Building Capacity

How do you optimize a forced-air system to maintain a green home? Alistair Jackson, LEED AP for Homes Rater Responds: Part 3: HEAT SOURCE & CONTROLS

If not installed or maintained properly, forced-air heating and cooling systems can perform poorly, creating air quality problems and unnecessary expense. To optimize a forced-air system, you need to design or refine it to prevent leaks and pressure imbalances, protect it properly during construction (or make sure the ductwork is clean and sound), and use the right filter.

The performance spec of the heat (or cooling) source is also important, but it is critical to address the distribution system first before investing in better furnace and air handler performance. This article is the THIRD of four focused on optimizing forced-air systems on the topics of Distribution, Filtration, Heat Source (and Controls), and Ventilation.

The most effective upgrades to the heat source in a forced air system are typically: 1) Improve the thermal envelope of the home; and 2) Seal and insulate the ductwork. Once those things are done, investments in improving the furnace or heat pump are likely to be returned to the homeowner rather than being lost. If you’ve dealt with those, then consider the following.

CONTROLS

The simplest way to improve performance of an existing system is to add a programmable thermostat, if it doesn’t already have one. EPA claims you can reduce energy consumption by 5% to 15% with a properly programmed thermostat. But there’s the rub. Just installing it doesn’t help; it has to be properly programmed. Make sure it’s set up and the homeowner knows how to use and reprogram it. Heat pumps need a heat pump thermostat. In cold climates, many say it doesn’t pay to set back the night time temperature with a heat pump system, because the system will switch to electric strip heat during the early morning warm up cycle. However, the better heat pump thermostats include algorithms in their programming to lock out or minimize the use of strip heat at such times, which can significantly reduce overall energy consumption.

Zoning can be an energy-saving upgrade. This can be achieved in a forced air system by including motorized dampers to control air flow to each zone, controlled by multiple thermostats connected to a system controller that operates the heat source and air-handler. Once again, it is important to have a reasonably air-tight, thermally efficient building envelope before you think about this upgrade, or it may lead to unanticipated comfort and control issues. Zoning can be difficult to retrofit depending on the duct design and accessibility. Since turning off a zone reduces the effective size of the system it can result in too much back pressure which may damage the air handler. For this reason, zoned systems generally use oversized ductwork, though there are other ways to address this.

HEAT SOURCES

What if it is in the budget to think about upgrading the heat source? I’m only going to address a few big picture issues here, since this is a huge topic with a lot of great resources available on the web and elsewhere.

First - Make sure the person who designs the HVAC system does a proper room-by-room load calculation, using a reputable tool (ask for ACCA Manual J or equivalent) the actual design specs for the home (floor, wall and ceiling insulation values, glazing area and u-factors, envelope infiltration rates). This way, the heat source will be properly sized for the house and sufficient heat will be delivered to each room. If the loads are significantly different from the original system design, the ductwork may also be oversized and may require some redesign, too.

Second – If you have the option, locate the heat source and all the distribution ductwork inside the conditioned space, eliminating almost all the heat loss to the outside. This can be challenging in smaller homes or retrofit situations, but it can be done. If you are retaining the existing ductwork, this likely means relocating the thermal and pressure envelope to enclose the mechanical space and should only be done if you are using a closed combustion appliance.

Third - Consider a multi-stage heat source (gas furnace or high-efficiency electric heat pump). Since a heating system is designed to provide enough heat to keep the home comfortable on the coldest day of the year, it spends most of the heating season running at less than full capacity, which is generally less efficient. In a combustion system (furnace), this means the burner/gas valve has more than one heating level, so it can modulate how much gas is burned according to the amount of heat that is needed. A dual stage furnace might have a peak capacity of 60 kBTUh and a first-stage capacity of 30kBTUh. In a house with a peak heating load (the heat required to keep the inside of the house comfortable on the theoretical coldest day of the year) of 24 kBTUh (not uncommon for a typical, quality-built 3- or 4 bedroom house), such a furnace might NEVER use the full 60 kBTUh capacity.

In a heat-pump system, performance depends on the outdoor compressor unit’s ability to extract heat from the outside air – the colder the outside air, the harder it is to get heat from it. So on the cold days when more heat is needed inside, there is less heat available outside. In older heat pump systems, this situation triggers the “Emergency Heat” source, electric resistance heat strips in the heat exchanger. This is expensive and inefficient. There are a few cold climate forced air heat pumps that use multiple, staged compressors to address this. They seem to perform well but availability and technical support is currently limited and these systems do need specialist attention. To address this, some HVAC installers recommend hybrid systems with a heat pump AND a combustion furnace – the furnace replaces the electric emergency heat with a more efficient gas combustion supply. This is more efficient, but it adds a lot of cost and equipment up front.

The latest in heat pump technology features multi-stage or variable speed compressors. With this technology, heat pumps can deliver satisfactory heating performance even at outdoor temperatures well below freezing. The heat-extracting capacity of the outdoor units is matched to the outdoor temperature and the need for heat indoors, so that the system runs at its most efficient whatever the conditions. 

While this technology is commonly available in Ductless Mini-split heat pumps, which are a great solution for smaller homes with small heating and cooling loads (typically less than 1-ton per unit), it is not available in ducted forced air systems – at least not yet. In a smaller home with a thermally efficient envelope, however, abandoning the forced air system altogether and installing one or two ductless mini-split heat pumps may yield great, energy efficient and comfortable results. But that’s for another column.(Just to whet your appetite, we understand that several mini-split heat pumps, most notably the Fujitsu Halcyon system pictured in the photo, perform quite well in our Northwest climate).  We are waiting with baited breath to get the results from a two-winter study of heat pump technology being conducted by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance.  For a great overview of heat pumps, check out Green Building Advisor.

Fourth – Use a variable speed fan. The air handler – the fan that moves air around the building – provides another opportunity to improve performance. Most air handler fans are single-speed units – they blow at the same speed whenever they are switched on, using the same amount of electricity. Variable speed fans (which typically use Variable Frequency Drives or VFDs, or Electrically Commutated Motors or ECMs) are an optional upgrade, often standard in higher-efficiency furnace packages. When a house is at a steady temperature, it takes relatively little heated air to keep it comfortable. A variable speed fan will run at a much lower speed in these conditions – reducing energy consumption and noise. (See my fourth and last installment of this series on Ventilation, next week).

FUEL TYPE

Climate – In moderate heating climates, where it rarely stays much below freezing, and in cooling dominated climates, electric air-to-air heat pumps are a good choice. In cold climates, a combustion-based heat source is generally preferred - natural gas if it is available, propane or fuel oil if it is not. But be aware that oil and propane prices fluctuate significantly with supply and demand, sometimes making them more expensive than electricity in the heating season. If gas is not available, and the budget allows, it might be worth considering a ground-source heat pump. Very high efficiencies are achievable but unless you are dealing with large heating and/or cooling loads, the simple payback on such a system will be very long. Other benefits, such as quietness and reduced carbon footprint may be important to the homeowner (see fuel source).

Fuel Source - If your homeowner is concerned about carbon emissions and your electricity comes from gas, oil or coal, an electric-based heating system is probably not the greenest choice. Because of distribution inefficiencies in the electricity grid, you get less than half the energy value of the source fuel delivered to your house as electricity. Better to burn that fuel in a high efficiency appliance in the house and get 90%+ of the fuel value. A heat pump is much more efficient than electric resistance heating, but only the most efficient air-to-air heat pumps for forced air systems offer enough efficiency to offset the grid energy losses (look for HSPF of 9.5 and above, or a COP of 2.5 or better). In the Pacific Northwest, we are less carbon-dependent because of the large portion of hydroelectric power in our grid energy. Also, in the area west of the Cascades and Coast Ranges, we have mild climates, making heat pumps a great choice. In all cases, if you choose an electric system, consider a green power purchase to effectively neutralize those carbon emissions

Alistair Jackson, LEED AP, CSBA is Principal in Charge of O’Brien & Company’s Residential Technical Services, and is a LEED for Homes Rater, LEED for Homes Faculty, Energy Star Verifier and Performance Tester, ARSCA Accredited Professional, and Built Green Verifier. He is a regular contributor to the Building Capacity Blog, and was a major contributor to the Northwest Green Home Primer on the subject of home operating systems and the energy picture. He is a regular

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How do you optimize a forced-air system to maintain a green home? Alistair Jackson, LEED AP for Homes Responds: Part 2: FILTRATION

If not installed or maintained properly, forced-air heating and cooling systems can perform poorly, creating air quality problems and unnecessary expense. To optimize a forced-air system, you need to design or refine it to prevent leaks and pressure imbalances, protect it properly during construction (or make sure the ductwork is clean and sound), and use the right filter.

The performance spec of the heat (or cooling) source is also important, but it is critical to address the distribution system first before investing in better furnace and air handler performance. This article is the SECOND of four focused on optimizing forced-air systems on the topics of Distribution, Filtration, Heat Source, and Ventilation.

Some are inclined to believe that forced air systems are more of a cause of air quality problems than a solution. However, one of the advantages they offer is the ability to continuously filter the re-circulating indoor air as well as the outside ventilation air (in a central fan integrated system). While filtration shouldn’t replace efforts to reduce source contaminants, this can be a real bonus to homeowners who have pets (including small children :), live in areas with a lot of particulates in the outside air or have a need for highly-filtered indoor air.

Filters in forced air systems are generally (and preferably) located in the return trunk immediately upstream of the air handler, though sometimes they are located at central return grilles. An important consideration here is accessibility – filters must be cleaned or changed according to manufacturers’ instructions to maintain performance and minimize wear and tear on the equipment. So they should be easily accessible to the homeowner and the access door should be air-sealed in such a way that it will reseal easily and effectively, even after it’s been opened multiple times.

If the air handler is in a garage or mechanical closet, that’s probably a good place for the filter, but if it is in an attic, crawl space or other location that’s hard to reach installing high-efficiency 1-inch filters at the central return grilles might increase the likelihood they’ll get changed regularly. Clogged filters will reduce the air flow through the system, affecting comfort and energy efficiency and potentially increasing wear and tear on the system.

Use the highest efficiency filter appropriate for the system, preferably a filter with a MERV rating of 10 or higher. MERV, or Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, is a simplified expression of the effectiveness of a filter at removing particles of different sizes from the air stream flowing through it. What you need to know is that MERV is a scale from 1 to 16, that 10 and above are considered to be high-efficiency, and that the non-woven, fiberglass filter that was supplied with your furnace (and may still be in there . . .) probably wouldn’t even get a MERV of 1! (Such filters are installed to protect the air handler from large dirty objects, not your respiratory system from small ones.) If you want more details on what MERV is really all about, visit the National Air Filtration Association website.

If you are upgrading the filter in an existing system, bear in mind that for a given surface area of filter, the higher the MERV rating, the greater the pressure drop across it. One inch filters above MERV 11 may cause sufficient pressure drop to significantly affect the performance of an existing system. If you are upgrading the air handler, the fan/blower spec can be altered to accommodate this, but if you’re adding more efficient filtration to an existing air handler it may be worth increasing the surface area of the filter. This typically means switching to a thicker, pleated filter (perhaps 3” or 4”) which may create an installation challenge in the existing sheet metal. However, if the upgrade also includes full duct sealing and insulation, the reduced losses in the system may offset the reduced flow from a moderate improvement in filter performance. Measuring the pressure drop across the filter and in various parts of the system will provide useful data to support good design decisions. Add a manometer (such as the JMW digital manometer pictured above,  and the know-how to use it to your toolbox, or find an HVAC balancing contractor or home energy specialist to assist you.

Make sure the homeowner understands the maintenance requirements of medium- or high-efficiency filters, the benefit of fulfilling those requirements, and the downside of not doing so. The photo to the left shows two filters, one new and one with just a few months of wear that is quite clogged.

Filters with the lowest first cost, such as one-inch (1”) pleated media, require regular replacement (four times per year), amounting to considerable cost over time. Four-inch pleated media filters are now commonly available. Though they cost more individually, they generally require less frequent replacement (so have a lower lifecycle cost) and cause less pressure drop than a 1” filter of similar cross-sectional area. For systems in big homes that move large volumes of air, high efficiency bag-type filters (some of which are washable) may be a worthwhile consideration.

Although electrostatic air filters enjoy a PR buzz, green designers generally don’t recommend them. To maintain their performance, they should be cleaned as often as once or twice per month, and most homeowners are not willing to keep that schedule up. When they’re dirty, their filtration performance drops dramatically, and they may generate and introduce ozone—a significant respiratory irritant—into indoor air stream.

Next week we’ll be looking at heat sources in a little more detail.

Diagnostic HVAC Resources: To find a qualified Home Performance Testing contractor, check out websites for Building Performance Institute (BPI) or RESNET. If you are located in Washington see Home Performance Washington or Northwest Energy Star. To locate a Balancing Contractor, see National Comfort Institute Certified Contractors.

Alistair Jackson, LEED AP, CSBA is Principal in Charge of O’Brien & Company’s Residential Technical Services, and is a LEED for Homes Rater, LEED for Homes Faculty, Energy Star Verifier and Performance Tester, ARSCA Accredited Professional, and Built Green Verifier. Alistair was also a major contributor to the Northwest Green Home Primer where much of the information for this article originally appeared. It has been expanded upon for this publication.

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How do you optimize a forced-air system to maintain a green home? Alistair Jackson, LEED AP for Homes Responds: Part I: Distribution

If not installed or maintained properly, forced-air heating and cooling systems can perform poorly, creating air quality problems and unnecessary expense. To optimize a forced-air system, you need to design or refine it to prevent leaks and pressure imbalances, protect it properly during construction (or make sure the ductwork is clean and sound), and use the right filter.

The performance spec of the heat (or cooling) source is also important, but it is critical to address the distribution system first before investing in better furnace and air handler performance. This article is the first of four focused on optimizing forced-air systems on the topics of Distribution, Filtration, Heat/Cooling Source, and Ventilation.

Leaks in the distribution system – the ductwork – can quickly undermine the efficiency of a forced air heating system. Ideally, the ductwork should be air tight and well-insulated. A “duct blaster” test, performed by a qualified technician, is the best way to find out how leaky the ducts are. In new construction, a “total leakage” test can be done at rough-in when all the ductwork is still accessible to measure tightness. If needed, theatrical smoke blown into the ducts can help identify leaks to facilitate sealing. If the ductwork is already hidden, a “leakage to exterior” test will identify how much heated air is leaking outside the building envelope. These are the most important leaks to fix since they represent wasted heat. A qualified home performance contractor (see resources below) can perform these tests, explain what the performance targets are for the home and how the system is actually performing. As a rough guide, the Northwest Energy Star target for new construction – a good benchmark for any home - is 6cfm@50 pascals per 100 sqft of conditioned floor area.

In an existing forced-air system, it can be very difficult and time consuming to access all the ductwork to fix leaks. In addition, old ductwork may be full of dust and other contaminants. These factors might lead you to consider replacing the whole duct system – an often overwhelming proposition with ducts buried in the building structure. There is an alternative: First, replace the accessible parts of the system, often located in unconditioned crawl or attic spaces, where in many homes up to 30% of the heat loss occurs. Second, strategically block and air-seal where ducts penetrate the building envelope and disappear out of sight, thereby ensuring they are enclosed in the building envelope. This can be confirmed with blower door and duct blaster to perform the “leakage to exterior” test mentioned above. (NOTE: If unlined building cavities are used as ducts, these must be lined or ducted)

If the thermal performance of the building envelope is significantly improved through weatherization and/or remodeling, this will affect the whole system.  Reduced heat loss/gain will result in smaller heating and cooling loads.  So a smaller furnace/heat-pump will keep the house comfortable.  Smaller volumes of air can be delivered efficiently through smaller ducts. We will discuss this further in the heating/cooling source article coming up (number 3 of this series).

A qualified technician or HVAC contractor should perform a “Room by Room” load calculation (ACCA Manual J or equivalent) and a duct system design calculation (ACCA Manual D or equivalent). This will show if your existing duct system is appropriately sized for your heating and/or cooling loads – and will inform the design/sizing of a new or replacement system.

You should also consider the path of air from the supply registers to the returns. Obstructions to free airflow along this path, such as closed bedroom doors, will cause pressurization of the bedrooms and depressurization of the core of the house where the return registers are located. These pressure imbalances can cause:

• Reduced supply air flow which may make the room uncomfortable;
• Increased leakage from supply ducts, wasting energy; and
• Most importantly, the risk of back drafting of naturally-ventilated gas- or oil-fired combustion appliances, as well as wood-burning stoves and fireplaces located in the core of the house. The negative pressure sucks flue gases into the living space instead of letting them exhaust to the outside—not a good situation. As a rule, combustion appliances installed inside conditioned space should be power-vented or, ideally, closed combustion.

Pressure imbalances can also cause poor-quality air to be drawn into the house from attics and crawl spaces or force warm, moisture-laden indoor air through leaks into wall cavities, where it may condense against the cooler surface exposed to the outside and cause serious moisture problems. You can mitigate small imbalances by installing return ducts in each bedroom, by installing transfer grills (a small duct often installed above a door connecting it to the next room or hallway) or jumper ducts (a duct that runs over the top of a partition wall, bypassing a bedroom door, for example), or by undercutting doors to allow some air to pass from room to room or to return ducts in each bedroom. A rule of thumb for sizing is one square inch of opening for each CFM of air supplied to the area “behind” the door.

During construction, don’t forget to protect the system from particulate pollutants by sealing supply and return registers and not storing ducts in the construction area before installation. Periodically inspect and clean registers and ducts if necessary.

Performance Testing Resources: To find a qualified Home Performance Testing contractor, check out websites for Building Performance Institute (BPI) or RESNET. If you are located in Washington see Home Performance Washington or Northwest Energy Star.

Alistair Jackson, LEED AP, CSBA is Principal in Charge of O’Brien & Company’s Residential Technical Services, and is a LEED for Homes Rater & Faculty, Energy Star Verifier and Performance Tester,  ARCSA Accredited Professional, and Built Green Verifier. Alistair was also a major contributor to the Northwest Green Home Primer where much of the information for this article originally appeared. It has been expanded upon for this publication.

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Type of Construction for Passive House System
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To what type of construction does the Passive House system apply? James Jenkins, Certified Passive House Consultant replies.

It is a common misconception in the US that the Standard is only for single family residences.  Passive House is applicable to any building type, new or retrofit. The name “Passive House” originates from the German standard PassivHaus. The German word “Haus” directly translates to “building”. For example, “Haus” can be used to describe a house, factory or any other building. The US is no different, we recognize The Waffle House as a restaurant given the context. The principles that PassivHaus is based upon originate from the super insulated and passive solar housing movement in the US many decades ago. This historical context likely ties passive principles to housing in the US just as waffle implies restaurant. “Passive Conditioned Building” might be a more accurate title but it just doesn’t roll off the tongue.

 The early adopters of Passive House here in the US are primarily applying it to custom single family residences. However, with larger glazing areas, more internal heat gains and potentially more solar heat gain, non-residential buildings have the opportunity to achieve the Standards’ requirements with lower first cost premiums than residential construction. Passive Conditioned Buildings can significantly reduce operational costs for the lifetime of a building without increased maintenance, something any building owner can appreciate regardless of occupancy type.

 

James Jenkins, LEED AP BD&C, and Homes, CSBA and Certified Passive House Consultant, acts as Project Manager at O'Brien & Company, a green building consultancy founded in 1991. His work portfolio at the firm includes consulting on all types of sustainable structures, both non-residential and residential structures. Also see James' previous posting entitled "Isn't Passive House a Bit of Overkill?" (It isn't, James explains why.)

Mechanical Systems and Fuel Choices for the Warming World
"Extreme" Collaboration: Crossing Boundaries to Achieve Sustainable Goals
Tips for Optimizing Forced-Air Heating and Cooling Systems Part 1
Creating Effective Energy Efficiency & Conservation Strategies Part 1
Sweet Sustainability on the Ancient St. James Way

 

Visionary Built Green Program: Santa Barbara's Gateway for Green Building. Interview with Executive Director Karin Perissinotto

Editor: O’Brien & Company has had the privilege of working with the Santa Barbara Contractors Association since 2004 to develop and provide strategic support for your Built Green certification program. Can you share with our readers what you were hoping to accomplish with Built Green? KARIN: Our vision when we began Built Green was to become a “gateway” for environmentally sound design, construction, and development practices in Santa Barbara and nearby communities. We feel strongly that we have achieved this vision. Over 100 projects have been certified in our program to date – mostly remodels, since our primary focus at first was in the City of Santa Barbara, which is pretty built out. With our expansion out into the County, we expect a big spike in certifications for new construction. Most of the 400 homes destroyed by the Montecito Fire are being reconstructed as Built Green.

In addition to getting green buildings on the ground, our program has been a magnet for individuals and organizations active in the green building scene or interested in being so. In addition to attracting more contractors, our membership has become more diverse, with designers, suppliers, and non-profits. We have solar companies, greywater and rainwater system suppliers, energy raters, green material suppliers on board now. As a result, we are a much better resource to the community, as well as to our members. And we’ve doubled our membership, so we are more stable, even in this economic downturn.

What are you especially proud of? Well, I’m proud that as an organization we recognized our role in creating the built environment (for good or bad) and decided to put our money where our mouth is. A few of us heard Ed Mazria speak on Architecture 2030 and we took the message back to our membership. We decided to be leaders in our community, rather than reactors.

One thing that is unique among green building program development is that your association kicked off the effort with a fairly large financial commitment from its own general fund. That’s unique? Well it just seemed like we should do it. Besides getting the connection between what we build and the impact on the environment, we felt we would be the best ones to identify how to do it better. We also understood that regulators were going to get involved. We wanted to be at the table for those discussions.

How do you think having Built Green has changed those discussions? In a couple of very important ways. First, we’ve been able to offer a voluntary option in the market that is credible. Builders know what can actually be built. Our Built Green Program is recognized and respected by local jurisdictions (our entire checklist is available on the City of Santa Barbara's website) and is actually being used by them to “spur” green building and raise the bar. We’re not very interested in just adhering to minimal green building codes. We want to do better. Second, we’ve been able to change the focus of green building in our area from a “boutique” high-end industry to something that’s deliverable and attainable for all. At the end of the day, if only a wealthy few can afford green building, we really haven’t solved the problem.

You use the word “credible” to describe your program. Critics of industry-based voluntary green building programs may question that. We get that. We are lucky in that we have a very dedicated and innovative leadership AND we have our eyes and ears open to possible green-washing. Builders tend (and need) to do what works, what's sellable, but green building practices and materials are evolving. What I thought was green five years ago isn’t really green today. We need a critical eye to determine if we are still delivering what people need. One of the ways we maintain that critical eye is by having a commitment to listening and learning from a broad base of people, both the green building skeptics and the environmentalists. Our Advisory Council helps us keep on track. We also work alongside organizations that we’ve noticed in other areas tend to compete with programs like ours. For example, we have a very close relationship with the California Central Coast Chapter (C4) of the U.S. Green Building Council Chapter. We're actually  invited to testify at the City's Council meetings on all things green building. This is a good thing.

Last year you were able to create your own Built Green Resource Center by remodeling a historic building. How did you manage that? It was a bit of magic, mixed with old-fashioned sweat. We were looking at having our own office, and fell into this opportunity to work with the Santa Barbara Trust for Preservation to remodel a building owned by the California State Park System (in the Santa Barbara Presidio). It was in pretty poor condition, and now it really is a “jewel” with green features. We were able to get permission to put solar on the roof – no small feat in Santa Barbara. Besides creating a legacy in the community, this project proves that green building isn’t just about brand new, modern buildings.

So surely the Resource Center is a big part of achieving your vision? Yes, the building is our gateway, serving as center of education, inspiration, and action. The building’s product exhibits and green features, along with the green building classes we’ve held there, contribute exponentially to the community’s awareness as well as to our industry’s knowledge base. We’ve hosted over 100 classes this past year; along with basic business-management programs, we’ve run classes on weatherization, the building envelope, greywater systems and the like. Students from local schools visit the Center and conduct learning projects. This past year we had a high school class crunching data for us on energy and water usage, and a middle school comparing CFLs vs. Incandescent energy consumption. It’s pretty exciting. One thing we’ve noticed too, with the downturn, is that having centralized resources and information helps businesses on a shoe-string. They don’t necessarily have the resources to do the research on green building materials themselves. So they can come and touch and sniff.

Meanwhile, green building organizations, such as C4 and the Architecture 2030 Committee use our classroom for meetings. This is very different. From being a contractor-centric organization, we have turned outward to become a community resource.

What's next on the agenda? We’d like to ramp up our educational program even further. We met with our Advisory Council this past July and one of things we identified in that meeting was the opportunity to do hands-on training and training in specific green building skills. We also looked at developing green job opportunities, so perhaps connecting skills-based training of un- or under-employed individuals to job placement with members.

Anything else? We also want to continue our work to raise the bar for green building standards, by working with our jurisdictions to avoid focusing on code minimums and keep the focus on incentivizing more rigorous practice. To do this we’re going to have to provide some cost-benefit numbers, so we’re looking at that, as well as providing exemplary examples. We proved that Built Green works on an historic remodel. We’d like to look at other applications – perhaps affordable housing.

What would you say to other groups hoping to do similar work? Get the right people in the room, not just the choir. You need to hear from all angles to be an effective community resource. Also, hire professionals that don’t just tell you what you already know or what they think you want to hear. A good consultant should provide a critical eye, sees both sides, and is not afraid to say how it is. Like you (laughing). (Editor's Note: Thanks!) The other thing is to actually take the time to celebrate your successes. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize when you’ve done something monumental, because you get caught up in getting it done. If you're like us, we're "doers." But we learned we had to get better at telling our story.

Karin Perissinotto is the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Contractor's Association (SBCA), and the President of the Board of Directors for Built Green Santa Barbara, a 501(c)3 founded in 2004 by the SBCA. This interview was conducted by Kathleen O'Brien, Editor of the Building Capacity Blog and President and Founder of O'Brien & Company. Santa Barbara is one of over a dozen Built Green programs the firm has helped develop or provided assistance to.

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Vulcan's Sustainable Real Estate Initiatives Have Deep Roots: Interview with Lori Mason Curran and Brandon Morgan

O'Brien & Company has had the privilege of working with Vulcan Real Estate (for nearly a decade on LEED  building projects in the South Lake Union District, as well as providing organizational support of various kinds.) Lori Mason Curran, Real Estate Investment Strategy Director and Brandon Morgan, Real Estate Development Manager, talked by phone with me recently to discuss the development company's leadership role in the region and how they got to where they are today.

EDITOR: Would you characterize Vulcan's leadership trajectory as cautious at first, gaining traction with each success? Brandon: Actually no. In some ways, the opposite is true. We started out of the gate in 2001 with a commitment to sustainability, way before we had any empirical data, and way before green building had taken hold in commercial real estate. In a way we were acting on faith that it was the right thing to do not only environmentally but financially. Now that we have that data, and the market has shifted to embrace green building, what we are doing seems less risky. The challenge these days is reaching further and further, and trying to achieve higher building performance and remain innovative in our approach. Lori: I would agree. From the beginning we embraced the concept of the triple bottom line; but now we have actual performance we can point to, both in terms of environmental benefit and return on investment.

So the triple bottom line was an underlying development strategy for Vulcan from the beginning? Lori: Always. I think it’s important to know that Vulcan’s real estate division was charged with making money to support our company’s other initiatives and philanthropies -- so we couldn't just accept a lower return on investment than made sense. Our real estate investments had to be financially feasible, good for the community, and good for the environment. There were times when we chose to invest more upfront to get that return.

How much more? Brandon: Recent studies have shown that a building with enough sustainable features to achieve LEED Certified or LEED Silver does not have an appreciable up-front cost premium at all. Based on our own building experience, we concur with those findings. To achieve LEED Gold, it only requires about a 3% cost premium. The key, however, is to decide on what you are going to commit to include in your project, early in project design. Changing it just before or during construction is almost always going to result in a cost premium.

So are you wedded to the LEED standard? Lori: Well we have used the standard for most of our buildings. LEED is now widely recognized in the market. It's in the vocabulary of developers, lenders, and now, even our tenants. So it's a great tool. In a few cases, where we didn't certify, we still felt it was important to incorporate sustainable features in the project -- and we were able to do so.

How are your LEED buildings performing? We're very happy with our buildings. We're especially proud of the office building at Alley 24. Out of a possible score of 100 using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM) it scores a 98. It actually met the Architecture 2030 Challenge in 2008 -- which is interesting because 2030 wasn't even on the horizon when we were planning that project. Which tells you something about how we've approached our development. We've really been blazing trails with each project. For example, Seattle Biomedical was the first LEED Core & Shell pilot project to receive certification in the country, the first LEED Certified laboratory building in Seattle, and the first LEED Certified speculative building in the state. Our Alcyone project was the first market-rate multi-family project to be LEED Certified in Washington. Our Rosetta Building  was the first LEED EB 2.0 certification in Washington, and the first bio-tech project in the state to achieve LEED EB certification.

And I understand that more recently you've been mining LEED Gold? Lori, laughing: Yes, we're saying Gold is the new Silver! Our Westlake Terry and 2201 Westlake projects both achieved LEED Gold, the first Gold projects in Seattle in their project types (private new construction for the first and multi-unit construction for the second). We are also aiming for Gold on seven of the 11 buildings we're developing for Amazon.

Besides making that strong early commitment to sustainability, what else do you think contributed to this success? Brandon: A very important contributor has been having the right people on board. We have great leadership in Ada Healey, and project staff who "drank the Kool-Aid” of sustainability long ago. So we're all on the same page as far as the mission is concerned. And then it's been important to get everyone educated and experienced in sustainable principles. We don't think it works well to have a single "green guy" in which all the knowledge resides, but rather to have a team with a broad base of knowledge in a collaborative environment. Most of our development managers are trained either through direct project experience or with LEED accreditation. So we have a very strong, knowledgeable and committed team. We also continue to bring in outside consultants for special knowledge and to help us think outside of the box – which is really important to us.

It's great that in-house education is something Vulcan is willing to invest in. But I'm especially impressed that Vulcan has always been willing to help educate the larger industry. Brandon: It's something we're proud of. We started doing this right from the beginning, with the Seattle Biomedical project. With that project we submitted the actual numbers for the cost of LEED features as part of our submittal for LEED certification (and earned an innovation credit for doing so). Around the same time, we also sponsored development of the Resource Guide for Sustainable Development in an Urban Development , a case study based on our South Lake Union properties and prepared by the Urban Environmental Institute. We continue to participate in educational forums, publish articles, and unique projects that demonstrate key features of sustainability, such as the Swale on Yale  where we are collaborating with Seattle Public Utilities. Lori's is working with the Appraisal Institute to put together an accreditation course on green valuation.

With all this leadership, Vulcan now has earned a great deal of "cred" in the field of sustainable real estate development. How do you plan on capitalizing on that as you go forward? Brandon: By doing what we've been doing all along, because it works. We will continue to invest in building sustainable "firsts" that make sense. Right now we're looking at participating in the LEED for Homes Pilot for mid-rise (multi-family) program on our next residential project. We will continue to invest in education -- internally and for the larger community. And we will continue to participate in forward-thinking discussions of ideas that will contribute to sustainable solutions. Currently we are participating with like-minded developers, managers, designers, consultants, and city officials in a think tank focused on outlining a voluntary program for high energy efficiency in the Seattle urban core for new and existing buildings. The goal would be high energy efficiency at the district or neighborhood level.

So your opinion is being sought out? Yes, and we are grateful for that. It gives us the opportunity to share what we we've learned, and to continue learning ourselves.

Vulcan Real Estate manages a diverse development portfolio including nearly 60 acres in Seattle's South Lake Union district. This interview was conducted by Kathleen O'Brien, President of O'Brien & Company, a nationally recognized sustainable building consultancy,and Editor of Building Capacity Blog. Photo of Alley 24 by Lara Swimmer Photography.

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LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance's Energy Threshold: What does it take to get through the door? Kelly Kirkland, LEED AP O+M, Responds

A prospective client asks: Is it possible for our building to get LEED-EB certified? Although we'd love to get the rating, we're not sure if we'll meet the minimum energy efficiency standard to make the effort worthwhile. How do we find out before we get too far down the road?

KELLY: That's a great question, and you're not alone in wondering about this, because in truth it can be a little complicated.

But first, for our readers who aren’t familiar with LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB), or the Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM), which is the benchmarking tool required by LEED-EB, here is a quick overview:

The LEED-EB rating system recognizes buildings for their ongoing high performance in sustainable operations and maintenance. This rating system relies on another tool, Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM), which was developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It’s currently the best available national benchmark for building energy performance. It is built on a baseline of data collected from the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) which includes a wide variety of buildings, from old to new, and leaky to tight.

One of the key prerequisites of LEED-EB is proving that your building’s energy performance is, to paraphrase, “better than average”. You can use ESPM to compare your building’s energy use with similar buildings. This tool assigns a score (a rating on a scale of 1 to 100). A score of 69 or higher means the building has met one of the eligibility requirements for LEED-EB certification. Simple, right?

The reason it gets confusing is that not all buildings are eligible for a score from ESPM. The basic eligibility requirements are clearly stated on the ESPM web site.

However, there are sometimes complications. For example, some space types have their own additional set of requirements. And sometimes, when combined, the requirements don’t quite work for buildings that otherwise seem eligible. For example, two basic requirements are

1. meeting the minimum square footage (usually 5000 sq ft)
2. having building space types for which there is data to compare to

But if you have a building that is 10,000 square feet, half hotel (5000 sq ft) and half office (5000 sq ft), you won’t be eligible for a score because neither portion takes up more than 50% of the total square footage.

The good news is, even if you’re not eligible for a score on a scale of 1 to 100, you should still be able to use ESPM to get certified under LEED-EB. The LEED rating system has a calculator that allows you to plug in data points generated by ESPM, specifically your “weather-normalized source energy intensity”. Plugging this number into the calculator allows you to determine whether you are “better than average” or not.

There are other options for complying, too. You can do your own detailed analysis of your historical energy use (normalizing the baseline for occupancy changes and weather), or you can do that plus collect data from other comparable facilities. This can take a lot of time and, because these methods are not as reliable, you may find that there are fewer points available.

My best advice is to just give ESPM a try—especially since, starting in 2011, it’ll be required reporting in Washington State for buildings larger than fifty thousand square feet. Enter your space types, energy use, occupancy and other data as accurately as you can. If you don’t see a rating in the upper right, click on the “NA” and you’ll get a custom message that explains why. If the answer is that you are not eligible for a rating, then get your “weather-normalized source energy intensity” from ESPM and use the LEED-EB calculator to get your adjusted benchmark.

Kelly Kirkland, LEED AP O+M and CSBA is a Project Associate at O'Brien & Company and provides technical assistance to the firm’s clients seeking LEED-EB: O&M certification. The firm also provides a LEED-EB: O&M "Lite Bite" to help you get up you get up to speed on the ways you can use this standard to your advantage

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Interview with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/ Coast Guard’s Captain John Hickey

U.S. Coast Guard Leader Builds Sustainable Foundation: Interview with Captain John Hickey

EDITOR: We recently toured the Oahu Sand Island Base where you’ve been Base Commander until recently. We were pretty impressed with the savings you’ve been able to accomplish. What got you started? CAPTAIN HICKEY: I started my Command there in 2007. There were already several mandates in place focused on sustainability – the Energy Policy Act (2005), Executive Order 13423, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. At the same time the base had seen some action with an Energy Savings Performance Contract, but it left a lot to be done. I felt it was important as the Commanding Officer of the biggest facility in the Pacific to get something going in-house.

And what was that “something?” We enrolled in Hawaiian Electric Company's Demand Response Program "Energy Scout". (Demand Response Programs, or load control programs are not unique to Hawaii; Captain Hickey has enrolled other CG facilities in such programs in California, Baltimore,  Boston, New Jersey, and Virginia.) With the connected load of our ships, we had more than 1 megawatt of curtailable load that we could disconnect if the grid was in trouble. Our incentive for this participation was over $100,000 a year. We used this money to train our crews in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Then we let them go to work looking for ways for the base to save energy.

What did you find?We found lots of opportunities. For example, by de-lamping and re-lamping exterior fixtures, we reduced our consumption for exterior lighting by 80%. We looked for less obvious things to do as well. We found that in some of our vending machines we were spending $4 on energy for every soda we sold! Easy enough, we got rid of the vending machines. We also began promoting commuting by bike (see bike rack in photo), that helps with reducing our carbon footprint, as well as with the weight issue. Furthermore, we improved our HVAC controls and installed several solar domestic hot water systems.

So you were able to really leverage that $100,000 HECO Incentive.Yes, we needed to be creative with our resources, and we certainly made a lot of headway with the HECO money. We also used interns from the University of Hawaii for some of our analysis. One resource we’ve been taking advantage across the board are the National Laboratories. NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), for example, is doing some high performance building training and energy auditing for us; PNNL (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory , is helping us with a REM and coordinating with BPA (Bonneville Power Authority); LBL (Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory) is helping us with our data centers; Oak Ridge National Lab is assisting with compressed air systems, and so forth.

What other opportunities for sustainability have you explored?Well I got my start in the Northeast when the Coast Guard “solar-ized” all our offshore lighthouses. And I’m happy to report that the crew in Hawaii is continuing to take leadership in this regard. Now that I’m stationed in Seattle, I’m focused on how we can maximize sustainability in our projects in the Northwest. As you know, we’re pursuing LEED for Existing Buildings Certification on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Seattle Shore Ops building (see photo). That’s an interesting project, because we have a complicated situation there, both in terms of hours of operation and HVAC equipment, making it a challenge to get the crew up to speed. Turnover is an issue, too. We had someone trained and then they were mobilized to Afghanistan. Frankly, my preference is to use passive, less complicated designs as much as possible; it will make training easier, and won’t matter so much if we have turnover.

What do you think of LEED EB?Actually I like using LEED EB, because it’s a way to get everyone on board. For me, it isn’t just about new construction of green buildings or maintenance of an existing building. It’s about general operations too – for example, environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP), solid waste management, alternative transportation. To use a maritime term, LEED EB makes it an “all hands on deck” situation. LEED EB isn’t difficult; we just have to do it.

What’s next?We’re working on a few things. There’s a pilot program for our training campus in Petaluma starting up later this year that’s going to help us transition from individual buildings to volume LEED-EB certification. I’m very interested in a “fence to fence” approach. And with new construction, we need to focus on getting as many energy points we can get. A LEED Silver rating is the goal, but in some projects there hasn’t been adequate attention to how it’s achieved. We’ll be looking at improving our RFP process so we get what we need.

Are you optimistic?I believe that a lot of our people want to take a sustainable approach; the Coast Guard attracts people who want to do the right thing, and marine environmental protection is a core mission for our organization. We just need to provide the right leadership, opportunity, and power to take the action – and a little creative support, like we did with the HECO incentive and UH Interns. I actually think the bar is set a bit low. We can do this, and it’s more than a nice thing to do. It’s urgent. Our national security depends on energy efficiency and a solid economic base. Sustainability will get us there.

Captain John Hickey, PE is an officer in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Coast Guard, recently transferred from the Oahu Sand Island Base to Seattle. Kelly Kirkland of O’Brien & Companyis managing the LEED-EB: O&M certification of the Shore Operations building in partnership with ECH Architectureand USCG Energy Manager Bob Mallahan.

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