Certified Green Buildings: Why and How

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Certified Green Buildings Why and How

• Kristin Heinemeier, Ph.D, P.E.
• Technical Director
• Brooks Energy and Sustainability Lab
• kristin-h_at_tamu.edu

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What is Sustainability?

• We are not inheriting this world from our
  parents, we are borrowing it from our children.
• Will we leave our children more than our parents
  left us?

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Impact of Buildings

• 1/3 of energy use, 2/3 of electricity
• 12 of fresh water supplies
• 88 of potable water supplies
• 40 of raw materials
• 1/3 of municipal solid waste
• 36 of anthropogenic CO2
• 46 of SO2, 19 of NOx
• 20 of US Economy
• Plus
• health effects on occupants
• manufacturing of bldg components, appliances,
  paper, computers,
• transportation to and from bldgs auto
  manufacturing, oil (foreign policy?), pollution,
  land use (streets, highways, parking lots, gas
  stations)

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• Manhattan Open Space

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What are bldg professionals to do?

• Question Are we part of the problem or part of
  the solution?
• Answer More and more, the latter.

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Bldg Sustainability Considerations

• Energy efficiency
• Water efficiency
• Indoor environmental quality
• Recycling
• Local or recycled building materials
• Construction processes
• Landscaping
• Transportation

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Costs and Financial Benefits

• Report to California Sustainable Building Task
  Force, 10/03
• Study of 33 Sustainable buildings
• about 4/sqft premium in cost, mostly due to
  increased A/E costs for integration
• Net Present Value significantly higher
• Energy 6/sqft
• Emissions 1/sqft
• OM 8/sqft
• Productivity and Health 37/sqft
• Cost Premium (4/sqft)
• Total NPV 49/sqft

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Need for a Rating System

• To assist in specifying sustainability
• To provide a guide for designing and assessing
  buildings
• To recognize those who build sustainable
  buildings
• To avoid greenwashing
• To educate building owners and the industry

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Leadership in Energy Environmental Design (LEED)

• Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (a
  non-profit coalition of individuals, businesses,
  and other organizations representing the building
  industry)
• Consensus-based Point System
• Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum
• Self-Assessing
• No LEED Police, no inspections
• High production-value documentation
• Some calculations, modeling, plans, certification

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LEED Family of Products

• New Construction and Major Renovation (v 2.1)
• Existing Buildings (pilot)
• Core and Shell (pilot)
• Commercial Interiors (pilot)
• Homes (in progress)
• Multiple Buildings (in progress)
• Lab Buildings (in progress)

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Status of LEED Rating System

• To date
• 126 Total Certified Projects
• 1534 Total Registered Projects
• 50 States with Projects
• 12 Countries with Projects
• 187,364,398 Gross Square Feet of Projects
• As of last October
• 51 certified
• 500 registered

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Status of LEED in Texas

• 5 certified
• 59 registered (6.6M sqft)

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Five Categories in the Rating

• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Water Efficiency
• Sustainable Sites
• Materials and Resources
• Energy and Atmosphere

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• Project Checklist

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Sustainable Sites

• Prerequisites
• Erosion Sedimentation Control
• Credits
• Site Selection
• Development Density
• Brownfield Redevelopment
• Alternative Transportation
• Reduced Site Disturbance
• Stormwater Management
• Heat Island Effect
• Light Pollution Reduction

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Water Efficiency

• Credits
• Water Efficient Landscaping
• Innovative Wastewater Technologies
• Water Use Reduction

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Materials Resources

• Prerequisites
• Storage Collection of Recyclables
• Credits
• Building Reuse
• Construction Waste Management
• Resource Reuse
• Recycled Content
• Local/Regional Materials
• Rapidly Renewable Materials
• Certified Wood

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Indoor Environmental Quality

• Prerequisites
• Minimum IAQ Performance
• Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Control
• Credits
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2 ) Monitoring
• Ventilation Effectiveness
• Construction IAQ Management Plan
• Low-Emitting Materials
• Indoor Chemical Pollutant Source Control
• Controllability of Systems
• Thermal Comfort
• Daylight Views

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Energy Atmosphere

• Prerequisites
• Fundamental Building Systems Commissioning
• Minimum Energy Performance
• CFC Reduction in HVACR Equipment
• Credits
• Optimize Energy Performance
• Renewable Energy
• Additional Commissioning
• Ozone Depletion
• Measurement Verification
• Green Power

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the Role of HVACR Professionals

• Energy and Atmosphere Credits
• Energy efficient design
• Certification of compliance with energy codes
  (ASHRAE Std. 90)
• Energy modeling
• Measurement and Verification
• Commissioning
• Refrigerants
• Renewable Energy
• Indoor Air
• CO2 Monitoring
• Ventilation Effectiveness
• Consulting, Research, Policy
• Education of Owners

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Local Organizations

• Metropolitan Partnership for Energy
• www.mp4e.info
• USGBC
• Meets irregularly
• www.usgbc.org/chapters/centraltexas
• Association of Energy Engineers
• Meets 4th Tuesday at lunch in San Marcos
• www.austinaee.org
• World Energy Engineering Congress in Austin, Sept
  22-24
• ASHRAE
• Meets 3rd Tuesday in San Antonio
• www.alamoashrae.com
• San Antonio Women Energy Associates
• Meets 1st Thursday at lunch in Alamo Heights
• www.beslab.org/SAWEA

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Resources

• www.usgbc.org
• www.aiatopten.org/hpb/
• www.buildinggreen.com/
• www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ highperformance/
• maven.gtri.gatech.edu/sfi/

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• Thank you!
• Questions?