Engineering Green Buildings
Achieving Net Zero Requires Innovative Thinking
If a building owner has enough money for renewable-energy systems and the space to install them, any designer can achieve net-zero performance. Achieving net-zero performance economically, however, is a different matter. ...
A New Path to High-Performance Buildings
When a team prepares to design a sustainable or high-performance building, the designers usually seek to comply with a rating system such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Green Globes. Now, there is a third option available to designers: meeting the criteria spelled out in ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings....
Planning for Energy-Efficiency Retrofit Projects
Accounting for nearly all existing commercial space, private commercial buildings present the largest untapped opportunity for energy-efficiency retrofits. However, federal and state facilities and other institutional buildings are more likely to receive funding and, therefore, have more opportunities for energy-efficiency retrofits....
Benefits of a Whole-Building Design Approach
Whole-building design refers to a design and construction technique that incorporates an "integrated design approach" and an "integrated team process."1 Basically, all of the elements of a building’s design need to be considered, and all team members/design stakeholders need to be involved in new ways earlier in the process. ...
The True Cost of LEED-Certified Green Buildings
Many industry professionals believe that seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification will put an additional financial burden on new and existing/remodeled buildings. Let's take a closer look at what goes into the cost of a LEED design...
Who Will Be Held Liable for Green Designs?
While the USGBC has brought more awareness to the green movement, it also has prompted agencies and associations, such as the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and ASTM International, to adopt guidelines without proper scientific scrutiny. While adopting and mandating third-party guidelines, these agencies inadvertently have positioned themselves to promote, sanction, and even demand design and construction practices that result in "green" buildings that are less efficient, more costly, and less sustainable than well-thought-out non-green/"traditional" buildings. ...
Green Buildings and Energy Efficiency
People not intimately familiar with building design and operating efficiency take it for granted that a building classified as "green" will be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Proving design efficiency, however, is rather difficult. Programs that promote (or require) green designs but do not point out possible pitfalls are misleading....
Commissioning Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Recently, I collaborated with the Urban Green Council—the New York chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)—on a list of commissioning (Cx) pitfalls for urban commercial and institutional projects seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. ...
A Manufacturer's View of Green Building
Because of the evolutionary nature of the green-building design process, the numerous changes in architecture, equipment, and methodology rarely resemble the original specifications upon which vendors base their prices....
Commissioning and the IGCC
In March, the International Code Council—with support from the American Institute of Architects; ASTM International; the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); the U.S. Green Building Council; and the Illuminating Engineering Society—issued the first public version of the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). Although only a first draft, the IGCC is a commendable effort toward raising the bar in building quality. In particular, it is encouraging to see the commissioning (Cx) quality-assurance process defined more extensively than in previous codes and guidelines....
Opportunities Abound for Water Technologies
One result of America's growing water shortages likely will be an increased public-policy focus on water conservation, water-efficiency technologies, and on-site water treatment and reuse. This policy focus could offer unprecedented opportunities for mechanical contractors, technology suppliers, and engineering consultants....
The Growing Need for Trained Energy Professionals
Each year, the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) surveys its 11,000 members to determine market trends and forces impacting the profession. With the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, AEE surveyed its members to determine the impact stimulus funding would have on the creation of green jobs. ...
LEED Commissioning: The Old and the New
2009 saw the rollout of a major evolution in the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC’s) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green-building rating systems. The five rating systems cover new construction and major renovations, core and shell projects, K-12 schools, commercial interiors, and existing buildings. The oldest of these, LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC), was released as a pilot program in 1998 and more fully developed as Version 2.0 in 2000. LEED Version 3 includes all five of these rating systems....
Tips for Specifying and Installing Solar Panels
With growing concern for the environment has come a tremendous push for energy independence and sustainability. In the buildings sector, this has manifested...
Rethinking Central Utility Plants
Editor's note: This is Part 2 in a two-part series. Part 1 of this series discussed the inefficiencies of central heating and cooling systems. Although...
The Building-Design Revolution
Green building is revolutionizing the practice of architecture and engineering, forcing all design professions to look at the broader effects of their...
LEED Evolution, Not Revolution
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System continues to enjoy remarkable growth as the building industry seeks...
Establishing Energy Standards
Editor's note: Following is Part 3 in a three-part series. Parts 1 and 2 of this series made the case for dramatically reducing building energy use through...
Emphasizing Accountability
Editor's note: Following is Part 2 in a three-part series. Accountability is key for the success of any strategy aimed at a large-scale improvement in...
A Vision for Energy Performance
New approaches that better merge industry efforts and policy and are directed at resolving the technical and economic issues hindering large-scale improvements in the energy efficiency of buildings....
Green Health-Care Buildings
Editor's note: Following is the third in a series of excerpts from The Green Building Revolution, the latest book by Jerry Yudelson, PE, MBA, LEED AP,...
The Business Case for Green
Editor's note: Following is the second in a series of excerpts from The Green Building Revolution, the latest book by Jerry Yudelson, PE, MBA, LEED AP,...
Greening K-12 Schools
Editor's note: Following is the first in a series of excerpts from The Green Building Revolution, the latest book by Jerry Yudelson, PE, MBA, LEED AP,...
The Green-Building Revolution
Editor's note: Jerry Yudelson, PE, MBA, LEED AP, will serve as a keynote speaker for HPAC Engineering's fifth annual Engineering Green Buildings Conference...
Marketing Green Buildings
Many engineers I have met think marketing is something left best to their firms' marketing professionals and that, somehow, marketing is beneath them....
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