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Shivani

Free Webinar: Leading Campus Decarbonization Efforts, January 14, 3 - 4 pm ET

Join this free, engaging session featuring a dynamic panel of experts from diverse higher education institutions HEIs—spanning private and public, large and small campuses—who are driving innovative decarbonization initiatives. Panelists will showcase that decarbonization of a majority of direct emissions is possible today, share practical insights on the strategies they've implemented, the challenges they've navigated, and the creative solutions they've employed to achieve significant carbon reductions. Topics will include financing mechanisms, available technologies, and specific case studies. This webinar is ideal for anyone seeking to understand and implement impactful campus decarbonization projects. The session will also introduce participants to the 2026 Campus Decarbonization Academy, a comprehensive six-month, cohort-based program designed to empower higher education institutions in advancing their decarbonization efforts. Developed by AASHE in partnership with NACUBO – National Association of College and University Business Officers, SCUP – Society for College and University Planning, Second Nature, Sustainable Endowments Institute and U.S. Green Building Council. The Academy equips sustainability, energy, lab, facilities, finance, and planning professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to lead effective campus decarbonization initiatives. Participants gain actionable guidance on renewable energy adoption, electrification, stakeholder engagement, and accessing funding sources and state resources, ensuring they are well-prepared to overcome key challenges and drive impactful change. Tailored to institutions at various stages of their sustainability journey, the Academy fosters collaboration and innovation, providing participants with access to expert-led sessions, peer learning opportunities, and practical resources. Real-world case studies and cutting-edge strategies offer actionable insights to accelerate progress toward carbon neutrality. By connecting participants to a network of sustainability leaders, the Academy helps campuses lead the charge in creating a sustainable and equitable future for all. Image: Sasaki
Date Posted: 2025-12-11Views:21Replies:0
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Shivani

Free Webinar: Regional Blueprints for America's Clean Energy Future, January 14, 1 am

State initiatives are driving the next wave of renewable energy growth across the United States, bridging the gap in the absence of consistent federal policy support. The clean energy transition is no longer a top-down mandate; it's a diverse, ground-up movement powered by local leaders. Across the country, regional pioneers are making real-world progress: reshoring clean energy manufacturing, reshaping regional energy markets, aggressively modernizing the grid, and building a new energy workforce. In this free online forum, we move beyond national talking points to dive deep into regional action. We'll bring together the experts who are succeeding on the front lines in diverse regions like Southwest, Southeast, and Midwest regions. Don't miss this conversation on regional blueprints for a clean, resilient energy economy you can start building today.
Date Posted: 2025-12-11Views:15Replies:0
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Shivani

Free Webinar: The Clean Energy Equity Investment Gap, January 13, 10 - 11 am ET

Meeting global climate and development goals will require a rapid and sustained scale-up of clean energy infrastructure investment in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). These countries are the fastest-growing sources of future energy demand, yet face significant financing constraints that limit their ability to transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies. While the magnitude of the financing gap is widely recognized, discussions often focus on aggregate figures that offer little guidance for practical action. A new report, The Clean Energy Equity Investment Gap, prepared by Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), with support from Allied Climate Partners and Three Cairns Group, and analytical support from Wood Mackenzie, provides new insights into one of the most underexplored segments of climate finance: the role of equity. The webinar will bring together experts and practitioners to discuss the report's key findings, explore how catalytic equity can help close the clean energy investment gap in EMDEs, and identify practical steps to mobilize more and better-targeted equity for climate and development.
Date Posted: 2025-12-11Views:17Replies:0
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Matt Hoots

Creative "Make Up Air" Solution for Range Hoods by LG Squared

One of the main issues with proper ventilation in high-performance homes is that what goes out must be replaced by what comes in. When you are venting 300-1000 CFM of exhaust in your kitchen, you need "make-up" air to replace the air that has just been removed from the house. Chris Laumer-Giddens shares this creative design by keeping the exhaust and make-up air all local to the kitchen View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chris @ LG Squared (@lgsquared_inc)
Date Posted: 2025-12-10Views:82Replies:0
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Shivani

Fundamentals of Building Science, Online Training with Southface, January 15, 9 am - 1 pm ET

This one-day training is designed to provide participants with a practical knowledge of basic building science principles. Students are introduced to the house-as-a-system model for assessing and improving building performance as well as the fundamentals of heat, air, and moisture flow as it relates to buildings. If you're new to the industry or a homeowner that wants to understand how to optimize your energy savings, this training will teach you what to look for. Learn about the science behind high-performance buildings and how they apply to homes. This course combines key elements of Southface's Basic Building Science and Applied Building Science courses, providing a great introduction to many of the core concepts that run throughout Southface's training offerings. After completing this course, you will have a basic understanding of building science fundamentals and will recognize how those concepts affect residential and commercial buildings.
Date Posted: 2025-12-10Views:102Replies:0
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Matt Hoots

Slab on Grade Vapor and Thermal Transition detail- An Example from LG Squared

Check out this Instagram post from Rate It Green member Chris Laumer-Giddens of LG Squared. He explains why he chose to use a liquid-applied WRB on this project and the expected results. One of the keys to a tight building envelope is good details for the transitions. Chris explains how this project achieves good continuous control layers for the vapor and insulation by simplifying the details. What kind of WRB's do you use on your projects? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chris @ LG Squared (@lgsquared_inc)
Date Posted: 2025-12-09Views:151Replies:0
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Shivani

Climate Literacy, Online Self-Paced 15-hour Course, January 26 - March 20

Are you a community leader, communicator, or educator interested in building your knowledge of the basics of climate change and what we can do about it? By the end of this course, you will be able to: Engage with and utilize Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change (2024) from the U.S. Global Change Research Program Understand the essential principles of Earth's climate system and options to address human-caused climate change. Describe the Climate Literacy Essential Principles and how they interplay with across human and Earth systems. Make more informed decisions related to climate change impacts and solutions. Please note that this course is designed to deepen your understanding of the science behind climate change and potential solutions—it does not focus on teaching methods or instructional strategies related to climate change education. This 8-week course should take approximately 15 hours to complete. Although learning is self-paced, there is a suggested timeline of completion for each module. Additionally, participants will be required to attend a 1-hour online discussion with fellow eeCourse participants to share ideas, reflections on course materials, and/or their final course project. Participants who complete this course can earn 1 credit hour of continuing education through Adams State University (an additional fee of $55 paid to Adams State University) Registration for Spring 2026 will be open December 1, 2025 - January 22, 2026. The term begins January 26, and all assignments are due by March 20, 2026. This course is designed to be completed within the designated timeframe, so please plan accordingly to make the most of your learning experience and ensure you have the time to fully participate in the course. Image: Genetic Literacy Project
Date Posted: 2025-12-09Views:117Replies:0
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Shivani

Why Battery Storage is Key for Renewable Energy, online and in-person, Golden, Colorado, January 22, 7-9 pm MST

Discover how battery storage makes renewables reliable and how you can leverage utility-scale insights, ideal for energy pros and policy-curious learners. Battery energy storage is the key for making the renewable energy transition a reality. Consequently, this industry is growing extremely fast, despite facing hurdles over safety and restricted supply chains. Allison Weis, PhD will share her insights on where batteries are headed across all applications, but will focus on utility-scale markets, based on her expertise as Global Head of Storage at Wood Mackenzie, a leading global research consultancy for renewables, energy and natural resources. Note - Please plan to stay for a reception with food, drinks, and conversations afterwards. This event is FREE, but you're welcome to put a donation in the basket.
Date Posted: 2025-12-09Views:148Replies:0
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Shivani

Living Future 2026, April 14-17, Seattle, Washington

Living Future has spent two decades pushing boundaries and lifting standards. With the 20th anniversary on the horizon, it's time to reflect on the Living Future journey and look to the future. Join your fellow changemakers at Living Future 2026 to shape the next 100 years of regenerative design and help build a world that thrives. Program Tracks - How can we embody long-view design, honor intergenerational responsibility, and consider the profound legacy we leave for all life? At LF26, we'll tackle the most pressing design and development challenges of the next century over four program tracks on climate, equity, nature, and transformation. Radical Climate Action Thriving Communities Nature as Co-Designer Catalysts for Transformative Change Let's advance the regenerative movement together. LF26 will celebrate the collective achievements, foster radical collaborations, and drive bold solutions for the built environment. Living Future's annual conference is where the most ambitious ideas in regenerative design come to life. Join a powerful network of peers, gain practical knowledge, and help shape the future of our built environment.
Date Posted: 2025-12-09Views:92Replies:0
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Allison Friedman

Free Webinar, HEMP 4 Humanity: All about the Farm to Frame Initiative, December 17, 12-1 pm ET

Join GreenHome Institute to discuss the Farm to Frame Initiative (FFI), run by Hemp for Humanity, a Michigan-based nonprofit focused on providing affordable, high-performing, and sustainable housing to underserved, low-income communities. FFI will build key partnerships with local organizations and communities to develop a framework for workforce training, jobs, and environmentally healthy housing solutions. Through knowledge and access to locally grown hemp, they will engage these communities to assess housing and economic challenges that inform tailored training curricula and workforce development systems. Whether you live in MI or want to be inspired in your location, this session is for you.
Date Posted: 2025-12-09Views:166Replies:0
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Allison Friedman

Home Indoor Air Quality Monitoring & DIY Automation, A Recorded Webinar with Brett Little and Scott Farbmann

Are you interested in learning more about the mechaniscs of how we're going to measure and take key steos towards improving our indoor air quality (IAQ?). Brett Little of GreenHome Institute and Scott Farbmann, Senior Policy & Ratings Manager at Energy Solutions (also an Architect and Passive House Consultant) invite is in to a great and candid conversation about their lived experiences experimenting with indoor air quality monitors in their own homes. Warning: This video is so good we watched it twice. The thing is, if eveyrone at the leading edge would share their exertise and experiences like this, we'd all learn so much faster and transform the building industry and heck, our global economy and ecosystems so that building and being healthier and more sustainable were a matter of course. We can give you a preview here, but it's worth watching the video. Contiue the converdation here and post your questions or comments here! Brett and Scott start with a brief conversaton about indoor air quality (IAQ) and how the market has been developing. Since the COVID19 pandemic, people have spent even more time inside and we've also become aware that clean indoor air matters and is not something we can take for granted. Both Brett and Scott have exerimented with multiple air quality monitors and walk us through what their exeriences have been, which is also a reviw of what the industyr has been like in the past few years form the consumer perspective. Put simply, we need clean indoor air as a part of a healthier living environment, especially as we keep tightening up homes an buildings to impve energy efficiency. We do not want ot trap toxins and pollutants in our buildings. As part of some incentive and certification progreams IAQ monitoing is also required. In the past, building professionals and commercial hygiene consultants might have been th only ones with IAQ equipmentm but the good (and sometimes confusing) news is that there are a growing number of IAQ brands and roducts on the market. The bad news is that we're still pretty much at an exerimental moment where you might need to try a few monitors and a few breads to figure out what works best in your home. Scott's also an Architect and a Passive House Consultant, but this project has clearly been a personal one for him, and Brett too. Scott has had a "fleet" of 7 monitors, 1 of which is commercia and one of which is for outside air. He compares data from the outside Purple Air monitor to the EPA's reporting What do the monitors measure? Basics include temperature, humidity, CO2, VOCs, and particulate matter (very fine dust). But there are other pollutants and irritants, including radon. Scott talks us through how he tested how the monitors work with cooking and what some solutions might be to bring in fresh air. (Use your exhaust hood if you have one - every time!) Click to view an introduction to indoor air pollutants and why they matter. ean indoor is a significant air part of making our homes healthier, and increasingly important as we continue to tighten buildings to make them more energy efficient. But sufficient ventilation is essential to bring in enough fresh air to make sure we don't trap and breathe toxins and pollutants.
Date Posted: 2025-12-05Views:63Replies:0
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Rate It Green Team

Home Indoor Air Quality Monitoring & DIY Automation, A Recorded Webinar with Brett Little and Scott Farbman

Are you interested in learning more about the mechanics of how we're going to measure and take key steps towards improving our indoor air quality (IAQ?). Brett Little of GreenHome Institute and Scott Farbman, Senior Policy & Ratings Manager at Energy Solutions (also an Architect and Passive House Consultant) invite us into a great and candid conversation about their lived experiences experimenting with indoor air quality monitors in their own homes. Warning: This video is so good we watched it twice. The thing is, if everyone at the leading edge would share their expertise and experiences like this, we'd all learn so much faster and transform the building industry and heck, our global economy and ecosystems so that building and being healthier and more sustainable were a matter of course. We can give you a preview here, but it's worth watching the video. Continue the conversation and post your questions or comments! Brett and Scott start with a brief conversation about indoor air quality (IAQ) and how the market has been developing. Since the COVID 19 pandemic, people have spent even more time inside and we've also become aware that clean indoor air matters and is not something we can take for granted. Both Brett and Scott have experimented with multiple air quality monitors and walk us through what their experiences have been, which is also a review of what the industry has been like in the past few years from the consumer perspective. Put simply, we need clean indoor air as a part of a healthier living environment, especially as we keep tightening up homes and buildings to improve energy efficiency. We do not want to trap toxins and pollutants in our buildings. As part of some incentive and certification programs IAQ monitoring is also required. In the past, building professionals and commercial hygiene consultants might have been the only ones with IAQ equipment, but the good (and sometimes confusing) news is that there are a growing number of IAQ brands and products on the market. The bad news is that we're still pretty much at an experimental moment where you might need to try a few monitors and a few breads to figure out what works best in your home. Scott's also an Architect and a Passive House Consultant, but this project has clearly been a personal one for him, and Brett too. Scott has had a "fleet" of 7 monitors, 1 of which is commercial and one of which is for outside air. He compares data from the outside Purple Air monitor to the EPA's reporting What do the monitors measure? Basics include temperature, humidity, CO2, VOCs, and particulate matter (very fine dust). But there are other pollutants and irritants, including radon. Scott talks us through how he tested how the monitors work with cooking and what some solutions might be to bring in fresh air. (Use your exhaust hood if you have one - every time!) Click to view an introduction to indoor air quality and pollutants and why they're so important. Clean indoor air is a significant air part of making our homes healthier, and increasingly important as we continue to tighten buildings to make them more energy efficient. But sufficient ventilation is essential to bring in enough fresh air to make sure we don't trap and breathe toxins and pollutants. The #1 advice we've heard before? If you have a kitchen exhaust hood, use it every time you cook, no exceptions. Scott also points out you can do a lot with windows and bathroom exhaust famn, too. More complex mechanical solutions include make up air and ERVs, or energy recovery ventilation. Scott and Brett share their paths from maybe starting with one pollutant more in mind to trying different monitors to measure different pollutants and to see how they all work including looking at accuracy levels. Scott seemed to be looking at specific pollutants at first, while Brett's journey began with a focus on humidity and the conditions that can lead to mold growth. Both seem to have found that different monitors and sensors measure different pollutants and might also give different measurements and also report in different ways back to the user. So both also seem comfortable managing different equipment and multiple inputs, but clearly they're scientists and love the learning process. Scott became very interested early in his journey in automation, and he has definitely made personal strides to measure and even automate his home air quality and HVAC equipment. There is such an experimental process and a learning curve it's both comforting and worrying to hear about. We want manufacturing companies to make it easy and to do the thinking for us, but there are just so many factors. At the most basic level, different sensors are needed to measure different pollutants. And as Brett points out, all the monitors do require the consumer to "do something" to get the information - logging into an app, checking a computer screen, and just checking the data generally. So it's hard for one system to do it all. Also, some pollutants are more likely in different places - you don't put a radon sensor or equipment to check for mold conditions in your kitchen ideally, for example. Accuracy also varies, and equipment can degrade over time for various reasons including dust build up. The equipment also seems somewhat vulnerable - there was talk of banging children. And it's not perfect- Brett relays that one monitor that seems ot measure noise pollution might be sensing its own motor noise. Then there's the question of what we do with this data once we have it. And this is where the presentation moves to automation, and specifically an introduction to Home Assistant, an open-source platform where people can set up their own home management universes, and the possibilities seem limitless. Scott shares a LinkedIn article he posted about Home Assistant. A key strength of this system is that it can combine multiple apps, and many integrations already exist. So a consumer doesn't have to open up multiple apps or look at multiple piece of equipment at all times to learn what's going on in their home. Reactivity is another feature, and really the future of home management. Home Assistant can be programmed to make decisions and turn equipment on and off as conditions change. Even if a device isn't yet smart, one can use tools to enable the through relays that connect to the power source. The user can set parameters and control sequences to adjust for certain conditions and/or time. The systems can even collect data and adjust for peak load pricing if instructed. Home Assistant is apparently fairly user friendly, with some easy choices and drop down menus. But there's also command prompt scripting for those who are more proficient. Users can design their own dashboard, which really brings the home's data together, as one can then see across sensors and across different conditions over time. Home Assistant and tools like it do require some work and upkeep. Parts of the system may also not always function at 100%, with software changes, company changes, upgrades, and product and sensor aging. Brett seems to have liked using some IAQ equipment that was then discontinued and others where the type or location of the data changed and became less user friendly. There's definitely a point there about an emerging market and some risk of relying on companies that may not be around forever. That said, Home Assistant doesn't appear to be going anywhere. If one can put the effort in, iAQ and related home management data can all be together in a single place. There are versions of Home Assistant that have been packaged for easier use, but Scott was clearly never going to choose those. What does the future of IAQ monitoring look like? Scott and Brett discuss the possibility of monitoring companies that can track equipment and help consumers figure out what is happening and what might need to be addressed. Equipment is clearly also going to get more reactive over time. What tasks will the average person be willing to take on, and where are the manufacturers and other companies going to need to fill in? And once we have all of this data, what are we going to do with it? Will someone package all or most IAQ tech into an easier-to-use product at some point? Can we help create better IAQ for all buildings and occupants? Let's hope so!
Date Posted: 2025-12-05Views:335Replies:0
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