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Article in the Whole Building Design Guide about the uses and features of metal roofs that meet "cool roof" standards.

"This paper discusses the evidence regarding daylighting and student performance and development, and presents four case studies of schools that have cost effectively implemented daylighting into their buildings."

This study expands and validates previous research by Heschong Mahone Group that found a statistical correlation between the amount of daylight in elementary school classrooms and student performance. The researchers reanalyzed student performance data from two school districts to answer questions raised by the previous study. The results are consistent with the original findings and affirm that daylight has a positive and highly significant association with improved student performance.

A net zero-energy community (ZEC) is one that has greatly reduced energy needs through efficiency gains such that the balance of energy for vehicles, thermal, and electrical energy within the community is met by renewable energy. Past work resulted in a common zero-energy building (ZEB) definition system of “zero energy” and a classification system for ZEBs based on the renewable energy sources used by a building. This paper begins with a focus solely on buildings and expands the concept to define a zero-energy community, applying the ZEB hierarchical renewable classification system to the concept of community. A community that offsets all of its energy use from renewables available within the community’s built environment and unusable brownfield sites is at the top of the ZEC classification system at a ZEC of A. (A brownfield site is where the redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.) A community that achieves a ZEC definition primarily through the purchase of new off-site, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) is placed at the lowest end of the ZEC classification but is still considered a good achievement.
NREL/TP-7A2-46065

Presentation slides from Design Team Commitment: An Architect's Perspective presentation given at the NASA Net-Zero Energy workshop June 5-6, 2012.

This five-page fact sheet explains how designing, building, and operating zero energy ready K-12 schools provides benefits for districts, students, and teachers.

"While ASHRAE 90.1 has been pushing continuous insulation (CI) for the past decade, the building codes are catching on. And now that the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has mandated all states to adopt a commercial building energy code that meets or exceeds ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010, CI specifications are really being cast into the spotlight."

The Energy Charting and Metrics (ECAM) Tool Webinar Series is a three-part series of presentations that provide detailed assistance with installation of the tool, show the capabilities of the tool in analyzing metered electrical and end-use data, and familiarize the user with the methodology and functionality of this tool.

The Energy Charting and Metrics (ECAM) Tool Webinar Series is a three-part series of presentations that provide detailed assistance with installation of the tool, show the capabilities of the tool in analyzing metered electrical and end-use data, and familiarize the user with the methodology and functionality of this tool.

The Energy Charting and Metrics (ECAM) Tool Webinar Series is a three-part series of presentations that provide detailed assistance with installation of the tool, show the capabilities of the tool in analyzing metered electrical and end-use data, and familiarize the user with the methodology and functionality of this tool.