IN THIS ISSUE: Facebook Sets Trend for Green Data Centers
Northwest
July/August 2012 TM
www.FacilitiesMagazine.com
Evergreen College Promotes Sustainable Education Energy Efficiency Shortcomings of Simple Payback
9
Recognitions
12
BetterBricks Awards Recognize Green Industry Leaders
Green
20
Closing the Gaps in Green Performance
Department - Author
Photo courtesy of Evergreen College
Contents July/August 2012
Northwest
6
TM
Higher Education The Green in Evergreen
12
Recognitions
16
Social Media Goes Green
20
Green
24
Facilities Solutions
BetterBricks Awards Recognize Green Industr y Leaders
Facebook Sets Trend for Green Data Centers
Tapping Human Capital to Drive Green Building Performance
Products and Solutions for HVAC
Departments Energy Efficiency 9
Furniture
Prioritizing Energy Efficiency Projects
Furnishing Office Buildings Ergonomically
LEED ABOUT THE COVER The Evergreen State College has continued to implement green practices throughout the entire campus – in everyday tasks and major renovations. Lessons learned in the construction and management of Seminar II were used in other buildings and practices across campus – including lighting retrofits, control systems and major renovations. Read more about it beginning on Page 6. Photos courtesy of Evergreen College
10
LEED 2012:Where are We Headed?
Lighting
28
Retrofitting Facility Windows
18
Adopt LED Lighting
Management
Windows
26
Fire Safety
30
Sprinkler Corrosion Inspections
22
Exploring Sustainable Service Solutions
NORTHWEST FACILITIES | July/August 2012 23 3
MOVE EFFICIENCY INTO YOUR BUILDING Work with Energy Trust of Oregon and take advantage of cash incentives for energy-saving improvements. You can lower maintenance costs, increase resale value and improve tenant retention.
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(BOCÂŽ) is a nationally recognized, competency-based training and certiďŹ cation program that offers facilities personnel the improved job skills and knowledge to transform workplaces to be more comfortable, energyefďŹ cient and environmentally friendly.
Jengo Media is excited to release Northwest Facilities Magazine – an expansion of Oregon Facilities that reaches close to 10,000 building owners and facilities managers. Facilities Magazines delivers information on the latest technologies, trends in commercial real estate and management techniques, equipping readers with the tools and resources to succeed. As stewards of commercial buildings (the largest energy users in the country), building owners and property managers are responsible for minimizing the significant impact these structures have on our environment. Nearly $200 billion is spent annually on energy used to operate commercial buildings in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Approximately 30 percent of that energy is wasted. Commercial building owners have been challenged by President Barack Obama to ma ke their facilities 20 percent more efficient by 2020 – an initiative known as the Better Buildings Challenge. Upgrading the energy efficiency of America’s buildings is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to save money, cut down on harmful pollution and create jobs. Oregon and Washington building owners are well on their way to improving the energy efficiency of their spaces. In fact, Seattle ranked 16th in the United States for the most Energy Star Certified Buildings in 2011 – with 133 certified buildings totaling 24.7 million square feet and saving $19.6 million. Portland ranked 23rd in the country with 81 certified buildings totaling 14.6 million square feet and saving $10.1 million. Energy Star, a joint program between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, promotes energy efficient practices through an energy performance rating system that sets goals, tracks savings and rewards improvements. Energy Star offers a number of resources helping participants meet the Better Buildings Challenge. These include guidelines for energy management, a tools and resources library and access to experienced professions. Northwest Facilities Magazine can also be a reliable resource for facilities professionals who are interested in making their buildings more sustainable. In this issue, learn about building a customized management system for your building, read about retrofitting your windows or discover alternatives to powering your facility. We hope these articles will ease the burden of your stewardship. Good luck!
CONTACTS PUBLISHER Travis Barrington travis@jengomedia.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR Kelly Lux kelly@jengomedia.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kristen Hutchings kristen@jengomedia.com DESIGN DIRECTOR Brett Mickelson DESIGNER Doug Conboy PHOTOGRAPHERS Dana Sohm Roger Ottoway CONTRIBUTORS Stacy Brown, Josh Elder, Jessica Green, Kathryn Giblin, Sarah Lazzaro, Spencer Morgenthau, Sean Murphy, Amanda Timmons, Brian Titus, Dave Wortman
JENGO MEDIA PRESIDENT Travis Barrington SALES DIRECTOR Brian Andersen brian@jengomedia.com
Northwest Facilities A PUBLICATION OF JENGO MEDIA PO Box 970281 Orem, Utah 84097 Office: 801.796.5503 Fax: 801.407.1602 Web: FacilitiesMagazine.com POSTMASTER: Send address changes to JENGO MEDIA, P.O. Box 970281, Orem, UT 84097-0281. The publisher is not responsible for the accuracy of the articles in Northwest Facilities. The information contained within has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Neither the publisher nor any other party assumes liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on this material. Appropriate professional advice should be sought before making decisions. © Copyright 2011 Northwest Facilities Magazine. Northwest Facilities is a Trademark owned by JENGO MEDIA. All rights reserved
Executive Editor Northwest Facilities
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EDITOR’S LETTER
The Green in
Evergreen
By Kelly Lux Executive Editor
Sustainability is a Way of Management and Continual Education at The Evergreen State College
Nestled in the heart of the Pacific Northwest, The Evergreen State College, built among 1,000 acres of woods, forest and saltwater beach, is a reflection of the surrounding Cascadia bioregion as it sustains the environment through education. The Evergreen State College promotes the growth and preservation of the temperate rain forest in which it is located by using resources conservatively and efficiently with green roofs, solar panels and other sustainable measures.
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Photo courtesy of Evergreen College
T
hough always environmentally aware, The Evergreen State College took its first major step toward a sustainable campus in 2004 with the construction of Seminar II. Costing $44.1 million to complete, the 198,775 square-foot Seminar II (made up of five, four-story buildings) was built with such green elements as a vegetated (green) roof, waterfree urinals and low-flow toilets. The construction of the Seminar II building and all of the intuitive designs it maintains is a further example of
Evergreen’s commitment to moving forward and trying to create an environmentally-friendly campus,” Evergreen’s website states. “This building is currently being used as a blueprint for other buildings on this campus and across the country as it models the possibility of creating an efficient and sustainable lifestyle.” The Facts As the landmark sustainable building at The Evergreen State College, Seminar II was the first publicly
funded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) New Construction Gold Certified building in Washington state. Built in five academic clusters, Seminar II creates a variety of exterior spaces and views using a system of open walkways, stairs and bridges. Sitting among acres of forested land, Seminar II offers large windows to the outside environment. At the time it was built, Seminar II was 62 percent more efficient than continued on page 8
NORTHWEST FACILITIES | July/August 2012 23 7
continued from page 7 other conventional buildings. More than 10 percent of the building is made of recyclable materials, including fly ash in the concrete walls and structural members and re-used gymnasium floor in some of the seminar rooms. Most of the construction waste, approximately 80 percent, was diverted from the landfill. Nearly 80 percent of the project is naturally ventilated. Operable windows, exterior sunshades, fan-assisted night flushing and exposed interior concrete mass achieve summer cooling that by cost is 31 percent more efficient than a similarly ventilated building. Strict requirements were set for low-emitting materials. Products were carefully scrutinized before being placed in the building. Beyond the Facts Seminar II was authorized by the Washington State Legislature to accommodate an influx of students – an estimated total of 5,000 full-time students by 2010. The Evergreen State College had not seen a new building since the college opened in the 1970s. Sustainability had long been a creed of the college, but in the early 2000s, LEED was a relatively new concept creeping across the country. Senior management at Evergreen saw the benefits of LEED both financially and sustainably. In addition, implementing these new standards seemed a compatible fit for the college, said Paul Smith, director of facilities services at The Evergreen State College. “At the same time we started planning Seminar II, sustainability and LEED started coming to the forefront of building maintenance,” said Smith. The timing could not have been better – giving the college a list of guidelines to follow to ensure their new buildings were sustainable. Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of the new, sustainable LEED Seminar II Building was teaching occupants how to use the facility, said
Susan Opprecht, building manager of Seminar II. Individual controls, a hallmark of the building, were foreign devices – new to most of the students and staff who used the buildings. Opprecht had to teach occupants how to use the controls and reinforce that the operable windows could be used to control the temperature of their spaces (a bonus of being located in an area where the outside air temperature averages 76 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer months). “Initially, it took a lot of occupant education to use the building,” Opprecht said. “In other buildings, people weren’t used to being able to open windows. Now we encourage air flow. It gives occupants a lot more control over their space.” Implementing a green cleaning program in Seminar II was also a challenge, Opprecht said. At the time, resources for sustainable cleaning were not as easily available or as well known. Management had to research cleaning methods – coming up with a program that could be implemented not only in Seminar II but throughout the entire campus. Now, 95 percent of the college’s cleaning products are Green Seal approved. Gaining Momentum The Evergreen State College has continued to implement green practices throughout the entire campus – in everyday tasks and major renovations, said Smith. Lessons learned in the construction and management of Seminar II were used in other buildings and practices across campus – including lighting retrofits, control systems and major renovations. A continual push for sustainability could be seen in all aspects of facilities management, said Smith. In 2007, The Evergreen State College President Thomas L. “Les” Purce committed to eventually eliminating the college’s global warming emissions by 2020. At the time, Evergreen was already using 100 percent greenproduced electricity, and Seminar II
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had already been LEED Certified. “Sustainability isn’t just a bandwagon we’re hopping onto,” Purce said. “It’s woven into the very fabric of our identity and history as an institution.” Sustainable initiatives ranged from planning educational activities, improving its undergraduate program in environmental studies and holding a sustainable living conference and developing a curriculum for the bioregion. “Our buildings reflect our philosophy and goals,” said Jason Wettstein, college spokesperson. “Facilities and the academic function are mutually supportive.” He continued, “The college has a deep commitment to recognizing opportunities to lessen the harm to our environment, what we call sustainability. Evergreen’s distinctive interdisciplinary curriculum creates opportunities for integrated learning not possible at other colleges, and sustainability is pervasive and incorporated throughout the curriculum.” As for operations and facilities, the college committed to changing its landscape by planting green roofs, replacing non-native plants with native vegetation and installing teaching gardens. Composting and recycling programs were implemented across the campus. The Longhouse facility was renovated to be LEED Silver. Meters have been installed throughout the campus to more accurately measure each building’s use of utilities. Additionally, solar panels were installed on the roof of the Dan Evans Library. The upgrades have been instrumental in creating a greener, more cohesive campus to manage, said Smith. “The buildings may not be easier to manage, but management is more consistent,” said Smith. “Many of our buildings are being commissioned to be more energy efficient. It creates a consistency in the overall management of our portfolio.” Photo courtesy of Evergreen College
Shortcomings of Simple Payback in Prioritizing Energy Efficiency Projects By Spencer Morgenthau aking a decision about whether to invest in an energy-reducing retrofit can be tough. As with any important investment, you want to be certain that the benefits outweigh the costs and that the return on investment will be high. Typically, a simple calculation, known as the Simple Payback Period (SPP), is used to indicate how long it will take for cumulative energy savings and other benefits to equal or pay back your initial investment. The SPP is calculated by dividing the initial installed cost by the annual energy cost savings. For instance, if a new, more efficient boiler is installed for $100,000, and this boiler will save $10,000 annually, then the simple payback period would be 10 years. Although this type of calculation may be an effective measure for relatively inexpensive, simple projects, SPP analysis fails to address the many criteria that should be considered when evaluating a larger project’s true value. This criteria includes the time value of money, economic inflation, project duration, lifetime operation, regular maintenance costs and avoided replacement liability. When investing thousands or millions of dollars, it is important to consider the project’s financial impacts in their entirety. The SPP calculation does not allow comparison of complex costs and savings that vary in scale and in timing – another shortcoming. For example, savings realized after the project is paid off are not considered, and therefore, this calculation can put at a disadvantage projects that have extremely long, energy-saving lives. Typical SPP calculations also fail to capture the cost-benefits of reduced future repair and replacement liability. The financial benefit of this future cost avoidance can be significant. Take, for example, a school district that was
M
considering replacing two large and inefficient boilers that had reached endof-life and were beginning to fail. When Simple Payback was calculated for these boilers, the higher efficiency solution only saved a small fraction of the total replacement cost, and yielded a SPP of more than 60 years. When the avoided replacement cost for the failing boilers was added to the equation, the payback on the incremental cost of a high efficiency condensing boiler solution (in lieu of a like-for-like replacement) was less than two years. The district had the foresight to consider both the first-costs and longterm financial implications and was able to move forward with the project. Lifecycle Cost Analysis To make sound decisions that factor in all variables, use a more complex calculation such as a Lifecycle Cost Analysis. Lifecycle Cost Analysis provides numerous advantages over simple payback. It helps compare projects as apples-to-apples financially, even if they take place over differing periods of time and at varying costs. Since it considers first cost, as well as continuing costs throughout the project lifetime, Lifecycle Cost Analysis provides a more complete
picture of the true value and cost of the project. It also examines different combinations of measures, showing the combinations that will maximize savings and financial return. All of this, in turn, minimizes financial risk because it paints an accurate picture of the scope of the investment and its costs. Another area to consider when calculating the value of a project is the opportunity to research grants, loans and incentives, which can drastically reduce upfront costs. Ultimately, the Simple Payback method may seem like an attractive option, but it does not always provide a true picture of project return on investment and thereby puts the customer at risk. A qualified energy services company can help explore the full range of options for building efficiency improvements and review the true financial implications of the project prior to making an investment decision. Spencer Morgenthau is an account executive with Mckinstry’s energy and facility services division in Oregon. He can be reached at 503.278.3942 or spencerm@mckinstry.com.
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ENERGY EFFICIENCY
LEED
LEED 2012:Where are We Headed? By Amanda Timmons
F
rom March 1 to March 27, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) opened a record third public comment period for the upcoming versions of the LEED rating systems. The ballot period for USGBC members is currently scheduled for June. The USGBC is hearing feedback and implementing it into LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance. Dierent Building Types The 2012 version will have specific applications defined for certain types of existing buildings, including office, data centers, retail, warehouses, schools and hospitality. Energy Star LEED EBOM will now require
The other major factor in achieving LEED certification will be implementing proper submetering of building data center spaces in Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager. As of June 1, 2012, buildings applying for Energy Star must properly submeter IT equipment (excluding the associated cooling equipment) in ON THE WEB the qualifying data center space. Therefore, 12 months of properly For more on the LEED 2012 Rating submetered data will be required to Systems, visit www.usgbc.org. apply for Energy Star after June 1, 2012. an Energy Performance Rating of 75 as a prerequisite. During the third comment period, the Energy Star credit (EAc1) will continue to have the most associated points available (up to 20), but the points start at a higher threshold. A building that applied for
LEED EBOM using the 2009 version with an Energy Star rating of 75 received four points toward its certification. Under the current draft of LEED 2012, the building would receive no points and only fulfill the prerequisite.
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Alternative Transportation The third draft continues to show 15 credits available for alternative transportation. This emphasizes that applications for LEED EBOM are truly collaborative between the
Site Management Landscaping practices must continue to evolve. The third draft continues to emphasize lower emissions or emissionsfree approaches to landscaping, soil testing prior to fertilization and mulching of landscape waste. A new credit is available to create a site plan with a civil engineer or a landscape architect for integrated improvement to the site. Plumbing Water Efficiency Part of the proposed plumbing prerequisite includes a commitment to future purchases of EPA WaterSense fixtures (i.e. 1.28 gallon per flush toilets and 0.5 gallon per flush urinals). This may prove challenging for older buildings with plumbing infrastructure built for toilets using three or more gallons per flush. However, technologies continue to improve for water efficient fixtures. Demand Response A credit relating to energy demand will now be available. The previous versions of LEED focused on efficiency in terms of overall consumption but did not have a credit available specific to demand. Major Alterations and Additions Policy This is a comprehensive prerequisite with requirements for construction purchases (including those made by tenants), construction waste management and protecting indoor air quality. The IAQ piece was formerly
a credit in the Indoor Environmental Quality category. This prerequisite will now require implementation of SMACNA strategies during construction and development of a plan to address whether a flush-out or air testing will be required prior to occupancy of the space. Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance Buildings will now need to comply with ASHRAE 62.1-2010. Those that cannot meet ASHRAE 62.1-2010 can continue to meet the prerequisite by showing at least 10 CFM of air per person.
LEED AP To achieve the LEED AP credit, the LEED AP must have the specialty for the project type (i.e. a LEED AP O+M must be on a LEED EBOM project team). Amanda Timmons is a consultant specializing in LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Rating System. She has been a LEED AP since 2007 and can be reached at atimmons@ampajen.com. This article was written prior to release of the final draft, so the credits and prerequisites highlighted herein are subject to change.
Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control Buildings that applied for previous versions of LEED may need to change the signage at building entries indicating the no smoking policy. Simple signage such as “No Smoking” or the no smoking logo may no longer be adequate to meet this prerequisite. Interior Lighting At least 50 percent of occupant spaces must have lighting controls with three settings (on, off and mid-level). Previously, an on/off control, such as a simple switch, counted for this credit. Green Cleaning For the cleaning assessment credit, the overall APPA score increases from 3 (2009) to 2.5 (2012). For the cleaning products credit, sustainable purchases increase from 30 percent by cost (2009) to 75 percent by cost (2012). For the cleaning equipment credit, sustainable equipment purchases increase from 20 percent (2009) to 40 percent along with a plan to increase the equipment to 80 percent sustainable over time (2012). NORTHWEST FACILITIES | July/August 2012 11 23
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building management team and the occupants of the building. Buildings without convenient access to public transportation will continue to struggle for gold and platinum certification without significant efforts to change traditional commuting behaviors.
Awarding
High Performance
in Building Professionals By Sarah Lazzaro
BetterBricks Awards Recognize Exceptional Examples of Green Industry Leaders ach year the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) honors Oregon and SW Washington’s commercial building professionals who devote their careers to influencing the design and maintenance of high performance buildings with the BetterBricks Awards. In its ninth year, the Oregon/SW Washington BetterBricks Awards continue to present exceptional examples of the region’s green industry leaders. Winners are the owners, developers, architects, engineers, facility managers and sustainability advocates in the region’s commercial real estate sector who work together to tackle one of the largest consumers of energy – commercial buildings. Oregon’s prominent position in the clean energy economy can be attributed to the vision and commitment of these professionals who steer the course in regional, national and international energy efficiency and sustainability efforts. Oregon ranks second in the nation in the 2011 State Clean Energy Leadership Index – largely a result of the collective work of BetterBricks Award winners past and present. Past champions have included Mark Edlen,
E
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Gerding Edlen Development Company, a 2008 BetterBricks Owner/Developer Award winner; Clark Brockman, SERA Architects, a 2007 BetterBricks Designer Winner and 2011 Advocate winner; and a team from Unico Properties, a 2011 BetterBricks Property Management Award winner. NEEA’s 2012 BetterBricks Award winners continue to exceed past efficiency standards with integrated designs that result in net zero buildings and high performance upgrades of existing buildings. The BetterBricks Awards also recognize green building leaders in Idaho, Montana and the Puget Sound and encourages nominations for upcoming awards.View images and winner testimonials at www.betterbricks.com/awards.
Sarah Lazzaro is the marketing manager for NEEA’s Commercial Sector. She develops and manages strategic marketing and communications strategies with NEEA’s market partners, including public relations, brand management, website content and outbound communications.
Justin Hurley, director of real estate and sustainable planning at Asante Health System, was recognized with the 2012 BetterBricks Owner/Developer Award. Hurley worked diligently over several years to integrate sustainability into all facets of Asante’s large portfolio of hospitals, medical office and other buildings. At Asante’s two large medical campuses in Southern Oregon, he championed sustainability during the development of each campus master plan and the beginning phases of work. As a result, the Asante Board mandated that all new Asante buildings must achieve LEED Certification. Hurley also focused on improving the energy efficiency and carbon profile of those buildings at each campus that will last for the long term. For these efforts, Hurley secured sizeable capital and operational budget allocations to support energy efficiency endeavors across Asante’s portfolio of existing buildings.
Port of Portland Headquarters Portland, Oregon – LEED Platinum
2012 Owner/Developer Winner
Justin Hurley Asante Health System
Rouge Valley Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Medford, Oregon
OHSU/OUS Collaborative Life Sciences Building (Rendering provided by SERA Architects & CO Architects)
2012 Design Engineer Co-Winner
Steve Reidy PAE Consulting Engineers
With 23 years experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams for high performance buildings, Steve Reidy, principal PAE Consulting Engineers, was recognized as a co-recipient of the 2012 BetterBricks Design Engineer Award. Most recently, Reidy was the lead design engineer on the Port of Portland’s new LEED Platinum headquarters. Recognized by Forbes.com as one of the world’s most high-tech green buildings, the Port of Portland office features renewable energy captured from the ground by 200 geoexchange wells, each 340 feet deep; radiant heating and cooling panels that provide heating or cooling with a minimum of waste; and a Living Machine® that uses plants and microorganisms to clean the water by natural processes.
Tasked with leading the mechanical design for several publicly recognized green buildings, John McMichael, principal at Interface Engineering and co-recipient of the 2012 BetterBricks Design Engineer Award, has designed 2012 more than 60 LEED and five netDesign Engineer Co-Winner zero projects including the Oregon John McMichael Sustainability Center, Portland State Interface Engineering University’s Academic and Student Research Center and Portland Community College’s new Newberg Education Center. The post-occupancy energy use findings of the Portland State University Academic and Student Recreation Center show that the new building, which uses an innovative well water cooling and heating system, consumes 64 percent less energy than a baseline building. Portland Community College’s Newberg Education Facility just opened in fall of 2011 and is expected to achieve net-zero energy – one of the first higher education buildings in Oregon to reach that level of efficiency. NORTHWEST FACILITIES | July/August 2012 13 23
The BetterBricks Awards also recognize green building leaders in Idaho, Montana and the Puget Sound and encourages nominations for upcoming awards. View images and winner testimonials at www. betterbricks.com/awards.
2012 Emerging Leader Winner
Martin Tull Green Sports Alliance
Founding Partners and Board of Director of the Green Sports Alliance For his visionary work spearheading the launch and expansion of The Green Sports Alliance, NEEA recognized Martin Tull with the 2012 BetterBricks Emerging Leader Award. The Green Sports Alliance, as directed by Tull, is an unprecedented collaboration of professional and collegiate sports teams and venues, representing 13 different leagues, in partnership with prominent environmental organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation. Its members share their best practices in saving energy and generally greening their respective facilities, and the Alliance provides information, guidance, support and publicity for teams and venues for their energy conservation and general sustainability goals.
Msheireb Downtown Development Doha, Qatar
2012 Advocate Winner
Ralph DiNola Green Building Services
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The Green Sports Alliance represents the first collaborative approach to this important work. The Alliance was originally conceived as a consortium of Pacific Northwest teams and venues. In 2011, Tull spearheaded the rapid growth of the Green Sports Alliance across the country, adding nearly three dozen teams and venues from every region of the country, including such venerable organizations as the Boston Red Sox/Fenway Park, Los Angeles Dodgers/Dodger Stadium and Kansas City Chiefs/Arrowhead Stadium. As a founding partner in the national Better Buildings Challenge, The Green Sports Alliance is in a prominent and influential position to effectively advocate for sports facilities to operate more efficiently and receive broad public recognition for doing so.
An outspoken advocate for sustainability in the built environment for more than 20 years, Ralph DiNola was honored with the 2012 BetterBricks Advocate Award. As a founder and principal with Green Building Services, DiNola has developed an innovative and highly-successful approach to consulting that has resulted in significant energy savings in commercial buildings nationally and internationally. DiNola has managed the certification of more than 10 percent of all LEED Certified projects in Portland, including five LEED Platinum and seven LEED Gold projects. The Bud Clark Commons, Mirabella Portland and Mercy Corps Global Headquarters are prime examples of DiNola’s extensive portfolio of green buildings that excel in sustainable efficiencies and raise the bar for future projects. While he is rooted in the local community, DiNola has consulted on projects across the U.S. and abroad. International consulting projects include developing a model energy efficiency center for the city of Shanghai, China and serving as the site-wide LEED consultant for a 77-acre, 110 building urban redevelopment, Msheireb Downtown in Doha, Qatar. Certified as a LEED Faculty since 2002, DiNola is at the forefront of this professional training effort and has provided training workshops in the region and across the U.S. to thousands of building industry professionals seeking professional accreditation.
Mac McMillan
2012 Facility Manager Winners
Mac McMillan (Not Pictured)
Rob Beardon Portland Art Museum
Twin 30-ton multi-stack chiller unit in the Belluschi Building, Portland, Oregon
Managing the installation of more than $2 billion of building systems mostly in Oregon and Washington with a focus on energy efficiency, McKinstry’s Tom Konicke received the 2012 BetterBricks Service Contractor Award. Konicke and the McKinstry team have worked with more than 40 schools in Oregon and a vast number of commercial projects to provide innovative energy solutions that reduce energy consumption and operating costs and increase the comfort of the occupants. Together with their customers, McKinstry has eliminated 375,979 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions since 2001, which equates to removing 68,861 cars from America’s highways, and has delivered in excess of $20 million in utility grants and state tax incentives to customers. High profile local projects include implementing a $1.7 million energy savings plan for Oregon Health and Sciences University that yielded $97,000 of guaranteed annual energy savings and completing a systematic HVAC, controls and lighting upgrade to Montgomery Park, one of the largest buildings in Portland, saving more than $190,000 a year in energy costs.
2012 Judges Special Award
Mitch Dec Glumac
Vestas North American Headquarters, Portland, Oregon Rendering courtesy GBD Architects
Portland Art Museum Facility Director Rob Beardon and Building Engineer Mac McMillan were selected for the 2012 BetterBricks Facility Management Award. Seeking ways to lower the utility use of their facilities in a time of tightened budgets and reduced donations, the team approached the Energy Trust of Oregon for energy audits of both the Portland Art Museum’s Mark and Belluschi Buildings. Implementing recommendations for the Mark Building reduced the energy use of the building by 35 percent and lowered overall energy costs by approximately $86,000. With the success of the Mark Building, the team then targeted additional projects for the Belluschi Building. The Belluschi Building is currently being benchmarked and is expected to lower natural gas use by 54 percent, electricity use by 21 percent and lower the overall energy costs by $132,000.
2012 Service Contractor Winner
Tom Konicke McKinstry
Photo courtesy Dallas School District, Dallas, Oregon
Mitch Dec, energy department manager at Glumac, received a 2012 Special Judges’ BetterBricks Award for his expertise in energy modeling. Dec has successfully translated his training as a design engineer to specifically focus on the operating conditions of high performance buildings in order to emphasize energy savings on the MEP systems that will have the greatest impact. His strategic evaluation of energy efficiency concepts is based on overall lifecycle costs including energy costs, maintenance costs and future costs of replacement. In addition, Dec identifies synergies with other design goals such as improved indoor air quality and water conservation in efforts to achieve dual benefits from the strategies implemented. Dec’s direct involvement with Portland high profile, green building projects Twelve West, Mercy Corps and The Mirabella resulted in each building achieving LEED Platinum status.
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Department - Author
Photo courtesy of Alan Brandt
Sets Trend for Green Data Centers By Kristen Hutchings Associate Editor
U
ntil recently, data centers were far from green, largely due to the excessive cost of cooling these types of facilities. With the constant battle to keep the buildings’ environment cool enough to protect servers and fragile computer data equipment, building owners were paying a lot of money to attain low temperatures for their server rooms. Room temperatures were not always properly regulated, so to err on the side of safety, the server room would drop several degrees lower than necessary. Now, thanks to a mild-climate location with low humidity coupled with innovative ideas, Facebook has sparked a new trend in the data center facility world and has gone for the gold – LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold – with
their 333,400 square-foot green data center that spans 127 acres in Prineville, Oregon. Facebook also recently built a data center in Forest City, North Carolina, and has similar goals for efficiency in their future addition in Lulea, Sweden, which is currently under construction. Facebook’s dedication in achieving green solutions has taken their data centers where no data center has gone before. “The Prineville data center is built for energy efficiency and is a milestone for Facebook,” said Tom Furlong, vice president of site operations at Facebook. “The new computing capacity will enable us to offer great new social experiences, while setting new standards for environmental responsibility in data center design and operations.” To embrace this idea of efficiency,
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the first area that Facebook wanted to conserve was in electricity. During a tour of the facility led by Ken Patchett, the Prineville data center’s facility manager, Patchett began walking down a long hallway discussing the lighting. With every step forward, the lights behind him would snap off as soon as he left that particular area. He explained that Facebook did not wish to waste any more electricity than they needed to light a room. If no one is in a room, the light immediately turns off. These efficient LED lights are powered over ethernet and save the facility bundles on electricity. Along with efficient electrical use, the data center houses a storage tank for reclaimed water that is used for toilets and for watering the landscape. Facebook uses 70 percent less water
than other data centers’ chilled water systems. Solar arrays have also been placed on the premise to power the building’s offices. The Cool Down “One of the most important aspects of efficiency is looking at the details,” said Patchett. The emphasis on detail sparked the innovative idea for cooling the center. According to Facebook.com, the servers use less than 40 percent energy and can function in warmer temperatures. The center also uses less water because it utilizes natural outside air instead of water to cool the building. The building is equipped with sensors inside and outside of the facility. These sensors notify computers of regulatory needs in regard to the temperature and humidity of the air. If the air needs to be cooler or humidified, it is transferred to the evaporative wall lined with water pipes that spray the air until it is the right temperature and humidity. Before the air is emitted into the server room, it passes through two filters to purify the air of contaminates. A new patentpending UPS system (Uninterrupted Power Source) is also used, helping to decrease the building’s utilities by 12 percent.
Computers emit a lot of heat, so Facebook was determined to harness this output of air and use it to their advantage. The hot air from the equipment is transmitted to the exhaust air room, which will do one of two things, depending on the season. If it is winter, the building will recycle this warm air and redistribute it to heat the building. If it is summer, the air is released into the outdoors. An Open-Door Efficient Policy Facebook executives are also excited for their new Open Compute Project. This is an effort to open-source share with other companies the technology Facebook has innovated at their facility. The servers Facebook has to offer are not only cheaper and more efficient than servers found in other data centers, but they are also user friendly, convenient and easy to access, especially when loading or removing a server from a shelf. Community Welcomes Facebook When large facilities encroach on an area, the community can become a bit leary. But in the case of Prineville, the community and its leaders have nothing but good to say about the Facebook data center and its additional building
currently under construction. Instead, Facebook has become an asset and employment opportunity for the Prineville community. “I am proud to welcome Facebook as the newest member of Oregon’s innovative technology community,” said Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber. “Facebook will be a great addition to the community of Central Oregon and will no doubt serve as a stable economic presence for years to come.” By providing locals with jobs and employees who will frequent local restaurants and businesses during lunch hour, the data center has definitely contributed to the affluence of the community. During construction, it has employed more than 1,800 workers on the site and with its completion, will employ more than 60 people full time. “Facebook has brought diversity to the job market at a time when unemployment has ranged from 1720 percent,” said Prineville Mayor Betty Roppe. “During the past year, Prineville has seen a loss of nearly 1,000 in population. Facebook’s arrival has opened the market for other business recruitment. Their arrival has given the community a shot of optimism.”
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LIGHTING
Adopt LED Lighting Reduce Business Overhead Costs by Increasing Sustainability By Stacy Brown
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uilding owners who are interested in increasing their profit margins may just need to look to the ceiling for a bright idea.The operational cost savings that can be acquired through LED lighting can be substantial, as well as environmentally friendly. However, there’s a lot more to it than simply changing a bulb. Office buildings are the No. 1 consumer of commercial energy costs, using 2,039 trillion BTU of primary onsite electricity, reports the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA). Energy distribution for an office building is overwhelmingly dedicated to lighting, with 294 trillion BTU. On average, one office building uses 1.4 billion BTU a year, which is an energy use of 97.2 thousand BTU per square foot, according to the EIA. Large office buildings have the highest total energy costs of any commercial building, spending about $15.8 billion per year – most of it dedicated to paying for electricity. The average energy cost of a square foot in an office building is $1.51. That is an increase from the national average of energy costs for a commercial building of $1.19 per square foot. According to Energy Star, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that if the energy-efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings increased by 10 percent, Americans could save $20 billion annually. It would also lead to a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, enough to equal the emissions produced by approximately 30 million vehicles. As electricity is one of the largest expenses for a commercial office building, switching from incandescent, halogen or CFL bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs can provide business owners an
impressive cost saving opportunity. LED bulbs use 75 percent less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, according to ENERGY STAR. Retrofitting Decreases Costs Retrofitting a commercial building with LEDs can provide the business with a longer-lasting product. LEDs last approximately 25 times longer than incandescent bulbs. A building owner can expect their lifetime to range from 35,000 to 50,000 hours. This is a radical leap in ability compared to the average 1,000 to 2,000 hours lifetime expectancy of incandescent lights. According to Energy Star, one LED light bulb can save a business $6 a year in electricity costs and more than $40 in its lifetime. A commercial or office building being considered for a LED lighting retrofit should undergo the creation of an energy action plan to accurately evaluate the energy-efficient, cost-saving and improve-performance of the switch. The plan can include the current energy use of a commercial building and the costs that go with more inefficient lighting
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technology. After a building owner receives the initial costs of retrofitting a traditional incandescent or halogen system to LED, it is important to then begin calculating the savings toward the cost. The return on the investment may be as soon as a couple of years. If a building cannot make the transition in one remodeling project, Energy Star recommends considering a staged approach to LED lighting building upgrades. The Evolving Commercial Market and LED Lighting In 2007, the global LED market was $4.6 billion, reports the Center on Globalization Governance and Competitiveness. LED application increase is expected to reach 20 percent by 2011, according to the LED Supply/ Demand Market Forecast Report. This increase is largely attributed to an increase in commercial and retail uses. According to Pike Research studies, the global market for commercial lighting reached $42 billion in 2011 and will increase to about $54 billion in 2012, reports Industry Leaders
features in their office buildings. The lifetime of an LED is so much longer than traditional lighting options that after the expected industry peak of $54 billion in 2012, the market’s profit is expected to decline to $30 billion by 2021. That translates to potentially huge cost savings for businesses after installation. McKinsey & Company estimates that LED lighting in commercial applications have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 110 million tons by the year 2030, according to the Center on Globalization Governance and Competitiveness. Many large businesses find the sustainable, yet economic benefits of LED-based lighting an increasingly compelling reason to make the switch from traditional bulb options such as incandescent, halogen and CFL. Building owners actively considering their environmental impact could retrofit commercial office buildings with LED lighting options, providing a sustainable lighting solution, without ever forgetting about the bottom line. The next time a building owner is faced with sky-rocketing energy costs, they should consider LED lighting as a potential fix. While the future of building may be dependent on innovation and proper management, being energy conscience can help reduce carbon footprint and save money in the long run.
By the Numbers Yearly Commercial Building Energy Consumption 2,039 Trillion BTU of primary on-site electricity consumed by office buildings in the United States 294 Trillion BTU is dedicated to lighting 1.4 Billion BTU is the average amount used by one office building $15.8 Billion is spent by large office buildings on energy $1.51 is the average energy costs of a square foot in an office building 75 Percent less energy is used by LED lights than traditional incandescent bulbs 35,000 to 50,000 Hours is the average life of an LED light 1,000 to 2,000 Hours is the aaverage av errage life fe o fe off ann incan incandescent a desc s ent light
Stacy Brown is marketing director with Environmental Lights. For more information, go to EnvironmentalLights.com or call 888.880.1880.
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Magazine. LED lighting is projected to reach 52 percent of the commercial lighting market by 2021 due to an increase in sustainable product interest, increased cost saving opportunity, lighting technology advances to successfully deal with potential limited energy resources and a decrease in retrofitting costs. LED lighting costs are expected to reduce by 80 to 90 percent during the course of the next decade as they increase in popularity. “LEDs represent perhaps the most significant breakthrough of the last 130 years in lighting technology,” research analyst Eric Bloom told Pike Research. “The production of white LEDs, which began in the late 1990s, is starting to transform the lighting industry, and the transition to this new technology is likely to occur very quickly. Rapidly evolving technologies, such as semiconductors and software, are finding their way into the lighting market, catapulting this traditional, historically slow-moving industry into a new era of high technology.” The advances in LED technology are instigated by their improved lighting capabilities, lower energy costs and overall increased sustainability. Pike Research estimates that the energy efficiency market for buildings will reach $103.5 billion during 2017, according to the Industry Leader Magazine. That is a 50 percent increase from the market value in 2011. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory states that green commercial buildings cost less to maintain, use less energy, emit less carbon dioxide and have more satisfied occupants. Retrofitting a building to LED lights is the first step an owner can take to adding these positive
OHSU Center for Health and Healing in Portland, Oregon
Tapping
Photos courtesy Brightworks Sustainability Advisors
Human Capital
to Drive Green
Performance By Jessica Green
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wners and tenants of the more than 22,000 LEED Certified buildings worldwide invested in greener buildings for expected benefits, such as lower utility bills and a better occupant experience. Now that many buildings have a few years of real performance data available, the media and the market have found some green buildings aren’t meeting their owner and tenant expectations. The reasons these gaps occur can’t be blamed on greenwashing or technical errors. People, times and technology constantly change, so protecting your green building investment means managing for human behavior as well as technological changes. Technical retuning of a building’s systems is frequently where owners turn first, and strategies like recommissioning and performing ASHRAE audits can make a huge impact. However, influencing human behavior is actually the least expensive way to help support good building performance, and it can also produce the biggest payback. 20 July/August 2012 | NORTHWEST FACILITIES
The Business Case for Influencing Human Behavior Tenant expectations and behavior can be a surprisingly large influence on building performance gaps. Take employee uniforms: Do your tenants wear suits, shorts and T-shirts, coveralls or bathing suits? The answer affects what temperature they desire in their space, and that directly impacts energy performance. A 2008 study of 32 office buildings in Shanghai implemented a dress-down week to save energy in the middle of summer. Each office raised its room temperature by two degrees. That saved enough power to supply 30,000 local families for an entire month, according to China.org.cn.
Another major human factor in building performance is whether tenants are educated about how to use their building. Can tenants open their own windows, and how can they know when that will work with or against HVAC systems? Many new buildings have a red light/green light system in place to tell occupants when opening the windows is a good idea. If someone prefers to keep the windows shut, how does that impact the performance of the system? Not having a complete understanding of the systems can lead to occupant frustration and wasted opportunity. For example, many buildings now offer recycling and composting to reduce waste and operational expenses. However, if tenants are not aware of these facilities or are unclear on what is acceptable to put into them, recycling programs can be a missed opportunity. Another example is dual-flush toilets. Although increasingly common, they are not familiar fixtures to many and may cause guests or new tenants to inadvertently flush more water than necessary. Property management education is another driver of building performance gaps. Many buildings do not come with an owner’s manual, so how can property management be certain the maintenance program is optimum for that building? In those new buildings that do come with an operations manual, the operations and maintenance personnel may be unfamiliar with how to operate the new building systems. This information gap can lead to unchanged, dirty air filters, incorrect control settings and missed maintenance inspections, all of which contribute to inefficient building performance. A building only supports the functions of human activity, which means it is a fluid environment. The structure and base building systems that provide heating, cooling and ventilation are not as fluid but can be adjusted and operated to suit the changes made. Changing human behavior, however, is the key to unlocking the real potential of green buildings. This starts with
finding building performance gaps. The greatest benefits come from helping tenants make changes that create a better building experience for them and support the business and environmental goals of their employers and landlords. Jessica Green is the Seattle regional director at Brightworks Sustainability Advisors, a provider of end-to-end sustainability services in the built environment and for organizational strategy. She can be reached at jessica.green@brightworks.net.
How to Find (and Close) the Performance Gaps Collect and Analyze Building Performance Data Energy Star measures your building’s technical data against similar buildings to give you a baseline for how your building is performing. The new USGBC Building Performance Partnership will standardize and measure additional ongoing performance data for LEED Certified buildings that opt in. Both of these programs allow a building owner to organize performance data to identify gaps as they occur. Train Building Operations Staff Educate operations staff on new technologies that may create energy efficiency or streamline their operations. It will benefit the bottom line and engage the operations staff more fully in the building’s success. Educate Tenants Simple presentations, building orientations or tours will teach and engage tenants on appropriate use for building systems. If you have or are creating a Green Tenant Improvement manual, consider a
tenant user section that explains in more detail some of the more unusual features of the building, such as a red light/green light system or daylighting controls. Submeter Individual Spaces Submetering creates behavioral change by forming a feedback loop that connects individual actions to utility bills. This guides and incentivizes performance improvements. Provide Feedback Mechanisms Feedback can be a big driver for behavioral change because it engages the occupant in a conversation with the building operators or property management. For instance, use a survey to determine whether thermal and lighting comfort is being met or whether bike parking spaces are adequate. Open the lines of communication between property management and tenants by providing an email hotline for maintenance requests or suggestions. Use newsletters to highlight and reward tenant behavior that benefits building performance.
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MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Department - Author
Bridging the Gap in Building Energy System Displays Build a Customized Approach for Smaller Buildings By Dave Wortman n the past few years building owners and facility managers have witnessed a boom in the market for building energy displays and management systems. These next-generation systems – building on their predecessors developed for large building applications by Johnson Controls, Siemens, Trane and others – are increasingly catering to smaller buildings with information sharing and control capabilities. The drivers for these trends are many, including growing interest in sharing building performance information with occupants and visitors, as well as broadening attention to smart metering of systems, demand response capabilities and integrating renewable energy technologies. While the market for energy display and management systems is rapidly evolving, those looking for a costeffective, off-the-shelf solution tailored to smaller buildings will still find gaps in the marketplace. The choices in software packages that monitor energy use and power in real time or near real time are significantly limited. Such systems still tend to be prohibitively expensive for small buildings, including hardware and installation costs, difficulty scaling down applications to smaller buildings and increased effort needed to train employees and maintain systems. While many can monitor energy use at the meter level, far fewer allow for easy and cost-effective monitoring at the equipment level.
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A Custom Approach Faced with such market limitations, a team of engineers at Brendle Group, an engineering firm in Colorado with
a focus on energy and sustainability, sought to develop a more customized solution for the renovation of their new office building in downtown Fort Collins, a project completed in early 2011 that recently received Gold certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The team’s objective was to develop an energy display and management system that would be cost-appropriate for small- to medium-sized buildings – both existing and new – and would provide the flexibility to monitor energy use down to the equipment level. The system would also provide the ability to control loads and integrate renewable energy technologies. Providing feedback to building users and education to guests in the form of an in-lobby display and real time web interface was also important to allow the building to serve as a living laboratory for the company’s clients and the community. After researching several options, the team selected hardware provided by Spinwave Systems, a developer of wireless sensor networks and sensing products to cost-reduce and simplify monitoring and control of commercial and industrial buildings. Using ZigBeebased communication protocols with a mesh network, the wireless platform provided an easy-to-install solution, preventing the need to re-wire systems. The solution included wireless thermostats as well as wireless submetering of building energy loads, from lighting to appliances. Spinwave Systems’ hardware was paired with AzeoTech’s DAQFactory software, a cost-effective supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)
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software that can be used to extract data from Spinwave for control of systems, alarming of undesirable conditions, logging for future analysis and real time display. Further in-house development allowed for the development of custom visualization. One of the unique aspects of this customized application was the high level of sub-metering for electrical loads that was possible and the resulting amount of detail available on the building’s various electrical loads. Such fine-grained information on energy use can not only help inform occupant behavior, it can also have ancillary benefits, such as contributing to credits under LEED, as well as support the effectiveness of building commissioning efforts. From a cost perspective, the customized solution was a fraction of the cost of many of today’s off-theshelf energy management and display systems. Employing wireless controls avoided the need for more costly re-wiring of the building, while the DAQFactory software was easy to use and required little staff training. The Results With more than 15 months of data from the building’s system in the books, the company is already reaping many rewards. One significant advantage has been the ability to closely monitor the energy performance of the building, trend past performance and make changes to reduce consumption – from scheduling of thermostats and lighting to tracking performance of economizers. This has been particularly valuable to support the company’s aggressive energy use goals for the building,
pulled from the grid, it also tracks exports to the grid from PV production and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impacts. The display also benchmarks the building’s performance against typical office buildings in the region. For those on electric rate schedules with peak demand charges, the system also provides the ability to shed loads during times of peak demand, either automatically or manually, based on a signal from the electric utility. These capabilities have historically been limited to systems for larger buildings. Opportunities for Replication Overall, this custom solution offers significant opportunity for replication in other small buildings – an opportunity the company is hoping to roll out to its customers as a package of products and services. While the system has shown benefits in a small building application, it also offers the opportunity and flexibility to scale up
to larger office buildings with multiple tenants. For those who are interested in driving behavior change with a respect to energy consumption, a field of significantly growing interest, the system also offers the ability for building occupants to directly see the effects of their efforts and claim associated energy and cost savings. Finally, significant energy and cost saving opportunities can be found in the ability of building managers to track and manage building energy use remotely (from lights left on to managing temperature setbacks for heating and cooling) during evenings and weekends. Dave Wortman is program manager for Brendle Group, an engineering consulting firm focused on sustainability. Contact him at dwortman@brendlegroup.com.
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which is already performing more than 75 percent better than comparable building stock in the region. The team was able to further reduce overall building energy use between 2011 and 2012, in part due to the data-driven ability to understand how the building was operating and to take appropriate action. One of the other biggest advantages of the system has been its value as a troubleshooting tool. The system, for example, was able to detect a drop in renewable energy production, alerting building managers to issues with the performance of one of the building’s three solar photovoltaic (PV) arrays. The building’s in-lobby display has also been a valuable teaching tool for both occupants and the more than 500 visitors the building has hosted, from university classes to the local chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and international clean technology delegations. The customized display not only shows daily trends in electricity
Facilities
Products and Solutions for HVAC
Solutions Financing HVAC and Building Controls with §179D Deductions
First Strike Micro Coat First Strike Micro Coat is a green certified HVAC coil protectant designed to eliminate deposit buildup. By providing a clear molecular layer of protection, FSMC keeps evaporator coils clean up to one year or longer. This means less labor is needed and minimal costs are required to keep coils operating efficiently. FSMC does not inhibit heat transfer, has low VOCs and is easy to apply. Call Controlled Release Technologies at 1.800.766.9057 for more information and visit www.cleanac.com.
PanGuard PanGuard is the original timed-release polymer strip invented in 1985. An alternative to quick dissolving pan tablets, PanGuard was certified green in 2008. It eliminates clogs and protects against costly water damages caused by HVAC condensate pan overflows. PanGuard is designed for all size and type units and available in both three- and six-month versions. Call Controlled Release Technologies at 1.800.766.9057 for more information and visit www.cleanac.com.
Although operating an energy efficient HVAC system saves money for business and building owners in the long run, many are concerned by significant first cost. Too often the recommendation is to retrofit an existing building with energy efficient HVAC in order to save money on energy costs. The owner is faced with the choice of coming up with the required capital or continuing to face increased operating costs and future repairs. The ROI/SPP (Simple Payback Period) on new, energy-efficient systems may take a bit longer, but the equipment will perform more reliably, provide a better environment and lower operating costs both short and longterm. Fortunately, alternative strategies are available to fund energy efficiency projects by significantly lowering the business or building owner’s tax burden. One tax benefit is found in Section (§) 179D of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. §179D includes full and partial tax deductions for investments in energy efficient commercial buildings that are designed to increase the efficiency of energy-consuming functions. The deduction available is up to 60 cents per square foot for lighting, HVAC and building envelope, creating potential for $1.80 per square foot if all three components/subsystems qualify. These deductions are applicable to buildings that were either built or retrofitted after Dec. 31, 2005. In order to qualify for the deduction, the
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taxpayer must receive a third party energy efficiency certification. Professional expertise is essential when looking at HVAC system upgrades that will qualify for the §179D deduction. In order to qualify, the building that is to be improved with the new HVAC system must be modeled by a qualified individual using IRS prescribed software. A variety of options are available for improving the efficiency of heating and cooling systems, including replacing an older, maintenance intense system or using controls and building automation systems (EMS/BMS). Also known as Direct Digital Control (DDC), Business Management Systems range from simple programmable thermostats to complex, sophisticated systems that control multiple facilities and a variety of systems. These systems perform functions of programmed commands for HVAC, ventilation, temperature and may include lighting commands and record data, including utility demand, energy use, building conditions, climatic data and status of controlled equipment. The data furnished by the control system is vital to managing energy usage. New or existing systems need adjustment based on conditions and use. Sequencing multiple processes is best completed by automatic controls designed specifically for that purpose. The efficiency of facilities is improved
Silver Bullet Water Treatment System Using either building air supply or a small internal pump, air is passed through Silver Bullet’s patent pending water treatment processor. The processor includes UV bulbs and additional proprietary elements. The processor bombards oxygen molecules (O2), creating negatively charged oxygen ions. This gas is bubbled into the cooling tower’s water supply, where the oxygen ions bond with water to form hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Hydrogen peroxide, an oxidizing biocide, kills microorganisms to prevent biological growth. Dissolved oxygen ions also keep calcium in solution, prevents scale from forming and removes current scale build up. Because our system maintains a higher concentration of minerals (calcium, etc.) than traditional chemicals, it reduces the need to add fresh water. The elevated mineral content in the water makes the water far less corrosive. Finally, the system saves money. Water savings alone can be enough to pay the monthly fee for the system. The Silver Bullet also eliminates the need for additional chemicals and annual cleanings of the tower. For more information call Silver Bullet Water Treatment Company at 303.552.2383 and visit www.silverbulletcorp.com.
radically when control routines are established and implemented within an automated control system. Countless configurations and smart technologies can be put to work in building automation systems. When considering a retrofit, the component parts that may improve efficiency and ultimately operating expenses are also a major dynamic in the system application as well as the financial picture of the project. After making the decision to implement an automated control system, it’s important not to just assume that the system is providing energy efficiencies. A thorough verification and measurement approach is the only way to provide evidence that systems are properly automated and actually resulting in savings and greater energy efficiency. For more information please contact Capital Review Group at crginfo@capitalreviewgroup.com or 602.741.7776.
The ClimaCool® SHC onDEMAND This modular chiller helps reduce energy consumption and the environmental impact of your heating and cooling equipment by harnessing energy that is already being produced but not used. In addition, it provides all of the functionality of a traditional boiler/chiller system while saving 75% of the average footprint and up to 40% when compared to typical simultaneous heat pump systems. The system allows connection flexibility for hot, cold and source water loops. Typical simultaneous banks limit configuration options to hot and cold water on opposite ends whereas the SHC is fully confi gurable to be same side or opposite side based on your mechanical room design. Each module has the ability to be utilized for heating or cooling onDEMAND to precisely match building loads and provide compressor run time equalization. For more information call ClimaCool at 405.745.3185 and visit www.climacoolcorp.com
PureSource Technologies MAXR 100 is formulated for industrial Air Conditioner and Chiller (AC&R) applications to provide greater operating efficiency, reduced operating costs, longer life span and less unscheduled downtime for your AC&R equipment. It lowers the “Coefficient of Friction” of a machine’s metal surface and provides continuous lubrication. MAXR products are chemically engineered for compatibility with all conventional lubricants and all ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys. MAXR products do not “treat” the primary lubricant, they utilize the primary lubricant only as a carrier/transport medium to distribute the treatment throughout the equipment. The product utilizes “molecular bonding” technology to form a microscopic protective “lubricant layer” that physically becomes part of the metal’s surface. For more information call PureSource at 909.982.0125 and visit www.PureSourceTech.com
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FURNITURE Department - Author
Why Ergonomics is Important to Facilities Management By Brian Titus verything is constantly in motion in business today. However, 9.3 hours of the day is spent sitting, according to Science of Sedentary Behavior (2010) by the Stanford Center of Longevity (SCL). Why is this a concern? The health and wellness of employees or the company may be at risk. View it in terms of missed days from work, lower productivity, workers compensation claims and increased medical and healthcare costs. Workplace injuries and claims decrease productivity and profits. According to the United States Department of Labor, employers pay almost $1 billion per week for direct workers’ compensation costs alone. Direct costs include workers’ compensation payments, medical expenses and costs for legal services. Examples of indirect costs include training replacement employees, accident investigation and implementation of corrective measures, lost productivity, repairing damaged equipment and property and costs associated with lower employee morale and absenteeism. During a normal workday, a person can develop aches and pains just from sitting at a desk. Hopefully these issues are caused by something other than where they sit or how their desk and/or workspace are configured.
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Ways to Alleviate Some of These Problems Chair: Adjust the height of the chair so feet rest comfortably on the floor and knees are about level with hips. Get to know your chair. Take time to read the instructions and understand the adjustments and features. Footrest: If the chair is too high to rest feet flat on the floor, consider using a footrest.
Posture: Center the body in front of the monitor and keyboard. Sit up straight, keeping thighs horizontal with knees and at about the same level as hips. Keep your forearms level or tilted slightly up. Monitor: Place the monitor directly in front of the person, about an arms length – generally 20 to 30 inches away. The top of the screen should be slightly below eye level. Place your monitor so the brightest light source is to the side. Mouse: Place the mouse within easy reach on the side of the keyboard. Keep wrists in a natural and comfortable position while using the mouse. Key Objects: Keep key objects, such as a telephone, stapler or other work tools, close to the body to prevent excessive stretching. Stand up to reach anything that can’t be comfortably reached while sitting. Headset: If your employees frequently talk on the phone while typing or writing at the same time, have them use a headset rather than cradle the phone between their head and neck. To Consider When it comes to seating, take a test drive. Have your office furniture representative deliver a demo chair to try out. Test drive this chair for several days and make sure it meets the needs of you and your employees. If it does not meet your needs, try another chair until you find the one that does. Also, when buying a chair, budget a little more outlay for seating. The right ergonomic chair is the most important tool to have at the office. It will be the most used tool in a facility, so make sure it is loved and appreciated. In the end, you will
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Top Five Needs Several facilities managers shared their needs when looking at ergonomic products for their tenants and employees. 1. Ease of use for the employee 2. Function of the product 3. Ability to easily adjust 4. Ease of installation 5. Quality of product Price was a consideration; however it was not a driving factor in the decision-making process. be thanking yourself that you spent a little more attention to the one product that not only supports you but has your back. Another Option Don’t like to sit all day? Standing height desks and workstations are becoming more and more popular in the workplace. They give you the ability to work from a seated position to a standing height. The two prevalent styles of adjustment are hand crank or electric. Many different varieties and options are available. Most can be integrated into existing layouts or configurations, and you have the option to use existing work-surfaces. Ever since his first visit as a child to a mid-century modern dentist office and seeing the perfectly scaled furniture sized just for him (Bertoia Wire Chair and Eiffel Tower Chair), Brian Titus has had a passion for design, architecture, furniture and photography. He works for Office Furniture Solutions and can be reached at brian@ofsinteriors.com. Or follow him on twitter@brianstitus.
Ergonomics for the Masses
By Sean Murphy
Rules of Thumb • Purchasing higher quality furniture is essential. Manufacturers spend a lot of time studying the way people work. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Although a well-designed chair may cost more, there are hundreds of hours of research that go into its design. Everything from seat foam to movement mechanisms are crafted to be universally appealing. This comes in handy when accommodating hundreds of users with a single chair model. n exterior with impact, an intelligent energy usage plan and a well-designed interior contribute to a worker’s perception of their value within a company. Physical surroundings are an extension of an employee’s compensation, and they acknowledge this, even if only subconsciously. How often, though, is the most intimate connection to worker comfort – their chair – overlooked? Office seating can literally be a pain in the butt, so here are a few tips for selecting office seating, particularly selecting seating for multiple users. Office seating is often thought of as a check mark for an employee’s workstation. Like a computer monitor or stapler, every worker gets one, and everyone is on a budget, so there is no reason to splurge on the red metal Swingline. The problems with cheap chairs start to arise six months postpurchase when workers are complaining about neck and back pain and chairs start to fall apart. The truth with ergonomic seating is a universal one: You get what you pay for, but splurging isn’t always necessary. Poorly designed and cheaply constructed seating is simply not
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worth the risk for an established business enterprise. Healthcare costs can make up 10 to 20 percent of payroll expenditures, but these costs can be mitigated with some ergonomic initiatives. Other Selection Notes Selecting a single office chair model to fit 500 people may seem impossible. Choose a small selection committee – typically three to six people make a good panel. Consider input from human resources, purchasing, facilities management and company officers. Acknowledge that there will always be special seating needs for a few employees. These will need to be handled on a case-by-case basis. The purpose of your selection process is to accommodate the vast majority of your building tenants. Be sure to work with a knowledgeable salesperson. The process should be consultative and low-pressure. Sean Murphy is a space planner for ROSI Office Furniture. For more information, visit www.rosiop.com.
• Just because a chair has five levers doesn’t mean it is a good fit. A chair should have several one-time adjustments to fit people of different sizes, but those adjustments should be positioned out of the way for everyday use. After initial adjustment, a chair shouldn’t require levers and knobs to facilitate natural movement. • Ask questions about a chair’s construction. Too many chairs look perfect on the showroom floor but degrade quickly. A common seating ailment is seat foam that flattens and loses support after a year or two. Lifetime warranties can be deceiving. Many ergonomic chairs carry lifetime guarantees but break down anyway. A realistic lifetime for office seating is 10 years. • Pay close attention to the way a chair moves. A good chair should move naturally with the body with minimal effort. Take the time to adjust each chair to the user during the decision making process.
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Furnishing Office Buildings
WINDOWS Department - Author
Retrofitting Facility Windows Cost Effective and Environmentally Sustainable Solutions By Kathryn Giblin indows represent a major investment in budget and time for facility managers. Windows carry a high cost, contribute to a facility’s energy consumption and require regular maintenance. Plus, the duality of windows is hard to manage Windows can inspire productivity and a sense of well-being by allowing the benefits of natural daylighting and providing views, while at the same time causing heat gain, uncomfortable hot spots and bothersome glare. In fact, the US Department of Energy estimates that 33 percent of a building’s cooling bill is a result of solar heat gain and conduction through windows. In addition, fenestration improvement projects are often expensive, time consuming and disruptive to building occupants. For the facility manager looking to update their windows, solar control window films present a smart retrofit option with many diverse, economical and environmentally sustainable benefits.
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Energy Savings: Solar control window films can reject up to 79 percent of solar energy, helping
buildings consume up to 30 percent less energy for cooling. This reduces the need for air conditioning, while moderating peak usage and allowing the cooling system to operate more efficiently. Reduced Carbon Footprint: Architectural solar control window films can reduce GHG emissions by 10 to 40 percent in commercial buildings, helping to significantly improve
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sustainability. With CO2 emissions from buildings projected to grow faster than any other sector in the next 25 years, facility managers should be aware that window films can save 1,001 times more GHG emissions from entering the atmosphere in just one year, than is used and/or created during its manufacturing. LEED Benefits: Solar Control window films can help buildings achieve points toward LEED Certification in categories including energy efficiency, light pollution reduction, glare control, daylighting and thermal comfort improvement. As LEED certifications for existing buildings surpass LEED certifications for new construction, improving energy performance to achieve an Energy Star rating of at least 69 (75 proposed for LEED 2012) is essential. Installing window film can help companies achieve this initial rating, especially on building envelope improvements, which are some of the most complex and costly
Systematic Benefits: According to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, improving window performance will reduce the load on the HVAC system, and in many cases, allow buildings to downsize their HVAC equipment. Another benefit comes from harnessing natural daylight. Unlike other window treatments, window film does not block out all visible light, so offices, homes and other buildings are able to reduce electric lighting by relying on daylighting. In these ways, window film creates synergistic energy efficiency improvements. The Comprehensive, Carbon Smart and Cost Effective Choice By combining window film with other energy-saving improvements, facility mangers can achieve even greater energy efficiency and sustainability. An energy improvement plan that includes window film will often require smaller HVAC
Consider your Cost In addition to the environmental benefits of a retrofit window improvement product, facility managers need to consider cost savings. Will the product reduce operating costs associated with utilities like electricity, heating and cooling? Is the product cost prohibitive to the facility? Even the most sustainable products will be useless to all if costs are too high. One of the U.S. Department of Energy’s laboratories, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), confirms that window film is the most cost-effective way to upgrade a building’s windows. On average, professionally installed window film costs $6 to $14 per square foot – considerably less than replacement glass. LBNL found that window film tops the ROI list when competing with window replacements, blinds, awnings, shade trees and reflective roofs.
capacity than a plan without window film. Likewise, lighting requirements may be altered with or compensated for more natural daylighting. For the facility manager and building sustainability officer looking for a window improvement product that offers the greatest return on their investment, window film also offers additional benefits, including increased comfort, reduced glare, protection from UV damage and fading, enhancement of
safety and security and an improvement in aesthetics. Installing window film can boost energy savings and reduce the overall payback period across multiple technologies, and all at a fraction of the cost of installing new windows. Kathryn Giblin is the director of global marketing and technical services for Solar Gard.
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energy conservation opportunities to implement.
FIRE SAFETY
Fire Sprinkler Corrosion Inspections By Josh Elder ver time, the steel pipe that most fire sprinkler systems are installed with are prone to normal corrosion, leading to buildup on the inside of the piping. This makes the diameters of the pipes smaller and changes the ultimate
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hydraulic dynamic of the system. The corrosion build-up can migrate into the fire sprinkler drops and heads and can plug the system, impeding water flow in the event of a fire. Other mechanical failures can be attributed to obstructions caused by corrosion
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such as premature valve failure, leaks and water flow failure. Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion Abnormal corrosion caused by MIC (Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion) is also a concern. MIC can be a huge problem for a building owner, manager and occupant. The corrosion is advanced by microorganisms that colonize in the piping, eat the piping from the inside and leave behind deposits that will obstruct water flow. Most of the time, MIC can be identified by frequent and sudden leaks in a fire sprinkler system. The leaks may be fairly new with smelly and discolored water. The inside of the pipe will show evidence of MIC deposits. MIC not only causes significant liability by inhibiting proper water flow in the fire sprinkler system, but it can also destroy a fire sprinkler system from the inside out. The good news is that it can be treated and controlled, or even stopped, with special chemicals designed to inhibit the organism. A professional needs to conduct the obstruction investigation by checking for obstructions and other evidence of MIC. If evidence of MIC is found, other simple chemical tests can be conducted at a reasonable cost to validate the evidence. Then a repair plan can be formulated. The cost of testing is far less than the potential repair costs. Josh Elder is R/S/I manager for Firetrol Protection Systems, Inc.’s Salt Lake City office. For more information visit: www.firetrol.net.
INSPIRAT ON to Create Optimal Results What do you need to know right now to ensure your properties are maximizing net operating income? Find out at the Every Building Conference & Expo — the go-to event for commercial real estate. More than 40 expert-led sessions offer key information and tactical strategies to help you drive asset values, engage and retain tenants, embed sustainability practices for maximum efficiency, cultivate new talent and so much more.
REGISTER TODAY! For complete information about the 2012 Conference, “Achieving High Performance through Innovation,” visit: www.EveryBuildingConference.org. OREGON FACILITIES | March/April 2012 23
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