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Refurbished Membership Levels – May 2012

April 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

(A follow up/reiteration of our recent 4/12/12 email to the membership):

NESEA has some changes afoot –

  • The first is our new website, to be launched in May.
    The new website, and new database to match, will help improve the way in which members can communicate and connect with one another.
  • Second, after gathering member survey feedback and some serious consideration, we are refurbishing our membership levels, which will be launched with the website in May.

Here is what you can expect:

Individual Levels:
Student / Retiree – $25
Individual / Emerging Professional – $55
ASES / NESEA Individual – $94
Lifetime Individual – $1500

Business Levels (suggested by number of employees):
Small Business / Entrepreneur (1-10) – $250
Local Leader (11-25) – $500
Industry Leader (26+) – $1000

You may notice the new levels are more or less equivalent to our current structure. So, why the change?

  • We needed to simplify.
    Before we had six individual levels of membership and five business levels. Now we offer a total of seven levels. We think this is much more straightforward. It’s also easier for us to track, which means we can spend less time on administration, and more time serving you!
  • We serve a diverse community of members who range in age, career phase, discipline and business size. We needed a membership structure to match.
    Now, new and renewing members can identify their niche more easily and not just based on the quantitative benefits associated with each level. We are asking members to identify themselves in each member level, rather than to choose only based on the price, or the discounts. According to our recent member surveys, the discounts, while definitely a perk, are not really why you join NESEA. (The discounts aren’t going away, though, never fear!)
  • We want to reflect our continued clarity of vision on who our members are and what matters to you.
    We are working hard to continue to improve and deliver on what you have said matters most to you – the peer to peer learning, the community, and the opportunities to connect professionally. De-emphasizing the discounts as reasons to join, coupled with a membership structure that more clearly reflects different career phases, business sizes, and foci, we will be better positioned to do so.

Because most of the current levels have a direct equivalent, your current level of membership should translate seamlessly into our new database. No action is required on your part.

For example, if you are a current Basic $55 Member, you will translate to Individual/Emerging Professional $55 level membership in the new structure. With the exception of the levels we are no longer offering (explained below), very little will noticeably change for you, but we think the semantics are important.

So, where is the Sustainable Green Pages level?

  • We are retiring it as a membership level.
    The Sustainable Green Pages directory listing will be available to anyone that would like to purchase it (for $100), but those that purchase the listing only will not be considered NESEA members (and so will also not receive the Northeast Sun).
  • The Sustainable Green Pages listing will continue to be a benefit to business members…
    …with the added bonus of a NESEA member logo to signify your commitment to the mission and values of this organization. Or, you can be an Individual level member and also purchase a listing, and be recognized as a member with a member logo in the directory.

Here is a summary of what we mean by ‘retiring’ the SGP Level of membership:

  • The SGP level (as a standalone) will no longer be considered a NESEA membership.
  • The SGP directory listing will still be included as a benefit to business level members, and available for purchase separately from (or in addition to Individual) membership for $100.
  • NESEA members who purchase a listing in addition to their membership, or have a listing as a business membership benefit, will be designated as NESEA members in the directory with a NESEA member logo.
  • We will phase out this level as current SGP level memberships lapse.
    That is, current (joined or renewed before May, after our new website launches) SGP level members will continue to be considered full members until it comes time to renew.

If you are a current SGP member and you are interested in renewing your NESEA membership, these are your options:

  • Renew at a Business level
    That way, you get the Sustainable Green Pages listing and the full benefits of NESEA business membership. (Click here to see level options and benefits).
  • Renew at the Individual ($55) level
    If you renew at this level (click here to see benefits), you can additionally purchase a Sustainable Green Pages listing for $100, and still be designated as a NESEA member in the directory. This arrangement does not come with the other perks that come with the business levels (one reason why we would encourage you to give a business level a try), but the combination would then include a $20 discount on a BuildingEnergy Conference registration, which our current SGP level does NOT offer.

Even if you decide not to purchase a listing, or try a business level, as an Individual / Emerging Professional member, you will have access to the members only directory (being listed is optional), which will help you connect to your fellow members (and help them connect to you).

We hope you will stay a member, but if the listing is all you really want, we won’t twist your arm! You will still be able to get one for $100, but you will not receive any of the benefits of being a member of our amazing community.

What about the Supporting and Sustaining individual levels?

To those that have joined at higher priced individual levels (Supporting, Sustaining) – we are retiring them as membership levels because although you gave us more (thank you!!), you did not get much more in return.

We truly appreciate your giving, which is why we would encourage you to contribute as a donation de-coupled from your member dues. That way, because we are a registered 501(c)3, you can get a tax deduction. To clarify that: membership dues are unfortunately NOT tax deductible, only donations are. By donating separately from your membership, we are more clearly able to count, and recognize you (if you wish) among our donors.

If you are a current holder of a supporting or sustaining membership, you will continue to be at that level until it is time for you to renew, and then you will have the opportunity to choose another level.

As always, we are here to support you – to connect you with other professionals, to help you learn from each other, and to continue to promote the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the built environment.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns – 413-774-6051 ext. 20, rheldt@nesea.org.

Thank you for being a part of our community!

Filed Under: Communications, NESEA, NESEA Members Tagged With: , ,

I Have A New Rule I Want Everyone To Follow

March 15, 2012 By 1 Comment

I had a great time at BuildingEnergy, as always, and met many people young and old, that wanted to get into the green career field; many of them came up to me and said “Can you help me get a job in green/sustainability/energy efficiency/etc?”

And I asked them all, “Are you a NESEA member?”

If they said yes, I said yes, and helped them. I think I got one kid on the path to a new job in about 15 minutes.

If no, I said, “Join NESEA, then come talk to me.” And they asked a second question, and I said, “We’re a community, and our community needs support. Become a member, then come talk to me, and I’ll be happy to help.”

The mothership needs the support and participation of committed NESEA Members. And we all talk about community, support, networking, learning the greater good, and how NESEA fulfills that need.

So I’m asking all of you to look deep into your wallets, examine your conscience, and ask yourself, “Have I paid my NESEA dues? Am I  indeed a member? Or am I a NESEAfaux?”

I’m also asking those that did workshops this year to donate their “bounty’ in the workshops back to NESEA. New readers may not be aware, but presenters at Tuesday workshops do get a cut. I’ve been doing it for years, and it has allowed me to become a lifetime member. Last year, Bernice Radle became a lifetime member because we donated back our workshop booty. This year, Erica Brabon became a NESEA lifetime member when we gave it back.

So now that we’ve had a successful conference, and are preparing for next year’s show, I join the chorus of Lifetime, Sustaining, Supporting, NESEA/ASES, Basic and Student members and ask you all to join. And when people ask you for pro-bono help, ask them if they are NESEA members, and encourage them to join if they are not.

And don’t help them until they are.

Thank you members, you help make the conference great. And for those of you that helped with the conference and forgot to renew – remember to do it, OK? It’s why we’re here.

Thanks, Andy

Filed Under: Emerging Professionals, NESEA, NESEA Members

BuildingEnergy 12 – What did you think?

March 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Thursday, March 8th saw the conclusion of BuildingEnergy 2012, and what a ride it was. We were extremely fortunate to have, in addition to an outstanding cast of speakers, volunteers and international collaborators, balmy weather for the conference.  Speaking personally, this was my first BuildingEnergy, and it was simply an incredible experience.  If you haven’t already read them, Jennifer, in her blog post, talks about post-BuildingEnergy “re-entry” and gives a shout-out to all the people who made this event so wonderful.

But that’s our take on it. What have other people been saying? Here’s a brief sample of some BuildingEnergy 12 feedback:

“I think this may have been the best NESEA BE conference ever.” John Abrams, South Mountain Company

“What an energetic, dedicated, amazing community! Thanks for all the hard work, organization and passion. This year’s conference again highlighted the remarkable fusion of idealism and informed practice that makes NESEA, and its members, exceptional and effective.”
David Foley

“Thanks to Robert and Paul, their dedicated Track and Session Chairs and special thanks to all the hard working staff and incredible legion of volunteers who pick up the pieces for us mere mortals.”
Joel Gordes

“It never stops! Thanks to all of you (all of us) for this perennial reminder of who we are. Jennifer, Mary, all of the staff and the un-thanked volunteers deserve great praise. They make us happy to ask ‘I am, are you?’”
Bill Stillinger, PV2

“Many thanks to Robert, Paul, Jennifer, Mary & the entire NESEA staff for pulling off another great NESEA experience & for making each one better than the last. The community building pieces as well as several other recent improvements will be studied & replicated (in some way) for future conferences. Thanks for doing so much of the work that will be used to build on for our future.
Thanks especially for making this a tribe that I am most proud to be a member of.  I am, Are You?”
Marc Sternick, Dietz & Co. Architects

“May I join Marc in saying a huge thank you to Robert, Paul, Mary, Jennifer and all the staff. You made it look easy!”
Caitriona Cooke

“I have to add my thanks to Robert, Paul, the staff and the whole NESEA Community for a fabulous conference It was a true embarrassment of riches in the best way possible. “
Laura Notman

“For me, the conference as a whole was very much about beginning conversations and connections that will carry on well past the three-day event. I’m reinvigorated, full of new ideas, friends, colleagues, clients, and connections as a result of my time at the conference. I’m excited by the new opportunities that have grown out of this year’s experience.

This is my experience this year… as it has been for many years… Information, yes,… but even more so… a renewal of a sense of mindful, meaning-filled connection to others involved in the excitement and the challenges of sustaining the people and the planet.

A privilege and honor to share this journey with each of you…”
Bart Bales

“To create an elixir like BE, it takes a unique community of dedicated and passionate visionaries.  As an attendee, I’m personally grateful to all of you for creating such an inspiring, thought provoking and enlightening conference.”
Jo Lee, Green Machine PR

“Congrats and thx to @NESEAed and the whole team for another exceptional Building Energy event #be12″ @EnergyCircle

“(BuildingEnergy) was amazing. Truly the center of cutting edge building efficiency. Looking forward to engaging everyone further about efficiency.” @475sam

What did you think of BuildingEnergy 12? Let us know in the comments below, or later in in the soon-to-be-released BuildingEnergy 12 survey.

In the meantime, let’s keep the energy going for BuildingEnergy 13 (no, it’s never too early to start planning for the next event.)

Filed Under: BuildingEnergy Conference & Trade Show, Events, NESEA, Sustainable Building

It's a Wrap – Reflections upon re-entry after BE12

March 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Re-entry from BE is always difficult for me. It is always such a high to be part of such a huge, collaborative, well received effort, and always so hard to let it go and move back into the real world, to walk among mere mortals.

I am profoundly grateful. Grateful to the 100 volunteers and 9 dedicated staffers who planned and executed this conference, and took seriously the charge to make it more inclusive, to open it to new audiences.

To the on-site volunteers, without whom, quite literally, the conference would not run.

To our members, who wore their hearts on their sleeves and talked without prompting about what NESEA had meant to their careers. You truly moved me.

To the many attendees who approached me with ideas and enthusiasm about how we can improve NESEA and BuildingEnergy in coming years.

To Conference Chair Robert Leaver, for infusing into the format many opportunities to come together as a community (or many communities), to set our learning intentions, and to reflect and act upon what we’ve learned.

To Vice Chair Paul Eldrenkamp for not letting a single day pass before we start to seize on what we’ve learned and to apply it to BE13.

And to so many other folks who made this the best week of my year.

I invite you all to continue to be part of our conversation and our community. To share what you’ve learned, how you’ve changed, how your practice has changed. Your “aha” moments, your breakthroughs, your suggestions. And, of course, any leads you think we should be pursuing to grow this conference, this community and this movement.

Many thanks.

Jennifer

Filed Under: Green Building, Industry, NESEA, NESEA Members, Renewable Energy, Uncategorized

Thinking About Systems Thinking

February 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

A few days from now, clean energy and building science professionals are gathering in Boston, at the NESEA Building Energy 2012 conference. For some it is an annual pilgrimage; for others it may be their first contact with this multi-disciplinary group.
This time around there is an extraordinary offering that I want you to know about: a one day workshop on the importance of thinking in systems.
The Secret Is In The System! The workshop of this name is scheduled for Tuesday March 6. It will be presented by two colleagues with deep experience in this area; Sara Schley and Linda Booth Sweeney.
Irrespective of your professional field, attending the workshop will expose you to a profound way to understand and approach complex problems. It’s a fitting lead-in to the Whole Systems In Action track of conference sessions to follow over the next two days, but it can provide insight into anyone’s circumstances; problems facing organizations, energy efficiency, building science, policy, security, finance, clean energy resource deployment, etc.
The workshop material can be useful to anyone who wants to get beneath the immediate, surface issues they face; to identify the leverage points that will effect the greatest positive change. By thinking in systems we’re able to analyze break-downs in small organizations such as design or construction firms just as effectively as problems on the macro scale, such as those that, like the BP oil spill, invoke “the tragedy of the commons.”
The Building Energy 2012 conference will have an array of important offerings from which to choose. I recommend this one.

Filed Under: BuildingEnergy Conference & Trade Show, Events, Green Building, NESEA, NESEA Members Tagged With:

Exciting New Collaboration Opportunity with Siemens

January 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I wanted to let you know about a partnership opportunity that has recently come our way.

Siemens has just approached us to explore whether we are interested in working with them to present Solar Exchange, a one-day conference intended primarily to educate practitioners about the latest happenings in the solar industry. Participants will include photovoltaic researchers, utility representatives, manufacturers, developers, OEMs, integrators and others. Siemens will take responsibility for identifying and paying for the venue, and underwriting the cost of attendance for all attendees so that it can be offered as a free event. They have asked NESEA to help with the planning and promotion of Solar Exchange – i.e., providing our content for the event. They are planning to host the event in May at Rutgers University.

Siemens has recently hosted other Solar Exchange events in Arizona (approximately 80 attendees), Los Angeles, and most recently in Raleigh, NC, where they partnered with another ASES affiliate, the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, which attracted 300 attendees. All were very well received, and I have learned from my counterparts in NC that Siemens was great to work with.

From my perspective, this opportunity is a no-brainer. Last year, the NESEA Board approved a strategic direction that contemplates offering more programming in the southern part of the NESEA territory — NY, NJ, PA and DE. We are hoping, over time, to develop some sort of “BE South” offering. This event could be a great first step. It could allow us to develop a stronger toe-hold in NJ, and to obtain up to 300 qualified leads for new members in the area with whom we might be able to engage, year round. The only cost to NESEA will be the staff time associated with helping to find content for the event and helping to promote it. And we intend to work closely with BuildingEnergy Renewables track chair Bill Stillinger to do so – borrowing heavily from the content and the presenters we are using in the Renewables track at BE12. Siemens has indicated they are open to using different learning formats – more interactive modes of learning than just a traditional panel of 3 with PowerPoints. They are interested in making the event a quality learning and networking event, not just a sales pitch for their own products.

I’ll be glad to keep you all updated on this collaboration as it progresses. Thanks!

Jennifer

Filed Under: energy policy, Green Building, Industry, NESEA, Renewable Energy, Solar Tagged With: , , , ,

2/16/12 – Pregame for BE12

January 30, 2012 By 1 Comment

Can’t wait for BuildingEnergy12? Neither could we.

Thankfully, one of our BE12 Gold Sponsors and NESEA Members, Renewable Sales, has volunteered to host a BE-caliber session at their showroom in Holliston, MA, February 16, 2012, starting at 5:30pm. RSVP here.

An evening of networking and expert information …
and it’s free! (And there will be food!)

The evening will feature a discussion “Understanding Risks and Rewards: A Conversation on Community Solar,” facilitated by The Cadmus Group, featuring a case study from the Town of Natick and from the City of Medford.  MA Department of Energy Resources will speak to its solar programs (e.g., SolarizeMass with MassCEC, SunShot Program grant), as well as support that it can and has provided to Massachusetts municipalities.

[hide-this-part morelink="Click here to read more about the speakers..."]

Erin Sweet, The Cadmus Group
Erin SweetErin Sweet leads The Cadmus Group’s efforts to support local communities with their renewable energy projects. Since 2010, Ms. Sweet has provided owner’s agent technical assistance services to eight Massachusetts cities and towns on behalf of the state Department of Energy Resources. She has assembled lessons learned from Cadmus’ owner’s agent work into a blog for communities interested in renewable energy. Ms. Sweet has evaluated the costs and benefits of water utility renewable energy projects for the U.S. EPA, and created a roadmap to drive renewables development in South Carolina’s Central Midlands region. Ms. Sweet holds an M.A. in urban and environmental policy and planning from Tufts University, and degrees in microbiology and English from the University of Florida.

Meg Lusardi, MA Department of Energy Resources,
Green Communities Division
Meg is the Director for the Green Communities Division, the organization within the MA Department of Energy Resources that serves as the hub for all municipalities on all matters related to energy.  Meg was tasked in August 2008 to launch the development and implementation of the Green Communities Designation and Grant Program, the landmark program for the Division, that has led to 86 municipalities in MA being designated Green Communities. Meg joined DOER in July 2005 and previously worked with the Renewable Energy team on all matters related to renewables development in MA. She previously served as the Chief of Operations for Project Hope, a non-profit in Dorchester, and as a Project Manager at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Bob Bois, Environmental Compliance Officer, Town of NatickBob Bois
Bob has worked in the environmental field on the public side for over 35 years. Presently, Bob is the Environmental Compliance Officer (ECO) for the Town of Natick – a position he’s held for the past 10 years. As the ECO for Natick, Bob is responsible for coordinating Town-wide compliance with all applicable federal and state environmental laws applicable to Town operations and plays a key role in implementing environmental stewardship and pollution prevention projects Town-wide. As Natick’s ECO, Bob has helped the Town achieve ISO 14001 certification for the environmental management system at its water treatment plant in 2007, secured designation from the state DOER as Green Community in May 2010, and helped negotiate two Power Purchase Agreements to install a 1.08 MW solar array system on the roof of six town buildings by the spring of 2012. Prior to working for Natick, Bob worked 25 years with the state DEP in various positions including the Acting Director for the Office of Enforcement. Bob has a BS in biology form Merrimack College and a MS in Engineering from Tufts University.

A representative from the City of Medford (to be confirmed)

With introductions from:

Kevin Price, CEO, Renewable Sales
Kevin Price is CEO of Renewable Sales of Holliston Massachusetts. Mr. Price bring 30 years of construction sector experience to his position, predominantly in the role of wholesale distributor of mechanical  equipment. In 2008, he opened a small warehouse to service the fledgling solar market in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts.  Since then, he has grown the company to keep pace with the fast expanding market. Renewable Sales now has 3 divisions; the original distribution company that recently expanded operations to a 20,000SF facility in Holliston, as well as two manufacturing divisions.  In Dallas, Texas the company manufactures its American Choice PV modules. The third division, Constellation Solar Mounts, manufactures solar racking for commercial and utility scale projects.

Mr. Price is a native of Massachusetts and enjoys New England’s diverse cultural and seasonal offerings. Mr. Price supports a number of charitable organizations on a local and regional basis.

…and our own Jennifer Marrapese, Executive Director, Northeast Sustainable Energy Association[/hide-this-part]

Here is the essential information:

What: NESEA invites you to “Understanding Risks and Rewards: A Conversation on Community Solar” presented by The Cadmus Group, and hosted by Renewable Sales
Where: Renewable Sales, 35 Jeffrey Avenue, Holliston, MA 01746
When: Thursday, February 16th, 2012; 5:30 – 8:30pm
RSVP: http://goo.gl/iKWtB – maximum 60 attendees – so do not delay! (and please let us know if you need to cancel)

We hope to see you there!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me: rheldt@nesea.org or 413-774-6051 ext. 20

Filed Under: Events, Industry, NESEA, NESEA Members, Renewable Energy, Solar Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kim Quirk – Near Net Zero Homeowner, BuildingEnergy 12 Presenter

January 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This is was originally posted at EnergyEmporium by Kim Quirk

Creating a Zero Net Energy Building in a Historic Shell

“That’s the title of the talk I am going to do at the NESEA (Northeast Sustainable Energy Association) conference in Boston in March 2012. The conference, BuildingEnergy 12, will be held at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on March 6-8. There are 10 different tracks of workshops on “renewables and high performance buildings”. Check it out. You can get a ton of information at this conference.
NESEA BuildingEnergy12
I was very excited to have my presentation selected. All the work we’ve been doing on the renovation of my building has been well documented and I will have a years worth of real data and results by then. I applied to present at this conference last year but my project schedule slipped and my move-in date was too late to get any real feedback as to the performance of the house, so they asked me to re-apply this year.

Ok… so the good news is that I was selected for presentation. The bad news is that the house isn’t performing as well as it should at this point. There are things we are actively analyzing and debugging. So when I got the news that I was on the schedule, I called the session chair to discuss some of the issues and see if they wanted to retract their offer. “Not at all”, I was told. “We expect an audience that understands how difficult it is to achieve zero net energy and we learn more from the problems than the successes”. She assured me that presenting the results with details about issues would be a good session.

So, as I pull together data, information, pictures for this talk I will also put it out there on this blog. It would be great to get some feedback before the conference so I can be ready for the hard questions.

There were 4 goals for this renovation:

  • Zero Net Energy Building
  • LEED-H certification
  • No Combustion, no fossil fuels
  • Attention to Historic Preservation

You can get more details on these goals by clicking on 78 Main St – Renovation.

I’ll start addressing the 3rd goal in this post since it has been very easy to measure: This house has no fossil fuels. I don’t have an oil tank or oil bill, no propane tank or gas bills, no fireplace, wood stove or wood bills.

But — This house is on the grid and I DO have an electric bill. My electric company is National Grid. Their electricity is made up of about 36% natural gas, 15% coal, 26% nuclear, 10% oil, and 13% other fuels (mostly renewable). So that is not good. My intention is to offset all the electricity we use with local solar PV panels. Right now I am measuring the electrical use so I can design the right size array. The good news is that weather data and insolation (how much sun we get here in NH) from the National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL) is pretty accurate so I will be able determine the size of the array based on my use. I didn’t want to put the array in place, though, until I have a good estimate of electrical usage. More on that in an upcoming blog.”

Read the original post WITH GREAT COMMENTS here

Filed Under: NESEA, Sustainable Building Tagged With: , , , ,

A Tale of Two Cities: Sustainable Urban Development in Hamburg Comes to Boston

January 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you’ve been following the movement towards renewable energy, you probably know that Europe is way ahead of us. And you might feel that we’ve got a long way to go if we’re ever going to catch up.

NESEA is hoping to change that with a new international collaboration.

We’re proud to announce an exciting new development with the German Consulate. This year, our BuildingEnergy Conference will feature a session on Sustainable Urbanism with representatives from the City of Hamburg, Germany as part of the Transatlantic Climate Bridge.  The German delegation will include Senator Jutta Blankau who will present at the conference Closing Forum on March 8th, and Mr. Uli Hellweg, who will speak at the Thursday session titled “How Hamburg Will Generate 100% of Heat and Electricity from Local Renewable Resources.”

The Transatlantic Climate Bridge is “a joint commitment to invest in newer, cleaner sources of energy can create new jobs and world-class industries, clean up the environment and protect the climate, improve standards of living and enhance global security.” The German Consulate considers their involvement with NESEA to be “one of our major projects“, and given the similarities between Boston and Hamburg and the popularity of BuildingEnergy, it’s easy to see why. Both cities share a similar climate, and as port cities, Boston is ideally suited to channel materials and ideas from Hamburg into the Northeast. BuildingEnergy is the next step, the distribution hub from which the ideas brought over from Germany can be acquired and disseminated throughout the Northeast. And the sustainability industry is ready for them.
Says Mr. Galen Nelson, Director of Intergovernmental Partnerships at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (and BuildingEnergy Session Chair) “The City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts share a strong interest in strengthening our clean energy industry and helping the private sector adapt to a low carbon economy.  The German experience in Hafen City, coupled with Boston’s vibrant clean energy eco-system and the state’s cutting edge renewable energy policies and programs create a perfect opportunity to explore district heating systems in the Commonwealth.”

BuildingEnergy is the place to be for new ideas, new friends, and new business prospects. we’re very excited by this new partnership with the German Consulate, and look forward to expanding our international connections.

So, will we see you at BuildingEnergy? I do hope your answer is “Ja!”

Filed Under: energy policy, Industry, NESEA, Renewable Energy, Solar, Sustainable Building

Dietz & Co. Architects Project Achieves LEED Gold Certification

January 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Great news from the NESEA membership! Congratulations to Dietz & Company Architects on receiving the LEED Gold Certification for their work on a project with the YWCA! This is especially exiting news because Marc Sternick, VP of Dietz & Co, is on our Board of Directors and the firm is a local, NESEA business member.

The full press release is included here:

Springfield, Mass. – Dietz & Company Architects, Inc. has received LEED for Homes Gold certification from USGBC (the U.S. Green Building Council) for the recently completed units at the YWCA’s Campus of Hope. These new units provide housing that serves to transition women from domestic violence shelters to longer-term living facilities. The 32,000 square foot project is made up of 20 apartments and eight congregate housing units within its walls. This project was part of the larger Campus of Hope initiative
that was started more than 10 years ago for which Dietz & Company Architects was the master planner. Dietz & Company Architects also
designed the first phase of this campus: a 60,000 square foot building that includes administrative offices, meeting and classrooms as well as an on-site shelter.

In the finest tradition of the YWCA, this project features cutting edge technology in Green construction, women-owned partnerships and the
overwhelming support of the community it seeks to serve. The project, originally designed to achieve LEED for Homes Silver certification level, exceeded that level by achieving Gold certification.

Several factors that supported the LEED for Homes Gold Certification include: super-insulated walls and airtight construction, efficient mechanical systems that include roof-mounted photovoltaic panels for electricity, sustainable site design and the use of green construction materials. A healthy indoor environment, pollution reduction and lower utility/maintenance costs are also key elements of this certification. This highly efficient building is expected to reduce water and energy consumption by 20 to 30 percent over typical code compliant construction.

NL Construction was the general contractor for this project and the project was supported by the LEED for Homes Provider, CET. The LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™ is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for
developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.

 

Filed Under: Communications, Green Building, NESEA, NESEA Members, Sustainable Building Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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