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Green building in the U.S.
Intep is expanding its network in the U.S.
During his 2-months visit in the South of the U.S., Thomas Rühle, managing director and head of R&D at Intep, gathered impressions of current green building developments in the region. He spent parts of his stay meeting with leading entrepreneurs in the field of sustainable building located in Atlanta, the largest and one of the least prospering cities in the South, visiting green buildings and participating in green building events. These new contacts will complement Intep’s existing network in the United States.
Downtown Atlanta (U.S.A.)
Active associations and organizations
Local groups of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the "Green Chamber of the South" (a non-profit organization in the South, committed to the promotion and advancement of green technologies and sustainable economic development; its members include businesses, investors, cities and municipalities) hold regular meetings to facilitate the exchange of information. These meetings focus on practical examples as well as establishing contacts, visiting current projects and giving presentations on sustainable building concepts. These events have created a community which provides for an intensive dialogue between architects, planners, construction companies, investors, clients and other green building stakeholders – a dialogue which is even more intensive and diverse than what we are currently experiencing in many other countries including Germany.
ASHRAE headquarters, LEED Platinum Certified
The headquarters building of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), located in Atlanta, has been completely refurbished and was LEED Platinum Certified (V NC 2.2) in 2009. This building reflects the key criteria the LEED certification system is based on: good indoor air quality, partly achieved through low-VOC materials, very low water consumption (which is considered a very important criterion in the U.S.), low energy use, as well as enhanced commissioning and continuous consumption monitoring. The building was rated A – ‘very good’ according to an energy efficiency label similar to the European energy consumption label for household appliances.
ASHRAE headquarters in Atlanta, LEED Platinum Certified
Local and international funding opportunities
Various funding programs such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have been set up both at national and state level to promote energy efficiency measures in the building sector as well as renewable sources of energy. These funding opportunities are also available to German companies. The German government has launched export initiatives, working closely with embassies and chambers of commerce in the U.S., which are offering support for German companies investing in the U.S. The “Transatlantic Climate Bridge” is such an initiative promoting the exchange of technologies and strategies in the climate and energy sector. The first certified Passive House in the United States., realized by Intep, is an example for projects carried out within this initiative.
The first certified Passive House in the U.S., realized by Intep
Certification standards and calculation methods
The U.S. is currently working on integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) into the LEED certification system. LCA is already part of the German DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen) certification system and is to be implemented in one of the upcoming LEED versions. Unlike in Germany and Europe, there is rather little data available for the life cycle assessment of American products and building materials. The new ASHRAE Standard 189.1 (Standard for the High-Performance, Green Buildings except Low-Rise Residential Buildings) was introduced this year to help design “High Performance Buildings” by adding to the requirements set by the current ASHRAE Energy Standard 90.1 and lowering the energy consumption limit by another 30%.
Great potential for the future
As far as energy efficiency is concerned, the U.S. has a lot of catching-up to do – and is seeing to this challenge with great enthusiasm and ambition. The increasing demand for new technologies and concepts has lead to a number of successful developments throughout the country. Most Southern States, however, still lagging behind partly due to historical reasons, have only recently started this development, unlike other U.S. states such as California. The favourable political and economic conditions in this region have already attracted an increasing number of German companies with regional funding programs allowing us and other companies in the field of sustainable building to participate and benefit from this development.
Green building in the U.S.
Intep is expanding its network in the U.S.
During his 2-months visit in the South of the U.S., Thomas Rühle, managing director and head of R&D at Intep, gathered impressions of current green building developments in the region. He spent parts of his stay meeting with leading entrepreneurs in the field of sustainable building located in Atlanta, the largest and one of the least prospering cities in the South, visiting green buildings and participating in green building events. These new contacts will complement Intep’s existing network in the United States.
Downtown Atlanta (U.S.A.)
Active associations and organizations
Local groups of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the "Green Chamber of the South" (a non-profit organization in the South, committed to the promotion and advancement of green technologies and sustainable economic development; its members include businesses, investors, cities and municipalities) hold regular meetings to facilitate the exchange of information. These meetings focus on practical examples as well as establishing contacts, visiting current projects and giving presentations on sustainable building concepts. These events have created a community which provides for an intensive dialogue between architects, planners, construction companies, investors, clients and other green building stakeholders – a dialogue which is even more intensive and diverse than what we are currently experiencing in many other countries including Germany.
ASHRAE headquarters, LEED Platinum Certified
The headquarters building of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), located in Atlanta, has been completely refurbished and was LEED Platinum Certified (V NC 2.2) in 2009. This building reflects the key criteria the LEED certification system is based on: good indoor air quality, partly achieved through low-VOC materials, very low water consumption (which is considered a very important criterion in the U.S.), low energy use, as well as enhanced commissioning and continuous consumption monitoring. The building was rated A – ‘very good’ according to an energy efficiency label similar to the European energy consumption label for household appliances.
ASHRAE headquarters in Atlanta, LEED Platinum Certified
Local and international funding opportunities
Various funding programs such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have been set up both at national and state level to promote energy efficiency measures in the building sector as well as renewable sources of energy. These funding opportunities are also available to German companies. The German government has launched export initiatives, working closely with embassies and chambers of commerce in the U.S., which are offering support for German companies investing in the U.S. The “Transatlantic Climate Bridge” is such an initiative promoting the exchange of technologies and strategies in the climate and energy sector. The first certified Passive House in the United States., realized by Intep, is an example for projects carried out within this initiative.
The first certified Passive House in the U.S., realized by Intep
Certification standards and calculation methods
The U.S. is currently working on integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) into the LEED certification system. LCA is already part of the German DGNB (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen) certification system and is to be implemented in one of the upcoming LEED versions. Unlike in Germany and Europe, there is rather little data available for the life cycle assessment of American products and building materials. The new ASHRAE Standard 189.1 (Standard for the High-Performance, Green Buildings except Low-Rise Residential Buildings) was introduced this year to help design “High Performance Buildings” by adding to the requirements set by the current ASHRAE Energy Standard 90.1 and lowering the energy consumption limit by another 30%.
Great potential for the future
As far as energy efficiency is concerned, the U.S. has a lot of catching-up to do – and is seeing to this challenge with great enthusiasm and ambition. The increasing demand for new technologies and concepts has lead to a number of successful developments throughout the country. Most Southern States, however, still lagging behind partly due to historical reasons, have only recently started this development, unlike other U.S. states such as California. The favourable political and economic conditions in this region have already attracted an increasing number of German companies with regional funding programs allowing us and other companies in the field of sustainable building to participate and benefit from this development.
