LEED v4 Changes – What to Expect

LEEDv4 Changes
LEED v4 Changes We’ve been using LEED as a tool to assist owners and design-build teams for many years and helped guide many projects to certification. Now everyone is chatting about LEED v4 changes and many are curious what to expect. We began a pilot LEEDv4 EBOM project for a local hotel, but in the
Read more
No Comments

New Home Purchase? Magnetic Field Guidelines

magnetic field guidelines
Magnetic Field Guidelines for the New Home  EMF is a broad umbrella term encompassing many aspects of electromagnetic issues that can affect human health. Subcatagories of EMF issues include RF Radiation (also known as ElectroMagnetic Radiation [EMR]), Interior/Exterior Magnetic Fields, Interior/ Exterior Electric Fields, Transient Voltage Fluctuations (also known as Dirty Electricity or ElectroMagnetic Interference
Read more
No Comments

It’s Raining, It’s Pouring, Is Mold Growing While I’m Snoring?

It's raining it's pouring
It’s Raining, It’s Pouring,   Is Mold Growing While I’m Snoring?   Drought stricken California is getting some significant rain for the first time in over a year. As of today Oakland, California has received 3.22 inches of rain so far THIS MONTH, and 7.31 inches this season. If this continues, California’s drought woes should
Read more
1 Comment

Classes of Toxic Substances

classes of toxic substances
Classes of Toxic Substances There are many different ways to organize contaminants. We often rely on their physical form (e.g., liquid, vapor, solid, energetic, etc.), size (e.g., nano-particle, respirable, micro, etc.), or larger classifications (e.g., biological, mineral, etc.)  The Green Science Policy Institute coordinated a number of organizations (see below) to prioritize toxic chemicals and narrow it
Read more
2 Comments

EMF Mitigation for High Magnetic Fields

EMF Magnetic Field Mitigation child's bedroom
High Magnetic Fields Exterior Net Current Mitigation: EMF Mitigation for Magnetic Fields Intermittent MF Issues: Exterior-sourced Net Current  EMF Mitigation for Magnetic Fields Problems in Detail: A child’s bedroom showed a line of higher than anticipated magnetic fields running up the guest bedroom wall from the main electrical panel situated in the garage below.  This
Read more
No Comments

What is Asbestos?

Asbestos with muscovite
What is Asbestos? How Dangerous Is It and What Is It Doing In My House? These are all questions we’ve asked ourselves at one point or another.  We’ve all wondered WHY would something as potentially carcinogenic have been used with near abandon for so long? Why would this potential carcinogen be lurking our homes, our
Read more
No Comments

Buying a New Home? Get a Healthy Home Check

building a healthy home
Buying a New Home? There are so many details to pay attention to when you and your family are looking for a new home.  Is the neighborhood safe?  Are there good schools?  Is the house big enough? Have you ever thought to ask “Is this home (and neighborhood) going to be a healthy environment for
Read more
No Comments

Eichler Remodel

Eichler MC-674 Street View
Eichler Remodel – Healthy & Efficient Home Why write about an Eichler remodel? Because my family is lucky enough to call this our first home, and remodeling has almost completely absorbed me for the past 3 months! This isn’t just a remodel, it’s a green Eichler remodel. What is an Eichler? Joseph Eichler was a
Read more
No Comments

Selecting a Sustainable Architect

BECx_Silicon Valley
An Insider’s Point of View Being an architect myself and having worked as an architectural project manager until 2012, I have an insider’s view into the profession. In the 18 years of practicing architecture, I worked across many different sectors including residential, commercial and higher education, getting a really good feel for how different sectors
Read more
No Comments

Healthy Building Science Joins the Building Health Initiative

Building Health Initiative Logo
We are excited to announce that we are new members of the U.S. Green Building Council – Northern California Chapter’s Building Health Initiative! The Building Health Initiative is a two-year program in which Northern California industry leaders from multiple sectors have pledged to promote health and wellness. Members have made commitments to take simple but
Read more
No Comments