Energy Certificates, also called Energy Passports, are documents that profile the energy performance of existing and new buildings within the European Union. The program was initiated as part of the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings in January of 2006 and will be mandatory throughout the member countries. The goal is to provide [...]
ECOTECT (Building Performance Simulation Software)
ECOTECT software is designed to aid in the simulation, analysis and optimization of high performance buildings and systems. It is especially useful in the design and delivery of sustainable ‘green’ projects because it allows architects and engineers to test, evaluate and respond to a variety of strategies. The design and performance analysis tools also take [...]
What is (Plug) Load Analysis?
Plug analysis is a method of understanding the energy needs of an individual, family or group. It is an essential part is selecting, sizing, and designing an appropriate renewable energy system for a building. The method is especially significant because of the relatively high cost of many renewable energy systems. Sizing the system to meet [...]
Air-powered scooter leaves city centres cleaner!
An inventor has created what he claims is the world’s first motorcycle powered by fresh air.
Jem Stansfield says his converted Puch moped produces cleaner air than found in many town and city centres and so can actually reduce pollution.
“It actually fires out cleaner air,” said 37-year-old Stansfield, who used to be a sheep herder.
The University [...]
Where did all those balloons come from?
Enjoy this commercial is produced by the Alliance for Climate Protection. It has a refreshing twist on the old carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas emission message… a highly visual one. I bet if people saw black balloons filled with greenhouse gas coming out of their appliances the world would have no problems with global warming. At least [...]
The Power of Wind
What a great commercial. Let’s put wind energy to work.
Earth Tubes
This ultra-low tech energy saving system first caught Greenline’s attention when a mechanical engineer proposed one for a Ziger/Snead building.
With contemporary buildings so well sealed from the outside, indoor air quality suffers from a lack of fresh air. As a result, national building codes began to require that hvac systems bring in a minimum [...]
Cogeneration - Have Your Electricity and Heat it Too.
Cogeneration has been in the news a bit more lately and it seemed like it was time for Greenline to offer a primer.
So what exactly is “congeneration?” In general terms, it’s system which provides both heat and electricity from the same source of fuel. Such systems often take advantage of what would normally be [...]
What is Energy Recovery Ventilation? And why should I care?
Energy Recovery Ventilation (ERV) refers to the recapture of energy typically lost through the building ventilation process. Conditioned air that is routinely being exhausted from both residential and commercial buildings contains significant energy in the form of heat or coolth and humidity which is lost into the exterior environment. As part of a preconditioning process, [...]
376.59 Miles Per Gallon Car Sets World Record (in 1973)
The Toyota Prius is a nice car. It’s also tops in fuel efficiency according to the EPA. (See their list of best and worst mileage cars in America for details.) Still, it doesn’t hold a candle compared to our contender. What do you ask could unseat the Prius from it’s green throne? Perhaps a futuristic [...]
Glimakra House: Sweden’s First Svanen Certified House
The Gilmakra House is the first of many new residences designed to meet the Nordic Svanen Miljomark certification of environmental and social sustainability. Features of these homes include super insulated envelopes, earth tubes to precondition outdoor air, solar electric / hot water panels, super efficient appliances, insulated glazing oriented to take advantage of solar radiation, [...]
The San Francisco Federal Building: A High Performance Sustainable Workplace?
The U.S. Federal Building in San Francisco is one of the General Services Administration’s (GSAs) most visible attempts at designing a high performance government building. The project is one of many started following the 1993 adoption of the “Design Excellence Program,” in which the federal government sought to “reach into the private sector to find [...]
Biodiesel Univerity Mobile Classroom
The Biodiesel University is a mobile classroom which has been retrofitted to run on biodiesel and will travel around the country educating people about sustainable energy options. The project is the brainchild of Dan Goodman of the Digman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland. Also collaborating on the project is the Maryland Institute [...]
Smith House: A Passive House in Illinois
The Smith House, located in Urbana Illinois, is an all electric house built to the German Passive House Building Standard. To achieve the passive standard, architect and owner, Katrin Klingenberg, created a clean, efficient and comfortable house design using many of the passive house design strategies used in German model buildings. She describes the house [...]
Waldsee BioHaus: First Certified Passive House in the U.S.
In 2006, the Waldsee BioHaus became the first building in the United States to be certified with the German Passive House Building Standard. The house, built at the German Concordia Language Village of Waldsee in Bemidji Minnesota, uses about 85% less energy than a house designed to meet the Minnesota Energy Code. For that reason, [...]