Living more sustainably works best when it is a collaborative process embraced by the entire community. Here are some things that residents can do to improve their carbon footprint before and after moving into an apartment.
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Energy, Residents
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Also tagged cooling and heating vents, Energy Star, energy tips, faucet aerators, green cleaning, green clothing principles, green lifestyles, green management, green management/tenant partnerships, green renters, insulated water heaters, Low flow showerheads, Low Income Energy Assistance Program, natural ventilation, on-line rent payment, paperless management, programmable thermastats, solar passive heat, tips for green renters
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January 24, 2011 – 7:00 am
On January 24th, 2011, those in city government in San Francisco hope to join the other progressives who are instituting mandatory energy benchmarking and public disclosure programs for commercial real estate properties. Properties in residential-use are not included in the proposed ordinance, as on-going efforts to retrofit this sector already provide free benchmarking services and other broad incentives.
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Energy
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Also tagged benchmarking, Department of Energy, Department of Environment, Energy Efficiency Incentives, Energy Retrofits, Energy Star, Energy Usage and Transparency, Energy Use Public Disclosure, Green Property Managers, green rentals, green renters, Green Will, Institute for Market Transformation, New Benchmarking Ordinance in San Francisco, Portfolio Manager, San Francisco, SF's Carbon Dioxide Emissions, Transparency
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December 31, 2010 – 7:01 am
Who cares about indoor environmental quality, or as the experts dub it, “invironmental” concerns? Apparently everyone – including those who actually live in apartments. In fact, most residents are very acutely aware of indoor air quality even if some property managers are not.
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Business
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Also tagged air ventilation systems, Asthma rates in US, Asthma Regional Council, building codes, Department of Energy, DOE, EPA, exhaust fans, fireplace flues, Health Information Privacy Act, Health Resources in Action, Healthy Indoor Environmental Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades, Home Hazard Assessment Policies, HVAC systems, HVAC systems maintenance, Improving environmental air quality indoors, indoor air, indoor air pollution rates, Invironment Planning and Remediation, Kresge Foundation, Medicare, off-gassing paints and materials, outdoor air pollution, paint stripper and heart damage, paint stripper and liver damage, toxic exposures, U.S. Department of Education's Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, Workforce Guideliens for Home Energy Upgrades, Your Home 'Invironment'
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September 15, 2010 – 7:30 am
With the green building movement on growth hormones, we have the potential for a lot of sick buildings unless owners and maintenance personnel quickly adjust building maintenance practices.
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Business
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Also tagged 15 cub feet movement per occupany of outside air, 1973 Oil Embargo, air intakes, air ventilation, ASHRAE, Building envelopes, engineers, EPA, HEPA filters, HVAC systems, McGraw Hill, one-third of all building is green, Saturday night baths, sick building syndrome, sickly green buildings, smoking bans, ventilation, ventilation systems, weatherizing buildings
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September 9, 2010 – 7:00 am
The EPA has developed a toolkit to aid local municipalities in assessing and upgrading their sustainable building guidelines, regulations, ordinances and permitting process. Apartment developers with an eye to the future would be wise to promote the Toolkit to local officials.
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Business
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Also tagged building codes, building codes to protect the public, delays in green building permits, green apartment developers, green apartments, green building, green building permits, green building premium, green developers, green renters, Resource Guides to Green Building, sustainable design
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August 13, 2010 – 6:30 am
Green lifestyles do not appear out of thin air and it is important not just for educators, but property managers to do their part in raising green renters.
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Residents
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Also tagged ADA, Americans with Disabilities, disabled access, EPA, Green Property Managers, green renters, guest bloggers, making recycling easier, parental role modeling, role modeling sustainability, sustainability, sustainable lifestyles, sustainable property management
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August 11, 2010 – 6:33 am
The NMHC and the NAA temporarily held the EPA back from implementing a mandatory owners’ survey, but a new stormwater runoff rule is brewing just the same. Stormwater control benefits everyone, but particularly the property owner.
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Business
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Also tagged bioretention, catch basins, cisterns, Clean Water Act, constructed wetlands, detention basins, EPA, EPA Stormwater Survey, Federal Register NMHC, G, green property management, green property manager, green renters, green roofs, ground water, NAA, permeable concrete, permeable modular block, point sources of pollution, porous asphalt, rain barrels, rain gardens, sand filters, Section 308 of the CWA, Stormwater control, swales, tree boxes, water percolation, wetland channels
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The EPA’s WaterSense labeling program has been highly successful, using voluntary compliance and incentives for manufacturers, consumers and homeowners. Recently it added commercial users to its target audience with the first label for a commercial use – flushing urinals.
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Water
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Also tagged aerators, apartments, building water conservation, Domestic Water Use Daily, dual flush toilets, EPA, flushing urinals, green property management, Green Property Managers, green renter, Lowflow showerheads, multifamily water conservation, residential water conservation, saving the world through water conservation, State Population Projections and Water Use, sustainable operations and management, Water and National Security, Water and War, Water as a Precious and Scarce Resource, water audits, water conservation, Water Conservation Fixtures, WaterSense Conservation Program, WaterSense Logo, WaterSense Products
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Amid the controversy and anxiety raised by residents’concerns about radiation exposure from granite countertops, fortunately the issue of radon exposure has been highlighted. Who’s at risk and what should be done?
By Elizabeth Madrigal
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Posted in Residents
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Also tagged 203k funds for radon, Charcoal resting for radon, EPA, federal incentives, granite off-gassing, Grants, grants for radon-remediation, Minnesota Radon Levels, NAS, National Academy of Sciences, National Environmental Health Association, National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP), naturally occurring uranium, NEHA, radiation exposure, radium, radon, radon and building codes, radon control, radon gas, radon mitigation, Radon Testing, Radon testing kits, Radon Ventilation Systems, radon zones in U.S., safety of granite countertops, Standards for Radon Abatement, testing granite for radiation, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
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If you go to this link on the ENERGY STAR website you will find that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) list the following building types as qualifying for the ENERGY STAR New Homes certification programs:
All residential units in multifamily buildings three stories and under.
Units in four- and five-story [...]
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