New LEED Draft Open for Comment

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Image Credit: USGBC

The first public comment draft of LEED is out for review. Comments are due by December 31, 2010.

This review period includes a revision of all of the LEED rating systems together, including New Design & Construction, Operations & Maintenance, Homes, and Neighborhood Development.

The drafts can be downloaded from the USGBC website here.

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BuildingGreen.org has a summary of New Design & Construction changes and highlights major changes in each category:

USGBC released the draft to EBN just before the public comment period was to open. Our analysis of what’s (mostly) the same, what’s different, and what’s totally new follows. We focused our analysis on the LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC) rating system, but readers should see the rating system draft for all the rating systems, including details on LEED-NC that we didn’t have space to discuss.

You can see the changes for each category and read the entire article here.

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Free Event 11/9 in SF – Energy Modeling

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The SF AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) presents:

Energy Modeling for the Small and Midsize Architecture Firm

November 9, 2010 –  6:00 – 8:00 pm

AIA San Francisco, 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600

With the development of LEED and other energy efficiency standards, energy simulation has developed tremendously over the last decade. It is becoming imperative that architects better understand the available tools so that they can make informed decisions throughout the design process. Given the complexity of energy modeling, this session will focus on how architects in small and mid-size firm can best use energy simulation. What types of questions should be answered with energy models? What types of energy modeling information is most useful, and when during design should it be used? What simulation tools are favored among small and mid-size firms? How do they develop expertise within their design teams and address budgetary constraints? A panel of Bay Area architects and designers, all of whom are noted for advances in sustainable design, will address these questions. Following the panel discussion, the presenters will be available for an extended question-and-answer session.

MODERATOR:

Claire Maxfield

PANELISTS:

Philip Banta, Charlie Stott, David Scheer, & Stet Sanborn

For more information and moderator and panelist bios, see the AIA SF event site, here.

This is a FREE event.

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Anna’s Links – E-Waste Recycling and Green Roofs

New York state passed the “Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act,” requiring that manufacturers accept and recycle many types of e-waste starting in April 2011 (soon!)- NY State Dept. of Environmental Conservation and NRDC.

Green roofs are now required for many new buildings in Copenhagen – Treehugger.

A lawyer has started a blog focusing on legal issues specifically related to green building, with many recent posts focusing on the LEED rating system and the USGBC – Green Building Law Update.