The First Facility Management Blog

Solar and wind power can supply the vast majority of North Carolina’s electricity needs, according to a report released last week by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER). Combined with generation from hydroelectric and other renewable sources, such as landfill gas, only 6% of electricity would have to be purchased from outside the system or produced at conventional plants, states the report. It is titled, “Matching Utility Loads with Solar and Wind Power in North Carolina: Dealing with Intermittent Electricity Sources.”

“Even though the wind does not blow nor the sun shine all the time, careful management, readily available storage, and other renewable sources can produce nearly all the electricity North Carolinians consume,” said the study’s author, Dr. John Blackburn, who is Professor Emeritus of Economics and former Chancellor at Duke University.

“Critics of renewable power point out that solar and wind sources are intermittent,” Dr. Blackburn continued. “The truth is that solar and wind are complementary in North Carolina. Wind speeds are usually higher at night than in the daytime. They also blow faster in winter than summer. Solar generation, on the other hand, takes place in the daytime. Sunlight is only half as strong in winter as in summertime. Drawing wind power from different areas—the coast, mountains, the sounds or the ocean—reduces variations in generation. Using wind and solar in tandem is even more reliable. Together, they can generate three-fourths of the state’s electricity. When hydroelectric and other renewable sources are added, the gap to be filled is surprisingly small. Only six percent of North Carolina’s electricity would have to come from conventional power plants or from other systems.”

Dr. Arjun Makhijani, President of IEER, explained why his center published Dr. Blackburn’s report, “This is a landmark case study of how solar and wind generation can be combined to provide round the clock electric power throughout the year. North Carolina utilities and regulators and those in other states should take this template, refine it, and make a renewable electricity future a reality.” Dr. Makhijani is the author of the 2007 book, “Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy.”

To request a PDF of the report, which contains an executive summary, send an e-mail to avazquez@groupc.com.

The Planon Group, a global provider of enterprise real estate and facilities software, recently unveiled Planon Green Intelligence for Facilities, a solution that gives facility management executives the tools to measure, monitor, and act upon collected property and asset data to achieve both cost savings and corporate sustainability goals.

Available as part of the company’s core suite, Planon Green Intelligence, the energy management component of Green Workplace Economics, offers facility executives a practical way to jumpstart environmental sustainability programs by transforming aggregated asset level to property level data into actionable information.

Planon can then generate corrective work orders to quickly diagnose and correct overconsuming facilities assets. Planon Talk, Planon’s integration application, also ensures full connectivity with existing building technology and energy measurement facilities, giving organizations a fully integrated solution.

With Green Intelligence, facility executives gain a global view of their real estate portfolio and assets and gain the ability to automatically issue corrective or reactive action within one seamless solution. With Green IT for Facilities, organizations can:

• Cut costs through reduction of energy consumption
• Extend the efficiency and lifespan of facilities assets through planned maintenance
• Reduce carbon footprint
• Manage energy supply and costs
• Comply with organizational and federal environmental mandates
• Track LEED certification status across an entire real estate portfolio

Earlier this month, Planon was named the recipient of Frost & Sullivan’s 2010 Product Leadership of the Year Award for the Real Estate and Facilities Management software market. The award recognizes Planon’s portfolio of real estate and facility management software solutions for its broad array of features and functionality, high quality, innovation, market acceptance, and for providing its customers with valued enhancements. Planon announced the latest version (2010.A) of its software last week.

A new comprehensive guide for sustainable development in the federal government has earned an award from the Federal Planning Division of the American Planning Association. Titled “The New Sustainable Frontier – Principles of Sustainable Development,” the guide was published in September 2009 by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). Jonathan Herz, of the GSA’s Office of Governmentwide Policy, authored the publication with the assistance of Anica Landreneau of architectural firm HOK and Matthias Ruth of the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland.

The guide is being recognized as part of the GSA Sustainable Development Education Initiative, which was selected as the winner in the “Outstanding Sustainable Planning, Design and Development Initiative” category.

The authors of the 40-page guidebook—which includes a foreword by Ray C. Anderson, founder and chairman of Interface, Inc.—declared that: “Today’s world is decidedly not sustainable and neither are the Government’s operations. But both of them can be.” To that end, it provides specific principles for “How to live sustainably as a species on a finite Earth into the indefinite future.”

“The economy is a social structure within the greater ecosystem,” explain the authors. “The ecosystem is not subservient to the economy. Without a high quality of matter and energy to transform into goods and services, the economy is on a shaky foundation. We need to connect the laws of thermodynamics back to our economic and ecological decision-making.”

“Incremental change will not be sufficient,” the authors declare. “Existing policies, programs and rating systems must be examined in a closed-loop context; their limitations understood and their applicability reconsidered.”

To request a copy of this PDF, send an e-mail to tfm@groupc.com with the words, “Sustainable Frontier” in the subject line of your e-mail.

In the latest update of its ongoing recycling program, the EPDM Roofing Association (ERA) announced that more than five million square feet of EPDM membrane has been recycled since the program’s inception. That total is the largest recorded figure for a recycled commercial roofing product in North America. In all, roughly 1.25 million pounds of reclaimed EPDM membrane has been diverted from landfills in the past three years.

After initiating the program in a pilot phase in 2006 and 2007, ERA has expanded the program in 2008 and 2009, thanks in large part to the introduction of the ERA Recycling Council, featuring ERA Affiliate Members. The Affiliate Member category is open to any company engaged in any aspect of the business of recycling EPDM or other single-ply roof membranes.

Nationwide Foam Inc. (NFI), of Framingham, MA, and West Development Group (WDG), of LaGrange, OH, are the first members of the Recycling Council. Through the efforts of these partners, the EPDM recycling program is active in 48 U.S. states and several provinces in southern Canada. The program is available for low-slope ballasted and mechanically attached non-reinforced EPDM membrane tear-offs, offering jobsite collection and transportation directly to a recycling center.

“We have seen significant progess in the recycling program in the past 18 months,” said Mike DuCharme, director of product marketing, Carlisle SynTec, and chairman of ERA’s board of directors. “EPDM is now well positioned in a changing marketplace that has high expectations for sustainable performance and a life cycle that extends into recycling.”

The EPA also estimates that more than one billion square feet of EPDM roofing is removed from rooftops every year, the equivalent of 33,000 40-yard dumpsters or more than 120,000 full-size railcars.

Armstrong Ceilings offers Green Genie™, an interactive, product evaluation web tool that allows users to find sustainable ceiling options and LEED® credit information quickly and easily. Facility managers specifying ceiling, suspension, and wall system products can access this tool to evaluate their choices.

The online tool offers 24/7 access of LEED credit information at the design or submittal process, and it provides users with the ability to research, calculate, and document which Armstrong ceiling product best meets the environmental criteria of their project.

All Armstrong ceiling, suspension, and wall system products are included in the rating system. The design aid also completes the submittal process by producing a LEED documentation letter for inclusion in the specification.

"Bottom-Line Sustainability for Business" report from ESI

Economic pressures, cap and trade legislation, and other economic drivers are forcing companies of all sizes toward efficiencies to improve the bottom line. Environmental Systems, Inc. (ESI), a commercial and industrial building systems integrator headquartered in Brookfield, WI, recently released an independently researched study aimed at helping executives responsible for financial and operational performance sort through sustainability information, understand trends, and visualize what is possible.

“Companies of all sizes and types are looking for ways to control operating costs, including energy, personnel, facility and maintenance,” ESI President Paul Oswald said. “The good news is that the benefits derived from reducing operating costs have a direct positive impact on creating a more sustainable business.”

The study, “Bottom-Line Sustainability for Business,”  covers reduced operating costs to improved productivity as it relates to building performance and security, energy efficiency, pending legislation, information technology, sustainability, innovation, and integration of systems.

“The difficulty for many businesses is a lack of understanding in how to get started on a path to reduce costs and improve sustainability,” Oswald says. “Making sense of it all and determining what is relevant to reducing costs are not easy tasks.”

This is demonstrated by results from a study conducted by Moskowitz Jacobs, Inc. In interviews conducted with 450 CEOs, CFOs, and senior management, it was found that:

• 87% have room to improve on energy management.
• 74% do not have a handle on energy cost.
• 59% are not well positioned in-house to control energy and improve operational efficiency.
• 49% are seeking ways to optimize energy usage.

ESI commissioned independent researchers to compile the study, which  contains insights from industry experts, including:

• Schneider Electric, EVP, Chris Curtis
• Quad Graphics, Director, Joe Muehlbach
• GE Medical, IT, Kerry Malland
• Sustainability Expert, Paul Ehrlich

“Bottom-Line Sustainability for Business” can be downloaded on the ESI homepage (Look for cover image at left. Registration required.)

At its annual Summit, participants in the The Alliance To Save Energy (ASE) Green Campus Program announced the environmental strides made at participating colleges and universities. Currently active at 13 California university campuses, the Program was launched with this premise in mind—institutions of higher education spend a significant portion of annual operating budgets on utility services, which diverts funds from valuable programmatic and community building activities.

The Green Campus Program strives to bridge the divide between students and institutional energy costs. Students are working to save energy on campuses by building general campus awareness, incorporating energy conservation and efficiency into course curricula, and implementing projects targeting energy use, student purchasing decisions, and operational changes.

Participating campuses were:

• Humboldt State
• CSU Chico
• UC Berkeley
• UC Merced
• UC Santa Cruz
• UC Santa Barbara
• CSU San Bernardino
• Cal Poly Pomona
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• UC Irvine
• UC San Diego
• San Diego State University
• Stanford University

Additionally, new campuses added in Fall 2009 included three community colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District: West Los Angeles Community College, East Los Angeles Community College, and Los Angeles Southwest Community College.

The Green Campus Program reported its savings for Fall 2009:

• Approx. 1.6 million kWh of energy
• 1 million+ pounds reduced CO2 emissions
• $200,000 savings
• 300,000 gallons of water
• 4,000 therms of gas

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
When asked which of the program’s many projects was the most successful, ASE’s Green Campus project manager, Renee Lafrenz, found it difficult to pick just one. She did note that the interns from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (winners of the Best Practices in Student Energy Efficiency Award at the recent UC/CSU/CCC Sustainability Conference in California) had done a fantastic job encouraging students in nine residence halls to save energy (resulting in savings of 176,355 kWh (= $20,638) between October 11 and November 20, 2009).

The Program provided residents with “Green Tips” encouraging energy saving behaviors, such as washing only full loads of laundry and switching light bulbs to CLFs. Every week gas, electric, and water savings data were updated and posted on sandwich board displays, the Program website, and sent via email directly to residents. Community advisors also went door to door to inform residents to inform them of their building’s current standing in the competition to reduce usage (compared to a baseline).

Stanford University
Stanford University Green Campus saved that school 425,143 kWh in 2009 (the equivalent of $68,020, or 254,749 pounds of CO2 averted). Their projects included a laundry energy efficiency initiative; laboratory fume hood energy savings campaign; exterior LED lighting pilot; and a pilot of providing residents with smart energy strips. Based on the success of their smart energy strip pilot, Stanford plans to provide all incoming freshman in fall 2010 with these devices.

Stadium Lighting Retrofit at Humboldt
In November 2009, contractors at Humboldt State University initiated a major lighting retrofit of their school’s iconic Depression-era stadium. The project was conceived in 2007 by then-advisor Richard Engel as a way to decrease the electrical consumption and light pollution of the bowl. In spring of 2009, the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund (HEIF), a university funding program, awarded $75,000 to Green Campus to fund the project. Completion is pending.

Says Lafrenz, “The work we do with Green Campus saves both energy and money in a time when colleges and universities need it most. We’re also training students on energy efficiency in order to meet the need for knowledgeable individuals to fill the emerging green job sector.”

A new standard for the design of high performance green buildings is set to revolutionize the building industry. Published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), in conjunction with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is the first code intended commercial green building standard in the United States.

The standard provides a green building foundation for those who strive to design, build, and operate green buildings. From site location to energy use to recycling, this standard will set the foundation for green buildings through its adoption into local codes. It covers key topic areas similar to green building rating systems: site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.

The energy efficiency goal of Standard 189.1 is to provide significant energy reduction over that in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007. It offers a broader scope than Standard 90.1 and is intended to provide minimum requirements for the siting, design, and construction of high performance, green buildings.

“The far reaching influence of the built environment necessitates action to reduce its impact,” Gordon Holness, ASHRAE president, said. “Provisions in the standard can reduce negative environmental impacts through high performance building design, construction, and operations practices. Ultimately, the aim is not just energy efficiency but a balance of environmental responsibility, resource efficiency, occupant comfort and well being, and community sensitivity, all while supporting the goal of sustainable development.”

Standard 189.1 has been written by experts representing all areas of the building industry, including engineers, lighting designers, sustainability experts, building owners, designers, architects, code and compliance officials, utilities, materials experts, and equipment manufacturers. The technical requirements in the standard were also supported by input from the building industry during the public review process.

For complete information on the standard, including a readable copy, visit this link.

Many organizations, including schools, universities, and municipalities, have made a commitment to become carbon neutral or energy efficient. However, many do not have the expertise or resources needed to report current energy use—the cornerstone to a successful energy efficiency project.

Organizations can receive quarterly, year-to-date, and annual reports on energy use with HEAR.

The Honeywell Energy Analysis Report (HEAR) service gives organizations the information to make educated, strategic decisions about reducing their environmental impact and creates an accurate baseline for measuring the success of sustainability programs. HEAR provides detailed tracking, reporting, and analysis of energy consumption. It identifies how, when, and where energy is used through a combination of data analysis and on-site observations that cover all the organization’s buildings and equipment.

Honeywell synthesizes this information in the report, helping reveal trends and anomalies that might otherwise go undetected and drain operating budgets. Specifically, quarterly, year-to-date, and annual reports include:

• Consumption anomalies/demand spikes and offer savings strategies
• Equipment control failures so that corrective action can be taken through spot or contract services
• Utility billing errors that are discovered
• Recommendations regarding retrofits including: high efficiency lighting, energy-efficient motors, variable frequency drives, HVAC systems, automation and control systems and power factor correction

For example, HEAR helped Moriarty-Edgewood, a 4,300 student school district located in New Mexico, uncover “sticky” meters, which were charging the district for unused kilowatt-hours. As a result of the findings, Honeywell helped the district secure $5,700 in rebates from local utilities to make up for the errors.

The report also revealed potential savings in other areas, such as climate control, lighting systems, and building automation. When the report revealed systems operating at full capacity even when buildings were not in use, district personnel took note and maintained better watch over equipment schedules, ensuring they’re set in accordance with school holidays and other special events to minimize unnecessary use. During a one-year trial at the Moriarty-Edgewood district, the HEAR service, combined with related infrastructure upgrades and an energy awareness program, delivered $134,707 in cost avoidance on a $39,350 investment.

The CM25 ceiling-mounted air conditioner from MovinCool is a compact, self contained unit that can provide 25,000 Btu/h of cooling. Designed to protect server rooms and other spaces that house heat sensitive equipment against costly damage. It offers a high sensible cooling capacity, plus a 14 SEER  rating, made possible by an energy saving, variable speed inverter compressor and inverter fan motors.

The CM25 from MovinCool

Additional environmentally-friendly features include R-410A refrigerant and RoHS compliance. The CM25 comes standard with a wall-mounted controller that offers advanced communications, monitoring, and self-diagnosis capabilities.

Measuring 20″ tall, the CM25 fits in tight spaces. A built-in mounting bracket, flanges and vibration isolators allows for ease of installation above a drop ceiling, using  standard, off the shelf hardware. Its self contained design also eliminates the need for refrigerant connections, further reducing installation costs.