Page 076 - STRATEGIES FOR MEETING ENERGY DEMAND WITH
Source section: Section 4 - Green Building Core Concepts and Application Strategies PDF page: 76 Guide page: 69 OCR quality: high (445 words)
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SSS STRATEGIES FOR MEETING ENERGY DEMAND WITH RENEWABLE ENERGY:
- GENERATE RENEWABLE ENERGY. Install photovoltaic cells, solar hot water heaters, or building-mounted wind turbines.
- PURCHASE OFF-SITE RENEWABLE ENERGY OR CARBON OFFSETS. Buy green power, renewable energy certificates, or carbon offsets to reduce the environmental impact of energy consumed on-site and promote renewable energy generation and the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. _ ONGOING ENERGY PERFORMANCE Attention to energy use does not end with the design and construction of an energy-efficient building. It is critical to ensure that a project functions as designed and that it sustains and improves this performance over time. Performance goals set during planning and design can be undermined by design flaws, construction defects, equipment malfunctions, and deferred maintenance. Monitoring and verification provide the basis for tracking energy performance, with the goal of identifying and resolving any problems that may arise. Monitoring often involves comparing building performance measurements with predictions from a calibrated energy simulation or industry benchmarking tool. EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is one of the most widely used benchmarking systems. Users enter data on electricity and natural gas consumption, along with other supporting information, into a web-based tool. The system then evaluates the performance of the building against that of others with similar characteristics. This is an exceptionally useful, free tool for gauging the relative performance of buildings. Commissioning is a systematic investigation by skilled professionals who compare building performance with performance goals, design specifications, and most importantly, the owner’s requirements. This process begins early in design, with the specification of requirements. The requirements are considered throughout the building design and construction process and become the baseline for evaluation. Ongoing commissioning for building operations ensures that a building continues to meet its fundamental operational requirements. Retrocommissioning is the same process applied to existing buildings; it is intended to keep a building on track for meeting or exceeding the original operational goals. The cost of commissioning is often repaid with recovered energy performance. A Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study found that commissioning for existing buildings had a median cost of 1 per square foot with a median payback time of 4.8 years based on energy savings alone.*5 Overall, this study concluded that commissioning is one of the most cost-effective means of improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings. LEED recognizes and encourages operational energy performance through its requirements for building commissioning and credits for metering. vv Zz 25 E. Mills et al, The Cost Effectiveness of Commercial Buildings Commissioning: A Meta-Analysis of Existing Buildings and New 2 Construction in the United States (November 23, 2004), dot.ca.gow/ha/energy/Cx-Costs-Benefits. pdf. Qo un 69