NECA Chapter Update on Green Building

Green Building or Sustainable Building is picking up a great deal of momentum in the greater Washington area.

To show leadership in the movement, the D.C. Chapter of NECA has become a platinum sponsor of the National Capital Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council.

As a way to keep NECA Chapter members up-to-date on how this movement and the USGBC will affect our businesses, we will be sending out quarterly email updates with relevant “green” information.

What is LEED?

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is the standard by which buildings are rated on "greenness." Buildings receive credits based upon predetermined criteria that is set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Washington, D.C. has passed legislation to gradually phase in the LEED scale on all new construction projects. Montgomery County has passed similar legislation and Arlington County has been a long-time leader in building to LEED standards.

Taking the LEED

Electrical Alliance contractors are on the forefront of sustainable building.

Power Services Inc. (PSI), Bowie, MD and Natelco Corp., Capital Heights, MD were enlisted to complete an environmentally-friendly expansion of Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC. The LEED Platinum project included installation of an automated lighting system to reduce energy use, and LCD screens that allow both faculty operators and students to monitor details of the facility power and fuel consumption in the school hallways.

Are you taking the LEED?
We’ll profile your project.

If you have worked on or are working on a LEED certified building or have any LEED accredited employees, please contact us at contactus@wdcneca.org. We want to acknowledge and promote all the great work that our contractors are doing.

Bringing LEED to you

We are planning a presentation at an upcoming NECA Chapter meeting to describe the accreditation process and to help you get started on LEED projects.

FREE passes available
to USGBC meetings
The NECA Chapter has free passes to upcoming USGBC National Capital Region Chapter meetings. Please let us know if you are interested in attending one of these meetings—they are great networking opportunities.

Links Learn more about LEED at the U. S. Green Building Council website Lean more about the LEED credits that affect electrical contractors (see pg. 31) Learn more about the DC regulations governing green building: Washington Post article on D.C. regulations or PDF file from D. C. Council Learn more about Montgomery County's Green initiative: Washington Post article on Montgomery County

McGraw-Hill projects that by 2010 "green" jobs will make up $10.2 billion to $20.5 billion of the non-residential construction starts.   The number one reason AEC firms and owners gave for choosing green building was because it lowers life cycle costs of buildings.     86% of the AEC community reports participation in green building activities.     The top reported green building activity is the specification and/or installation of a green product.