Zonda - Resource Library

Propane gas is considered to be a clean alternative fuel by the EPA; it is a versatile and environmentally safe fuel source for healthy and sustainable living. Many people use propane to fuel their outdoor grills or barbecues, but its much more versatile than a cooking fuel in residential outdoor applications. This learning unit will explore alternative uses for propane, specifically for outdoor use in and around a home.

Over the past decade, the architectural, construction and engineering (AEC) sector has grappled with unprecedented technological and socioeconomic changes along with an unprecedented confluence of challenges to the health of our communities, our cities and our planet. Climate change is accelerating—the 10 years leading up to 2020 was the warmest decade on record. Buildings and their construction account for 39% of global carbon dioxide emissions. At the same time, the built environment is growing at a record pace in the United States.

It is estimated that 2.5 million new housing units are needed to make up for the nation’s housing shortage, a trend that has not abated in the face of a global pandemic. Economically, the price of housing has eclipsed the income of many Americans—precipitating a critical housing crisis in some regions—and adding to inequality and a rising homeless population across the nation. Amidst this, we spend as much as 90% of our time indoors, often cut off from nature. While these challenges are daunting, thought leaders in the AEC industry increasingly see it as an opportunity to be at the forefront of change, with examples of design leadership across the country and around the world.

Technological gains within the built environment are making zero-carbon construction attainable, dramatic energy savings achievable and taller mass timber construction possible. Industry research, along with bold demonstration projects, is expanding the sector’s understanding of carbon sequestration, life cycle assessment (LCA), Passive House principles, and biophilic and health-centered design. In this course you’ll learn from design teams who are embracing these strategies and delivering solutions that begin to address some of the most pressing global challenges of our times.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. When the local power grid goes down a commercial building built today might incorporate backup power to be more resilient, to mitigate against financial losses, to protect life safety, to provide vital services, or some combination of these goals. This course covers this important topic, exploring the motivations for using backup power, relevant code and standard requirements, and the fuel options for backup power generators.

Are we able to dive deeper into these numbers to find ways to reduce a building’s carbon footprint in meaningful ways? What are the methods used to measure building material carbon footprint and do they tell the whole story? Are there simple tools to assess material choices? This course seeks to address these and other questions by explaining the principal methods and tools that are used to assess carbon footprint in the context of building materials.

It includes a primer on product terminology, including life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental product declarations (EPDs), carbon footprint, embodied carbon, and whole building LCA (WBLCA) tools. It explains how biogenic carbon is treated in standard LCA methodology and dives into the forest side of the equation, explaining basics of the sustainable forestry cycle. This course also highlights some ways to track and assure wood comes from sustainable forests in North America and why demand for wood products supports investment in forest management.

Making good decisions about improving an existing home's energy efficiency and lowering its energy costs can be challenging for a consumer. Homeowners, builders, contractors, and weatherization agencies have a wide range of energy efficiency upgrades to choose from, each with different benefits and costs.

This course compares the popular upgrades and systems available to help you make the best choice for your projects and is intended to serve as a guide to answer questions about prioritizing energy efficiency investments for existing homes. By closely examining a study commissioned by the Propane Education and Resource Council, the “Analysis of Energy Efficiency Upgrades for Existing Homes,” this course will provide objective information about the most effective measures and/or equipment choices across five climate regions in the United States.

The session involves a brief discussion of the basic how-and-why of traditional neighborhoods, including iconic platting elements like small front yards and public spaces, and the design of individual units with an eye on the block-face to achieve harmonious streetscapes. This program will touch on various elements of sustainability, Green, OSHA requirements, fire safety, wind load, and other general code matters associated with vinyl siding and trim.

Brick is a resilient and sustainable material used in high-performance buildings, a key aspect of sustainable design. Sustainable design considers the health and well-being of building occupants and the concept of resilience, which is to withstand extreme weather events, then quickly repair and re-occupy.

The learning objectives explore the age old material, which has gained traction in resilient design and discusses how buildings constructed of the material provide occupant comfort in terms of thermal, acoustic, and non-VOC emissions.

Biophilic design has solidified itself as a staple of modern building design, quickly moving from a trend to an established design principle. An increasing number of building owners and tenants are interested in incorporating biophilic design into their commercial spaces, and because biophilic design IS the future of design, architects and designers are stepping up to meet the need. This course will help architects and designers understand the core concepts of biophilic design and why it’s an essential component of the current interior built environment, as well as the future of commercial spaces.

A high-performance building enclosure, such as one clad with EIFS with Drainage, provides protection against the elements, contributes to energy efficiency, and is a means to protect the health and well-being of occupants.

This course will cover the performance and design benefits of modern EIFS with Drainage systems, explaining how they have evolved from the first EIFS barrier system into a single-source solution for exterior wall cladding that provides a number of benefits, including Continuous Insulation, compared to other cladding products. EIFS with Drainage also offers unparalleled design flexibility and adaptability.

Architects, engineers, developers, and facilities managers have numerous choices when determining fuel sources for commercial buildings, whether those choices involve the practicalities of space and water heating, the aesthetics of fireplaces, fire pits, and outdoor lighting, or the functionalities of building site energy needs.

Combined with these choices is the ever-increasing need to build and plan not only cost-effectively, but with sustainability in mind. This course will help specifiers compare the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of fuel sources and storage options, as well as examining the flexibility and reliability of propane, so that they can more readily determine which fuel source best meets the needs of individual commercial projects.