Developers are becoming increasingly interested in green building technologies. Some of them want to utilize these green building methods so that they earn LEED points. Others are interested in how it impacts the resale value of their project, while still others want to include these technologies because they reduce carbon emissions and improve the environment of the planet. However, with new advances being made everyday, it can be difficult to decide which green elements to include in your next project.

The consultants at Burnham keep a close eye on technologies that are being tested and developed. They strive to understand which of these technologies will be the most relevant for their clients’ projects. In some cases, they even find it advantageous to study how these technologies are being utilized in other countries. Japan, for instance, is doing some groundbreaking work in the arena of green technology.

One of the green building technologies becoming more popular in Japan is the fuel cell. These devices create electricity and heat by utilizing hydrogen. Because they rely on electro-chemistry instead of the burning of fuel, they have a very efficient rate of conversion. Some are as efficient as 87 percent. Currently, in the United States, these cells are sometimes used in commercial buildings, and some smaller PEM (Polymer Electrolyte) cells are used in transportation. In Japan, however, more and more of these cells are being used in residential homes. In fact, 3,000 of these cells have been installed in Japanese homes since 2008. They reduce a home’s fuel consumption by 24 percent, and they reduce a home’s CO2 emissions by almost 40 percent. However, these units can cost up to $30,000. Technological advances will lower their price to about $5,000 by the year 2015. As this market matures, Burnham will have a close eye on it to ascertain when and how it will become a useful feature for their clients.

The team at Burnham also keeps a close eye on other emerging technologies. Whether you are interested in integrating Japanese HVAC technology into your next project or learning more about air cleaning paint, the team at Burnham has the answers that you need. They study green building technologies, and they know which ones offer the best environmental benefits and the best return on investment for your project.

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Meeting the ADA building requirements in a bathroom can be difficult for a building manager, business owner, or homeowner. It can be a rather overwhelming task to ascertain which requirements need to be met in which bathrooms and how to best meet those requirements. As part of the Burnham special experience, clients are guided toward the requirements that they need to follow, as well as given ideas about how to best meet those requirements.

The ADA requirements deal with everything from grab bars in toilet stalls and shower stalls to the correct placement of mirrors. However, none of the requirements are cut and dry. They all include numerous exceptions to the rules, which are necessary to know but can also be difficult to understand. For instance, one of the ADA building requirements mandates that the grab bar on the side wall of a toilet stall be a minimum of 42 inches in length, a maximum of 12 inches from the back wall, and extend a minimum of 54 inches from the rear wall. The guidelines concerning grab bars along the rear wall of the toilet stall are just as specific. However, there are exceptions for the length of the rear bar in cases where the wall space does not have room for the minimum length due to recessed nearby fixtures. The guidelines concerning grab bars in showers are just as specific, and there are an additional set of guidelines that govern seats and controls in showers and baths.

On the other hand, if your bathroom is only going to be used by a single occupant and is only accessed through a personal office area, it is not a requirement to follow all of these rules. However, the requirements do state that the walls in the showers must be made strong enough to accommodate the addition of grab bars in the future. Even mirrors must be hung a certain distance from the ground.

When creating a bathroom in a public facility, it is important to follow the ADA building requirements. However, without the right consultant to guide you, the process may be cumbersome and tricky. The staff at Burnham is available to answer all of your questions and help you with this process.

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Meeting the ADA building requirements during construction is only the first step in creating a building that is accessible for everyone. Facility managers and city employees must continue to work hard to keep their facilities and walkways accessible at all times. They must ensure that their elevators, lifts, toilets, entrances, and other accessible features remain in working order at all times. Those who live in cold climates also face the unique challenge of keeping their ramps, walkways, and parking spaces free of snow and ice so that they too remain clear for the public.

ADA building requirements that cover keeping these features in accessible condition are outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). However, their maintenance is overseen by the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ permits access or service to be interrupted for occasional maintenance and repair, but they stipulate that snow and ice must be removed as quickly as possible to ensure continued access. If access must be interrupted for an extended period of time, the facility must make amendments to help people access their facilities in different ways.

In the case of interrupted access to a walkway or path, city officials can identify other routes for mobility impaired pedestrians to take. If the lift to a library is not working due to ice or other issues, the employees at that facility should help their mobility impaired patrons retrieve library materials. If snow or ice is limiting access to the programs and amenities in a certain building, the building’s managers need to remove it as soon as possible. If they cannot get rid of the snow or ice quickly, they should make alternative arrangements for their patrons.

Snow removal is an unavoidable part of living in a cold or snowy climate. However, it can be minimized by taking certain steps. For instance, when designing trails or walkways, developers should pay close attention to the technical provisions of the surface. They should consider the path’s slope, its cross slope, its treads, the available passing space, and any obstacles that may occur on the path.

The type of material that is used on the walkways is also important. ADA building requirements include regulations about which types of surfaces make a walkway useable for those in wheelchairs or those with other mobility impairments. These surface coverings differ depending upon whether the surface is indoors, outdoors, on a ramp, or on a walkway. The surface must have a friction coefficient that falls within an acceptable range. Some surface materials that do not provide enough resistance from slipping may be coated with other materials that make the surface more slip resistant. Developers should also closely examine the different needs of different types of walkways. For instance, the rolling resistance that is necessary on a ramp may require the ramp to be coated with a different material than a nearby flat path.

Selecting the best surface materials is essential, regardless of the climate where you live. However, people who live in snowy climates also have to address snow removal in their designs. Traditionally, this task was the work of city employees or facility staff members. Now, however, certain types of technology can be implemented into these walkways to make the snow and ice melt more quickly.

Project developers or contractors can integrate snow melting systems into their surfaces. These melting systems can include radiant heat, solar-thermal systems, geo-thermal heating systems, and permeable pavement options. If integrated correctly, these elements will encourage the snow and ice to melt quickly to make these areas accessible faster. Some of these options can earn a project LEED points. To discuss the best ways to integrate these elements into your project, you can discuss your options with a consultant from Burnham Nationwide. As part of the Burnham special experience, they can help you to analyze the long term cost benefits of including snow melting systems under pathways as opposed to paying excessive snow removal costs.

Systems that melt snow can even be included retroactively in most projects. However, it is substantially cheaper to include these elements into the initial stages of the project. Thus, if you are in the infancy stages of your project, you should consider the benefits of including these types of systems immediately.

ADA building requirements are an important part of making places accessible for everybody. However, it is also essential to maintain the accessibility of these areas. This is particularly challenging in snowy climates. Building managers and city officials must ensure that they implement snow clearing programs. However, they can minimize the cost of these snow removal teams when they integrate snow melting elements into their projects.

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A third party inspection is one that is performed by an organization other than the one who is developing the project and other than the entity that oversees the project. In some municipalities, an approved third party inspection can be done in lieu of an inspection by the governmental body that oversees construction in that area. In other cases, developers or contractors may wish to have an independent entity like Burnham do an inspection prior to submitting their project to its formal inspection.

In the District of Columbia, as well as some other places, some non-governmental entities are allowed to do plan reviews and field inspections. They can certify that the project has met the correct construction codes, and they essentially take the role of government for a project. The third party agency can be a corporation, a partnership, or an individual, but it must be registered in the correct district. Furthermore, it must also maintain certain requirements in order to continue to perform inspections.

However, most third party inspections are actually done prior to the official inspection. These inspections offer a project developer the chance to ensure that his or her project meets all of the necessary building codes. If a mistake is detected, it can be quickly amended before the project has to undergo their official inspection. This allows the project to pass their inspections more quickly and with fewer problems.

Most third party inspections for commercial projects start with a walk through of the property and a visual inspection of it. The third party may also meet with the owner or contractor and review the project’s plans. They can examine the project’s construction methods, their plans, and they can even monitor the performance of the project’s contractor. After the inspector completes their analysis, they can provide the project manager with a list of potential problems and can advise on how to improve these pitfalls. The inspection can be comprehensive, or it can simply examine a small element of the project. Some of the areas that you may consider having inspected include air conditioning units, concrete, floors, heaters, skylights, stairways, and much more. If you are interested in a third party inspection or further details of how it could benefit your project, you should contact the team at Burnham.

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California Building Codes and Los Angeles Building Codes include a number of provisions that address the environmental quality of projects. These provisions must be followed, and they are an integral part of the codes that govern almost every project that is developed in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, developers cannot just follow one simple set of codes. They must adhere to the correct state building codes for their project, as well as the state’s environmental codes, and Los Angeles’ environmental quality codes. These codes include directives that concern everything from water usage to alternative fuels.

For instance, developers who are working on single family homes, duplexes, and town homes that are less than three stories high must adhere to the environmental quality regulations that are outlined in the CRC (California Residential Code), as well as the environmental guidelines that are outlined in other pieces of legislation. Developers who are working on all other types of structures must adhere to the CBC (California Building Code). As most contractors know, in addition to both of these codes, they must also follow the provisions that are outlined by the CGBSC (California Green Building Standards Code).

The CGBSC mandates that all homes and buildings must be built using practices that are sustainable and energy efficient. The construction practices on these projects must also strive to use water efficiently, conserve materials, and improve the quality of the environment. Architects, engineers, contractors, and other professionals who are an integral part of the project must utilize all three of these state codes. These professionals must be intimately familiar with these codes to ensure that their proposals are submitted correctly under the provisions of the state building codes. The state will not approve any plans that are not in compliance with all of the applicable building codes. When a developer, a contractor, or other professional submits plans that are not approved, they face delays in their projects. These delays can add excessive costs and time to their project.

As well as keeping track of all of these guidelines, Los Angeles developers must also keep close track of the Los Angeles Building Codes that are unique to their city. Keeping track of these codes can seem like a full time job. Luckily, the professionals at Burnham are available to lift this onerous burden off of their clients. They specialize in making sure that their clients’ proposals are consistent with all of the relevant codes and environmental quality regulations, and they take all of the necessary steps to ensure that their clients’ proposals are approved. This helps to prevent delays and save money.

In addition to California building codes and Los Angeles Building Codes, developers must also adhere to the statutes that are outlined by the California Environmental Quality Act. This landmark act was passed in 1970, and other cities are still modeling their environmental guidelines after this act. The regulations outlined in this act do not directly affect developers. Rather, they regulate how state and local agencies govern the environmental impacts of projects in their area.

Due to this act, many agencies are now requiring projects to meet some of the following criteria: fifteen percent of the vehicles used in projects must run on alternative fuel, fifty percent of a project’s waste must be recycled, and ten percent of the building materials used in a project must be local. In some cases, these measures are also extended to cover things like car-pooling, how long equipment is idle, carbon credits, and other issues.

Some projects, however, are not required to follow the regulations that are outlined by CEQA. For instance, ministerial projects, projects that do not seem to have a large impact on the environment, and other ones that have a statutory exemption are not required to meet CEQA regulations. In addition, the maintenance of existing buildings is not required to meet the standards outlined in this act. Figuring out which codes your project must meet and which ones it is exempt from can be difficult.

The consultants at Burnham have been working closely with local and state officials in California for over a generation. They have connections that help them anticipate when certain codes are changing, and they know exactly which parts of the CEQA, the California Building Codes, and the Los Angeles Building Codes are applicable to your next project. For more information about how to make your project meet the necessary codes and environmental guidelines, you can contact the professionals at Burnham. They can ensure that your project meets the required codes, and they can help further boost the environmental integrity of your project by providing LEED consulting services to you as well.

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The cost of living in New York City can be so exorbitantly high that many residents will wrack their brains trying to think of ways that they can reduce their expenses. In addition, many residents may wonder how they can decrease the size of their carbon footprint while saving money. One solution for both of these problems that many people around the world are turning to is rooftop solar panels. However, this solution can be a difficult one to implement for many New York City residents who live in buildings that they do not personally own.

If a resident does not own their roof, they may not be able to simply walk onto it and install their own panels. However, they can work with the building’s other residents to petition the owner or manager to add solar panels to the structure. This process has been made even easier by the recent research that has been conducted by the Office of Long Term Planning and Sustainability.

According to David Bragdon who is the director of that office, New York City could easily add thousands of megawatts of solar power. He also claims that the city has been working on making the permit process easier for residents and easing certain regulations to make adding panels more feasible for all sorts of structures.

His comments were made after the city paid $450,000 to the Lidar Company to perform a series of investigative flights over the city. During these flights, they took a number of pictures and collected a lot of data about the million plus buildings in the city to create a detailed map. The information that was collected shows details about the shapes, angles, and sizes of all of the rooftops in the city. Based on this map, over two-thirds of the roofs in this city are well suited to the addition of rooftop solar panels.

If panels were added to all of the roofs where they could possibly be added, they would generate enough power to create half of the city’s electricity needs during peak hours! The professionals who conducted these studies claim that they analyzed not only the rooftops themselves but also how the shading in each area would affect how well the panels would work if they were added.

When residents of New York City are interested in finding out about the specific nature of their building in regards to its potential for housing rooftop panels, they can visit an interactive version of the map that was created by the information collected by the Lidar Company. The map was paid for by the federal Department of Energy under their Solar America Cities Program and cost the city $210,000.

The map allows residents to view their building and analyze its potential to go solar. Interested residents can look at information about their offices, their homes, or even their friends’ homes.  When they enter their address, they can discover a lot of relevant information on how that address would respond to the implementation of solar collecting panels.

For instance, they will discover how much solar energy could be produced on that particular roof. The estimates are based upon how much light the roof receives, how large it is, its angle, and other factors. They can also find out information on government programs including tax breaks and financial incentives. If they are gathering information to present to the building’s owner or manager, they may also be interested in looking at the section of the interactive map that includes detailed data on how much the solar panels would cost to install and how many years it would take the buildings’ owners to get that initial cost back through energy savings.

People who are curious about the environment may enjoy exploring other features of the interactive map. For instance, they can look at how much carbon dioxide they could avoid if their building implemented panels. They can also look at how many trees it would take to absorb that same amount of carbon dioxide.

One reason that some building owners shy away from installing panels is the regulations that surround such additions. However, the U.S. Department of Energy has recently eased many of these regulations. They have pledged to send $12 million to various organizations to help make the regulations surrounding the installation of rooftop panels easier to navigate.

When people live in a city like New York, they may often feel like they have limited control over some of their circumstances. For instance, they cannot simply add rooftop solar panels to their high rise as easily as someone could add them to the top of their barn in Iowa. However, with accurate information gathered from trustworthy sources, such as the map referred to above, they can easily convince their building owner or homeowner’s association to add these structures.

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While working on a project, developers need to keep a close eye on ADA building requirements. Even those developers working on parking lots must keep these requirements in mind as they design their project. The ADA requirements for parking spaces deal with issues ranging from vertical clearance to the surface materials on the ground around the parking spots. These requirements address much more than where the spots are simply located.

The ADA building requirements are very specific about where the spots should be located as well as other issues. All of the accessible spots must be clearly marked with signs, including special signs noting van accessibility. These signs must not be blocked by a vehicle when it is in that spot. If the parking lot is for a business or other facility, the spots must be located as close to the entrance as possible. If the parking lot is not attached to a business, the spots must be located as close to the pedestrian exits as possible. Buildings with several entrances can have several parking spots for this purpose.

The spots themselves must be at least 96 inches wide. They should be adjacent to an aisle that leads to the facility’s entrance, and two parking spots cannot share the same aisle. Additionally, developers need to pay attention to the surface materials and slopes. The slopes cannot exceed two percent in any direction, and the surface materials must be ones that provide enough traction for people who have trouble walking and enough glide for those in wheelchairs. These aisles that run parallel must also be at least 60 inches wide and 20 feet long.

The vertical clearance of these areas must also meet certain requirements. For instance, the loading zones must be at least 114 inches high, and the route from the parking spot to the building’s entrance must also be that high. However, other spaces only need to provide a vertical clearance of 98 inches.

Meeting the ADA building requirements is an essential part of creating a project that meets all of the codes that are required by the law. However, it can be difficult to ascertain which requirements each project needs to meet to be compliant. The professionals at Burnham can help to guide your project through this process.

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Many homeowners are showing an increased interest in residential solar energy systems. However, most homeowners are still not sure how effective these systems can be. In particular, they are not sure about whether or not these systems are effective in cloudy climates.

There are two factors that affect how much energy a solar system can produce: the amount of sunlight and the amount of open roof space. Essentially, when a system has ample amounts of open roof space and ample amounts of sunlight, it can produce more energy. However, that does not mean that residential solar energy systems are ineffective in cloudy climates.

A sunny place like Los Angeles, California sees an average of five and a half hours of sunlight per day. In contrast, a cloudy place like Hamburg, Germany sees only two and a half hours of sunlight per day, on average. That difference has a direct impact on the amount of solar energy that can be produced. In general, a one-kilowatt system can create about 1,600 kilowatt hours (kWh) every year in a place with a lot of sunlight. The same system can only create about 750 kWh in a place that is particularly cloudy.

However, most residential systems are larger than one kilowatt. The average residential system is anywhere from three to ten kilowatts. Thus, in a cloudy city, you would be able to create anywhere from 2,250 to 7,500 kilowatt hours per year. That is the equivalent of 187.5 to 625 kilowatt hours per month.

This is less than half of the energy that you would get in a sunny climate. However, it is still worthwhile. The average American household uses about 920 kilowatt hours per month. Thus, even in a cloudy climate, you could create anywhere from a fifth to two thirds of your monthly energy needs. Of course, if you use less energy than average, you may be able to offset your entire bill.

Whether you live in a sunny climate or a dreary one, residential solar energy systems have the potential to offer you a lot of value. However, each home is different, and to ascertain if your needs would be met by a system, you should speak with a consultant from Burnham Nationwide. They will be able to provide you with an in depth analysis about the cost of installing a system and how it could potentially offset your current energy usage.

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As leaders in the field of progressive thought, it is no wonder that many colleges and universities are striving to incorporate LEED sustainability efforts into their campus buildings and dormitories. Taking this step allows an academic institution to improve their energy efficiency, conserve their resources, and enhance the environmental quality of their buildings. When a project manager who is working with buildings at a higher institution decides to pursue LEED certification, they have several avenues that they may work within.

When working on new construction or major renovations, they may apply for LEED-NC. That kind of project on a college campus can, of course, apply for and receive credits within the five LEED categories: Sustainable Site, Water Usage, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources and Indoor Environmental Quality. However, most project managers will discover that they will also be able to also achieve a lot within LEED’s sixth category: Innovation and Design. This category allows the project manager to explore environmental categories like education and community enhancement. These categories can be uniquely dealt with on a college campus.

LEED certification can also be invaluable when applied to existing buildings. The LEED-EB certification is ideal for dormitories. This certification helps buildings become better stewards of the environment, but it also helps them become healthier places for their occupants. This is especially relevant when considering older structures like dorms that were built decades or even a century ago. Because students live in and spend much of their time in these buildings, campus directors should look closely at how they can be improved.

However, making a campus more sustainable does not just lie in the realm of changing individual buildings. In fact, a lot of LEED credits can be earned by implementing new campus-wide efforts. College and universities can apply sustainability efforts to the entire life cycle of their campus. They can draft plans that address everything from the campus’s master development plans to the campus’s operations and maintenance.

The goal for any university or college should not be to create one new LEED certified building or to make one old building greener. Ultimately, their goal should be to institutionalize the LEED sustainability efforts and reduce the campus’s carbon footprint overall.

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Residential solar energy systems rely on ample amounts of sunlight to create power for a home. However, as indicated in previous posts on this website, these panels can still be extremely beneficial, even in areas that do not receive as much sunlight as other areas. Winter weather conditions are another factor that many people worry about when they are thinking about the potential efficacy of installing solar panels.

All solar panels create power based on the light that they collect, rather than the heat that surrounds them. However, the shorter days and less sunlight in the winter mean that most panels create less power in the winter than in the summer. In addition, snow can collect on the panels, which will prevent them from getting the sunlight that they need, but when the snow melts or as soon as it is brushed off the panels, they will resume their normal functioning.

Ideally, most panels will work regardless of outside temperatures. However, the temperatures do have a certain degree of effect on the panels. Hotter temperatures can even have an effect on the output of the panels. For instance, a study done in the UK indicated that as temperature increased from 30 to 42 degrees Celsius (86 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit) that the power output created by the panels dropped slightly from 749 mW to 730 mW. Cold temperatures, ironically, do not have the same effect on panels. Because cold temps can have a slight effect on panels, some scientists are looking at ways that the panels can be changed for better cold weather functioning. For instance, the panels that are attached to the International Space Station have two faces. These allow them to work more efficiently in colder temps than their one-sided counterparts.

However, consumers do not need to worry about how cold temperatures impact the power output of the panels. Rather, they should consider how the cold temperatures in their areas may impact the solar panels themselves. Very low temperatures carry a risk that the charge controller or the inverter can be damaged. To ensure that residential solar energy systems can handle all of the possible temperatures and weather conditions in your particular area, you may wish to speak with a Burnham consultant who can guide you toward the right research that you need to make the best decision for your home energy needs.

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