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building performance

Commercial Code Compliance and New Construction Program Failures

By Energy Rant 3 Comments
Earlier this year, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey of 2012. The prior release was 2003. The data do not paint a pretty picture for energy code effectiveness. Other data we are accumulating indicate new construction programs are failing to deliver. Regress At first glance, it seems substantial progress may have been made between 2003 and 2012. The first chart is from the EIA website. As EIA states, “the only statistically significant changes since 2003 are for office buildings, education buildings, and commercial buildings overall.” That is weak, especially considering that the data cover all…
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building

Building Energy Simulations – More is NOT Better

By Energy Rant One Comment
Do you recognize the city shown?  It is Chicago.  How many twin buildings do you see?  Ok.  Consider downtown in your city.  How many twin buildings are there?  Ok. Why are they all different?  I would guess because if, say Donald Trump is going to build a $500-$1000 per square foot tower in the middle of all this, he wants an icon.  Wouldn’t you?  Besides, you’re not going to stop an architect from making it so anyway.  They want every building design to be a trophy for their wall.  Why not? Even schools, office buildings, college and university buildings, hospitals,…
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Love Thy Backup Punter, Or Pay Dearly – The Unloved Exhaust Fan

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
Everyone reading this blog is at least a stage 1 energy geek.  A stage 1 energy geek will notice the type of light bulbs used in their hotel room and complain that the place isn’t green enough.  A stage 2 would file a complaint if the cleaning crew takes the used bath towel that is clearly hung up to dry for the next shower.  A stage 3 will appreciate the guest room occupancy-sensing thermostat.  A stage 4 will browse the web for hotels with satisfactorily green features, before booking.  A stage 5 will actually bring their own artisanal bar of…
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