Archives for September 2012

Historic Structures Deserve VIP Treatment

Restoration of historic buildings is tricky business. Among other challenges, preservation concerns severely limit façade alterations.

Restoration often includes deep energy retrofits which generally increase the thermal resistance (R-value) of the envelope. For existing structures adding insulation to the exterior is generally preferred over the interior as adding insulation from the inside will reduce its floor area. But for historic structures this approach is self-defeating.

Vacuum insulation has been used widely in non-building applications like refrigerators, thermos containers, and thermal doors. Its use in building envelope insulation is fairly new and still in R&D.  Vacuum Insulated Panels (VIPs) are composed of two stainless steel plates which sandwich a core of vacuum and fumed silica.

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Program Offered in Partnership with Centre for Sustainability and Excellence for Professional designation in Green Building Certification

CHICAGO, Sept. 27, 2012 — The Society of Environmentally Responsible Facilities (SERF), an environmental building certification organization, in partnership with the Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE), today announced the launch of a new accreditation program that certifies professionals to evaluate buildings’ sustainable systems and practices  according to SERF’s comprehensive certification criteria. Candidates who successfully complete the program will earn the designation of SERF Professional (SP). Additionally, CSE will be verifiers for the SERF certification process.

“At SERF, we believe that building owners and facility managers should be committed to broad, ongoing environmental sustainability, and our goal is to make certifying that process more affordable, streamlined and accessible as possible,” said Joe Maguire, president of SERF. “By creating this program with the CSE and growing the number of SERF Professionals, we hope to cultivate and recognize more sustainably-focused facilities.”
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VOCs paint an ugly picture

Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh paint?  But, as so often seems the case, the good things in life are bad for us.

Green buildings transcend their structure and actually produce a positive effect on the health and comfort of their occupants. A key factor which determines this is the type of architectural coatings (paints, sealers etc.) and how many volatile organic compounds (VOCs) they contain.   Alas, these toxins are responsible for that wonderful fresh paint aroma.

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