IES Blog

With the start of a new year, we’re that much closer to the year 2030. So the question arises, are we on track to meet the challenge of Architecture 2030?

Why is Architecture 2030 an important goal? In the U.S., commercial buildings are responsible for nearly half the greenhouse gas emissions. Rather than just talking about reducing this number, Architecture 2030 is committed to transforming the building industry, reducing climate change and energy consumption worldwide.

Check out this video for more on Architecture 2030, courtesy of PBS.

Last year, the organization took things a step further, launching the 2030 Challenge for Products. Celebrating one year since the challenge was launched, eco-structure checked in to see how things are going. The part of the interview follows.

Is there a set goal as to how many people you want signed on to any of the challenges?

We’ve never really approached our challenges in that way. Our goal is to raise awareness about the really big issues and get people talking and moving in a direction. As long as that’s happening, we focus on supporting it and making it better, but not necessarily on targeting a particular number.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. I think 2012 is the year to really move the needle in our industry. With the launch of ASHRAE’s new image – Shaping Tomorrow’s Built Environment Today – and this update on Architecture 2030, sustainable design and the importance of utilizing quantifiable performance analysis to design the next generation of buildings is upon us.

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Tags:architecture, Architecture 2030, ASHRAE, energy, Environment, Sustainability

Firstly, we would like to thank you for your response to our original blog in our campaign against the DCLG’s proposed software validation charges – “Don’t let DCLG charges damage our industry”

Since then there has been significant development that we would like to bring you up to date on. On Friday 18th February, IES met with DCLG and a number of our industry peers to discuss EPBD, Green Deal and validation charges. This meeting exposed some serious inaccuracies in the charges put forward by Landmark, the company who will be responsible for software validation on behalf of the DCLG. BRE have pointed out that the figures actually tendered by them were much lower than the industry is being charged.

It also brought to light further proof that this tax would clearly lead to an unlevel playing field in our industry. The impression at the meeting was that the costs being imposed on software providers were in part contributing to the costs of developing iSBEM and other Government free tools.  We think this should be investigated to see where the money from the proposed charges is going to be spent.
A summary of the main issues that arose from the meeting are:

•    It is unfair that charges are being levied on the industry when the high scale cannot be justified on the basis of the work involved.  By involving a middle man (i.e. Landmark) DCLG is creating unnecessary costs and time delays that could be avoided.  On DCLG’s website the amount spent on External Consultants was £13.4M in 2010/11 out of a total staff bill of £95M. http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/foi/disclosure-log/disclosurelog2011/may2011/externalconsultants/

•    DCLG is holding a monopoly position with free tools such as iSBEM competing in a commercial market.  Free commercial software is already available and the competition from publically funded software is distorting the market

•    We are fearful that we could end up with duplicate charges for software linked to the Green Deal and the likely heavy impact of these charges on smaller organisations, some of which might not be able to bear all the additional costs.

•    At the moment the frequency of validation is still unclear as there has been no consultation process or impact analysis involving the industry.  For instance DCLG persist in stating that ‘there is no need’ for revalidation of existing software this year, but this doesn’t answer the question about validation triggered by updates BRE or by the software providers themselves who are all continually improving their products.

Our objective remains the same – we want the DCLG to withdraw their proposed cost structure for these charges and work with the industry to agree a more reasonable way forward. Adding your voice to the cause remains an essential part of making this happen. What are your views on the charges and how do you feel you could be affected by them? Let us know by commenting below or emailing us at DCLGcharges@iesve.com. All the feedback provided will be brought forward to our next meeting with the DCLG on Friday, 24th February.

We will keep you posted on any progress made!

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Tags:construction, DCLG, energy, IES, industry news, software, UK

Last week, we highlighted the makeover the city of London is getting in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. But London isn’t the only city stepping up when it comes to upgrading its iconic buildings.

Did you know?
**Solar panels shimmer in the sunlight in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. One thousand photovoltaic panels cover the roof of the Paul VI Audience Hall that generate enough electricity to meet all heating, lighting and cooling requirements of the 6,300 seat venue.

**A project to retrofit the Empire State Building in New York began in 2009. All 6,500 windows of the skyscraper are being replaced while the building’s air conditioning and lighting systems are also being upgraded. It’s expected to reduce energy use by over 35%.

**The air conditioning system in the Sydney Opera House has been adapted to utilize sea water from the surrounding harbour.

**The Eiffel Tower in Paris has reduced its energy consumption with a low energy LED lighting system.

Courtesy of CNN.

What does this mean for the industry? According to John Alker, director of policy at the UK Green Building Council, a lot! “These high profile projects can highlight the importance of retrofitting and cause people to think about installing renewable energy systems on the micro level.”

The way I look at it, if a 120+ year old structure like the Eiffel Tower can be upgraded for the 21st century, we can certainly retrofit other buildings. As I discussed last month in my blog post – “Congrats to the LEEDing states!” – according to a study by the Preservation Green Lab of the National Trust, “building reuse almost always has fewer environmental impacts than new construction—which means we’d be smart to spend at least as much time renovating existing buildings as we do lionizing fancy new green construction.”

So let’s get out there and makeover some more of the world’s most iconic buildings and landmarks!

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Tags:Building, construction, Eiffel Tower, energy, Green, Landmarks, New York, Olympics, Renewables, Retrofit

The 2012 Olympic Games are almost upon us, and once again sustainable building is being woven into this year’s host city. During the 2010 Winter Games, we highlighted the LEED certified Olympic Village and the redesigned, eco-friendly Olympic medals. And it looks like we’ll see more of the same in London this year!

An article published on CNN.com highlights how London plans to cut back on energy consumption, even when it comes to iconic landmarks. Take Tower Bridge, for example. One of the city’s most famous structures is being retrofitted with an LED lighting system that will reduce energy use by 40 percent. The goal? Host the most environmentally-friendly Olympic Games ever.

As the director of policy at the UK Green Building Council points out, these types of projects can really help shape the sustainable building industry as a whole.

“These high profile projects can highlight the importance of retrofitting and cause people to think about installing renewable energy systems on the micro level,” says John Alker. “Relatively speaking, Tower Bridge will save a small amount of energy but this could translate into a quite significant proportion if people can be persuaded to follow.”

While much of the spotlight will be on the athletes and the competition this summer, the Olympics might very well give the green building market a boost as a result. Increased sustainability exposure for the millions that tune in will definitely prove beneficial.

What London 2012 sustainable initiative has caught your eye?

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Tags:Add new tag, energy, Green Building, London 2012, Olympics, Sustainability

As you may or may not know, in the past the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) have provided a non-domestic software validation service for UK building regulations. They issued a statement on 13th January 2012 proposing to withdraw this service and instead make it a so-called “self-funding” operation where they will charge software suppliers a fee each time their software requires validation. These proposed fees include an Initial validation fee of up to £16,000 and then a re-validation fee of up to £10,000 thereafter.

We believe that these proposed charges are unreasonable and potentially unlawful.  They will not only have a serious negative impact on the UK construction industry but the entire UK economy and the Governments Carbon Reduction objectives will suffer as well.

Some of the most concerning issues are:
•    The charges will discourage new entrants to the market, and will cause existing software vendors to withdraw products due to cost of development and validation.
•    There will be fewer products, less competition, poorer quality software, and a climate in which vendors take a very conservative attitude to innovation.
•    Charges cannot be justified in terms of the work involved in the validation exercise.
•    It is unreasonable to impose a blanket fee for re-validation since the size of this task varies enormously depending on what needs to be done. In our experience this had ranged from a check on a table of numbers to a full examination of every aspect of the analysis.
•    The number of job losses will increase because companies will no longer be able to provide free or low cost products due to the cost of validation which will impact on many of the smaller service based businesses that rely on this software to be competitive in the mass market.
•    There will be no charges for iSBEM and ORCalc software which are both provided by the government. Why should the government be spending taxpayers’ money to compete in an established commercial market with a number of established vendors whilst at the same time imposing punitive, excessive, unjustified and arbitrary charges only on competing commercial products?
•    The proposals are not practically workable and will fundamentally damage an industry which plays a vital role in tackling the UK’s carbon reduction objectives.
•    IES have been a strong supporter of the Governments low energy drive and invested heavily in making Part L effective. We also provide free tools (SBEM interface and DEC software) and free support for these tools to the industry. There are thousands of small companies that rely on these tools that become untenable if we have to pay the proposed charges.

These are just a selection of the reasons why the DCLG must reconsider their statement. A full list can be found in this news item on our website.

We would like to appeal for your support and assistance on this matter. If you agree with any of the points above please take a moment to email Peter Matthews {Peter.Matthew@communities.gsi.gov.uk} and DCLG minister Andrew Stunnel {enquiries@andrewstunell.org.uk} to register your opposition to these charges. Failure to do so could lead to long lasting damage to our industry and will make the UK’s carbon reduction objectives far more difficult to achieve. We reasonably request that the DCLG’s current statement on software validation is withdrawn pending discussions and agreement on a more practical way forward.

Thank you for your time.

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Tags:construction, DCLG, energy, IES, software, UK, UK Government

2012 is going to be a great year! Just ask “the godfather of green” Jerry Yudelson. Builder magazine featured his 10 predictions for the next 12 (well, 11 now – where does the time go?) months.

Take a peek.

I’m particularly excited about #3 – LEED-EBOM (Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance) Will Gain Momentum.
“We’re going to see this move to other sectors,” he says, particularly among hotels with strong convention and meeting businesses who want to be able to market their eco-friendliness. Grocery stores, hospitals, and retail centers are moving in the same direction, with features such as solar panels on top of Walmarts or department stores. “Last month, President Obama and former President Clinton announced the Better Buildings Initiative. It’s only $4 billion, so it’s not huge. But still, this is stuff that moves markets. When you have two presidents pushing something, it does get people’s attention. More and more building owners are realizing that they don’t want to be late to the party.”

As I mentioned earlier this week in my post, Congrats to the LEEDing states!, around the IES offices, we’re hoping 2012 is the year of LEED-EB: O&M. Let’s reduce, reuse, recycle, repurpose…we’ve only got one Earth, and it’s getting pretty crowded.

What are your predictions for the rest of 2012?

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Tags:Building, Green, IES, LEED, LEED-EBOM, Obama, reuse