In his just published book, Green Building Trends: Europe, Jerry Yudelson of Tuscon Arizona explores the German Austrian concept of the PassivHaus or Passive House which is designed to use very little outside energy for heating or cooling, relying on the building and activities within the building to heat itself.
He points out that while in the USA the government has worked to make commercial buildings more efficient, in Europe governments have focused on residential construction.
(Both Europe and the USA face the conundrum of how to make existing housing stock sustainable with the challenge greater in Europe due in part to the greater historic value of dwellings.)
His book also addresses green building in the UK, ecotowns, German sustainable building and takes a look at concepts that are well understood in Europe that need to be understood in the USA.
You can read the first chapter of his book in pdf form here.
Mr. Yudelson will be the featured speaker at a US Green Building Council Balcones Chapter lecture and mixer September 2, 2009 at the San Antonio Central Library from 6:15 to 8:45 pm. Tickets range from $27 for early purchase by USGBC members to $47.50 for purchase after August 24 by non members. Tickets are available from eventbrite, “Looking to Europe for a Greener Tomorrow” .
The Passive House Institute US hosts the 4th annual North American Passive House Conference, October 16 to 18 2009 at the University of Urbana-Champaign.
No comments:
Post a Comment