IES Blog

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

Earlier this month, the USGBC released its 2011 list of top 10 states for LEED-certified commercial and institutional green buildings per capita, based on the U.S. 2010 Census information.

Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of Buildings.

What I found most interesting in the article, though, was this fact.
In December 2011, USGBC announced that LEED-certified existing buildings outpaced their newly built counterparts by 15 million square feet on a cumulative basis. A focus on heightened building performance through green operations and maintenance is essential to cost-effectively driving improvements in the economy and the environment.

I had also stumbled across this article on TIME – LEED From Behind: Why We Should Focus on Greening Existing Buildings. The article states, “A study by the Preservation Green Lab of the National Trust for Historic Preservation shows 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 while many new buildings are looking to go LEED at the onset of the project, I would like 2012 to be the year of LEED-EB: O&M. How can we as an industry put our knowledge and expertise towards making our world a more energy efficient place, using what we’ve already got?

It could be a sign of the times. The economy still isn’t great, so focusing on upgrading existing buildings rather than fronting cash for brand new buildings makes economic sense. And as USGBC gets ready to finalize the LEED 2012 standards, there is a chance there will be a revival in excitement for the rating system. What do you think? Can we make 2012 the year we focus on reusing buildings, so to speak?

In closing, I’ll leave you with the quote in the article that I think should be the mantra for 2012 building… “The greenest building is one that is already built.” -Carl Elefante

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Tags:Building, construction, energy, Existing Buildings, Green, LEED, Rating, USGBC

Well, we made it to Chicago. We weren’t going to let a little “winter storm warning” stop us from the biggest HVAC show of the year!

The energy has been great at the show so far – lots of excitement for the industry. Prior to the floor opening, there was big news from ASHRAE. The go-to source for standards and education for this industry, ASHRAE got a facelift, complete with a new logo and a new tagline…

Shaping Tomorrow’s Built Environment Today

Given our focus at IES this year, we are thrilled to see ASHRAE’s commitment to pushing the built environment in the 21st century. As ASHRAE President Ron Jarnagin stated, “integrated design is the cornerstone of sustainable buildings.” As the ‘Hub’ for sustainable design advancements, we look forward to joining ASHRAE in the conversation, promoting the importance of utilizing quantifiable performance information to design truly sustainable buildings.

We’ve also been following the conversation on Twitter. Kimberly Schwartz, managing editor of The ACHR News, tweeted a great picture (http://pic.twitter.com/6u2IsRSd) from the show floor yesterday afternoon, adding “…the aisles are still crowded! There’s a good buzz in the air.”

But the highlight of our day yesterday? Well, we’ll just let the image speak for itself…

See you on the show floor!

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Tags:AHR, ASHRAE, Building, chicago, design, energy, Environment, event, HVAC, IES, Sustainability, Twitter

Another year, another blog about LEED

There’s never a shortage of opinions when you bring up the topic of LEED.

Last year, we blogged about whether or not LEED certification was working, questioning the goals of the program. We decided that if the goal is to increase awareness for better design and sustainability, regardless of whether or not a building ultimately achieves certification, then the program is succeeding. The way we see it, a better building is a better building, certification or not.

After reading a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, the question of whether or not “going green” impacts a business was one I thought I’d weigh in on.

The Headquarter Honda dealership in Florida is LEED Platinum. Only nine other buildings in the state — all of them constructed for educational, military, aerospace or government purposes — share this rating. An exceptional accomplishment when you look at it comparatively. But as Kevin questions, “Does securing that mark of planet-friendly excellence help sell Accords, Civics and Odysseys?”

Maybe not. But for the owner of the dealership, the energy savings alone seem to be worth the certification. “According to estimates based on more than a year’s worth of utility bills, the 30 percent premium will be recouped in a decade, Esteve said, which in the long run will make the building cheaper to own than one with a more conventional design.”

I’m not going to tell you that LEED certification is a necessity for every building. But I do think you should consider the requirements as part of your building process. If nothing else, a focus on implementing various energy-saving technologies and being aware of factors such as daylighting and the like will ensure a building will be viable for many years to come. LEED Platinum or not, that’s something we can all appreciate.

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Tags:Add new tag, Building, daylighting, design, energy, Green, LEED, Platinum, Rating, Sustainability

With 2011 officially in the books, the IES team thought it was time to take a look back at the hottest green technology and sustainability stories this year had to offer. Even with some of the fallout from the Solyndra and Beacon Power bankruptcies – assets are being sold off as you read this – 2011 served up some really interesting innovations. From the military and car manufacturers to solar and wind power, Earth Techling sheds a little natural daylight on the must-reads in its “2011 Green Technology Year in Review”.

What I find most interesting is that while wind and solar power definitely took their licks this year, they are far from being down for the count; just ask Walmart and Costco customers.

You may be surprised to find that [Walmart], which sells everything from shoes to shower curtains, also happens to offer a selection of renewable energy devices, including a 600-watt wind turbine. Costco members will soon be able to add solar power systems for clean energy solutions at home alongside power tools and pancake mix on their shopping lists.

The best part about these products is that they are cheap. For around $800, you can lower your electricity bill and increase energy efficiency for years. It will be interesting to see how the commercial market will react as the cost continues to drop for these types of technologies. If the residential market is any indication, solar and wind power might be more affordable than ever in the commercial sector. The sustainability goals and LEED certifications that many building owners and property managers seek might be a little easier to attain in 2012.

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Tags:2011, Building, energy, Green, IES, Renewables, Sustainability, technology

In the architecture and design realm, keeping it simple often yields the best results. Keeping it sustainable doesn’t hurt either.

A push by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), as highlighted in a recent article in The Washington Post, supports this idea. All across the United States, AIA chapters are “taking a stand for visibility, transparency and sustainability.” Brick and mortar no longer separates the AIA buildings from the public, something that becomes clear if you’ve seen the new building of the AIA’s chapter in D.C.

Thomas Corrado, project architect with the Washington firm that created the design, described the concept as “clear, simple and concise.” He went on to say that “the idea was about how to make the space a connection between architecture and the person on the street.”

What I find most interesting about this new open-door style is its appeal to the public. As the United States pushes for a greener, more efficient future, anything that can draw in the public to gain some traction is positive for the sustainability industry as a whole. When pedestrians peer through the floor-to-ceiling glass of the D.C. building, for instance, they see an open gallery that currently showcases the winners of a recent design competition. Next month, the gallery will feature an exhibit on art nouveau architecture from Brussels.

Another example of the AIA’s new design efforts is the soon to be completed Center for Architecture and Design in North Carolina.

The nation’s only AIA building to be built from the ground up, it was designed by Raleigh-based architect Frank Harmon after a statewide competition. Inside, the lighting adjusts to demand, monitored by a donated state-of the-art computer server that responds to the amount of daylight admitted. Early modeling projects energy savings as high as 64 percent.

As we head into 2012, we look forward to seeing the AIA’s new push for design transparency continue to generate public appeal and translate to more sustainable designs nationwide.

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Tags:AIA, Architects, design, energy, Modeling, North Carolina, sustainable, Washington

There has been a lot of negativity surrounding the state of the job market, new construction and business development in the United States. Sometimes it’s unavoidable. Turn on the television, read a newspaper or grab a magazine and you’re bound to see it. But if you’re in the green, clean or low-carbon sector, there appears to be a big light at the end of the tunnel.

A green jobs infographic released by JobVine highlights some promising statistics. Take a look at green construction, for example. In 2005, only $3 billion was spent on non-residential green construction in the United Sates. In 2010, that number skyrocketed to $54 billion. The best part? Non-residential green construction is predicted to be $145 billion by 2015. These are figures that anyone in this space can smile about. With President Obama continuing to push green tax incentives and loan programs, the future is looking good.

“As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs – but only if we accelerate the transition. Only if we seize the moment.” – President Obama

From the nationwide increase in green jobs to the projected growth of green construction, it seems the industry is indeed seizing the moment!

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Tags:construction, energy, Green, jobs, low carbon, Obama

It’s true that the U.S. government’s investments in green technology haven’t always paid off – just ask those who picked up office furniture, industrial supplies and T-shirts last month at the Solyndra bankruptcy auction. But that doesn’t mean additional funding is gone, especially with President Obama and former President Clinton’s recently-announced plan to invest $4 billion in energy upgrades to public and private buildings nationwide.

A recent article on Politico.com explains the duo has teamed up for the latest installment of President Obama’s “Better Building Initiative.” Government officials say the plan, which is meant to spur job growth and energy efficiency, avoids many of the problems of previous loan guarantees. How? By relying on both government and private investments; $2 billion from each over the next two years, to be exact. But what’s perhaps most interesting about this plan is what it says about the United States’ dedication to green technology and more energy-efficient commercial and industrial buildings.

Obama [was] joined by Clinton during a Washington, D.C., event Friday to sign a memorandum for a minimum of a $2 billion commitment from federal agencies over the next 24 months. The money will go toward hiring contractors to perform energy efficiency and other green upgrades at federal facilities. There also will be a $2 billion private-sector commitment, covering up to 1.6 billion square feet of commercial and independent property and involving roughly 300 manufacturing plants.

In this case, the U.S. government’s decision not to dwell on past mistakes certainly appears to be a good thing for the green building and energy efficiency industries at large. Here’s looking to a greener and more efficient future!

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Tags:Building, energy, Green, Obama, US Government, Washington