May 21, 2012

Last Call for Spring MFBA BPI Class and Exam Registration!

GreenHomeNYC’s Spring 2012 Multifamily Building Analyst Training & BPI Exam Starts May 24th! 2012 Spring Session: Evening Multifamily Building Analyst Classes: 10 Thursday Evening Sessions,  6 – 9 PM May 24th – July 26th Get the BPI Certification you need, and still get to work! If you are an energy professional working in multifamily buildings or just want to learn more about energy audits in multifamily buildings, this is the certification for you. GreenHomeNYC is bringing in some of the top trainers in the city, including one of the people who helped to develop this certification, at a schedule that meets your work schedule, so that you can be certified by BPI as a Multifamily Building Analyst. REGISTER HERE; click through for more information.

May 16, 2012

Virtual Building Energy Masters Series

There’s still time to join the Building Energy Masters Series – If you’re into Passive House, you’ll want to check out the inaugural Building Energy Masters Series course titled: “Passive House: The Future of Building in the US?”. The virtual class kicks off on May 14th and runs until June 18th. Why you’ll like this course: Experienced Instructors – This course is led by Paul Eldrenkamp and Mike Duclos. Both men have been on the vanguard of the Passive House movement since it came to the US and will be available throughout the course to answer questions. Approachable and Detailed Content – Perfect for professionals who want to be in the know about passive house but don’t need certification. It’s also ideal for homeowners who are considering signing on for a Passive House Project. Self-Paced – Coursework averages about 5 hours a week, and you can do it whenever – no need to be logged in for a “lecture”. Fall behind? No problem, catching up is a sinch. Want to work ahead? Go for it! (more…)

April 28, 2012

New York City Department of City Planning Proposes Green Building Text Amendment

In February 2010, the Green Codes Task Force, a group of leading practitioners convened by the Urban Green Council at the request of Mayor Bloomberg and Council Speaker Quinn, released a set of recommendations to amend City regulations to promote green buildings. Here we’ve covered the topic to review what’s on the table and what’s not, in advance of our May Forum covering in part this same topic. (more…)

April 11, 2012

GreenHomeNYC’s Spring 2012 Multifamily Building Analyst Training & BPI Exam Starts May 24th!

2012 Spring Session: Evening Multifamily Building Analyst Classes: 10 Thursday Evening Sessions,  6 – 9 PM May 24th – July 26th Get the BPI Certification you need, and still get to work! If you are an energy professional working in multifamily buildings or just want to learn more about energy audits in multifamily buildings, this is the certification for you. GreenHomeNYC is bringing in some of the top trainers in the city, including one of the people who helped to develop this certification, at a schedule that meets your work schedule, so that you can be certified by BPI as a Multifamily Building Analyst. REGISTER HERE (more…)

April 3, 2012

Celebrate Earth Day with GreenHomeNYC and Green Festival

GreenHomeNYC is a Nonprofit Ally for the 10th Annual Green Festival – a large, informative and festive sustainability event taking place April 21-22. GreenHomeNYC will there promoting our upcoming Top Green Building Tips videos currently in production and scheduled for release early this summer. When: Saturday April 21st, 2012 10am-7pm; Sunday April 22nd, 2012 11am-6pm Where: Javits Center North 655 West 34th Street New York, NY 10001 Featured at the weekend-long show will be an assortment of leaders and speakers in the environmental community, entrepreneurs and activists, as well as an organic beer and wine pavilion, vegetarian food court, a sustainable fashion show from T.H.R.E.A.D.S. hosted by Conscious Living TV host Bianca Alexander, live cooking demos, and a unique marketplace of more than 300 eco-friendly businesses, featuring the latest and greatest in sustainable products and services. http://www.greenfestivals.org/

April 2, 2012

NY City & State Policy Update – April 2012

At the end of March the City Planning Commission unanimously approved the Zone Green Text Amendment to remove zoning rules which can limit green building technologies in the City.  The amendment now moves on to the City Council. Also in late March the Bloomberg administration submitted a memo of opposition regarding the NY State Senate’s budget proposal to delay by three years the requirement for low-sulfur heating fuels in buildings in the City. The New York chapter of Efficiency First, a national advocacy organization, has been putting on a strong push to protect On-Bill Financing in New York.  The group’s listserv connects members to their elected officials on various pieces of energy efficiency related legislation and budgetary matters, if that’s your sort of thing. Back on the City level, NYC was the recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize in recognition of its leadership and achievement in sustainable policymaking.  The prize is a “biennial international award that honours outstanding contributions towards the creation of vibrant, liveable and sustainable urban communities around the world.” For you social media types out there, GOOD Magazine has reported on a new social media platform: Honest Buildings.  This site “has created a profile for any building in the world with an address. This platform is the first place that connects occupants, service providers and owners to each other and the buildings where they live, work and spend their time.”  We finally have a Facebook for buildings. Lastly, even though we’re already almost a quarter of the way into the year (!), Builder Magazine published 10 “Green Building Mega Trends for 2012” at the beginning of this year – we’ll see how these ideas play out in the coming months.

March 20, 2012

Featured Green Building: Brooklyn Children’s Museum

As part of GreenHomeNYC’s Feature Green Building blog posts, we’re taking a closer look at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum:

Chuck Choi

Photo: Chuck Choi

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March 19, 2012

Announcing UAGC and GreenHomeNYC’s Energy Efficient Building Operator Classes!

GreenHomeNYC and the Urban Assembly for Green Careers Want to Cut Your Building’s Energy and Water Bills by up to 40%.

If you are a building owner, manager, coop/condo member, super, bookkeeper/comptroller, or just want to learn how multifamily buildings use and waste energy and water, you need to take the Energy Efficient Building Operator class held every Thursday night from 6-8pm for ten weeks starting April 26th.

Multifamily buildings in NYC use 3-6 times more energy and water per square foot than our single family counterparts, and very simple steps can help you reduce those costs.  This class is not designed to sell you products, but rather, to walk you through a sensible series of steps and make a plan to reduce your costs.

Register here!

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March 4, 2012

Introducing GreenHomeNYC’s Featured Green Buildings blog posts!

GreenHomeNYC’s Featured Green Buildings blog posts take a closer look at the structures listed within the GHNYC New York Green Building Database. Each write-up investigates a sustainable feature or notable attribute of a particular green building found here in New York. The Featured Green Building posts and the New York Green Building Database work together to increase knowledge and awareness of sustainable structures throughout the five boroughs.  Stay informed and keep a look out for new Featured Green Building write-ups via the GreenHomeNYC website. For more building profiles, be sure to check out our New York Green Building Database for yourself. Know a building in New York that ought to be a GHNYC NY Featured Green Building? Send suggestions to Katie at katie[at]greenhomenyc[dot]org.

February 21, 2012

GreenHomeNYC Volunteers Participate in Home Energy Audit

GreenHomeNYC volunteers got an exciting opportunity to learn about energy audits by participating in a home energy audit demonstration by members of Power Concepts’ Energy Division.  The group preformed an ASHRAE level-one audit on a four-story Brownstone in Park Slope.  While GreenHomeNYC does NOT offer energy audits, this was an excellent opportunity for our volunteer conservationists to join in on a thorough audit and better understand cost-effective energy saving measures firsthand. Here’s what they learned: A typical ASHRAE Level 1 energy audit includes a visual inspection of the boiler room, the apartments, and the building envelope.  An audit identifies where why and a building is losing energy, and how to address the problems to increase resident comfort and save money.  From the one day site inspection, Power Concepts prepared a brief report for the building’s residents detailing various measures the building could take to improve comfort and reduce energy costs.  Read more about the building and our audit after the jump! (more…)