Green Buildings

Fire Safety is Green

by Michael O'Brian on April 6, 2010

Green Fire and Building Safety

Reducing Fires through Code Enforcement how Green is it?

It seems that current trends from the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) to initiatives by the National Association of Home Builders, green construction and green building is a hot topic.  Many times concerns of fire safety and green construction techniques which have a focus on fire safety are overlooked.

Picture a home on fire and the destruction that occurs.  The fire produces products of combustion that pollute our air to the loss of construction materials that now will require demolition and reconstruction.  Its seems on first blush the use of sprinkler systems including residential sprinklers can be the most green item installed in a home or commercial business, but its “green” credits can be quickly overlooked when considered an option.

The National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) has launched a web site, Bridging the Gap, that will bring together the complex issues relating to building in an environmentally sensitive manner while still meeting the overriding needs of [click to continue…]

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State Codes to Meet ASHRE Energy Requirements

by Michael O'Brian on January 7, 2009

States must now certify that their building codes meet the requirements in ASHRAE/IESNA’s 2004 energy efficiency standard, under a ruling issued by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) that finds the standard saves more energy than an earlier version.

ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, has been established by the DOE as the commercial building reference standard for state building energy codes under the federal Energy Policy Act.

The Act requires [click to continue…]

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