LEED EMF ID Credit Application

LEED EMF Credit Denied
LEED EMF ID Credit Application The USGBC/LEED recently denied an Innovation in Design (ID) credit application for Magnetic Field (EMF) Reduction. This post includes the official LEED EMF ID Credit Application. The following text is in the traditional formal of an ID credit application and request for a Credit Interpretation Ruling (CIR). Unfortunately the USGBC
Read more
No Comments

LEED EMF Credit Denied

LEED denies EMF credit
EMF LEED Credit Citing the need for more research on human health effects, and questioning long-established Building Biology approaches to minimizing electromagnetic fields (EMF), the USGBC and denied a recent application for a EMF LEED Credit. Healthy Building Science was the LEED for Homes (LEED-H) consultant for two residential properties (CA and NH) that intended
Read more
No Comments

Structural Best Practices for a Healthy Home

Structural Best Practices for Healthy Home
This blog expands on an early post about the 25 Principles of Building Biology and the Healthy Home Standard Checklist. Here we’ll start diving into the Indoor Air Quality Checklist, and focus on structural best practices for healthy home. Like so many things… a solid foundation is so important… and following these best practices for
Read more
No Comments

Healthy Building Rating System

Healthy Building Rating System
Healthy Building Rating System Is there a “Healthy Building Rating System?”  I asked the same question five years ago, when Healthy Building Science was just getting off the ground. Having been a LEED and “green building” consultant for many years, I knew of several health-related credits in the major green building rating systems. The major
Read more
No Comments

Envelope Commissioning Guidelines and Standards

Envelope Commissioning Guidelines
Envelope Commissioning Guidelines and Standards include ASHRAE 202P, NIBS Guideline 3, ASTM E2813, and LEEDv4 Enhanced Commissioning credit requirements. The December 2012 issue of Environmental Building News had a great article, Verifying Performance with Building Enclosure Commissioning, that did a great job outlining the differences between traditional mechanical Commissioning (Cx) (HVAC, lighting controls, plumbing, etc) and Building
Read more
No Comments

Building Biology 25 Principles

Building Biology 25 Principles
No one rating system can isolate every possible environmental angle, and the International Institute of Building Biology founders were certainly most interested in human health, but it is hard to imagine a more comprehensive healthy building checklist than what’s provided in the Building Biology 25 Principles. It is quite difficult to incorporate every principle into
Read more
No Comments

German Building Biologist in the US – Leaves Lasting Impression

Building Biologist in the US
Helmut Ziehe is the Building Biologist who brought Building Biology to the United States. Helmut learned Bau-Biologie in Germany from the “mothership.” In Germany he was trained as an environmentally-conscious architect at the Technical University of Berlin, followed by a Master’s Degree from the London School of Architecture. Helmut mastered 5 languages during his life
Read more
1 Comment

Building Enclosure Commissioning

ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005 Commissioning Process
What is the “building enclosure?” The building “enclosure” also known as building “envelope” or building “shell” consists of all the exterior faces of the building, such as foundations, exterior walls and roof. The enclosure manages everything that might get into and out of a building: water, wind, light, sound, air, pests, and people. How the
Read more
No Comments

San Francisco Bay Area Green Building Policies

San Francisco Bay Area Green Building
While we’d prefer everyone adopt green building principles because of carrots… sometimes it takes a stick! This compilation of San Francisco Bay Area Green Building Policies comes from Build It Green, creators of GreenPoint Rated, a residential green building rating system. Local Government Green Building Ordinances in California In recent years, numerous local governments in California
Read more
No Comments

LEED-Homes Overview

LEED-Homes Overview
The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has created a number of “green building ratings systems.” This LEED-Homes Overview addresses the fundamental structure of LEED-H, and outlines the different roles involved in the rating process. While the residential rating system is quite similar to other LEED systems, the players and process for LEED for Homes certification deserves
Read more
No Comments