Facilities Management articles for the week of 10/20/2019 - 10/26/2019

NYC Law Aims to Cut Building Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Facility managers and building owners should have more than a passing interest in New York City’s push to slash carbon emissions, requiring an ambitious effort to retrofit existing buildings.

Read This » Troubleshooting Boilers and Water Heaters

Water quality is a major cause of problems that require regular testing and maintenance of boilers and water heaters.

Read This » Equipment Specification: Strategies for Success

Managers often face the question of when to take the plunge on purchasing new equipment.

Read This » How Cool Walls Help Whole-Building Energy Efficiency

The roof isn’t the only part of the building exterior where reflective and emissive materials can help cut energy demand. Ronnen Levinson, staff scientist and leader of the Heat Island Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has advocated for cool walls in addition to cool roofing. He notes that most of the building stock in the United states was constructed before the 1970s, and that it’s during the 1970s that the first building energy efficiency codes come into use. Levinson published a paper in a recent volume of Energy and Buildings, noting: “Past and current U.S.

Read This » Incentives, Resources for Implementing Water Efficiency and Resilience

Where facilities are able to improve stormwater management, financial incentives may also be available to help improve the business case.

Read This » Essentials of Successful Fire Protection

A successful fire-prevention program is part of the day-to-day operations of every institutional and commercial facility.

Read This » Utility Vehicles: Equipment Replacement

Grounds departments have come to rely on utility vehicles because of the versatility and dependability they deliver.

Read This » 5 Ways to Incorporate Sustainability in Experiential Design

Compared with other industries, healthcare is in a unique position because it has the ability to greatly influence manufacturers’ sustainability practices.

Read This » Standards and Certifications Help FMs Make Sustainable Ice Melt Choices

As the demand for more sustainably minded snow-and-ice-removal products grows, so has the interest in third-party certifications of products and standards guiding product development. Both the U.S.

Read This » Keeping UPS and Generators Prepared

Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and standby generators are essential for providing emergency power to institutional and commercial facilities in the event utility power is lost.

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