Commissioning for Schools
The commissioning (Cx) quality-assurance process is especially important for schools not only because our children deserve the healthiest and most productive indoor environments, but because in many parts of the United States, Cx is mandated by law for public and private educational facilities. ...
Rules for Challenging LEED Certifications Changed
The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has changed the way it handles challenges to certifications it issues under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. ...
Variable-Refrigerant-Flow Heat Pumps, Energy-Recovery Ventilators Cut Carbon
The University of Maine at Presque Isle (UMPI) was among the first universities to join the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment. As a signatory of the agreement in early 2007, President Donald N. Zillman committed UMPI to a rigorous plan to reduce its carbon footprint. A unique HVAC renovation at Folsom/Pullen Hall was among the first steps in the university's trek to carbon neutrality....
Sustaining Energy Efficiency
Although HVAC typically represents 40 percent of a commercial building’s total energy use, energy efficiency historically has taken a back seat to occupant comfort in commercial-building HVAC design. With energy prices on the rise and commercial-building owners searching for ways to be more competitive, satisfy corporate social-responsibility objectives, and meet new government mandates, however, energy efficiency is becoming a greater and greater priority....
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. ...
Commissioning for Schools: Best Practices for Purchasing and Specification
The commissioning (Cx) quality-assurance process is especially important for schools not only because our children deserve the healthiest and most productive indoor environments, but because in many parts of the United States, Cx is mandated by law for public and private educational facilities. ...
With Help of Variable Refrigerant Flow, 54-Year-Old School Becomes Green Lab
In 2008, Alexandria City Public Schools hired the Leesburg, Va., office of Hayes Large Architects LLP and Leesburg-based B2E Consulting Engineers to help turn the Minnie Howard campus into a laboratory for green-building technologies that could be implemented districtwide....
Ice-Tank Storage System Helps to Green Insurance Company's Headquarters
Like many companies across the country, Harleysville Insurance is implementing energy-conservation measures that will help it become "greener" by better managing its energy consumption and, over time, reducing its overall energy costs. While the company has taken steps, such as reducing the electricity it uses for lighting, computers, and other electronic equipment and expanding its recycling efforts, a more significant green initiative revolves around the recent replacement of the outdated chiller plant in its home office in Harleysville, Pa., with a new thermal-storage solution designed to optimize energy savings....
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....
Prioritizing Energy Projects
Sustainability, green energy, and LEED certification are the topics of the day for building owners and managers. With so many conservation opportunities, how does one determine which projects to pursue on a limited budget?...
The Benefits of Ice-Based Thermal Energy Storage
Is ice-based thermal-energy storage (TES) really green? Although the success of ice-based TES in reducing energy costs has been substantiated, there are differing opinions within the HVAC community regarding whether TES is a green technology....
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. ...
WaterFurnace: Future of Geothermal Looks Bright
Although 2010 should prove to be a "mixed bag" for the overall economy, it will be a great year for the geothermal industry, WaterFurnace President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Huntington told more than 400 HVAC contractors and distributors during the company's Annual Sales Meeting in Phoenix....
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....
Greenhouse-Gas Impacts
The following exchange, concerning the January 2010 article “The Greenhouse-Gas Impact of Various Chiller Technologies” by Gerald J. Williams, PE, LEED AP, took place on HPAC.com via the Disqus comment system....
Recent Comments