EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

Why is Greywater Recycling so Important? Due to climate change and population growth, most regions of the world now face increasing periods of drought and lower ground water levels. In summer 2022, Europe suffered under the most severe drought in 500 years, while the American Southwest is forced to find new ways to leverage its remaining water sources like the Colorado River. Water scarcity impacts people and organizations in their daily lives. Business operations stagnate and people must adapt their lifestyles, so we need to transition towards a water smart society. If 50% of the world population would recycle its water at home, we could save 66 billion gallons of potable water use and 105 thousand tons of CO2 every single day. In the next 25 years, the world population will grow by two billion people and more than 60% of all people will live in urban areas. As a result, the global demand for clean water will grow by 55% – much more than the hydrological cycle can... read more

As my internship with the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) draws to a close, I have pondered on my position and views on the state of green building today. As someone who was raised building houses and heavily influenced by builders, this internship at EEBA has offered me a more comprehensive perspective on what green building is and how high-performance homes are built. Even through the eyes as a youth today, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that the concept of green building has gained remarkable traction in recent years as our society grapples with the need to address environmental concerns. Intern As an intern at EEBA, my eyes have been opened to the vast wealth of knowledge and resources that promote sustainable building practices. Before interning here, I did not have much experience with anything dealing with sustainability or the environment besides an oceanography trip in college and learning about the effects things like oil spills have on... read more

View original blog on Schneider Electric's website Households have both a direct and indirect impact on the environment. A house takes up physical real estate; it produces heat, noise and – in today’s digital age – a low level of electromagnetic interference from a bevy of connected devices. Its occupants will accumulate resources and produce real physical waste over time – including food packaging and discarded appliances. All accounting for houses to have a major impact thanks to the energy they consume, still only partially derived from clean renewable power. Indeed, buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of EU energy consumption and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. We are no less culpable for these emissions just because they are largely invisible and the major impacts happen outside our purview. To keep us focused on making our homes smart and net zero over time, regulations, policies, incentives and standards are there to guide us but also to mitigate the impact of... read more