Noel's Green (make that SUSTAINABLE) Blog » Financial and Investment

President Jefferson said:

noel — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:06:49 +0000

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

Listen up Newt Gingrich! How radical was that?

How to Sustain the Energy Efficient Design

noel — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:40:35 +0000

I 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 this months Engineered Systems magazine, entitled Tomorrow’s Environment: A Failure to Plan Is A Plan To Fail by Howard McKew, exposes the weak link in the chain between energy efficient design and the long term operation and maintenance of said design. How do we know they are getting what they paid for?

Too often, we don’t know. McKew explains that measurement and verification is often left out of the design due to budget constraints. I think operations often falls under the radar for lack of understanding the need for verifying. And CMMS software, intended to help rectify this problem by making it easier to manage and maintain the many moving parts of a building, apparently doesn’t get used!

I have mentioned ACCOUNTABILITY in previous posts, and here is another sample of what I am talking about. My worrying is well-founded. Filters need to be changed, pump bearings need lubricating, dampers need to be observed in operation, temperature sensors need to be calibrated and so on. HVAC, even when it is designed to be as simple as possible, is still complicated in practice.

Global warming : just the facts, Ma’am

noel — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 06:20:03 +0000

Some people in communications, and in the real estate and investment arena, have been making assertions that green buildings have economic benefits not worth the trouble and expense. This is to imply that improving energy efficiency and measuring the results is not worth the trouble. I say B.S.

I am not interested in casting shame on anybody, but now I feel compelled to say something. We Americans have to have an opinion, even if we don’t have all the facts. We are watching too much news television and listening to too many talk radio shows: Take FoxNews and their talk shows. They work extra hard to convince us that scientific evidence is being manipulated for political reasons. They draw a specious connection between the Democratic Party, (supposedly led by Al Gore), and scientists as proof of a vast left wing conspiracy. These popular so-called news programs cast global warming warnings as a “plot”, to increase the size and power of government, raise taxes, and so on.

I am not convinced. It worries me that they are unable to present scientific evidence for what it is, EVIDENCE. They question scientific method at the same time. Why do these folks struggle with high school science concepts of data collection and drawing reasonable conclusions? (Bill O’Reilly is so dishonest on this score, it amazes me how many people watch him.)

We Americans have to have an opinion on everything and anything, whether we are knowledgable or not!

Back to reality and engineering. Here is a tidbit about engineering economics that would be construed as leftist by FoxNews. (Of course, they would attack it as propaganda because it is from the Washington Post. Not because they have the facts to contradict it).

quote from Washington Post January 1, 2010

Jack Beuttell, global sustainability manager with Hines (Partnership) , a property management firm that manages 10 buildings in the District, said that questions about a property’s energy consumption have become increasingly important to his company’s potential tenants.

Beuttell said that a building with a “95″ rating from the EPA’s “Energy Star” program, a rank that some of his company’s properties have earned, would typically save a tenant about $1.30 per square foot in annual energy bills over the national average for a similar building. That’s an “incredibly meaningful” figure to tenants, he said.

I like it. And not because I might benefit personally (Full disclosure: I helped engineer HVAC on a Hines project recently). It is just plain simple common sense to cut costs. It might even pump up your profits! Some left-wing conspiracy that is.

President Theodore Roosevelt had it right!

noel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:28:14 +0000

Let us go back to the tried and proven. The Bush sponsored tax cuts did not do what they were supposed to do. We forgot to take Teddys advice, as quoted below.

The tax cuts did not increase our national economic vitality one wit. They should be allowed to expire post-haste. Especially since we need the money to offset more energy conservation tax incentives (such encouragement creates public good). US policy should lead the world in energy conservation, not follow!

About taxes, Teddy Roosevelt(who is among my most admired people), said:

No man should receive a dollar unless that dollar has been fairly earned. Every dollar received should represent a dollar’s worth of service rendered–not gambling in stocks, but service rendered.

The really big fortune, the swollen fortune, by the mere fact of its size, acquires qualities which differentiate it in kind as well as in degree from what is possessed by men of relatively small means.

Therefore, I believe in a graduated income tax on big fortunes, and in another tax which is far more easily collected and far more effective–a graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes, properly safeguarded against evasion, and increasing rapidly in amount with the size of the estate.

Words to remember in November.

Some of my friends want me to clarify what I mean above. If Teddy had it right 105 years ago, and we had a balanced budget in the 1990s (Republican controlled Congress/Democratic President combination), we should have stuck with it. Democracy like ours really suck when voters get confused and switch the formula, like we did in 2000. Once upon a time, I had a theory about an optimal combination, a Dem president and a Repub congress, and I will be damned if that didn’t work under President Clinton. Looks like we might even get back to that state, but it will take 6 more years of President Obama working with a Republican Congress just to get back to where we were when Bush got elected in 2000.

Better HVAC can save $48 billion/year in the USA

noel — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:16:55 +0000

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 office building projects are expected to use 30% less than the levels allowed by the local and state building codes. (ASHRAE Energy code 90.1-2004).

Consider that more than 70 percent of existing commercial buildings in the country were constructed prior to 1980 (according to floor area, see this 2001 study) . It is very likely that most of these older buildings consume well over the present building code allowable.

There are no laws requiring them to retrofit. The financial incentive to retrofit is all that exists, and unfortunately, this is another example of out-of sight, out-of-mind ignorance. (and HVAC and building energy use in general getting no respect).

These buildings should be retrofitted to reduce energy use a minimum of 30% and more. Up to $48-60 billion per year is being simply wasted. Wow! That is $200 a year for every man woman and child in the US. Almost half as much as we throw away on the war in Iraq. ($130 billion in 2007)

Hey, what are you waiting for, lets find out where the energy is going!

Lighting… I did not mention lighting: higher efficiency lighting and optimal daylighting could save ANOTHER $20 billion /year easy.

If you still a skeptic, please read: “Working Toward the Very Low Energy Consumption Building of the Future”

Winston Churchill had it right

noel — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:56:07 +0000

I am concerned about a terrible Lack of Confidence in our economy and society: We must keep our heads high and continue to strive. The terrible danger is fear. Fear is paralyzing.

I have spent many hours this month getting criticized and rejected for trying to get ‘er done. In times of economic hardship, its clearly sliding backwards to say NO. And these days its happening over and over. The economy declined because of irrational fear.

It is our duty as businesspeople to move past the nattering naysayers. It is our responsibility to thank them for their thoughts, take their garbage to the curb, and find a solution.

Winston Churchill said this well in 1940 when the Nazi Germans were dropping thousands of bombs on the innocent during the blitz.

“I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.

At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty’s Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.

The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;

we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe,

this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

As a real estate investor, professional engineer, and creator of solutions for energy efficient buildings, this is basically analogous to where I stand today.

The bottom line! Building commissioning today

noel — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:13:04 +0000

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 published and unpublished data on 224 buildings in 21 states, representing 30.4 million sf of commissioned space—73% in existing buildings, 27% in new ones. Total commissioning costs for these buildings were $17 million (2003 dollars), an average $0.55/sf.

Among their findings:
■ An average 11 deficiencies were found in existing buildings, 28 in new buildings. HVAC systems represented the bulk of the problems.
■ For existing buildings, median commissioning costs were $0.27/sf; energy savings came to a median 15% (18% average); payback times were less than nine months (0.7 years).
■ For new buildings, commissioning costs were $1.00/sf (0.6% of total construction costs), yielding a median payback of 4.8 years.
■ Reduced change orders and other non-energy benefits accounted for $0.18/sf savings in existing buildings and $1.24/sf for new construction— “comparable to the entire cost of commissioning,” the researchers note.

The authors conclude that “commissioning is one of the most cost-effective means of improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings.” While not a panacea, they admit, it is “one of the most cost-effective and far-reaching means of improving the energy efficiency of buildings.”

Post-occupancy evaluations can help property owners, developers, and AEC firms determine how buildings are functioning for tenants or occupants.

What can I add to this? Implementation and testing YOUR PROJECT. CALL ME TODAY for a no-cost evaluation

U.S. Energy Use pattern is changing

noel — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:46:16 +0000

This is a bit of deja vu about energy. Like the last energy crisis. But now they say it is different.

This New York Times article, “A Surplus of Energy That Might Even Last” is provocative.

It says this may be an inflection point in our economy and its dependence on energy. I can only hope but I remain a skeptic.

This is the same sort of talk that was in the papers in the 1984-85 time frame. If you don’t recall, that was a period of falling oil prices and increasing complacency over energy. This is complacency.

Calculating the advantage of a LEED certified building

noel — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 03:07:23 +0000

This doesn’t need any explanation.

LEED certified office buildings excel

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Additional editorial on LEED and Energy Star marketability

Corporate Geothermal is a Renewable Energy tax credit…

noel — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:16:28 +0000

Corporate geothermal or (ground-coupled or pond-coupled ) HVAC systems are eligible for tax credits under the same law as renewable energy measures tax credits. Renewable energies (wind and solar) and combined heat-power systems get a 30% tax credit. A new geothermal /geocoupled heat pump investment will garner a 10% tax refund, which improves an already excellent investment into a compelling investment.

Slinky piping loops are promoted for their advantage of requiring less trenching due to greater piping surface area and increased heat transfer capacity of the style.

Slinky ground source piping loop

The payback on the geothermal was very fast without the tax break. In this economic environment, paybacks are reportedly at 1-5 years. 16-100% return is hard to deny. I recommend doing it.

The federal Business Energy Tax incentive law grants businesses these tax credits: (database search form)

An additional tax credit is available for HVAC, lighting and hot water: if the building is designed and built to use 50% or less energy consumption than code allowable maximums (as benchmarked by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001) for each of these three categories. $0.60/square foot for each of the categories, up to a maximum tax credit of $1.80/square foot.