Mississippi State University has the first LEED® Certified Chapter House in the US

Mississippi State is the first university to have a LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) chapter house in the US. The 16,000 square foot Pi Beta Phi chapter house maximizes open space, uses indigenous landscaping and bicycle storage. Plumbing and air conditioning systems incorporate water-use reduction features. The use of insulation and window glazing also optimizes energy performance.

Specific design elements used in achieving LEED certification are renewable materials and recycled content in finishes, compact fluorescent lighting, and drought tolerant plants, which minimizes water needs and allows lush green landscaping without the need for irrigation.

“We are extremely proud of our new LEED-certified chapter house at Mississippi State,” said Eileen Grigutis, president of the Fraternity Housing Corporation. “Pi Beta Phi is committed to providing members a safe living environment for their new home.” The house will open its doors for members when they return to school in August.

“We are honored to be among the most elite of properties who have achieved LEED certification. By having third party verification through USGBC, we are confident we have delivered a home that is not only a good steward of the environment, but also provides a healthy atmosphere for future Pi Phi women,” Leah FitzGerald, Assoc AIA, LEED AP, board member of Fraternity Housing Corporation, who managed the project during construction said. “The added distinction of being the First LEED certified sorority in the United States, establishes us as a leader in sustainability, an achievement in which we are extremely proud.”

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

Related Posts
Green School Buildings Offer Many Benefits
The Campus Green Builder Online Portal
Organizations and Groups in the USGBC's Center for Green Schools
USGBC's Center for Green Schools
The Green Market's Green Schools Series
USGBC's Green School Building Resources
Environmental Revolution: Building and Operations
The Extraordinary Growth of Green Building
Green Building Environmental Benefits
Green Buildings Combat Climate
The Future of Green School Buildings
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 1
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 2
Green Building Economic BenefitsGreen Building Social Benefits
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Natural Lighting
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Ventilation
25 Blogs Leading the Sustainable Building Revolution
Green Campus Student Resources
NYU's Energy Efficient Power Generation
Obama's Jobs Plan Emphasizes Education and Greener Schools
Suffolk University's Green Efforts Include Building Design
Green School Rejuvenates Dying Town
LAUSD Green School Initiatives
Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland
New York's Leed Certified Universities

Read More»

New York's Leed Certified Universities

Two New York universities, Ithaca College and Hamilton College, have received recognition for their green achievements.

Ithaca College has been awarded two Energy Star certifications for residence halls Clarke and Hood and a platinum LEED award for a business building on campus.

Hamilton College has been awarded two Energy Star certifications for residence halls Skenandoa and Spencer, in addition to the LEED Gold certification for the renovation of the 40-year-old Kirner-Johnson (KJ) Building.

Energy Star certification enhances efficiency by at least 75% compared to traditional buildings based utility bills and energy consumption volume and costs. A LEED certified building must score well in 5 categories: sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality.
___________________________________

Related Posts
Green School Census
Green Buildings Combat Climate Change
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 1
Green School Buildings Health and Performance Benefits Part 2
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Natural Lighting
Green School Buildings: The Many Benefits of Ventilation
The Future of Green School Buildings
Green Building Social Benefits
Green Building Environmental Benefits
Green Building Economic Benefits
The Implications of the Growth of Green Buildings
Top 10 Green Building Trends for 2010
China Turns to International Community to Learn about Green Buildings
CleanEdison Building and Design Courses
The Green Building Focus Conference and Expo
Environmental Revolution: Building and Operations
Green School Rejuvenates Dying Town
Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland
LAUSD Green School Initiatives
The Green School In Bali

Read More»

The Best Eco-Inventions of 2009: Energy Efficiency

The Smart Thermostat: The EnergyHub Dashboard communicates wirelessly with your furnace and your appliances and monitors energy consumption and costs. It can also turn appliances on and off and raise or lower the temperature in your house. The EnergyHub device provides detailed spreadsheets for programming energy usage, and offers features such as comparing your home’s energy usage to that of other EnergyHub users and weekly energy consumption. EnergyHub is currently partnering with utilities for trials and will be available direct to consumers in early 2010.

A More Energy Efficient Light Bulb: Philips Electronics has developed a light-emitting diode (LED) bulb said to produce as much light as a 60W incandescent bulb using less than 10W, and lasting 25 times as long. Sixty-watt lights account for 50% of the domestic incandescent market; replacing conventional light bulbs with LED. could save electricity equivalent to the energy required to power 17.4 million households.

Electron Stimulated Luminescence (ESL) Lighting Technology: This technology from Vu1 uses accelerated electrons to stimulate phosphor which creates light by making the surface of the bulb glow. ESL Technology says that this bulb creates the same light quality as an incandescent but is more energy conserving. These bulbs are mercury free.

Electricity Management with Mobile Technology: Z-Wave enabled home automation systems enables users to control thermostat, lighting etc from a mobile phone.

Blink Photocell Controlled Outlet has an adjustable eyelid that can be fine tuned to activate or deactivate the light sensing function. This gives it the energy saving advantage of automatically disabling and enabling outlets with the rising or setting of the sun. These little sensors can replace the need for bulky, complicated timers.
________________________________________________________

Next: The Best Eco-Inventions of 2009: Transportation / The Best Eco-Inventions of 2009: Consumer Goods / The Best Eco-Inventions of 2009: Education / The Best Eco-Inventions of 2009: Food and Water

Read More»