Energy Star tax creditsI am worried now. A new report just came out showing that 85% of CMMS (Computerized Management and Maintenance System) software being purchased is not being used. This is software that is supposed to be used by facilities managers to streamline their work, but apparently without much eagerness.
An excellent commentary in [...]
Continue reading about How to Sustain the Energy Efficient Design
This Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report, Building Commissioning: A Golden Opportunity for Reducing Energy Costs and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions should inform the skeptics about the efficacy of this process for buildings. Regular tuneups for your car are the norm, so the same should be for your building.
I quote:
“This report [...]
Continue reading about Report Dispels doubts on Conservation Measures
Simple is as simple does. It works. Its easier to understand. Easier to fix. The real world does not reward complexity.
An important aspect of good design is simplicity. HVAC can be complicated enough, given the need to maintain various spaces at set [...]
The latest numbers are that US buildings consume $320 billion/year in energy. 2/5 of all the energy used in the US. And about 40% of the energy (costing $120 billion/year) is used in buildings for HVAC.
Some of the 2009 stats HVAC designs that I have incorporated recently into my [...]
Continue reading about Better HVAC can save $48 billion/year in the USA
Trends: Read the chart on your buildings energy usage. Monthly charts can usually be found on the monthly utility bills. Your utility company can provide them upon request (usually). If and when you can acquire the hourly or daily usage charts, the pattern of usage can be very revealing [...]
Continue reading about Getting a View of Energy Consumption in your building
The guys over at Autodesk made this cute animation to drive the point home
The Buildings Sector accounts for about 40% of U.S. Energy, 72% of Electricity, and 34% of Natural Gas use. Building energy costs totaled $390 billion in 2006.
The Buildings Sector accounts for about 40% of U.S. Energy, 72% of Electricity,
and 34% of Natural [...]
I want to clear the air about something that has been problematic for years. I do not have the standard degree in my field.
Recently I have been in close contact with many engineering, architecture, and construction hiring managers. The communication has revealed much and disappointed me on a number of occasions [...]
Continue reading about 30 years versus a certain curriculum.
I have a BS ED, which is a science that encompasses the junction between engineering and architecture. My expertise is in buildings and how they work. I focused all my career on design of the built environment and building systems. I was educated in energy conservation, [...]
Continue reading about THE LAST ENERGY CRISIS- 1970s and a B.S. Environmental Design
I would like to share this 2006 excerpt from the Building Design and Construction magazine white paper on the bottom line of building commissioning.
To put some solid numbers on benefits of commissioning, Evan Mills, PhD, and colleagues at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Portland Energy Conservation, and Texas A&M University (Energy Systems Laboratory) reviewed [...]
Continue reading about The bottom line! Building commissioning today
A recent article in ASHRAE Journal, “An Updated Look at DCV Approaches“, October 2009, page 82-84, covers an important component of building energy: HVAC ventilation control, also called “Demand Controlled Ventilation“. It is an overview of the reasons and logic behind one of the more cost-effective methods for controlling air quality [...]
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