Design Briefs: Improving Mechanical System Energy Efficiency
Tight design timelines can compromise the design team’s ability to consider factors like life cycle cost, distribution efficiency,access, maintainability, and system integration. Summary:Technological advances and economic pressure frequently join forces to reduce the design and construction time for building projects...

Design Guidelines: Daylighting Guidelines
In a world newly concerned 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...

Design Guidelines: Skylighting Guidelines
The Skylighting Guidelines are a collection of documents intended to help architects and engineers use skylights to maximum advantage in commercial and industrial buildings. These guidelines: Describe opportunities for energy savings and good lighting design Explain how to integrate skylights with other building elements Show how to estimate energy and dollar savings Help designers avoid costly mistakes The Skylighting Guidelines are comprised of seven documents: Introduction to Skylighting Designing with Skylights Skylighting Specification Choices Daylighting Controls Optimizing Your Design SkyCalc Users Guide Skylighting Guidelines Appendices Complete Guidelines Archives in Zip Format - 4...

Design Briefs: Daylighting
Using fundamental components of the Daylighting Designer’s Toolkit, designers can improve the visual environment, create a higher-quality space, and lower energy costs for buildings. Summary: Using fundamental components of the Daylighting Designer's Toolkit, designers can improve the visual environment, create a higher-quality space, and lower energy costs for buildings...

Design Briefs: Skylights with Suspended Ceilings
Traditionally, skylight wells 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...

Design Briefs: Lighting Controls
Workers tend to be more productive in a well-lit space that fosters better visual comfort. Summary: 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...

Design Briefs: Glazing
With so many factors influencing glazing selections, whole-building lifecycle analysis is the best tool for determining the most costeffective solution. Summary: Few decisions that a designer makes have more impact on the appearance and utility of a building than the glazing selection...

Design Briefs: Building Simulation
A few building simulation runs early in a project can lead to design solutions that, though they appear simple, significantly improve building energy performance. Summary: Computerized building energy performance simulation is a powerful implement for the virtual toolboxes of architects, engineers, and developers...

Online Tools: EDR Charette
EDR Charette 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...

Software: SkyCalc™
Skylights can save 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...