By Roger Farrer, President, AEE/OKC Chapter, Organizing sponsor, Oklahoma Green Building Summit
Buildings in the United States use 40 percent of the energy consumed in our country, and that's a number on the increase.
I have a double interest in seeing Oklahomans begin to curb the rate at which our
Roger Farrer
structures use energy, as president of the Oklahoma City chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) and Energy Services Manager of Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority. There are immediate consumer benefits, such as cost, and longer-term benefits to our infrastructure and the environment.
The AEE is interested in all aspects of creating more sustainable buildings and we've chosen to participate in the 2012 Green Building Summit by supporting efforts in educating the commercial segment of the building and construction industry in Oklahoma.
It's no secret that our colleagues at the Oklahoma State Homebuilders Association are doing an exemplary job in educating and working with the homebuilders segment!
The 2012 Green Building Summit couldn't come at a more appropriate moment for the commercial building segment.
The State of Oklahoma has just adopted the 2009 version of the International Building Code (IBC) and the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
These codes become effective on Nov. 1 this year, and they will dramatically affect the design and construction of commercial buildings in the state. The Residential Code was adopted last year and it is dramatically changing home construction. So too, the commercial design and construction processes will be changed when the IBC becomes effective.
The Summit is the ONLY meeting which has been designed to specifically help prepare commercial builders for the changes. Designers and builders will be required by law to follow the Codes. They will be faced with penalties if they don't. The value of attending the Summit in September is huge.
The Commercial Track at the Summit is an excellent resource for architects, construction companies, engineers, or anyone else interested in learning about how Oklahoma is making advances in sustainability in construction. At just $50 per participant, it's a tremendous bargain!
You'll find the course schedule and register for the Oklahoma Green Building Summit at http://www.okgreenbuildingsummit.com/.
The Summit is being presented by Oklahoma State Home Builders Association, Association of Energy Engineers/Oklahoma chapter, Guaranteed Watt Saver Systems and Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors Green Resource Council.
Oklahoma Green Building Summit Title Sponsors include: American Electric Power, C & S Supply-Masco, CenterPoint Energy Inc., Climate Master, Dolese Bros. Co., DuPont Tyvek, Forest Door & Window - Maritech Windows, Huber Engineered Woods, Lennox Industries, Morrison Supply Company, OG+E, and ONG. Exhibiting Sponsors are: Dow Building Solutions, Kirkpatrick Bank, Oklahoma Municipal Power
Authority and ProBuild. WebRevelation is a Contributor-level sponsor.
