Community Energy Opportunity Finder : Commercial Energy Efficiency

Energy efficient new building construction can achieve the most cost savings — on average 30 percent of total building energy use — through integrated design — that is, considering a number of energy efficiency measures as part of a whole system of building improvements, and accounting for their positive, additive effects. For example, if heating and cooling loads are kept low through careful building envelope design, window glazing selection, and lighting design, heating and cooling equipment can be significantly downsized or, in some cases, even eliminated. This can make the building cheaper to build or, at a minimum, offset any price increases that the additional energy-saving equipment may impose. Indeed, integrated efficient building design can result in substantial savings at little cost — or possibly even less cost than traditional design.

Integrated building design requires paying extra attention up front in the initial building design. If designers are typically paid a commission on the building price tag, it may not be in their best interest to spend that extra time. A municipality or utility can encourage them in a number of ways:

Start a building rating program
Provide educational programs and facilities, and provide direct design support
Provide incentives based on total energy use reduction rather than simply for incremental upgrades or efficient equipment
Make sure incentives target the design

More Information
Below is a list of some of the energy efficiency measures that can be used in new commercial building construction. The list is an excerpt from RMI's publication A Primer on Sustainable Building. Another excellent resource is the U.S. Green Building Council website, which has a number of publications on integrated green building design.

Site Selection: Although site selection is an important issue in conventional construction, it is absolutely critical to the success of a sustainable building project. For this reason, builders and architects must address many site issues that are traditionally ignored:

Is the land suitable for development?
Are there better uses for the site?
Does the land have cultural, historical, or archeological significance?
Is redevelopment possible?
Are clean air, water, and soils present?
Does the site have solar access?
Are mass transit, roads, highways, and other transportation options nearby?
Is the site in an area that is pedestrian and bicycle friendly, with easy access to sidewalks and trails?
What are the site's natural values?
What about topography, geology, and hydrology
Are strong electromagnetic fields (EMF) present?
Can existing structures be reused?
And finally, how might future development on adjacent lands affect your project?

Hiring an experienced green builder or architect will help to quickly answer some of these questions. If you are unfamiliar with local ecology, you may need to hire an additional person to help answer some of the above questions, but even in that case, it should not prove unduly expensive or time-consuming.

One important thing to remember is that while these questions raised here can help answer concerns about the site under consideration or help you compare sites, you will still eventually need to decide what is most important for your building. Every site is different. Few are perfect. Use creative design to make virtues out of what may at first appear to be failings.

Site Development: The past practice of blindly clearing a building site with little if any regard for what's already there is no longer desirable or acceptable. Builders and developers, must rethink the relationships between the land and development. Realtors often speak of "raw land" or a "vacant lot." The truth is, land is a community to which we belong. If we want that community and by extension, ourselves—to prosper, we must design with it in mind.

After locating a site for your building, carefully consider how it can best be used. Most sites can be developed in a variety of ways; you want to discover the one or two that are the most harmonious and least injurious.

As you begin to develop a preliminary design, take full advantage of whatever technical data you possess, but don't overlook human resources. Base decisions on topography, environmental concerns, and infrastructure issues. Consider solar access, water run-off, and the local climate.

Building Placement: Although the exact placement of buildings will vary from site to site, some considerations hold true for all. For example, a building should always be sited to maximize its beneficial use of the sun and other renewable resources. On a rural site, this might mean searching the land for its most attractive micro-climate; on an urban one, it might mean carefully plotting shadow patterns from surrounding buildings to optimize the solar gain on yours.

Building Configuration: A building's shape, interior layout, size, and solar orientation all affect its energy use and, by extension, its sustainability. For example, reducing a building's surface-to-volume ratio or getting its solar orientation right can reduce energy use by thirty percent. However, to maximize energy savings, all four variables must be considered in an integrated manner.

Integrated Building Design: Integrated design requires that the developer design the building's main systems in the right sequence.

The first step is to make the building shell air tight and well insulated, and specify highly efficient windows.
Then, design for daylighting where possible, and
Use efficient lighting with daylight dimmers and occupancy sensors.
Make sure to also use efficient equipment inside the building when possible.
After these elements are in place, evaluate the building’s reduced heating and cooling needs, and
Plan a raised floor ventilation system, which improves occupant comfort while reducing operating costs. Install properly sized, efficient heating and cooling equipment with efficient controls. Install an EMS system to control lighting as well as HVAC for optimal efficiency.

Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate

Landscaping: Landscape in a way that is sensitive to daylighting, heating and cooling needs, and water management. Use new plantings in conjunction with existing vegetation to create a desirable micro-climate around your building. Shading the building and nearby paved surfaces from the summer sun can lower air temperature by as much as 150 degrees F, significantly reducing the building's cooling load and energy consumption. Trees can also be used to block winter winds, control view lines, and deflect unwanted noises.

Finally, incorporate stormwater infiltration systems, natural wastewater treatment systems, and water-efficient landscaping strategies into the overall landscape design. These environmentally-friendly water management systems can reduce development, installation, and operating costs. For more information, see RMI's book entitled Green Development: Integrating Ecology and Real Estate (www.rmi.org/bookstore).