WASHINGTON — The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently honored the 2014 Best of Green Schools recipients. The program recognized 10 individuals, institutions, projects and events that represented the best environmental efforts in schools across the country.
CHICAGO — Roosevelt University in Chicago received gold-level recognition from the Illinois Governor’s Higher Education Campus Sustainability Compact and the Illinois Green Governments Coordinating Council for its green initiatives, according to an announcement on Jan. 27. The state honored the university’s strategic, sustainable planning, which has involved Roosevelt’s administration, faculty and students who have implemented a variety of programs.
HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii at Manoa (UH Manoa) has saved $3.4 million in energy costs in 2014 alone, the school confirmed on Jan. 20.
Since 2007, the campus has saved more than 9 percent on its projected energy costs. This was achieved through strategic air conditioning-, lighting- and building control-retrofitting projects. For the school, this was a major accomplishment, considering Manoa added 300,000 square feet in new buildings.
O’Donnell & Naccarato, a Philadelphia-based consulting structural engineering firm, announced the promotion of Scott M. Bauer, PE, SECB, LEED AP to principal. Bauer brings his technical proficiency and strengths in management to this new role, as well as nearly two decades of hands-on structural engineering design experience.
Hydro Engineering Inc. offers the Hydropad wash rack system, a component of any company’s green sustainability efforts. The Hydropad systems are platforms onto which vehicles, equipment, hardware, or components are placed in order to be washed. They are engineered to capture water and channel effluent to the gutter systems of the Hydropad. Captured effluent can then be diverted to Hydrokleen water filtration systems and sent back out to the Hydroblaster washing system for 100 percent water efficiency.
Electro Industries/GaugeTech (EIG) announced the release of the Shark 50B meter with native BACnet MS/TP serial communication. This meter supplies power and energy data to building automation systems using a native, standard BMS protocol. The meter comes pre-programmed with 34 BACnet objects for seamless integration into existing BACnet networks. In addition to building automation, it supports LEED projects and other green building initiatives. The meter also supports Modbus over TCP/IP so that it can additionally communicate to a stand-alone energy management system or energy dashboard.
RIVERDALE, N.Y. — Manhattan College’s Raymond W. Kelly ’63 Student Commons, which officially opened in October 2014, recently achieved LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
The $45 million student commons is the college’s first LEED building on campus.
CHICAGO — Offices can bring workers down with depressing lighting, stuffy air, uncomfortable temperatures, no outdoor views and too much noise.
DENVER — A new book helps guide construction lawyers through laws and regulations that govern green and sustainable development.
“Green Building and the Construction Lawyer: A Practical Guide to Transactional and Litigation Issues” was published and released in November by the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law.
CHICAGO — Energy-efficient elevators can significantly reduce the costs of operating a building, but the information needed to help building owners identify the appropriate elevator system — and the savings associated with it — aren’t readily available, according to a new study.
