Author Archives: Allison Webster

Boston’s New Building Energy Disclosure Law Boosts Property Portfolios

Posted on February 28, 2013 | 1 Comment

On February 22, the Boston Globe published an article on Boston’s new building energy disclosure ordinance. Here is NEEP’s response, submitted as a letter to the editor:

“We, at NEEP, were delighted to see the article regarding Mayor Menino’s proposed building energy reporting ordinance [Menino takes on Boston buildings' energy use, 2.22.2013] featured on the front page of the Globe. We couldn’t agree more with the mayor’s commitment to high performance buildings and building energy disclosure as a means to tackle aggressive energy and GHG reduction goals. This law is a huge win for everyone and will make Boston’s real estate portfolio even more attractive and lucrative to investors. Continue reading →

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Time is Savings-Connecticut’s Building Code Conundrum

Posted on February 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Last week, a damaging bill (HB 5749) for building energy efficiency was heard in Connecticut. The bill describes itself as attempting to “save resources” for the Nutmeg State and creates a “more consistent State Building Code,” when in fact it would accomplish neither! Here is NEEP’s written testimony against the bill.

HB 5749, if passed, would have Connecticut revise the State Building Code only every six years! NEEP strongly recommends that all states update their state building and energy codes at least every three years, corresponding with the International Code Council’s (ICC) update cycle. It’s the surest way to align a state building code with the latest developments in building technologies and practices, and achieve the energy and cost savings, not to mention life/safety requirements, the codes are designed for.

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Mass. Pilot on Commercial Building Asset Rating Yields Exciting Findings

Posted on February 9, 2013 | Leave a comment
Two public buildings participated in Phase 1 of the BAR pilot – Cambridge City Hall Annex (left) and the McCormack State Office Building, in downtown Boston (right).

BAR pilot participant – Cambridge City Hall Annex

Determining a commercial building’s asset rating (see sidebar) is a time-consuming process involving multiple site visits, meticulous data collection, engineers and energy modeling, and can cost anywhere from $15-30,000 per building! All of this begs the question: Is there a faster, cheaper, more effective way of evaluating a building’s energy performance? Continue reading →

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Posted in NEEP Policy Highlights

With Tools in Hand – Mainers Fight for Safe, Affordable & Comfortable Buildings

Posted on March 2, 2012 | 2 Comments

Buildings are our nation’s biggest energy guzzlers, using 40% of our energy and 70% of our electricity.

As the nation makes strides to improve the energy performance of its building stock, one effective method of doing this is with building energy codes. Building energy codes play a central role in creating a sustainable energy future by significantly reducing building energy use and ensuring safe and affordable dwellings for its businesses and citizens.

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Up to $240K Available: “Consulting Services for Raising the BAR (Building Asset Rating)”

Posted on December 14, 2011 | 2 Comments

NEEP, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), is seeking proposals for innovative methodologies that can help reduce the time and cost of data collection.

Operational ratings for buildings, which are based on actual energy use (i.e. energy billing data), are great, but don’t paint the full picture of a building’s true energy performance. To help connect the dots, asset ratings evaluate the energy performance of a building based on the thermal envelope (e.g. insulation, windows) and mechanical and electrical systems, irrespective of tenant behavior. Asset ratings are designed to facilitate direct comparisons of energy performance among similar buildings, and in turn educate stakeholders and enable the real estate market to value energy performance, thereby increasing investments in energy efficiency. Continue reading →

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Zero Net Energy Buildings – A Pathway to Energy Independence and Disaster Preparedness

Posted on November 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

Over the past six months, the Northeast has been hammered with unexpected and extreme weather.  Tornadoes tore through Western Massachusetts in June and Hurricane Irene wreaked havoc throughout the entire region in August, devastating Vermont with the worst flooding they’ve seen in 84 years.  We also felt the strongest earthquake to rattle the region since World War II, and last month’s October snowstorm left a reported three million on the East Coast without power.  The image below of Connecticut Light & Power (CL&P)’s power outage map, taken on the morning of October 30, begins to illustrate the stark and extensive aftereffects of these storms. During the peak of the outage 830,000 customers were left in the dark: no lights, no heat, no water…and in some towns for as long as 10 days. These events force communities and government to seriously grapple with, and possibly rethink, emergency preparedness plans. Continue reading →

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Posted in Best Practices, Buildings

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Energy Guides for Buildings? It’s Coming!

Posted on August 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

First adopted over a decade ago in Australia and Denmark, mandatory building energy rating policies are now in place in over 30 countries worldwide. Fundamentally, rating and disclosure is pretty straightforward – we see the concept applied every day in nutritional labels on food, fuel economy stickers on cars and energy labels on appliances. Unfortunately for buildings, slapping on an energy rating label isn’t as easy as this photo illustrates and unlike national labeling requirements for vehicles or appliances, rating and disclosure policy requirements for buildings will vary substantially between jurisdictions. Continue reading →

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What is ASHRAE Standard 90.2?

Posted on June 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007

— In the world of advanced building energy codes, it’s a major disappointment.

ASHRAE 90.2 is a Residential Energy Standard published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) that provides guidance for meeting minimum energy efficiency requirements in low-rise residential buildings (single family to multi-family). And in its current draft, 90.2 is under ASHRAE committee review.

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