Buildings
The Future of Hot Water Is Heat Pumps
State and local leaders nationwide are beginning to recognize the importance of eliminating fossil fuels in newly constructed buildings. The rationale is clear: gas has an extremely limited place in our clean energy future, and it’s far more difficult, costly, and disruptive to swap out gas-consuming equipment from…
How COVID-19 Is Pushing Cities to Change Solar Permitting for the Better
In order to meet social distancing requirements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, cities across the United States are moving permitting services, including solar, online. The International Code Council (ICC) recently surveyed its members and found that 65 percent of local code permitting officials have moved to remote work…
Connected Communities: A Better Way of Building
Looking out your window you might see another building. But close as that may be, you likely share very little with it, even though both your building and the ones near you are dependent on much of the same infrastructure. What if we change this relationship and create functional connections…
California Should Go All-Electric in New Construction—State’s Largest Utility Agrees
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), California’s largest combined gas and electric utility, became the first dual-fuel utility in the country to formally support ending new gas hookups in buildings. In a letter to the California Energy Commission (CEC) this week, PG&E endorsed efficient, all-electric new construction as part of…
Stimulus, Clean Energy, and Changing the Status Quo
The status quo no longer works—for health, for equity, or for climate. In just three months, we lost over 100,000 Americans to COVID-19. Over 40 million Americans have lost their jobs, putting the US unemployment rate at levels not seen since World War II. We must forge a positive direction…
