Doing net-zero? You gotta get this book

We don't push books much in BD+C, but I just received one that I do want to recommend to any Building Teams working on net-zero buildings (NZ energy, water, stormwater, whatever). It's called 'Net Zero Energy Design: A Guide for Commercial Architecture' (published by Wiley), by Tom Hootman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, with help from Shanti Pless, LEED AP, Senior Energy Efficiency Research Engineer at NREL (see below), and David Okada, PE, LEED AP, who leads Intergral Group's Seattle office.
Dec. 3, 2012

We don't push books much in BD+C, but I just received one that I do want to recommend to any Building Teams working on net-zero buildings (NZ energy, water, stormwater, whatever). It's called "Net Zero Energy Design: A Guide for Commercial Architecture" (published by Wiley), by Tom Hootman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, with help from Shanti Pless, LEED AP, Senior Energy Efficiency Research Engineer at NREL (see below), and David Okada, PE, LEED AP, who leads Intergral Group's Seattle office. Tom is Director of Sustainability at RNL, in Denver, and his main claim to fame is his work on the net-zero Research Support Facility at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL), USDOE's national research facility in Golden, Colo., which we wrote about in our 2011 White Paper, "Zero + Net-Zero Energy Buildings + Homes." I'll be honest, I haven't read every one of the book's substantial 441 pages, but a careful review of the contents tells me that, if you're going net-zero on your next project, you'd be remiss if you didn't give this book the attention it deserves.

About the Author

Rob Cassidy

Robert Cassidy is Executive Editor of Building Design+Construction and the Editor of Multifamily Design+Construction. A city planner, he is the author of several books, including “Livable Cities,” and was a co-founder of the Friends of the Chicago River.

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