Every building project starts with assumptions about energy: where the power comes from, how reliable it is, and what it costs over the life of the structure. Those assumptions are changing as grids add wind and solar, retire coal plants, and debate the future of nuclear generation. Construction professionals who understand the trade-offs between generation […]
Nuclear power plants are among the most complex facilities in the built environment, and they push construction and engineering teams to think through safety, security, and long-term operations in ways few other projects require. The public debate over nuclear energy usually focuses on climate goals and fuel costs, but the physical plants themselves deserve closer
An attached garage usually sits outside the heated envelope of the house, so its temperature swings with the weather. In winter, an uninsulated steel door behaves like a giant radiator, drawing heat out of the rooms next to it and pushing energy bills higher. Insulation slows that heat transfer through the door panels, and the
A lumber yard in Milwaukee installed a 50.7-kilowatt rooftop solar array in January and beat its production expectations in the first full month of operation. The system offsets more than half of the facility’s electrical consumption and cuts about $10,000 a year from the power bill. For lumber yards, hardware stores, and other building material
Wood pellets have become a mainstream fuel for power generators in Europe and Asia, and the industrial facilities that produce them are among the most capital-intensive projects in the forest products sector. A single plant can cost close to $100 million and take more than a year to build, so the planning that happens before
A timber frame home near Ithaca, New York, sits on an 11-acre parcel where hardwood forest meets hay fields, and its 2,000 square feet of living space are organized around efficiency as much as beauty. The structure uses traditional wood-in-wood peg joinery, exposed Douglas fir beams, and generous windows that let the owners watch the
Heating, cooling, and water heating consume most of the energy used in a typical American home, and the products chosen at design time determine most of that bill. Energy-efficient building products have moved from a premium option to a baseline expectation: better windows, tighter ducts, and high-efficiency mechanical systems now pay back through lower utility
A 7,000-square-foot timber home near Ann Arbor, Michigan, runs a full year of heating, cooling, and hot water for about $750. The house earned the national Energy Star five-plus rating, became the first home certified as green built in Washtenaw County, and placed in the top seven of nearly 400 entries for a National Association
Designing a home for one person is hard enough. Designing one for two adults, three children, and six pets is a different ballgame, and the house that wins that game earns every square foot. The 2,700-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath timber home near Mancos, Colorado that inspired this article fits its family because every system was chosen
New homes hold a big advantage over existing homes when it comes to energy efficiency: none of the old materials or hidden problems get in the way when you build from scratch. The decisions that matter, from the window schedule to the water heater, all happen before the foundation is poured. If you are still
