GSA Net Zero Renovation Challenge Charrette

This report summarizes the discussion in and outcomes of the GSA Net Zero Renovation Challenge Charrette.

 

Reinventing Fire Buildings Sector Methodology

This document provides RMI's methodology for the analysis of the buildings sector in Reinventing Fire.

 

Going Deeper: A New Approach for Encouraging Retrofits

This paper describes a new approach to demand-side management that promotes whole-building projects and encourages owners, energy service providers, and utilities to work together for significant energy savings.

 

Autodesk AEC Headquarters and Integrated Project Delivery: Factor Ten Engineering Case Study

This paper describes the design and construction of Autodesk’s Headquarters building. The building was a “triple win”: design and construction costs were below target (benefiting both the design-build team and owner); designer and contractor profits exceeded targets; and the building achieved LEED-CI Platinum and all other goals. The building demonstrates several principles of factor-ten engineering.

 

Pulling the Levers on Existing Buildings: A Simple Method for Calibrating Hourly Energy Models

Comprehensive building retrofits require an investment grade audit in conjunction with a calibrated hourly energy model. Even with the most thorough audit processes, uncertainty still remains when identifying and modeling building parameters. This uncertainty propagates throughout the final calibrated model and affects the quality of the energy saving estimates. This paper, geared towards the typical energy analyst, provides a step-by-step process for achieving more reliable results by calibrating an energy model based on actual utility data.

 

Energy Modeling at Each Design Phase: Strategies to Minimize Design Energy Use

Design teams often use energy modeling as an accounting or code compliance tool to establish that minimum requirements are met. Used in this way, significant opportunities to inform and improve building design are overlooked. Properly used, energy modeling can provide outputs that optimize a building’s energy consumption, reduce life cycle costs, and even reduce first cost. This paper will review how and when design teams typically use energy modeling in each design phase (concept phase, schematic design, design development, and construction documentation) and describe strategies for each phase that can lead to lower energy use buildings.

 

Carbon Neutrality Based on Native-site Carbon Storage

In response the building industry's increased interest in carbon neutrality, this paper discusses alternative approaches to carbon neutrality and introduces a new definition of the term. As an example of the new concept in practice, an institutional building in construction documentation phase in Lake Placid, Florida is examined. The introduced model allows for the assessment of buildings in a way that is arguably more helpful than calculating “net-zero” building operation emissions.

 

Whole-Building Retrofits: A Gateway to Climate Stabilization

This paper discusses creative elements of deep whole building retrofits. It discusses process and technique, how to select suitable buildings, the key players that must be involved, project development tasks the design team must complete, and tools and skills that engineers will need to acquire to comprehensively and cost- effectively retrofit the existing commercial building stock.

 

Factor Ten Engineering Design Principles

Designers often assume that radical efficiency is too expensive. Yet RMI’s Factor Ten Engineering initiative demonstrates that very large energy and resource savings can be very profitable across a wide range of applications. Factor Ten Engineering uses such innovations to transform design and engineering practice, via whole-system thinking and integrative design. This document outlines the design principles of Factor Ten Engineering.

 

The Energy Challenge: A New Agenda for Corporate Real Estate

From June of 2006 to April of 2007, the RMI and CoreNet Global team carried out research focused on identifying barriers, documenting successes, and outlining recommendations for the increased incorporation of energy efficiency in corporate real estate. The research included an online survey administered to over 240 real estate professionals as well as analysis of more than 15 corporations successfully incorporating energy efficiency measures and programs. The report concludes that corporations think about energy efficiency and believe it is growing in importance, yet they don’t have the management structures in place to realize improvements effectively.

 

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