Working Together for Sustainability: The RMI-BOMA Guide for Landlords and Tenants

This guide provides a framework for instituting cooperative and productive relationships between building landlords and tenants and seeks to address some of the non-technological barriers to energy efficiency, such as split incentives, tenant behavior, and transparency.

 

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.

 

Deep Energy Retrofit of Commercial Buildings: A Key Pathway Toward Low-Carbon Cities

Energy efficiency of commercial buildings is a fundamental part of the solution for developing low carbon cities worldwide. Existing commercial buildings consume significant energy, as well as presenting great requirements and opportunities for energy-efficient retrofits. This article introduces an approach to commercial building retrofits that achieve large energy savings with attractive economics. A case study is used to illustrate the procedure of conducting deep retrofits of large commercial buildings. The article also presents a ‘pilot-to-portfolio’ approach that can amplify outcomes of single building retrofit to buildings within the same portfolio.

 

Achieving Passivhaus Standard in North America: Lessons Learned

This paper will introduce and explore the Passive House standard design approach and requirements as well as demonstrate its application to new and retrofit projects in the North American context. Drawing from expertise on the early Passive House projects in the US and Germany, as well as on the ground experience of more recent successful and unsuccessful Passive House projects in North America, a journey toward the best practices in design application, cost and certification will be discussed. A brief review of the various products and systems incorporated in North American projects to meet the aggressive requirements of the passive house standard will also be introduced.

 

Life Cycle Cost Analysis: Is it Worth the Effort?

Life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) is often considered important for both new and retrofit building construction projects but is rarely implemented, often because it is perceived to be “not worth the effort.” This paper addresses the question of whether an LCCA is worth the effort. This paper also provides an overview of how to do an LCCA including establishing the baseline and bundling measures. A case study is also provided.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Achieving Radically Energy Efficient Retrofits: The Empire State Building Example

In order to avoid reaching unsustainable levels of atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations, we must reduce GHG emissions by 75% by 2050. “Deep” commercial building retrofits are an essential part of the solution. A “deep” retrofit is 1) a package of integrated, whole-building energy efficiency measures that 2) is coordinated with planned equipment replacement and that 3) optimizes cost and GHG reductions. Developing deep retrofits requires changes to the typical approach to building retrofits (which generally result in only ~15-30 percent energy savings). This paper highlights differentiators between the Empire State Building retrofit process and the typical approach to retrofits. These differentiators are likely not the precise or only changes needed to the typical retrofit process; however, they form a starting point for driving greater energy savings in building retrofits.

 

Retrofit Industry Needs Assessment Study

The Retrofit Industry Needs Assessment Study is a part of RMI's RetroFit Depot. Over the next 3-5 years, the RMI RetroFit team will create and execute new approaches to accelerating deep retrofits in commercial buildings. The project aims to retrofit at least 500 buildings within three years and stimulate far greater retrofit activity within the larger retrofit industry. As part of this initiative, RMI partnered with Pike Research, a firm specializing in clean technology market intelligence, to conduct original research on the industry via direct contact with stakeholders in the commercial building sector. The purpose of the study was to assess what information key stakeholders in the commercial building sector in the U.S. need in order to pursue deep energy efficiency retrofits.

 

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