How to design net-zero ready buildings on a budget

By Chad Edwards and Terr y Liet te

C onstant evaluation is a critical par t of the net-zero approach. As par t of the B ethany Scho ol proje ct, the team c ontinually teste d the design’s energy ef ficiency using energy mo deling The initial mo deling provide d a framework for broad c onc epts and mo deling during the design development and c onstruction do cumentation phases allowe d the team to stay on target and make sure that we were achieving our goals The team will also b e working with B ethany Scho ol to evaluate to the building's p er formanc e af ter c onstruction with the goal of achieving true net-zero energy usage, not just a target in a mo del

Even if you don’t have a sustainable-minde d client like B ethany Scho ol, you can still improve the overall energy ef ficiency of your designs. Star ting down the path of designing for net-zero ready buildings will help se cure the future of your practic e and the planet.

Keep energy use top of mind in your projects Learn more on The COTE® Top Ten Toolkit’s Design for Energy page

A different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of the AIA Project Management Knowledge Community’s PM Digest https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on- 3/4 https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on- 1/4

Chad Edwards is a principal architect with emersion DESIGN, an architecture firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in cost-effective, healthy, high performing buildings. Terry Liette is chief engineering officer for Fanning Howey, a national integrated architecture and engineering practice specializing in learning environments.

An archite ct and engine er present a case study and give advic e on how to b e sustainable and c ost-ef fe ctive at the same time.

We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. AIA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.

We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. AIA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.

The term “net-zero” of ten brings to mind big budgets and exp ensive building systems, but this c onc eption c ouldn't b e fur ther from the truth. As archite cts and engine ers, we have ever y thing we ne e d to design net-zero ready buildings for the same c ost as buildings that me et basic c o de All it takes is the right mindset and the right approach.

I consent to cookies Want to know more?

I consent to cookies Want to know more?

3/6/2021

Understanding all available c ost saving strate gies is a big par t of making net-zero ready buildings af fordable If you are lo oking at solar panels for renewable energy, for example, find a c ontractor who will help establish your dollars p er wat t, which b e c omes a go o d rubric for energy ef ficiency strate gies

When you can, implement an energy ef ficiency strate gy for b elow the renewable dollars p er wat t

How to design net-zero ready buildings on a budget - AIA

Here’s what our team archite cts from emersion DESIGN and engine ers from Fanning Howey learne d while c ollab orating on a net-zero ready campus addition for B ethany Scho ol in Cincinnati, Ohio:

B e aware of p otential funding sourc es for high p er forming buildings. D ep ending on the marketplac e and the typ e of client, there may b e funding in the form of tax breaks, grants or rebates. Make sure to include these additional funding sourc es in your analysis of first c osts and long-term op erating c osts.

Make sure the owner is all in

Test , retest , and c ontinuously improve

Like all goals, creating a net-zero ready building will not happ en without buy in from all par ties, esp e cially the owner D esigners should e ducate owners ab out the af fordability and practicality of netzero strate gies However, if net-zero isn’t c entral to a client's mission and goals for the proje ct, then net-zero strate gies are unlikely to b e embrac e d and actualize d B ethany Scho ol’s strong existing c ommitment to sustainability made it p ossible for us to deliver a net-zero ready design at $225 p er square fo ot.

C onstant evaluation is a critical par t of the net-zero approach. As par t of the B ethany Scho ol proje ct, the team c ontinually teste d the design’s energy ef ficiency using energy mo deling The initial mo deling provide d a framework for broad c onc epts and mo deling during the design development and c onstruction do cumentation phases allowe d the team to stay on target and make sure that we were achieving our goals The team will also b e working with B ethany Scho ol to evaluate to the building's p er formanc e af ter c onstruction with the goal of achieving true net-zero energy usage, not just a target in a mo del

Even if you don’t have a sustainable-minde d client like B ethany Scho ol, you can still improve the overall energy ef ficiency of your designs. Star ting down the path of designing for net-zero ready buildings will help se cure the future of your practic e and the planet.

To develop a net-zero ready design you ne e d a team with a c ollab orative mindset. Archite cts and engine ers ne e d to b e c omfor table sharing ideas and working outside of their given disciplines. This is imp or tant b e cause net-zero ready buildings re quire extreme creativity and laser-fo cuse d at tention to the sp e cifics of each building and site.

Keep energy use top of mind in your projects Learn more on The COTE® Top Ten Toolkit’s Design for Energy page

A different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of the AIA Project Management Knowledge Community’s PM Digest

From the ver y b e ginning, ever y B ethany Scho ol proje ct team memb er was in the ro om giving input B efore there was even a flo or plan, the team explore d seven dif ferent window-to-wall ratio profiles and multiple c onstruction profiles, including glazing and solar c o ef ficients, evaluating along with way with energy mo deling data Working c ollab oratively and drawing on the strengths of all involve d is the only way to create a c ost-ef fe ctive, net-zero ready building

Chad Edwards is a principal architect with emersion DESIGN, an architecture firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in cost-effective, healthy, high performing buildings. Terry Liette is chief engineering officer for Fanning Howey, a national integrated architecture and engineering practice specializing in learning environments.

Net-zero ready buildings re quire p er fe ctly-size d systems to b e c ost-ef fe ctive, and they can’t b e prop erly designe d by following traditional rules of thumb. During early c onc eptual design ef for ts, the entire team ne e ds to explore building-and site-sp e cific solutions using energy mo deling to ols. For example, c onventional wisdom says that a high p er forming building should have more glazing on the south than the nor th. But during the energy mo deling pro c ess for B ethany Scho ol, our team found the opp osite to b e true. For this building, on this site, more glazing on the nor th meant fewer glare issues while less glazing on the south meant less heat gain and the ability to eliminate solar shades.

We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. AIA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.

With its site-sp e cific design strate gies, the B ethany Scho ol addition is proje cte d to b e 18 7 p erc ent more energy ef ficient than the average lo cal vacant building Right now, the proje ct's Energy Use Intensity is tracking at 17 kBtu p er square fo ot, which will make B ethany Scho ol one of the most energy-ef ficient scho ols in the nation https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on- ct c osts and oppor tunities https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on-

I consent to cookies Want to know more?

We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. AIA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.

Understanding all available c ost saving strate gies is a big par t of making net-zero ready buildings af fordable If you are lo oking at solar panels for renewable energy, for example, find a c ontractor who will help establish your dollars p er wat t, which b e c omes a go o d rubric for energy ef ficiency strate gies When you can, implement an energy ef ficiency strate gy for b elow the renewable dollars p er wat t

B e aware of p otential funding sourc es for high p er forming buildings. D ep ending on the marketplac e and the typ e of client, there may b e funding in the form of tax breaks, grants or rebates. Make sure to include these additional funding sourc es in your analysis of first c osts and long-term op erating c osts.

C onstant evaluation is a critical par t of the net-zero approach As par t of the B ethany Scho ol proje ct, the team c ontinually teste d the design’s energy ef ficiency using energy mo deling. The initial mo deling provide d a framework for broad c onc epts and mo deling during the design development and c onstruction do cumentation phases allowe d the team to stay on target and make sure that we were achieving our goals. The team will also b e working with B ethany Scho ol to evaluate to the building's p er formanc e af ter c onstruction with the goal of achieving true net-zero energy usage, not just a target in a mo del.

Even if you don’t have a sustainable-minde d client like B ethany Scho ol, you can still improve the overall energy ef ficiency of your designs Star ting down the path of designing for net-zero ready buildings will help se cure the future of your practic e and the planet

C onstant evaluation is a critical par t of the net-zero approach. As par t of the B ethany Scho ol proje ct, the team c ontinually teste d the design’s energy ef ficiency using energy mo deling. The initial mo deling provide d a framework for broad c onc epts and mo deling during the design development and c onstruction do cumentation phases allowe d the team to stay on target and make sure that we were achieving our goals. The team will also b e working with B ethany Scho ol to evaluate to the building's p er formanc e af ter c onstruction with the goal of achieving true net-zero energy usage, not just a target in a mo del

Keep energy use top of mind in your projects Learn more on The COTE® Top Ten Toolkit’s Design for Energy page

A different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of the AIA Project Management Knowledge Community’s PM Digest.

Even if you don’t have a sustainable-minde d client like B ethany Scho ol, you can still improve the overall energy ef ficiency of your designs. Star ting down the path of designing for net-zero ready buildings will help se cure the future of your practic e and the planet.

Chad Edwards is a principal architect with emersion DESIGN, an architecture firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in cost-effective, healthy, high performing buildings Terry Liette is chief engineering officer for Fanning Howey, a national integrated architecture and engineering practice specializing in learning environments

Keep energy use top of mind in your projects Learn more on The COTE® Top Ten Toolkit’s Design for Energy page

A different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of the AIA Project Management Knowledge Community’s PM Digest https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on- https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on-

We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. AIA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.

Chad Edwards is a principal architect with emersion DESIGN, an architecture firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in cost-effective, healthy, high performing buildings. Terry Liette is chief engineering officer for Fanning Howey, a national integrated architecture and engineering practice specializing in learning environments.

I consent to cookies Want to know more?

We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. AIA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.

I consent to cookies Want to know more?