Hill Heat

Join us to learn about the technologies, practices, and processes that will be instrumental to infrastructure and economic renewal.

Featured Keynote: Kathleen Hogan, Director of Climate Protection, Partnerships Division U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Kathleen Hogan, Director of the Climate Protection Partnerships Division at the U.S. EPA, will discuss the very significant contribution and role of buildings with respect to carbon reduction, and the opportunities for building energy efficiency to be a vital element of a carbon solution. Furthermore, given increasing interest in building performance as part of a new wave of policies and programs, Kathleen will also discuss the EPA’s leading role in building performance initiatives, including programs such as ENERGY STAR and Climate Leaders.

Conference Web Site

The Westin Arlington Gateway
801 North Glebe Road
Arlington, Virginia 22203

25/03/2009 at 08:00AM

As a new year gets underway for the nation’s school children, the High-Performance Buildings Congressional Caucus Coalition invites you to a briefing to learn how some school districts are building facilities that save thousands of dollars a year on energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact, and are “healthier” and safer than conventional schools. The following speakers will also discuss measures the 110th Congress has advanced to provide funding for “high-performance,” “green” public school construction and renovation:

• Phil Page, Legislative Fellow, Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO)
• Cade Clurman, Legislative Director, Rep. Judy Biggert (R-IL)
• Deane Evans, FAIA, Executive Director, Center for Architecture and Building Science Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology: If you want to make a real difference in the quality and affordability of education today, designing high-performance schools is the place to start. Deane Evans will explain the elements of high-performance schools, why they are valuable, and how they can be procured.
• Anja Caldwell, LEED AP, Principal of ecoipso LLC: With a focus on meeting the demand for new and updated facilities, Anja Caldwell will discuss the first green school project in Maryland and options for greening existing school buildings.
• Lloyd Horwich, Education Counsel and Policy Advisor, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, Committee on Education and Labor: Lloyd Horwich will discuss legislative options for supporting green school buildings.

This briefing is free and open to the public. No RSVP required. For more information, please contact Ellen Vaughan at [email protected] or (202) 662-1893.

The High-Performance Buildings Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCC) is a private sector coalition providing guidance and support to the High-Performance Buildings Caucus, which is co-chaired by Reps. Carnahan and Biggert. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) are lead sponsors of this briefing and members of the HPBCCC. Co-sponsors of this briefing include the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Carpet and Rug Institute, American National Standards Institute, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Ecobuild America, American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), Green Building Initiative (GBI), International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing, National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Green Mechanical Council, National Institute of Building Sciences, Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association (PHCC), and Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance.

21/10/2008 at 02:00PM

EnergyPlus—DOE’s building energy simulation program—includes many building energy-simulation features that previously have not been available together in a mainstream program. Features include variable time steps, configurable modular systems integrated with a heat balance-based zone simulation, on-site power, hybrid natural/mechanical ventilation, and under-floor air distribution (UFAD). The underlying heat balance load calculation method is included in the 2005 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Fundamentals. In 2007, DOE began working on a plug-in for Google’s SketchUp software, which Google describes as “3-D for everyone.” SketchUp is used by a majority of architects during early design to facilitate studies of shape and massing. The Energy Design Plug-In integrates EnergyPlus with SketchUp, allowing easy evaluation of building energy performance. This presentation, by Drury Crawley of EERE, introduces EnergyPlus and its simulation methodologies, capabilities, utilities, and interfaces that facilitate using it.

Drury B. Crawley is acting team leader for the Commercial Buildings area of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. He leads DOE’s team that is working to achieve net-zero energy commercial buildings by 2025. He also is responsible for managing DOE’s building energy software tools research and development activities including EnergyPlus, Energy Design Plug-In, and DOE-2, among others. He has more than 30 years of experience in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability for buildings; and is active in ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council, and the American Institute of Architects. He serves on the editorial boards of three international journals, has published more than 100 papers and articles, and has given more than 175 presentations throughout the world.

901 D Street SW (adjacent to the Forrestal Building) or 370 L’Enfant Promenade. Ninth Floor. Please contact Wanda Addison, of Midwest Research Institute (MRI), at [email protected] or 202-488-2202

14/08/2008 at 12:00PM

Keynote Address:

• Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO)

Featured Panelists:

• Marshall Purnell, President, American Institute of Architects
• Gregory Melanson, Senior Vice President and Regional Community Development Executive, Bank of America
• Stockton Williams, Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, Enterprise Community Partners

Moderated by:

• Sarah Wartell, Executive Vice President for Management, Center for American Progress Action Fund

As economic growth in the U.S. slows, our country’s global warming gas emissions continue to rise. Meanwhile, consumers are being hit hard by the twin burdens of a sagging housing market and rising energy prices at home and at the gas pump. It’s time to invest wisely in protecting family budgets and revitalizing our built environment. With smart policy we can prioritize energy efficiency to ease the woes of consumers, lenders, financial markets, and our environment. Recognizing this opportunity to offer real solutions to pressing problems, Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) plans to introduce legislation giving incentives to lenders and financial institutions to provide lower interest loans and other benefits to consumers who build, buy, or remodel their homes and businesses to improve their energy efficiency. This timely legislation reflects foresight and the considered input of a broad coalition of housing advocates, financial institutions, government leaders, developers, and the environmental community. Please join us to discuss how this critical intersection of policy concerns can respond to the needs of America’s communities and help lift our troubled economy to build a move vibrant, energy efficient, and low-carbon future.

Center for American Progress Action Fund 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005

RSVP for this event.

22/04/2008 at 12:00PM

The Washington Post and DCist cover the City of the Future design challenge held yesterday at Union Station. From DCist:

Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP won yesterday’s City of the Future design challenge to imagine what Washington would look like in the year 2108. The winning team went green, envisioning a self-sustaining city with soaring towers built on the sites of former forts that once defended Washington, transforming them into centers for wind and solar energy production, hydroponic farming and defensive security systems. In this environmentally friendly city, cars have no place. Metro has been drastically expanded. The diagonal streets designed long ago by Pierre L’Enfant have been turned into pedestrian-friendly green belts, or the “lungs of the city,” as described by Hanny Hassan, partner at BBB. Above-ground public transportation runs on the square street grid of the city.