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| published Tuesday, March 09, 2010 |
121 Views :: 0 Comments
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The modernization project at Oakland High School consisted of major renovations in Building E (a 5,573 SF wellness center) and Building F (a 20,400 SF historic shop building). In addition, the project included the construction of one new building, Building G (a 16,320 SF classroom building). In addition to the challenge of renovating aging buildings to provide a healthy and productive educational environment, the design team also had to meet stringent energy efficiency requirements.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, March 09, 2010 |
111 Views :: 0 Comments
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The new multi-purpose building at the Urban Promise Academy consists of approximately 11,000 SF of new construction including a multi-purpose gymnasium with raised platform stage, office, conference room, equipment storage, rest rooms, a lobby, and art/music classrooms. The project is located within the Oakland Unified School District.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, March 09, 2010 |
105 Views :: 0 Comments
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La Maestra Community Health Centers is an award-winning not-for-
profit organization that has been serving low-income and
immigrant communities for 19 years.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, February 26, 2010 |
295 Views :: 0 Comments
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are finding the resources to renovate their
existing schools and build new ones while improving environmental
conditions at the same time. Green design practices not only
minimize operating costs, but they can protect the health of students and
teachers. Green schools engage students in a learning environment where
air is healthy, conditions are conducive to learning, and children can thrive.
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| read more.. |
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| published Wednesday, February 24, 2010 |
403 Views :: 0 Comments
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is intended to teach readers about the high performance building
process for commercial new construction. The goal of the high
performance building process is to create buildings that meet owner and
occupant needs in terms of energy efficiency, thermal comfort, and
other sustainability areas—and do so in a way that reduces the
necessary design effort and construction cost impact.
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| read more.. |
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| published Wednesday, February 24, 2010 |
249 Views :: 0 Comments
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The Coast Community College District (CCCD), located in Orange County, California, comprises three community colleges that enroll more than 60,000 students per year in over 300 degree and certificate programs. Founded in 1947, the CCCD enjoys a reputation as one of the leading community college districts in the United States.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, February 02, 2010 |
871 Views :: 1 Comments
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Chilled beams are among the recent energy-saving innovations making
their way to the U.S. market. Chilled beam technology, which involves
locating a low-temperature radiator at ceiling level to cool the rising
warm air, has been utilized in Europe and Australia for more than a
decade. Once cooled, the air slowly descends into the occupied zone,
providing adequate cooling with minimal air movement and fan power,
while providing an unobstructed radiant heat sink above the occupied
zone.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, January 12, 2010 |
758 Views :: 0 Comments
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In new construction projects,
significant energy savings can be achieved by incorporating
energy efficiency technologies in the project design. For facilities
being expanded or upgraded, ensuring the efficiency of the
refrigeration systems can lead to significant energy savings without
compromising productivity.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, January 11, 2010 |
1018 Views :: 0 Comments
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was San Francisco’s first hotel to implement a cardkey system to control lights and HVAC systems in guestrooms. Monitored data from four rooms in the hotel showed a reduction in heating and cooling energy of 45% during the peak cooling season. Computer simulations based on monitored occupancy levels in the hotel estimate a savings of 32% of annual heating and cooling costs. Modeled across five different climate zones, the average savings were 26%.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, January 05, 2010 |
441 Views :: 0 Comments
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, especially in California’s coastal
towns. While each new construction project will have a different ratio
of energy end uses, one can look at the existing building stock to get
an idea of how much is attributable to DHW systems. According to
the Department of Energy’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey
(RECS), DHW accounted for around 32% of overall energy use for
existing multifamily units in the late 1990’s.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, December 28, 2009 |
934 Views :: 1 Comments
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have plants that make chilled water and
distribute it to air handling units and other cooling equipment. The design operation and
maintenance of these chilled water plants has a very large impact on building energy use and
energy operating cost.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, December 22, 2009 |
711 Views :: 0 Comments
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of the Standards’
ongoing effort to optimize energy use in modern construction. It’s
intent is to address the importance of proper system installation, as
realized energy savings from advanced systems depend on them being
installed and operating properly.
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| read more.. |
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|
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| published Thursday, November 19, 2009 |
1073 Views :: 0 Comments
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provides a summary of resources, methods, and tools to assist the design community in building more energy efficient multifamily buildings, which are increasingly popular in California.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, October 26, 2009 |
1191 Views :: 1 Comments
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in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, and it often results in a
large amount of waste heat that is discharged into the atmosphere.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, October 09, 2009 |
1428 Views :: 0 Comments
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during the hottest summer days, mostly due to air conditioning loads, which account for almost 28% of California’s peak electrical demand. A cool storage thermal energy storage system (TES) provides a means for shifting all or part of a facility’s cooling energy use to off-peak hours, when energy costs are lower and cooling systems can potentially run more efficiently. A TES system uses cooling equipment at night to remove heat from a thermal reservoir of chilled water or ice, which can then be used for space cooling throughout the day.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, September 21, 2009 |
1516 Views :: 2 Comments
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had few incentives or
disincentives to incorporate high efficiency design features and appliances into their
projects.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, August 14, 2009 |
1192 Views :: 0 Comments
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according to the U.S. Green Building Council, primarily due to
the use of fossil fuels to provide energy for the heating, cooling, and
operation of buildings. In addition to releasing CO2, fossil fuel
combustion emits other greenhouse gases (GHG) such as nitrogen oxides
(NOx) and methane (CH4). This issue of e-News focuses on the
relationship between building energy efficiency and CO2 emission
reductions, methods for GHG accounting, and strategies for designing a
net-zero carbon building.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, July 20, 2009 |
2066 Views :: 1 Comments
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Despite its widespread application,
however, up to two-thirds of the compressed air systems
in operation have either an obvious problem that affects production
or a hidden problem that drives compressed air production
costs higher.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 26, 2009 |
2049 Views :: 2 Comments
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Ongoing construction and major retrofitting of hospitals in
California, driven by aging facilities and the demand for new medical
technologies, offers an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically
improve the energy performance of healthcare facilities for decades to
come.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 12, 2009 |
2333 Views :: 1 Comments
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commonly
encountered in existing buildings during retro-commissioning processes.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 12, 2009 |
2277 Views :: 0 Comments
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in new
homes designed to provide comfortable living environments with lower
energy consumption and operating costs.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 12, 2009 |
3068 Views :: 0 Comments
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that
varies the amount of ventilation outside air delivered to a space
based on input from a single carbon dioxide (CO2) sensor or group
of sensors.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 12, 2009 |
1540 Views :: 1 Comments
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it is important to
understand the various daylight terms, calculation methods, and metrics
that are used in the rating systems and by the daylighting community.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 12, 2009 |
2108 Views :: 0 Comments
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are all systematic methods of ensuring that a building
and its hardware perform to the level intended by the owner and design
team.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 12, 2009 |
2563 Views :: 1 Comments
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is a three-story, 45,000 ft2
building on Sierra Nevada College’s Lake Campus that demonstrates how an ambitious project team can successfully reduce
energy usage by implementing a variety of innovative mechanical designs at minimal
additional first cost.
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| read more.. |
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|
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| published Tuesday, April 21, 2009 |
2500 Views :: 0 Comments
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is a
completely passive way of reducing annual heating and cooling energy
use and shifting the summer peak demand to later in the day. In architectural terms, thermal mass refers to the incorporation of
solid or liquid materials into the building design to absorb heat or
cold and then release it later to moderate building temperature swings.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, February 24, 2009 |
2196 Views :: 0 Comments
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of new commercial
construction in California to explore ways to create very low-energy
buildings. Meeting the energy use goals defined by Title 24 or groups
such as Architecture 2030 will require bold steps from building owners
and revolutionary thinking from design teams.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Friday, January 30, 2009 |
4907 Views :: 0 Comments
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to slow down global warming before it’s too late,” said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in September 2006, when he signed Assembly Bill 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. This landmark legislation, also known as the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop regulations and market mechanisms that will reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, January 12, 2009 |
7507 Views :: 0 Comments
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can reach temperatures that are nearly 100°F above the ambient
temperature. A cool roof, by contrast, stays at or near the ambient
temperature due to the characteristics of its outer layer.
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| read more.. |
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|
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| published Thursday, December 11, 2008 |
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on the upswing, building designers are taking a closer look at natural ventilation opportunities in California’s commercial new construction. To help designers evaluate whether natural ventilation makes sense for their projects, this issue of e-News reviews natural ventilation basics.
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| read more.. |
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| published Thursday, December 04, 2008 |
5426 Views :: 0 Comments
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that encourages customers to reduce or shift their electric power usages under certain conditions to help utilities to overcome temporary constraints in the electricity supply.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, August 05, 2008 |
8232 Views :: 0 Comments
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to conserve energy and reduce
electricity peak demand. The Outdoor Lighting Standards regulate
lighting power, controls, and allowed lighting fixture types.
Illuminated signs are also covered by the Standards.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 27, 2008 |
4155 Views :: 1 Comments
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of great energy efficient buildings, selected from several areas in northern and southern California.
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| read more.. |
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 |
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| published Monday, April 28, 2008 |
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, Inc., an architectural, engineering and construction software company, is the industry’s leading provider and innovator of web based building energy analysis tools. Our energy engineering service provides world-class green/sustainable building design assistance as well as strategic building product market research. These services are used by the largest utilities, government organizations, architectural and engineering firms, and building product manufacturers, assisting them in the strategic decisions related to sustainable energy and resource use in today’s changing world.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, April 28, 2008 |
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, the sensor
Placement + Optimization Tool, is intended to assist a designer in
quantifying the existing or intended electric lighting and annual
daylighting characteristics of a given space and to help establish the
optimal photosensor placement for the space relative to annual
performance and annual energy savings.
read more...
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|
| published Wednesday, August 29, 2007 |
5923 Views :: 0 Comments
|
perform many
important functions to control the built environment. The physics and
basic mechanics of pumps have not changed substantially in the last
century.
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| read more.. |
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| published Wednesday, August 29, 2007 |
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is the use of windows, skylights, and shading devices to distribute natural light inside a building. Intended to provide amenable work and living environments, daylighting can also significantly reduce the need for electric lighting.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, August 27, 2007 |
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allows some of the electric lighting in a space to be switched off while maintaining a reasonably uniform distribution of light suitable for work.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Monday, August 27, 2007 |
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is heating and cooling equipment that meets a higher efficiency rating than federal appliance standards require.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, August 27, 2007 |
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reduce energy consumption by controlling motor speed and reducing it to match the actual load.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Monday, August 27, 2007 |
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detect movement to determine when a space is occupied. They can switch off lights, HVAC equipment, or appliances when the space is unoccupied.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Monday, August 27, 2007 |
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reduce air conditioner load by cooling the air that surrounds air conditioner condensers.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Monday, August 27, 2007 |
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reduce cooling energy consumption by allowing cool outside air into buildings, which reduces or eliminates the need for mechanical cooling.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, August 27, 2007 |
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have a combination of reflectance and emittance properties that keep them cool on hot days. They reduce the cooling loads of buildings, especially during peak times.
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| read more.. |
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| published Thursday, August 02, 2007 |
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relating to the various comparison reports that are generated as part of the building simulation in eQuest.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Thursday, August 02, 2007 |
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relating to weather data used in building simulation using eQuest.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Thursday, August 02, 2007 |
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This section contains questions relating to the general information of the project required for input in eQuest.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Tuesday, May 15, 2007 |
1332 Views :: 0 Comments
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Building form and orientation can have a profound impact on overall building energy use and comfort. One of the greatest challenges facing architects designing new buildings is striking a balance between client needs and energy efficiency.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Wednesday, May 02, 2007 |
6690 Views :: 3 Comments
|
(Design Guide) is written for Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) designers and focuses on built-up VAV systems in multi-story commercial office buildings in California.
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| read more.. |
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 |
|
| published Thursday, March 01, 2007 |
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owners and designers of commercial buildings in California have turned to two programs—Energy Design Resources and Savings By Design—for information, design assistance and incentives to help them save money, reduce energy use and related carbon dioxide emissions, and improve the quality of their buildings
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| read more.. |
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Software & Tools: eQUEST® | |
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| published Saturday, February 24, 2007 |
|
, yet easy to use building energy use analysis tool which provides professional-level results with an affordable level of effort.
This freeware tool was designed to allow you to perform detailed analysis of today's state-of-the-art building design technologies using today's most sophisticated building energy use simulation techniques but without requiring extensive experience in the "art" of building performance modeling. This is accomplished by combining a building creation wizard, an energy efficiency measure (EEM) wizard and a graphical results display module with an enhanced DOE-2-derived building energy use simulation program.
read more...
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Software & Tools: eVALUator | |
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| published Friday, February 23, 2007 |
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is an easy-to-use Windows™-based program that calculates the lifecycle benefits of investments that improve building design. It analyzes the financial benefits from buildings that reduce energy cost, raise employee productivity, and enhance tenant satisfaction.
It also provides building owners, developers, tenants, architects, engineers, and facility managers with the financial information necessary to make sound decisions about building improvements.
read more...
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Software & Tools: SkyCalc™ | |
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| published Thursday, February 22, 2007 |
|
a great deal of energy – as long as they are sized correctly, and as long as appropriate controls for electric lights are used in conjunction with skylights.
An undersized skylighting system cannot justify the cost of lighting controls and never attains the pleasing visual effect of a well-daylit space. Similarly, an oversized skylighting system allows too much solar heat into the space and lets too much heat escape on cold winter nights.
SkyCalc™ is a simple computer tool that helps building designers determine the optimum skylighting strategy that will achieve maximum lighting and HVAC energy savings for a building. This program is a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet application that runs on a personal computer.
read more...
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Software & Tools: EDR Charette | |
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| published Monday, February 19, 2007 |
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is an online tool that
allows you to quickly investigate the energy impacts of various design
scenarios on a typical building, and then review the analysis
graphically in an easy to understand web-based format. It enables you
to quickly "draw" building components with drop down menus, and
estimate how different design choices will affect energy use, energy
costs, and the surrounding environment.
read more...
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Software & Tools: Commissioning Assistant | |
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| published Sunday, February 18, 2007 |
|
is a web-based tool
designed to provide project-specific building commissioning information
to design teams. The tool will enable the user to evaluate probable
commissioning cost, to identify an appropriate commissioning scope, and
to access sample commissioning specifications related to their
construction project.
read more...
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|
| published Thursday, February 01, 2007 |
|
the actual number of people within the
building at any given time is frequently lower than the designed peak
occupancy. If the building has a conventional HVAC system that delivers
a fixed rate of outside air pegged to the peak occupancy, the result
can be overventilation and a waste of energy and money.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Monday, January 01, 2007 |
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electric lighting controls were usually nothing more complicated than manual switches that turned an individual light or a group of lights on and off. In certain situations today, such as small-scale buildings, warehouses supervised by a single building manager, and some private offices, this basic strategy may still be appropriate.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Friday, December 01, 2006 |
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of new office buildings in California know,
designing a building to meet the state’s Energy Efficiency Building
Standards isn’t a goal—it’s the law.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Wednesday, November 01, 2006 |
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is one of the largest energy-consuming end uses of a commercial food
service facility. In a typical restaurant, the HVAC (heating,
ventilation and air conditioning) system represents 20 to 30 percent of
total energy consumption. The kitchen ventilation system can account
for up to 50 percent of that HVAC load.
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| read more.. |
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 |
|
| published Friday, October 20, 2006 |
5342 Views :: 2 Comments
|
Learn how to design and run a skylighting simulation with eQUEST® software.
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| read more.. |
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|
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| published Sunday, October 01, 2006 |
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of learning activities that take place in a
K–12
classroom. Now picture a lighting scenario designed to enhance the
comfort and performance of students and teachers during each of those
activities: Dimmed lighting while projectors or televisions are in use. Glare free
lighting for white boards and computer monitors. Uniform up lighting
for general illumination. Down lighting for reading tasks. Lighting
controls that are a breeze for the teacher to use.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Wednesday, March 01, 2006 |
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building designers can choose from an exciting array of high-performance glazing products. But with so many options available, selecting the right glazing for any given application is more complicated than ever.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Wednesday, February 01, 2006 |
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for building owners is whether and how much capital
to invest in energy-saving equipment or systems in order to reap
long-term savings.
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| read more.. |
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| published Thursday, December 01, 2005 |
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to design a high-performance laboratory building that uses very little energy while meeting comfort, health, safety and programmatic requirements. Laboratory buildings typically have very energyintensive heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that operate 24 hours per day and use 100 percent outside air.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Tuesday, November 01, 2005 |
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outstanding opportunities for energy savings and improved quality of light inside many types of new and existing commercial buildings. This issue of e-News provides an overview of the benefits of toplighting, and describes brand-new requirements in California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards for Non-Residential Buildings (Title 24) related to skylights and automatic controls.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Saturday, October 01, 2005 |
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or built-up HVAC systems installed in large commer-cial buildings are not designed with a systems’ perspective. Equipment is frequently selected based on the features of individual components rather than on system-wide impacts. As a result, many large HVAC systems use significantly more energy than necessary.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Thursday, September 01, 2005 |
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systems are gaining ground in commercial new construction across North America. Compared to conventional overhead air distribution systems, underfloor systems have the potential to provide better indoor air quality, improved thermal comfort, and reduced energy use.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, August 01, 2005 |
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and existing commercial buildings is increasingly common, yet it's still not standard practice. A new study by Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory on the cost effectiveness of building commissioning may go a long way toward convincing skeptical decision makers that commissioning is key to significant ongoing savings.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, June 28, 2005 |
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Guidelines are comprised of the following documents:
- Underfloor Air Distribution
- Energy Efficient Chillers
- Advanced Control Sequences
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Wednesday, June 01, 2005 |
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advances in the performance of the information technology equipment housed in data centers. But are the facilities themselves, and the mechanical systems that serve them, demonstrating similar leaps in performance?
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, April 08, 2005 |
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Not so fast. The technology for 4-ft F32T8
lamps with instant-start ballasts has been evolving rapidly, with six
generations of systems now available.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, February 01, 2005 |
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and cooling system that’s widely applicable to
many building types and California climates, uses less energy than
conventional systems, and provides excellent indoor air quality. Sound
appealing? Perhaps the time has come to give thermal displacement
ventilation a closer look. Simon Turner of Healthy Buildings
International, an environmental consulting and engineering firm that
designs innovative ventilation systems, thinks so.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Wednesday, December 01, 2004 |
|
nonresidential buildings in California, you
probably know that California periodically updates its Building Energy
Efficiency Standards. The new version of the Standards is expected to
take effect in October 2005 and will supersede the 2001 Standards. Read
on to learn how the 2005 Nonresidential Standards will affect your
projects.
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| read more.. |
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| published Wednesday, June 02, 2004 |
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influencing glazing selections, whole-building lifecycle analysis is the best tool for determining the most costeffective solution. Few decisions that a designer makes have more impact on the appearance and utility of a building than the glazing selection.
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| read more.. |
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 |
|
| published Sunday, May 02, 2004 |
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photovoltaic technology, design teams may supply solar energy to building systems, integrate the technology seamlessly into the building design, and provide an economical renewable energy source for building owners.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, April 02, 2004 |
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upgrades that reduce energy consumption also improve the visual environment and provide maintenance savings. Lighting systems offer extraordinary opportunities for cost-effective
energy savings. In addition, many strategies for reducing lighting
energy use often can improve the visual environment.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Thursday, April 01, 2004 |
|
Mercury News' 410,000-square-foot printing plant
redesigned their compressed air system. San Jose Mercury News
engineering staff realized that the system was inefficient, leading to
high energy and operating costs. To address the problem, the company
turned to a statewide investor-owned utility sponsored energy
efficiency program, Savings By Design (SBD), for help in designing the
system and suggesting cost-saving improvements.
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| read more.. |
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| published Thursday, April 01, 2004 |
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the basketball as the crowd roars its approval.
A volleyball player follows the high, arching ball and hurries into
position to spike it over the net. Middle school students exchange
nervous glances when the lights dim and the emcee announces, “Slow
dance.” Parents and students thumb through the latest in the Harry
Potter series, one of hundreds of books on display at their school’s
annual book fair.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, March 02, 2004 |
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more productive in a well-lit space that fosters better visual comfort. Lighting controls can increase the value of commercial buildings by
making them more comfortable, productive, and energy efficient. These
controls work either by turning lights off when they are not needed or
by dimming light output so that no more light is produced than necessary.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Monday, March 01, 2004 |
|
Headquarters and Inland Empire Utilities
Agency (IEUA) Facility were designed and built using these strategies
and this case study reports the signficant results both projects are
demonstrating.
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Monday, February 02, 2004 |
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fluorescents outshine their high-intensity discharge competitors. They are often more efficient and feature lower lumen depreciation rates, better dimming options, instant start-up, and better color rendition.
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| read more.. |
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| published Sunday, February 01, 2004 |
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projects have taken advantage of
climate-related and site-specific characteristics to design and
construct high-performance, environmentally friendly buildings.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Sunday, February 01, 2004 |
|
owner’s best intentions can be a little like
“telephone,” a favorite childhood game. The first person in the chain
starts with a key message, such as “I want an energyefficient
building.”
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| read more.. |
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|
| published Friday, January 02, 2004 |
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approach to building design, designers around the world have succeeded at creating highly efficient air-conditioning systems that provide excellent workspace comfort.
|
| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Thursday, January 01, 2004 |
|
box stores are looking toward energy efficiency and
sustainable design strategies to provide a competitive edge and
increase profitability across the nation and in California’s
hard-hitting marketplace.
|
| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Tuesday, December 02, 2003 |
|
to install and more complicated to operate, a chiller plant offers a number of benefits over simple packaged cooling units, including greater energy efficiency, better controllability, and longer life.
|
| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Monday, December 01, 2003 |
|
the concept, design, and construction phases of new
K-12 school projects in California impact students, teachers, parents,
and the community for various reasons. For children and teachers, their
daily comfort and performance is affected by the classrooms, hallways,
gymnasiums, and auditoriums where they interact from four to eight
hours each day.
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| read more.. |
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|
|
| published Monday, December 01, 2003 |
|
facility can be as complicated and take as many plot twists as an episode of “ER.”
|
| read more.. |
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|
| published Sunday, November 02, 2003 |
|
design methods for rooftop heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, significant improvements in operational savings, energy efficiency, and indoor comfort can be achieved.
|
| read more.. |
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| published Saturday, November 01, 2003 |
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is an air distribution system designed to
simultaneiously improve indoor air quality and reduce energy use. Cool,
rather than cold supply air is provided through low sidewall diffusers
directly to occupants. The cool air, at about 65 degrees F rather than
55 degrees F, falls to the floor due to gravity and spreads across the
floor.
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| published Friday, October 03, 2003 |
6912 Views :: 8 Comments
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Learn the basics of eQUEST® building energy simulation.
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| published Thursday, October 02, 2003 |
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and access floor systems can provide energy savings, improved indoor air quality, and a technology ready environment for today’s commercial buildings.
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| published Wednesday, October 01, 2003 |
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program and the Energy Design Resources tools
have helped the San Mateo Police Facility design team to design a
building that will meet the City of San Mateo’s goals for a LEED Silver
rating and will provide long-term financial benefits to the City.
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| published Tuesday, September 02, 2003 |
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as much as they should and some waste a lot of energy. Better design, controls, installation, monitoring, and maintenance can help economizers meet their potential.
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| published Monday, September 01, 2003 |
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of California’s Energy Efficiency Standards for
Residential and Nonresidential Buildings, commonly known as Title 24,
went into effect October 1, 2005. Building plans submitted after this
date must meet the requirements of these updated Standards, which span
envelope, lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)
and domestic water heating measures.
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| published Saturday, August 02, 2003 |
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the energy use of a drivepower system—which includes the motor, its controls, and the connection between the motor and the equipment it drives—designers need to consider how these components operate as a system rather than looking at them on an individual basis.
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| published Friday, August 01, 2003 |
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product demand, Piranha Pipe and Precast
(Piranha) built a new production facility in Chowchilla, California.
Piranha’s management needed a concrete plant with greater production
capacity, but they were concerned about increased energy consumption.
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| published Wednesday, July 02, 2003 |
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are
more efficient, more comfortable, more attractive, and more healthful
than systems that circulate air. Unlike most cooling systems in
California, which circulate cold air to
maintain comfort, most radiant cooling systems circulate cool water
through ceiling, wall, or floor panels. “Coolth” from that water is
then absorbed by occupants and interior spaces according to the
dynamics of thermal radiation.
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| published Tuesday, July 01, 2003 |
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San Ramon Services District (DSRSD) redesigned
their plant to increase its capacity and better serve the residents of
Dublin and San Ramon. The plant’s engineers worked with PG&E staff
under the auspices of a statewide investor-owned utility sponsored
energy efficiency program, Savings By Design (SBD), to analyze the
plant’s energy consumption patterns and design it as efficiently as
possible.
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| published Monday, June 02, 2003 |
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both high indoor air quality and energy efficiency requires an integrated design approach. There is a movement in the commercial real estate industry to pay more
attention to the issue of indoor air quality (IAQ) throughout the
design and construction stages of a building’s life.
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| published Sunday, June 01, 2003 |
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district were built with few windows, and students complained they felt "claustrophobic." Based on these comments, as well as concerns about energy efficiency, the school board decided that natural light was essential to the learning experience.
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| published Friday, May 02, 2003 |
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management systems save about 10 percent of overall annual building energy consumption. An energy management system (EMS) is a computer that controls the
operation of all major building systems, in order to run the building
efficiently and effectively. An EMS can reduce a building’s overall
energy use by about 10 percent.
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| published Thursday, May 01, 2003 |
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typically consumes more energy than any other
end use. Consequently, the design team for the Multi-Agency Library at
the College of the Desert decided to take advantage of the abundant
natural light available in this desert climate to reduce energy use.
This strategy directly resulted in strong architectural elements that
delineate the building, making it a readily identifiable icon for the
college campus and the surrounding community.
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| published Wednesday, April 02, 2003 |
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design features into a new construction project can significantly increase the energy efficiency of the building while also providing enhanced occupant comfort.
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| published Tuesday, April 01, 2003 |
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to daylighting during a recent major
remodeling campaign. Today, all 83 of this company’s home improvement
warehouse stores use extensive skylights and photocontrols.
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| published Sunday, March 02, 2003 |
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in large, low-rise commercial buildings
have been custom designed and site built, an expensive and
labor-intensive process. This design brief explores the benefits of a
better alternative: splayed modular skylight wells specifically
designed for use with suspended ceilings.
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| published Saturday, March 01, 2003 |
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at Mission Foods’ new Production Facility in
Rancho Cucamonga have helped the company save more than $300,000 per
year in operating costs.
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| published Sunday, February 02, 2003 |
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the exhaust ventilation system for a new
commercial restaurant, significant operational savings, energy
efficiency, and environmental improvements can be achieved.
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| published Saturday, February 01, 2003 |
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largest manufacturers of drums, was concerned
about losing long-time employees when it moved to a new 199,000-square
foot plant 25 miles from its original location. Ensuring a pleasant
work environment in the new location was a high priority because
management realized that this would help retain employees.
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| published Thursday, January 02, 2003 |
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can compromise the design team’s ability to
consider factors like life cycle cost, distribution efficiency,access,
maintainability, and system integration.
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| published Wednesday, January 01, 2003 |
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opted to emphasize "green" building practices in
its new South Astaire Building. This three-story combination office
building and movie/television set serves as an expansion to Sony’s main
studio. A large central skylight spills natural light into the
building’s open central court.
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| published Monday, December 02, 2002 |
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System Design Brief provides recommendations to help
engineers improve the efficiency of large HVAC systems. It focuses on
built-up variable-air-volume (VAV) systems in multistory office
buildings.
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| published Sunday, December 01, 2002 |
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of boots and outdoor clothing, opened its
new distribution center in a 400,000-square foot warehouse near
Ontario, Calif. This warehouse came equipped with skylights, and
lighting controls were installed during tenant improvements.
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| published Saturday, November 02, 2002 |
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improved IAQ, cooling energy savings, and better acoustics for high performance buildings.
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| published Friday, November 01, 2002 |
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"water tower" feature dominates both the exterior and
interior of the single-story Victor Valley Water District
Administrative Facility. Located in a high desert climate, this
building has 12-inch-thick exterior walls with solid-grouted concrete
masonry.
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| published Wednesday, October 02, 2002 |
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conditions that are specific to a project’s
location, design teams are able to develop climate responsive building
designs. The result is a building that utilizes less energy and
provides a high quality and comfortable environment for the occupants.
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| published Tuesday, October 01, 2002 |
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Institute in La Jolla, California, is a
123,000-square-foot laboratory and office building completed in 1999.
Among the energy efficiency measures included in the building are
systems for limiting energy waste associated with its 92 fume hoods and
its air handling, space conditioning, and lighting systems.
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| published Saturday, September 21, 2002 |
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Building green is building smart. Builders and
developers, as well as architechts and designers, are catching on that
building green makes good economic sense as well as good environmental
sense.
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| published Monday, September 02, 2002 |
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energy design approach, designers can
cost-effectively lower building operating costs while improving
workers’ comfort and boosting productivity.
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| published Sunday, September 01, 2002 |
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Georgina Blach Intermediate School (Blach
School) in Los Altos, California, walked into a newly remodeled,
high-performance school facility in the fall of 2002.
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| published Friday, August 30, 2002 |
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community make a more far-reaching impact than by
designing energy-efficient facilities for higher education. Not only do
these buildings save energy, but they also provide enhanced learning
environments while serving as living laboratories and sustainability
demonstration centers.
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| published Friday, August 02, 2002 |
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the country, building-industry professionals are
finding that commissioned buildings are more energy efficient, more
comfortable, and easier to maintain.
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| published Thursday, August 01, 2002 |
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for the Santa Ana Police Headquarters focused on their
unique opportunities for reducing energy use at this round-the-clock
facility, which includes a holding facility.
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| published Tuesday, July 02, 2002 |
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providing design details can save an owner approximately 5% - 15% in energy costs. Building owners are spending more money on complex building systems
than ever before and yet many find they have building system problems.
Providing design details on construction documents can reduce these
problems and save money.
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| published Monday, July 01, 2002 |
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in the desert above the Mojave River, the new
Learning Resource Center at Victor Valley Community College provides
more reading and study areas, book stacks, conference rooms and offices
to the college’s existing library. The building’s form (including its
central skylight, roof monitors, and angled shading devices) provides
dramatic natural lighting in the addition’s reading areas.
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| published Monday, June 10, 2002 |
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Includes Part 1, Part 2, and Appendices 1 - 6 of the Building Commissioning Guidelines
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| published Monday, June 10, 2002 |
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ensure that a new building begins its life
cycle at optimal productivity, and improves the likelihood that the
building will maintain this level of performance.
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| published Friday, June 07, 2002 |
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explosion in big box retail buildings: In 1970,
there were an estimated five square feet of retail space for each
person in the U.S. By 2000,that figure had risen to 20 square feet per
capita. Since the large retail (greater than 10,000 square feet)
segment is the second greatest energy user of all commercial segments,
the implications of this growth trend are significant.
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| published Sunday, June 02, 2002 |
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owners can maximize a building’s energy efficiency and save both capitaland operating costs. Energy-efficient design can be improved by design review. A process of
review both enhances design and fosters communication between
designers, owners, and builders
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| published Thursday, May 02, 2002 |
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the design team needs to be involved in the construction process. Developing well-detailed construction documents is an important first
step in achieving energy and resource efficient projects. However,
projects are not successfully completed until the building and its
systems are constructed, commissioned, and fully operational according
to the design intent.
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| published Tuesday, April 02, 2002 |
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to reward design professionals for the amount an energy efficient facility would save the owners in the future—instead of the amount they spend today—the economic interests of the design team and the owner would be more closely aligned, and the result should be more efficient buildings.
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| published Saturday, March 02, 2002 |
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of the Daylighting Designer’s Toolkit, designers can improve the visual environment, create a higher-quality space, and lower energy costs for buildings.
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| published Saturday, February 02, 2002 |
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are appropriate for all building
types, but some are especially useful for particular buildings. This
Design Brief reminds designers and builders of opportunities they
should consider in each of their projects.
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| published Tuesday, January 01, 2002 |
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early in a project can lead to design
solutions that, though they appear simple, significantly improve
building energy performance.
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| published Friday, December 07, 2001 |
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more than $450 million a year on energy—more
than their budget for books and supplies. Increasing the efficiency of
the building design could save some 20 to 40 percent of that expense.
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| published Friday, July 06, 2001 |
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of four outstanding, energy-efficient California
buildings were honored on June 29 at a blacktie gala at the Los Angeles
Millennium Biltmore Hotel.
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| published Friday, June 22, 2001 |
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of e-News, we reported on the causes and extent of
duct leakage and thermal losses in small commercial buildings. We
continue our look at ductwork by examining research on large commercial
ventilation systems and offering suggestions to inform your thermal
distribution design process.
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| published Friday, June 08, 2001 |
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buildings use roughly 35 percent of the
electricity and 16 percent of the gas consumed in the state. Space
conditioning in these buildings accounts for about 18 percent of their
electricity consumption and 34 percent of their natural gas consumption.
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| published Sunday, May 27, 2001 |
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leading-edge commercial building design, acoustical
ceiling tile hasn’t exactly been an exciting topic. It’s been doing its
job, reducing noise levels within a space while allowing access to the
plenum.
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| published Friday, May 11, 2001 |
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promises to be a long, hot California summer, most
people are putting their thick outerwear into storage. But it’s
important to remember that for commercial buildings, an airtight
covering of insulation saves on energy costs by fending off heat
transfer from the hot outdoors and by keeping conditioned air from
leaking out.
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| published Friday, April 27, 2001 |
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design engineers: If you want to ensure
that your project meets the latest indoor air quality standards, uses
energy efficiently, and lowers peak energy demand, consider installing
energy recovery ventilators that reclaim waste energy from the exhaust
air stream.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, April 13, 2001 |
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building stock, elevators can consume five to fifteen
percent of a building’s total energy usage, depending on the other
services running in the building.
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| published Friday, March 30, 2001 |
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represent an important segment of the
building stock, especially when considered in terms of energy intensity
and overall energy consumption. According to researchers at Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratories (LBNL), there are more than 50 million
square feet of laboratory-
type space in California alone. Energy intensities are often five times higher than
those found in other building types such as offices.
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| published Tuesday, March 20, 2001 |
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about carbon emissions, global warming, and sustainable design, the
planned use of natural light in non-residential buildings has become an
important strategy to improve energy efficiency by minimizing lighting,
heating, and cooling loads. The introduction of innovative, advanced
daylighting strategies and systems can considerably reduce a building’s
electricity consumption and also significantly improve the quality of
light in an indoor environment.
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| published Friday, March 16, 2001 |
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for greater energy efficiency in their
projects? Your building design can deliver it with the energy savings
of outside air intakes that are automatically controlled according to
the carbon dioxide (CO²) concentrations in indoor air. This technology
cuts back on the energy costs of overventilation and helps maintain
sufficient ventilation levels to safeguard indoor air quality (IAQ).
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| published Friday, March 02, 2001 |
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about energy usage, resources, and efficiency
occupy center stage in California. Architects and design engineers can
contribute directly to reducing demands on the state’s energy
infrastructure by designing energy-efficient strategies into buildings.
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| published Friday, February 16, 2001 |
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in short supply and electricity rates likely
tostay high, it’s more important than ever in California buildings to
squeeze all the lighting energy
out of every kilowatt. Today’s lamp innovations and electronic ballasts
help achieve this, but lighting specifiers should ensure that the
fixtures these lamps go into also maximize the building’s energy
investment in the longrun.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, February 02, 2001 |
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in building technology and tighter
building standards, the Department of Energy estimates that buildings
still consume one third of all U.S. energy, at a cost of $200 billion
per year, with $85 billion used in commercial buildings. A large
portion of this energy is probably wasted, and with the current
situation in Califo rnia where a few megawatts of demand can push the
electricity grid into rolling blackouts, our commercial building stock
can’t afford to waste any electricity.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, January 19, 2001 |
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Mediterranean have used them for many centuries
. . . and in modern times building researchers are quantifying their
benefits. Now California’s new Title 24 standards offer credit for
them—It’s time to take another look at cool, reflective roofs that can
improve our communities and the environment in the future.
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| published Friday, January 05, 2001 |
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may contain hundreds of motors, whirring and
chugging away unseen. Most of them are used in heating, ventilating,
and air conditioning applications as drivers for fans, pumps, and air
conditioning compressors.
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| published Friday, December 22, 2000 |
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our first year of publication, EDR E-News is proud to
have brought you the latest developments in energy efficient building
design.
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| published Friday, December 08, 2000 |
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professionals are very busy people, Energy
Design Resources will soon present Virtual Workshops as a convenient
way for architects, designers, engineers, and energy consultants to
continue their education.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, November 24, 2000 |
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reminding you about the advantages of using an
integrated approach to building design rather than the traditional
"Pony Express" method. That’s where the architect puts the design
together and hands it off to the engineers, who order up the mechanical
and electrical systems and pass the project off to the contractor
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| published Saturday, November 11, 2000 |
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increase the value of a commercial building by
making it more comfortable, productive, and energy efficient.
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| published Friday, October 27, 2000 |
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of running air ducts through the ceiling may be,
well, upside-down. Putting air systems under raised flooring can reduce
building operating costs and improve HVAC equipment efficiency and
occupant comfort.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, October 13, 2000 |
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of meeting a tight deadline while securing public consensus, the California Energy Commission will release new Title 24 standards on Jan. 4, 2001.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, September 29, 2000 |
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for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) held its
eleventh biennial Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings last
month in Pacific Grove, California. This conference is devoted to
technology, policy, and implementation issues related to energy use in
buildings.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, September 15, 2000 |
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ensure that building systems operate
efficiently, meet the needs of the end user, function as designed, and
maintain occupant comfort. The initial costs of commissioning are
recovered many times over through increased operating savings, improved
staff performance, and avoidance of costly construction problems.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, September 01, 2000 |
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Rating Council (NFRC) now offers more value
and support to architects and building designers than ever before. New
window ratings and an online, searchable version of their useful
Certified Products Directory are among the newest features announced
this year.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, August 18, 2000 |
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in national focus on high-performance building
design: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has established the
Commercial High Performance Buildings project.
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| published Friday, August 04, 2000 |
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fall from the sky—Energy in abundance, surrounding
California buildings nearly every day of the year in the form of
sunshine. By designing solar energy technologies and design elements
into your project, you can harness that natural glow and make it
provide lighting (see EDR E-News Issue 1 for a discussion on daylighting), ventilation, space heating, and hot water.
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| published Friday, July 21, 2000 |
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—It’s a California Energy Commission
program that offers specific services to help school districts become
more energy wise, such as identifying cost-effective energy-efficient
systems to meet their needs and providing design and implementation
assistance -- at little or no cost.
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| published Friday, July 07, 2000 |
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the Newport Coast Elementary School won a
special jury citation in the recent Energy Efficiency Integration
Design Awards sponsored by Savings By Design. The jury was particularly
impressed with this project and noted that everything had been taken
into consideration in its overall design and approach to energy
efficiency.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, June 23, 2000 |
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of the Queen Mary was the perfect setting for the
formal gala celebrating the Annual AIACC Awards on June 15. This event
recognizes and honors outstanding architectural design as well as those
individuals who have made significant contributions on behalf of the
profession, their communities, and the profession of architecture.
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| published Friday, June 09, 2000 |
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in the U.S. can save $130 billion by 2010 if
they take advantage of currently available, low-cost, energy-efficiency
opportunities. Most businesses use energy inefficiently, which results
in higher energy bills than necessary. By becoming more energy
efficient, these organizations can save energy and thus reduce their
energy costs while preventing pollution.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, May 26, 2000 |
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and sustainability into one building at a
time is a great idea, but cities across the country are recognizing the
collective benefits of populating their communities with sustainable
buildings. Cities such as Austin, Denver, Tucson, Seattle, and New York
City have raised the bar, community-wide, above basic minimums on
sustainability issues.
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| read more.. |
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| published Friday, May 12, 2000 |
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about advanced energy-efficient technologies,
one low-tech building component continues to provide visual relief and
beauty, and can contribute significantly to a building’s energy
efficiency.
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| published Saturday, April 29, 2000 |
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can now stamp their projects with a
green building "seal of approval" available through the Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design building rating system (known as
LEEDTM). This voluntary, consensus-based rating system for commercial
buildings was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
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| published Saturday, April 15, 2000 |
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of the National Lighting Product Information
Program at the Lighting Research Center (LRC), which is part of the
School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate
New York.
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| published Wednesday, March 01, 2000 |
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Library in Ventura, Calif., integrates
state-of-the-art energy-conserving design into a new joint-use public
and high school library. The project demonstrates how to create
buildings that are comfortable, environmentally responsible, and
economical to operate.
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| read more.. |
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| published Tuesday, February 01, 2000 |
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that
automatically controls the amount of light it lets through—Glazing
options have made some huge strides since people first tried to bring
light into interior spaces.
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| read more.. |
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| published Monday, November 09, 1998 |
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are a collection of documents intended to
help architects and engineers use skylights to maximum advantage in
commercial and industrial buildings.
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| read more.. |
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