Green Preservation
"The greenest building is the one already built," said architect Carl Elefante. Historic buildings contain embodied energy--the total energy needed for extraction, processing, manufacture, and delivery of materials to the building site, as well as energy for construction. Historic preservation is an inherently eco-friendly practice, with existing structures and neighborhoods already in place, available for reuse and renewal.
The National Park Service, Association for Preservation Technology, and National Trust for Historic Preservation have compiled many resources for those wishing to make their preservation projects energy efficient and environmentally sustainable.
National Park Service
Energy Efficiency, Sustainability, and Green Building Practices in Historic Buildings
Incorporating Solar Panels in a Rehabilitation Project
Installing Green Roofs on Historic Buildings
New Technology and Historic Properties (includes solar panels, green roofs, wind turbines)
Sustainability Research (includes energy use, historic windows, storm windows)
Weatherizing and Improving the Energy Efficiency of Historic Buildings
Association for Preservation Technology
Climate Change and Cultural Heritage Conservation: A Literature Review
Glossary of Carbon Accounting and Historic Preservation
National Trust for Historic Preservation
Preservation and Sustainability