifications underscore the impact that they can have on building energy performance. Because of this, an emphasis ...