Green Building | Energy And Buildings

Watt Plaza Becomes First Building in Century City to Receive Platinum LEED

October 22, 2013 by Editor inChief ·

Watt Plaza is raising the bar for sustainable building operations in Century City. Watt Plaza announced today that the twin 23-story office tower earned LEED Platinum for Existing Buildings Operating and Maintenance from the U.S. Green Building Council. Watt Plaza has the distinction of being one of four high-rise office buildings in the City of Los Angeles to achieve this premier distinction, one of 46 in the state of California and one of 110 nationwide.

The U.S. Green Building Council LEED Certification system is the nation’s benchmark for the design, construction and operation of the world’s greenest, most energy efficient and high-performing buildings. LEED Certification of Watt Plaza was based on seven key categories of human and environmental health: Sustainable Site Development, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation in Operations and Regional Priority.

Realizing a reduction of over 35% in conventional transportation trips through an Alternative Commuting Transportation program, Watt Plaza is notably the first commercial office building in Century City to install electric vehicle charging stations in the parking facility to encourage the use of alternative fuels. The installation of a white roof to reduce the “heat island effect” was also part of its Sustainable Site Development measures.

The team at Watt Plaza has been very aggressive in their Water Efficiency Measures: Watt Plaza was the first Class A Office Building in Los Angeles to replace all traditional urinals with water-free fixtures. Low-flow faucet aerators and toilets were also installed throughout the building, resulting in a savings of millions of gallons of water each year and reducing the burden on potable water supply and wastewater systems.

Watt Plaza’s landscape palette focuses on a mixture of using drought-tolerant plant material, recycled ground covers and a web-based irrigation system. The recycled ground covers consist of color glass and rubber in various planting beds. These types of ground covers have a low water absorption rate, prevent weed growth, maintain soil moisture, safeguard against insect infestations, have extremely slow decomposition rates and are non-flammable. The web-based irrigation controller automatically adjusts the amount of water dispensed based on real time weather data, preventing over-watering and keeping the soil moisture content adequate for specific types of plants.

Watt Plaza has consistently achieved high Energy Star ratings (the benchmark of energy performance relative to similar buildings in similar climates) each year since 2004, thereby reducing the environmental impacts associated with excessive energy use.

In addition to e-waste, battery, bulb and ballast recycling programs, its implementation of a waste program that diverts over 60% of all building waste to a materials recovery facility has reduced 1,258 tons of GHG (Greenhouse Gas Emissions) to date, equal to removing 838 passenger cars from the roadways for a year.

As part of the Indoor Environmental Quality category, Occupancy Sensors were installed throughout offices, common areas corridors, stairwells and restrooms, realizing a drop in electrical consumption by 690,000 kWh and improving the environment with an annual reduction of 936,655 pounds of carbon dioxide, 6,849 pounds of sulfur and 3,624 pounds of nitrogen dioxide. Further, Watt Plaza takes great pride in their high performance cleaning program, consisting of green-certified products and equipment to reduce the environmental impacts of cleaning products, disposable janitorial paper products and trash bags.

Watt Plaza also demonstrated its commitment to renewable energy development by offsetting 100% of its annual energy consumption through the acquisition of renewable energy. This purchase ensures that the amount of energy consumed at Watt Plaza is replaced on the electric grid by renewable, responsible energy sources. Watt Plaza’s commitment to supporting renewable energy development and reduce carbon emissions has an impact similar to taking 1,817 passenger vehicles off of the road for a year, or planting 223,635 tree seedlings and growing them for ten years.

Watt Plaza thinks outside the box when it comes to being green: Building Management created an environmentally friendly dog run for those tenants and visitors with licensed therapy dogs. Decomposed, compacted granite replaced several inches of soil in an area at the back of the building and biodegradable doggie bags and a trash receptacle was installed. When properly disposed, waste is diverted from storm water runoff and landscaped areas, preventing significant water pollution and maintaining aesthetically pleasing landscaped areas.

“It’s an honor for Watt Plaza to receive the distinction as the first commercial office building in Century City to receive LEED Platinum certification,” said Nadine Watt, President of Watt Companies. “Watt Plaza serves as a leading example of how commercial developments in large cities can be environmentally sustainable while also providing a top quality experience to tenants.”

To achieve its LEED Platinum certification, Watt Plaza received assistance from Healthy Buildings, an environmental consulting company that works alongside developers, building owners and managers to implement measures that enhance a building’s sustainability.

Filed Under: Green Building, Market Oversight, Newsletter, Slider ·

Walmart Aims For LEED – This One Time

October 22, 2013 by Editor inChief ·

Walmart – a leader in solar power – is dipping its toe into LEED certification, but it doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it. Not because the company is shy, but because it doesn’t want anyone to expect other new buildings in the future to also try to meet U.S. Green Building Council standards.

Chris Schraeder told the reporter that Walmart doesn’t “want to open up a precedent that this is going to be a standard going forward, because it’s not.”

Indeed, what trumps all for Walmart, Schraeder told the Plain Dealer, is being able to sell stuff for minimal cost, and it doesn’t want the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program to get in the way of that. “Our whole approach is about everyday low cost, so in general, we wouldn’t pay a premium for certification,” Schraeder said.

So why is it going through the LEED process in Ohio? Because of an agreement by South Euclid and the property developer that buildings going up on what used to be a golf course had to meet the standard.

Still, Walmart says on its Green Room blog that the South Euclid store outside Cleveland “will serve as a model for environmentally-friendly design for our future stores.” The store uses 100 percent LED lighting, has electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lot and these other energy-efficient features, according to Walmart:

LED lighting in the parking lot that the company says will reduce energy consumption by 50 percent.
Skylights that will allow natural light into the store, “reducing energy to light the sales floor by an average of 25 percent.”
Re-use of the heat from on-site refrigerant equipment, which can supply up to 60 percent of in-store hot water needs.
A test of doors on cases that house perishable items, which the company believes could cut refrigeration energy use by 20 percent or more.
A white membrane roof that reflects light better than a darker roofing color, reducing overall building energy consumption.

Filed Under: Green Building, Newsletter, Renewable Power ·

Cut Energy Waste By Running Buildings Better – New Report

October 22, 2013 by Editor inChief ·

Most people know that new light fixtures can reduce energy waste in office buildings, but even the experts may be surprised to learn just how much energy can be saved by running office buildings better.

NRDC’s new report on Real Time Energy Management shows how one company reduced electricity expenses by about $220,000 in one year simply by catching “operational stray.” The Report provides a roadmap for owners and tenants to improve their buildings and save money with similar projects.

Large office buildings are complicated systems. Building equipment often will “stray” from optimum settings. For example:

Thermostats are adjusted for an evening meeting and not re-set to normal schedules, so the chiller runs at night for weeks.
A sensor breaks, causing fans or pumps to run full-speed when not needed.
A “bug” in software code causes an automated systems to start in the middle of the night.

These are normal events in the life of an office building. These problems must be expected to occur, even in the best buildings. The problem is not that “stray” occurs, but that it can persist undetected for months.

Catching “stray” quickly is the goal of real-time energy mangement. Doing so wastes less energy, saves money for owners and tenants, protects equipment from wear and tear, and makes for better buildings.

A case study in savings:

In our Report, we examine the project Tower Companies implemented in three large office buildings it owns and operates in downtown Washington, D.C. Tower’s buildings were already high-performing buildings — two were Energy Star® buildings and the third was very close to receiving that rating before the project began!

In the first year of the project, Tower reduced electricity use by 23% in one building, 17% in another, and 7% in the third, for an average of 13% across all three buildings. Electricity expenses for these three buildings went down by about $220,000 in year. All that in year 1 of the project.

These amounts probably understate the actual savings. The implemented measures will likely save energy beyond the study period we measured. And Tower expects reduced maintenance expenses — that is, preventing a chiller from turning-on at night when it should stay off will lengthen the life of this expensive equipment, and running fans at lower speeds will reduce wear and tear on the machinery.

Filed Under: Company News, Energy Efficiency, Green Building ·

Former WW2 Air Raid Bunker Converted Into an “Energy Bunker” in Hamburg

October 16, 2013 by Editor inChief ·

A massive German air raid bunker, which had been derelict for several decades, now hosts a regenerative power plant supplying the surrounding area with green energy. The project is part of the “Renewable Wilhelmsburg” climate protection scheme, which aims to provide the 50,000 Wilhelmsburg residents with CO2-neutral electricity by 2025 and with climate-neutral heating by 2050.

The surrounding neighborhood’s household energy is generated by an efficient combination of energy sources: besides solar energy and biogas, the bunker also uses wood chips and waste heat from a nearby industrial plant, supplying heating energy to local households. The project’s most innovative feature is its large-scale buffer storage facility with its 2 million litre capacity that integrates different eco-friendly heat and power units. The Energy Bunker also feeds the renewable power generated by its solar panels into Hamburg’s electricity grid, thereby supplying 3,000 households with heat and 1,000 households with electricity. Erected in 1943 as an air raid bunker, the original building protected thousands of people from Allied air raids. Four years later, the British Army destroyed the bunker’s interior by means of a controlled detonation. All that was left was the outer shell with its almost three meter thick walls. For almost 60 years, the building served as a war memorial and any further utilization of the premises was restricted to a few adjacent areas.

The Energy Bunker is an integral part of the “Renewable Wilhelmsburg” climate protection scheme for Europe’s largest river island with almost 50,000 residents. By the year 2050, Wilhelmsburg will be transformed into a climate-neutral district. The basis for this is provided within the framework of the International Building Exhibition (IBA), currently taking place in Hamburg. With its dedicated energy projects, the IBA is setting the groundwork for meeting Wilhelmsburg’s total energy and heating requirements in a climate-neutral way by 2025 and 2050, respectively.

Filed Under: Green Building, Newsletter, Renewable Power ·

Architects and Building Engineers flock to NREL

September 18, 2013 by Editor inChief ·

Eight busloads of architects and mechanical engineers toured one of the world’s largest net-zero-energy office building this summer at the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and came away inspired with new ideas for how to design and build beautiful, eco-friendly structures on a budget.

Tickets for the tours sold out almost as fast as a Paul McCartney concert, the busloads another reminder of how professionals are embracing high-performance, energy-efficient buildings.

The premier professional organizations for architects and building engineers — the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) — both held their national conferences in Denver this summer, within a few days of each other.

Denver is just 14 miles from Golden, the site of NREL’s main campus and its Research Support Facility (RSF), a 360,000-square-foot office building that Construction Digital Magazine last year named the top net-zero-energy building in the world. A group of NREL engineers including Sheila Hayter, Rachel Romero, and Shanti Pless organized the trips to NREL’s campus — and led tours with help from the architects at RNL and SmithGroup JJR and the contractors from JE Dunn and Haselden, who worked with NREL to design and build the RSF and the new Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF).

Busloads of architects and mechanical engineers recently toured the Energy Systems Integration Facility. Here, they view the high performance computing data center, which will house one of the world’s most energy-efficient super computers. The petascale system will be dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy research.
Credit: SmithGroup JJR/Bill Timmerman

“People were lining up at will call to get tickets to the tour,” said Angela Innes, marketing manager for JE Dunn Construction, the main contractor on the ESIF project. “We saw huge interest and got a lot of feedback from architects from all over the world.”

The AIA architects and ASHRAE engineers marveled at the energy efficiency and the aesthetics of the RSF, and some dropped their jaws when they learned it was built in 2010 and 2011 for no more than the average square-foot cost — $259 — of other office buildings in the Denver area. In addition, the engineers saw that using biomass to heat buildings is a viable option for saving greenhouse gases and viewed one of the most energy-efficient data centers in the world.

NREL Shows High Performance is Economical
“Designers of commercial buildings are serious about creating energy-efficient buildings,” said NREL’s Hayter, who chairs ASHRAE’s Planning Committee, is a past ASHRAE vice president, and previously served on the steering committee that developed the original charter for ASHRAE’s Advanced Energy Design Guideline (AEDG) series that shows the way toward achieving 30% or 50% greater efficiency or net-zero energy.

“The architects visiting NREL were pretty amazed at the design of the RSF. They are anxious to learn how to make energy-efficient decisions with a very limited budget — without sacrificing aesthetics,” Pless said. A full-day pre-convention workshop at the AIA conference gave architects the chance to do exactly that: make design decisions with an eye for energy efficiency. The workshop taught them how to use OpenStudio, an Energy Department tool developed at NREL, to evaluate the energy impact of early design decisions such as orientation, massing, fenestration, construction assemblies, and internal building activity. They created baseline energy models and then made what-if alternatives using energy conservation measures pulled from the online Building Component Library, another Energy Department tool developed at NREL.

“We sent 200 of our people to NREL. It was all sold out,” said Nicolle Thompson, director of programs and sponsorship for AIA Colorado. “It was extremely popular. There are so many great projects at NREL, and many of our members participated in building that campus. The RSF and ESIF are getting such national recognition. It’s not easy to build a net-zero building of that size economically. We wanted to show it off.”

Filed Under: Energy Efficiency, Green Building, Newsletter ·

Asia Smart Building Market Growth set to Explode

September 18, 2013 by Editor inChief ·

Asia will consume 45% of world energy by 2030 and buildings are the big consumers. The unprecedented urbanization rate in Asia relies on smart buildings to reduce climate change impact. From a latest report published by BSRIA, the smart building market will grow from the current size of US$ 427 billion to US$ 1,036 billion in 2020, creating vast opportunities for advance building technologies and services.

Smart cities realize a sustainable urban development in many Asian countries. Smart cities are more focused on the ICT infrastructure but should also include eco, sustainable, green and low carbon cities, which address on various green elements.
Songdo IDB and Fujisawa are two smart cities under development in South Korea and Japan. China has 36 smart cities underway. Singapore will become a smart nation by 2015 and Iskandar is the flagship smart city in Malaysia. Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor will be the smart city of the future India. China is building a RMB 250 billion low carbon model city in Tianjin.

Smart cities create vast business opportunities for ICT, software, electronic hardware and low carbon industries. ICT and software companies are growing in the smart cities market now. System and service providers form partnership with the government and become a private investor.
Net zero energy building is more a concept than a hard target in most of the Asian countries except Japan. Net zero energy buildings usually used to demonstrate low carbon technologies.

Smart grid in developing countries is more important to upgrading the basic power grid infrastructure, while in developed countries it is about the grid communication system. It is more urgent for China and India to upgrade the power grid to accommodate the growing power demand. Different countries are at different development stages in smart grid. China government promised US$150bn to upgrade power grid in various aspects. Many other Asian countries governments also inject money in smart grid development. Electricity market in Asian countries is still monopolised and state-owned, except the fully deregulated market in Australia. Manual demand side management (DSM) has been used to solve power shortage problems in developing countries. Automatic demand response (AutoDM) is just starting in Asia but the existing market on DSM creates the business opportunities for AutoDM.

Buildings need to be integrated to smart city and smart grid in ICT, energy and low carbon aspects. Government, end user and building owner have different drivers for smart and green buildings. Smart buildings are growing in smart cities; green buildings are also the major trend in Asia in new building developments.

The latest BSRIA report identified six key trends in smart building design. Industry should not focus on the additional cost in smart buildings but should aim to provide suitable products and solution for smart buildings. The research also found some building systems have a significant increase in the construction budget compare to 5 years ago.
Outlook: Asia will take 43% of the global construction market by 2020 and China, India, Japan and Indonesia will be the biggest in the region. The Asian smart building market will reach US$1,036 billion in 2020, driven by the urbanization, smart cities and government commitment on carbon reduction.

Filed Under: Green Building, Newsletter ·

Business Leaders Call for New Texas Building Code

September 18, 2013 by Editor inChief ·

A group of environmental advocates and business leaders is calling on Texas officials to adopt a new statewide energy building code, saying the move would slash air pollution and lower utility bills across the energy-guzzling state where the electric grid often strains to keep up.

In a letter sent Thursday to Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, the group, led by the Sierra Club, said Texas should adopt stricter energy standards for construction of new homes and commercial buildings. “Texas is at an energy crossroads and every kilowatt generated or saved is needed,” the letter said.

Less than two years after Texas last changed its building codes to comport with an international model, best practices for energy-efficient construction have evolved. Advocates for even stricter codes say adopting the latest model would save homeowners money and help Texas meet its ever-increasing demands for power. But some industry officials and the Texas comptroller’s office worry that too much change too rapidly will result in confusion and damage the industry.

The environmental group and business leaders want new standards that mirror the 2012 models developed by the International Code Council, a nonprofit group that gathers input from experts and public officials across the country. Bill Fay, head of the Washington, D.C.-based Energy Efficient Codes Coalition, said the models are a “gold standard” for energy efficiency.

Texas policymakers are struggling to answer questions about how they will keep energy flowing in the increasingly hot, dry state with its rapidly growing population and economy. In May 2012, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, operator of the grid that covers 75 percent of the state, reported that Texans face the possibility of rolling blackouts in the next decade, as the gap between its energy supply and demand narrows.

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Filed Under: Green Building, Market Oversight, Newsletter ·

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