SUCCESS STORY: VCA Green Secures GreenPoint Rated Platinum Certification at VOX Residences
Many hands make light work – especially when tackling a nearly 1,000-unit project with 100,000 square feet of retail space! Over the course of seven years, VCA Green’s project management, energy modeling and field teams coalesced to conduct CALGreen consulting, CA...
How to Pass Whole House Fan Inspections
Whole house fans (WHF) have been around for decades, but the 2022 California Energy Code now requires them to be tested in Climate Zones 8 through 14 (1). In 2022, VCA tested hundreds of these fans in newly constructed housing and encountered many issues with getting...
Energy Code Update – California and City of LA Ordinance
It seems like everyone’s talking about California’s changes to Title 24, Part 6 (Energy Code) for 2022, but you may be less familiar with the City of Los Angeles’ recently issued all-electric ordinance. We’re here to review key features of these updates that will...
Ensuring Blower Door Success Early in Construction
The terms “blower door,” “envelope leakage” and “air sealing” all describe the most useful building durability performance tests an owner or builder can utilize. A HERS blower door field verification measures the total volume of air that is replaced in a space...
New Mandatory HVAC Testing: What You Should Know
If you’re a property developer, an architect or mechanical subcontractor, you should be aware that the landscape for HVAC equipment start-ups is about to change. You may be aware of some big changes coming up in the 2022 code cycle, but you might be surprised to learn...
Four Key Insights from LEED Positive and The Future of LEED
The first letter in the acronym LEED stands for Leadership, and more fully, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. While California Code and CALGreen continue to move in the direction of incorporating sustainability into building design and...
Four Things You Need to Know About 2022 California Energy Code Solar PV Requirements
Continuing its trajectory toward meeting its ambitious AB32 goals, California continues to attack carbon emissions within the built environment through its 2022 Energy Code. In addition to more electric-friendly baselines and implementing a metric for source carbon...
Increasing Building Valuation with the LEED for Existing Buildings Rating System: Three Easy Ways to Reduce Operational Waste
In recent years, research has shown that LEED Certified buildings have been gaining market traction and can significantly increase the sales price of a building. A recent study by Cushman & Wakefield found that price premiums for LEED certified office...