The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy defines a high-performance building (HPB) as “a building that is substantially better than standard practice.” There are no exact criteria for defining an HPB. Neither are there set criteria for determining the benchmark that defines standard practice, because commercial building performance is not an absolute. READ MORE
Thomas E. Glavinich
Freelance Writer
Thomas E. Glavinich is an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Kansas. He can be reached at 785.864.3435 and tglavinich@ku.edu.
Articles by Thomas E. Glavinich
September 2007
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According to the Energy Information Administration, which gathers and analyzes energy data for the U.S. Department of Energy, commercial buildings currently consume 18 percent of the energy in the United States (www.eia.doe.gov). Of this 18 percent, commercial building lighting consumes 23 percent. READ MORE
September 2007
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Electrical contractors are encountering seismic requirements in parts of the United States that previously were not considered earthquake prone. However, in these areas, the geological potential for earthquakes exists as much as the West Coast. READ MORE
August 2007
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Building commissioning is becoming increasingly commonplace for commercial and institutional buildings, as more are being designed and built to be high-performance or green buildings. Building commissioning is the process of ensuring building equipment and systems operate and can be maintained in accordance with the owner’s requirements. READ MORE
July 2007
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The Integration of photovoltaics (PV) into building systems represents a growth market for the electrical contracting firm. PV combined into exterior building elements such as the building’s roof and exterior walls is typically referred to as building- READ MORE
July 2007
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Green buildings are moving into the mainstream of the U.S. construction industry. Increasingly, private and public owners are requiring that their building projects be designed and constructed in an environmentally responsible manner and be recognized as a green building. READ MORE
June 2007
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The concept of what a building is and how it should function is changing rapidly in the 21st century. Traditionally, a building is simply a physical object composed of a structural skeleton, an outer skin that provides a boundary between the building occupants and the outside environment, and a collection of independent systems that establish the building’s internal environment. READ MORE
