Download - Federal Buildings Elton Sherwin comments on energy efficiency design standards for federal buildings
By Elton SherwinVenture Capitalist and Author of
Addicted to Energy
Comments on Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design Standards
for New Federal Buildings For the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Federal Buildings Are Important
Buildings are the largest emitters of CO2 on the planet*
The federal government is one of the world’s largest owners of buildings
Federal programs will have broad impact
Important that federal rules be effective and cost effective
*Includes CO2 from power plants generating electricity for buildings
RFI Comments from Elton Sherwin
• Elton Sherwin is a venture capitalist investing in cleantech companies.
• He is the author of Addicted to Energy • Addicted to Energy outlines fifty ways
to reduce energy consumption and protect the climate, many involving building efficiency
• His first book, The Silicon Valley Way is used by entrepreneurs and university programs around the world. He is an occasional guest speaker at Stanford University on energy policy and entrepreneurship.
• He holds eight patents and currently serves on the boards of six companies including NRG Dynamix which designs hybrid drive trains and energy storage systems for cars and trucks
Includes comments on:Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design Standards for New FederalCommercial and Multi-Family High-Rise Residential Buildings and EnergyEfficiency and Sustainable Design Standards for New Federal Low-RiseResidential Buildings, EE–RM/STD–02–112 and RIN 1904–AC13Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. DOE
Four Recommendations Federal Building Construction and Remodels
Recommendation #1
Disclose the Energy Consumption of All New Federal Buildings
And post the data on the Internet
Recommendation #1
Disclose Utility Bills• Disclose the energy consumption of all new
federal buildings– Monthly disclosure– “Publish” utility bills on the Internet
• Single website for all federal buildings
• Disclose energy consumption of the previous structures for– Major remodels or – New structures replacing an older building
• The energy consumption of the older building should be disclosed to enable comparisons
Recommendation #1
Why Is Utility Bill Disclosure Important?
• Enables accurate calculations of lifecycle costs
• Enables comparisons– Between buildings– Between design techniques
• Identifies top performing buildings• Encourages occupants to manage their
plug loads• Identifies problems• Maximizes reductions of CO2 and water
When Utility Bills are Hidden
When data is secret– Harder to calculate true lifecycle
costs– Less accountability– Harder to identify problems– Little motivation to improve in
future years– Little or no motivation to manage
plug loads
Summary of Recommendation #1
Disclose the ongoing energy consumption of all new federal buildings
Post the data on the web
Recommendation #2
Label and Grade All New and Remodeled Federal Buildings
Recommendation #2
Federal Building Energy Labels Recommended Format
Relative grade – Graded versus peers– Similar type buildings in
similar climates
National standard– Compares all federal
buildings nationwide– Absolute score based on
BTUs per square foot
Post-occupancy Verification
This label meets the follow criteria from the RFI:
(2) Include a verification system for post- occupancy assessment of the rated buildings to periodically demonstrate continued environmental benefits and energy savings.
This Label Has Only Five Data Inputs
5 Input Data Items:1) Electric bill2) Gas or heating oil bill3) Zip code4) Size of building5) Type of building
Proposed Label Federal Construction
This is a simple system for post-occupancy verification
Automatically generate monthly updates from utility bills
Peer Rating• Similar building types in
similar climates– Office to office– Barracks to barracks– Hospital to hospital
• Per sq. foot comparison to existing federal buildings
• Top 20% get AsA+ reserved for net zero
• Bottom 20% get Fs• Include + and –
National Rating
• National standard– Intuitive: scores above
80 are good, below 70 are poor
• 125 minus weighted EUI
• Source energy (per sq ft.)
– Combines natural gas, oil and electricity
– All electricity weighted at national average
How to Calculate
Source energy (per sq ft.)• 125 - weighted EUI
For more information on this proposed building rating methodology see the appendix of this presentation and also see, Response to the National Energy Rating Program for Homes RFI by Elton Sherwin available from the author or at: http://www.slideshare.net/EltonSherwinOr Google ‘Elton Sherwin comments DOE RFI home rating’
Recommendation #2 Summary
Post-occupancy Verification• Post this label on the lobby doors• And on the Internet
Recommendation #3
Require Certain Best Practices Everywhere
Recommendation #3
The following items are frequently overlooked in federal buildings
LightingWindows
HVAC
Three Items Condemn Federal Buildings to Mediocrity:
Lighting,Windows, andHVAC systems
We Should Build a New Generation of Federal Buildings
With the Best:
Lighting Systems
Good lighting systems have:– T5s, T8s, LEDs, and digital ballasts
Great lighting systems also have:– Dimmers with daylight sensors– Occupancy sensors– Users controls for individual work
areasGreat lighting systems
– Save twice as much electricity as good systems
The author has no relationship with any of the pictured products. Pictures are for illustration only
In New Federal Buildings
Require lighting systems to have:– Dimmers with daylight sensors– Occupancy sensors– Users controls for individual work
areasThere is never a reason to omit
these featuresThey always pay for themselves
The author has no relationship with any of the pictured products. Pictures are for illustration only
Windows
Good windows:– R4
Great windows:– R8 or above– Extremely spectrally selective*
Great windows– Cut air-conditioning and heating
demand by 30% to 50%
* Eliminate 90% of non-visible radiation and should be required on all windows that get direct sun in buildings using air conditioning.
In New Federal Buildings
Require windows be:– R8 or above
• An R20 wall with an R4 window makes no sense.
– Highly spectrally selective• Require spectral selectivity on
sunny windows in buildings that use air conditioning
How Spectrally Selective Windows Work
The author has no relationship with any of the pictured products. Pictures are for illustration only
HVAC SystemsGood HVAC Systems:
– Efficient Great HVAC Systems also have:
– A thermostat and occupancy sensor in every room
– Variable speed, variable output*– Thermal storage**
Great HVAC Systems– Reduce energy consumption
40% to 70%
* Boilers and furnaces are modulating ** Require thermal storage in buildings over 5,000 sq. ft. that use air conditioning more than 100 days/year
In New Federal Buildings
Require great HVAC systems:– Thermostat in every room– Occupancy sensor in every room– Variable speed, variable output– Thermal storage
Save taxpayers moneyHelp the environmentBetter air quality in building
The author has no relationship with any of the pictured products. Pictures are for illustration only
With great:Lighting,
Windows, andHVAC systems
Let’s Build a New Generation of Great Federal Buildings
Windows1. R8 or above2. Spectrally selective
Lighting systems3. Dimmers with daylight sensors4. Occupancy sensors5. Enable users to control their work area
HVAC systems6. Thermostat in every room7. Occupancy sensor in every room8. Variable speed, variable output9. Thermal storage
Recommendation #3 Summary
These nine items pay for themselves
Require them on all new federal buildings
Recommendation #4
Monitor Energy Consumption at a Room Level
Recommendation #4
Best way to Optimize Energy Performance
From the RFI: “The major sustainable design elements of the proposed rules are:…Optimize Energy Performance.”
Building Control Systems Should Organize and Report Data by Room
Case Study: Stanford University’s environmental showcase Yang and Yamazaki (Y2E2) building
• Used twice the predicted energy*• Audit found hundreds of problems*• Root cause was very difficult to identify
because the building control system did not organize and report data at a room level * Energy analysis of the first year of Y2E2 and its
relationship to the Sustainable Built Environment, John Kunz and coauthors. Also, see CIFE Technical Report #TR183. For a summary, see http://stanfordreview.org/article/y2e2-fails-to-meet- efficiency-expectations
Advantages of Room-by-Room Reporting
for Electricity• Speeds commissioning and
recommissioning• Lowers plug loads• Identifies malfunctioning
equipment
Best way to Optimize Energy Performance
Advantages of Room-by-Room Reporting
for Water
• Identifies malfunctioning toilets and sprinkler control systems
• Separates indoor and outdoor consumption
• Minimizes finger pointing between kitchen and maintenance staff
Lowers Water Consumption
Advantages of Room-by-Room Reporting*
for HVAC Systems
• Speeds recommissioning• Helps identify many problems
– Rooms that alternatively request heat and cooling
– Malfunctioning VAV boxes
* Monitoring temperature and requests for heat and cooling
Advantages of Room-by-Room Reporting
of CO2 levels
Ensures indoor air quality
The author has no relationship with any of the pictured products. Pictures are for illustration only
Monitor at a Room Level
• Electricity
• Water
• HVAC
• CO2
Recommendation #4 Summary
This will createBetter air qualityUse less waterSave energy
Conclusion Four Sets of Recommendations Federal Building Construction and Remodels
Conclusion Four Sets of Recommendations Federal Building Construction and Remodels
1. Disclosure of utility bills 2. Label and grade new federal buildings based
on their actual energy consumption3. Require certain key efficiency improvements
– Bellwether attributes that elevate a building from adequate efficiency to extraordinary efficiency
– Universally cost effective4. Measure energy consumption by room
Appendix
Some of this material was originally published in a: Response to the National Energy Rating Program for Homes RFI by Elton Sherwin available from the author or at: http://www.slideshare.net/EltonSherwinOr Google ‘Elton Sherwin comments DOE RFI home rating’
Analyzed Nine Different Energy Labels and Their Associated Rating
Methodologies
Option #3Option #1
Option #5
Option #9(Recommended Option)
Recommended Label Displays Both Site and Source Data
C-
B+Electricity**
Gas**
*125 is highest score1 is lowest
Compared to all federal buildings in America
(See Inverted Scale with Progressive Weighting)
** The energy grade is determined comparing this building to other similar
buildings in similar climates
74*
Image from iStockphoto
Recommended Inverted Scale Progressive weighting
Formula:
• 0-25 BTU: 125-BTU
• 25 to 75 BTU: 100- ½ BTU over 25
• 75 to 125 BTU: 75-1/4 BTU over 75
• And so on.
• Objective is to have a single national metric (per sq. ft.) with efficient buildings over 80 and no negative scores.
• All numbers are total source energy including all plug loads, HVAC and hot water.
Source BTU/sf/mo Score
0 (net zero) 125
25 10045 9050 8865 8095 70
135 60175 50255 40335 30375 25
Why Zero to 125?
Why not zero to 100?• Multiple reasons, subtle,
but important• Americans know scores
above 80 are good, below 70 are weak.
• Need a scoring system that lets superior buildings get above 80, yet also rewards net zero– Scale of 0 to100 fails to do
this
Green Building Certification Systems
This label meets the follow criteria from the RFI:
"DOE is considering a requirement for a Federal agency to demonstrate that the energy use, at a minimum, in the first year of a building's green building certification is consistent with the energy use identified as part of the certification process. If the building's energy use exceeded the target energy use identified under the green building rating system, DOE is considering the removal of the green building certification."
“(2) Include a verification system for post-occupancy assessment of the rated buildings to periodically demonstrate continued environmental benefits and energy savings.”
These are all excellent ideas and this label meets these criteria.
Why This Label• Simple• Easy to update monthly• Data-driven approach• Measures real
improvements• Universal participation
– Does not require audits• Fair: works for all sizes of
buildings• Drive dramatic reductions
in energy consumption