The two homes are going for LEED Platinum with a combination of incredibly well insulated and sealed construction that will deliver a very high-performance heating system.
You Can’t Save What You Don’t Measure
If your thermostat isn’t programmed, you could be wasting around $173 a year. But many of us don’t program our thermostats – they’re just too complicated.
Green Cincinnati Education Advocacy is a NEST Partner, not so much to sell thermostats but to stay on the cutting edge of in home and office energy measurement and responsive programming. LEED Version 4 makes a major effort to award credits to energy measurement and monitoring. Will the NEST take on this role, we’ll see. A simple clip on the wires going to your fuse box could communicate with NEST.
Where to start with a Green Home?
Presentation made to the Miami Valley Chapter of the Sierra Club retreat Feb. 8, 2014. The presentation is an overview of the most recent update of the LEED for Home standards. You will learn from the presentation how to design a sustainable landscape, reduce your water use, improve energy and comfort of your home or office, use regional, reused, recyclable and renewable materials and improve the indoor air quality of your home or office. The tour is planned for the Spring of 2014, contact [email protected] for details.
The Heartbreak of Green Building Consulting for LEED
After you start reading the USGBC review, your heart sinks because the sustainable sites prerequisites wasn’t met. . . . But we’re confident, that’s part of the challenge and the fun. We have achieved LEED Platinum on our first two projects and we’re only trying for Gold on this one. And we get the problem children. Projects that are so screwed up and abandoned. Way over budget. We only do it because the owners are well intentioned and they are wonderful projects.
Melink Newsletter
On Friday April 26th, 2013 Cedarville University will dedicate its large-scale solar power system that converts sunlight into clean electricity to help meet the growing power requirements of the campus. The 2,154 kilowatt solar array was built on the southwest edge of the campus by Cincinnati-based Melink Corporation, which was also responsible for the development, engineering, construction, and operation of the system.
Since the completion of the installation, power has been flowing directly into the University’s distribution system. This energy is capable of supplying an average of 10% of Cedarville University’s demand, making it the largest solar system directly connected to a university in Ohio.
“Melink is proud to serve as the developer for this very significant solar array,” said Steve Melink, the President of Melink Corporation. “We would also like to acknowledge our partners: U.S. Bancorp, Union Bank & Trust Company, DP&L Energy, Yellow Springs Renewable Energy, TMI Electric, and the Village of Cedarville, who provided tremendous support. It is our hope that this success will inspire other schools and universities to consider clean and affordable renewable energy solutions.”
We’re greener than we seem
Greater Cincinnati is on the leading edge of the green movement – maybe not in showy ways like curbside composting or light rail, but in the green you don’t see.
Cincinnati is the largest city in the country to get all of its electricity from alternative energy sources, and it has the third-most homes certified under the U.S. Green Business Council’s Leadership in Engineering and Design standards. The region is also a leader in LEED-certified schools.
“This is a happening place,” said Brewster Rhoads, executive director of the Green Umbrella. “We’re turning Mark Twain’s adage on its head. In many ways we are 10 years ahead, particularly compared to other Midwest cities.”
How to design and live in a Green Home while studying for the LEED for Homes AP exam
The following is an outline for a series of classes to pass the LEED for Homes Accredited Professional exam.
We’re creating a series of tours that focuses on how families are living sustainably in their homes. Our goals will be to learn the LEED for Homes Sustainable Categories.
How to design and use a kitchen to make healthy food for your family, while easy to use and clean.
What does a landscape look like that is easy to maintain and grows food? While composting too.
Bathrooms that uses less water and energy, how does that look and feel?
Living rooms that uses less energy and is a multi-use space. What kind of furniture do you need to make a space multi-functional? A place for children to grow up and be themselves?
A garage that can also be a work shop and storage.
How do you use plants to lower the C02 in your bedroom?
How can a homeowner understand the HVAC and water systems in their home? What is it like living with renewable energy?
Cincinnati to Reward Higher Levels of ‘Green’ Building
Cincinnati offers the most generous tax abatement in the country for LEED Certification, and it’s about to go to the next level. City Council will vote Wednesday on an ordinance to give a better tax break to those who invest in the most energy-efficient building they can afford.
USGBC Cincinnati Chapter 10th Anniversary Banquet
10th Anniversary Holiday Banquet
Tuesday December 4th, 2012
American Red Cross
Come join Cincinnati Regional in celebration of our 10th year!
This is sure to be a fabulous evening for both
members and spouses – register today here
Sept. 14, 2012 Green Homes Summit features tour of Sustainablity Partnership
The Sustainability Partnership of Cincinnati is a locally owned and operated consortium of companies working together to deliver all of the pieces for your projects, no matter what the size.
Sept. 14, 2012 Green Homes Summit Keynote Speaker Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House! For more details on the event, click here.
Sept. 15, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. stop by to learn how you can have a LEED Platinum office for $4 per square foot. Learn more about the Green Cincinnati Education Advocacy offices at the new USGBC web site’s LEED Profiles page https://new.usgbc.org/projects/lohre-and-associates-offices/
Register for the Green Homes Summit https://www.usgbc-cincinnati.org/calendar/register.asp?CalendarID=10979/.