President Obama’s We Can’t Wait strategy is all about leveraging Executive Branch opportunities the Administration can take—without Congressional approval—to boost the economy, spur job creation, and make America more competitive.  For the sake of all Americans, this We Can’t Wait ethos is something that the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) strongly supports, especially since green building sits at the nexus of saving people money, saving energy, and creating jobs.

For the second time in two years, the USGBC convened a diverse group of 15 businesses and organizations to develop a series of green building policy recommendations that could be achieved now, without federal legislation.  These recommendations were recently released in a report, Better Buildings through Executive Action, and highlight a number of near-term opportunities for the buildings sector.

In the first version of the report that came out in April 2010, USGBC identified nearly 80 potential actions in over 30 federal programs totaling $72 billion to enhance green building in the commercial, residential, and multifamily sectors leveraging existing laws and programs.  Over the past two years, there has been significant progress in implementing several proposals from that report, including the Administration’s Better Buildings Initiative, which improved the Energy Efficiency Commercial Building Tax Deduction and utilized Department of Energy loan guarantees and Small Business Administration financing programs to support energy efficiency retrofits at commercial buildings.

This most recent 2012 report not only catalogs the many green building actions that have already been taken, but also articulates new opportunities.  In the commercial buildings sector, these include:

• Releasing updated guidance on the use of Section 179D, the deduction for investment in energy efficient commercial buildings.
• Overcoming obstacles for building owners to capture aggregated data of tenant energy consumption in multi-tenant structures, including large commercial buildings.
• Continuing to make progress on the Commercial Building Asset Rating Program and set a timeline for completion.

As a founding Steering Committee member of the CBC, USGBC encourages CBC members and stakeholders to review the opportunities and recommendations detailed in the Better Buildings through Executive Action report and consider sending letters of support for these priorities.  Last year, following USGBC’s first report, several organizations joined together to send such a letter to the Obama Administration that helped define the Better Buildings Initiative.

For more information on the report or to coordinate with other organizations on a letter-writing campaign, please contact Lane Burt, USGBC Director of Technology Policy, at lburt@usgbc.org.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT EE GLOBAL 2012

• This will be the fifth EE Global, and the first to be held in Orlando, Florida. The international forum has been held twice in Washington, D.C., and also in Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium.
• Over 70% of attendeees at EE Global identify as Director-level or above, making it the most concentrated gathering of influential energy efficiency professionals worldwide.
• The Peabody Resort, one of Orlando’s most luxurious hotels, is the location of this year’s event, and just happens to be minutes away from famed amusement parks, Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando, and Sea World.

Please visit www.eeglobalforum.org to find out more and register.

Managing What You Measure: The Data Access Issue

Commercial property owners and operators measure the energy performance of thousands of buildings each year in the United States. This process, known as benchmarking, enables operators to track energy performance across building portfolios, identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption and related costs, and prioritize energy efficiency investments. According to many industry professionals, benchmarking is a common-sense business practice and a basic tenet of good energy management.

Yet, a significant number of operators are unable to conduct this simple exercise because they cannot access energy consumption data for their buildings. In many multi-tenant buildings, operators cannot retrieve information from energy meters without the consent of each individual tenant, making benchmarking difficult or impossible. This little-known fact is one of the most serious barriers to improving the energy efficiency of the commercial stock and unlocking significant energy cost savings for consumers and businesses.

Introducing the DATA Alliance

Recognizing the importance of this issue, leaders in the commercial real estate industry have teamed up with energy efficiency and green building organizations to form the Data Access and Transparency Alliance (DATA). Led by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, the Real Estate Roundtable, the Institute for Market Transformation and the U.S. Green Building Council, the DATA Alliance is educating policymakers, regulators and real estate stakeholders about the importance of improving energy data access. DATA is helping promote innovative energy data access programs piloted by leading utilities that have enabled the benchmarking of millions of square feet of commercial floor space in local markets, and is encouraging other utilities to consider similar programs.

Our Recent Work 

Last summer, DATA successfully worked with utility regulators from the around the nation to secure a pledge to improve energy consumption data access practices for commercial operators. At its 2011 summer meeting, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) adopted a resolution encouraging state public utility commissions to support energy benchmarking in commercial buildings, and to aid building owners and managers in accessing whole-building energy consumption data for use in benchmarking programs. DATA is working with federal agencies and congressional lawmakers to explore national opportunities to improve data access, including the e-KNOW Act and the President’s Better Buildings Initiative. Members of DATA are also engaged with state and local policymakers to ensure that appropriate data access measures are included in voluntary or mandatory benchmarking programs.

To learn more about the DATA Alliance or to find out how to become involved, please visit www.energydataalliance.org.

DOE seeks comment on the following topics:

• The overall taxonomy schema i.e. how the data fields are organized and categorized
• Definitions of the data fields contained within this taxonomy
• New data fields needed to accommodate existing or anticipated future data sources

This taxonomy supports DOE’s Buildings Performance Database, which is intended to provide industry and government with access to empirical data (not simulated, modeled, or forecasted) on the actual energy performance of commercial and residential buildings to support data-driven decision making. Financial institutions, building owners and engineers, utility companies, and government agencies can all benefit from this tool.

Please refer to the full RFI for instructions to submit comments. Comments must be received by December 30, 2011.

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) markets wholesale power from the Federal Columbia River Power System to public distribution utilities throughout thePacific Northwest. As a proponent of both energy efficiency and new technologies, BPA developed the Energy Efficient Emerging Technology team (known as “E3T”) to facilitate the integration of new and emerging technologies with energy efficiency programs. E3T performs research & development (R&D) under the leadership of the corporate-level Technology Innovation strategy in order to acquire energy savings at lower costs to BPA and thePacific Northwestregion.

About E3T

E3T R&D work is performed to validate the savings, performance, and cost-effectiveness of commercially available technologies under various conditions. When these technologies prove viable, E3T moves to incorporate them into efficiency program offerings for the region’s utilities.

As an example, BPA tested the viability of replacing electric resistance heating units with ductless heat pumps. This research engaged lab tests, simulations and field tests over a six-year period to realize the viability of the technology and potential energy savings. BPA leveraged positive test results to launch a large-scale pilot across the Northwest, resulting in over 12,000 installations in the region. The success of this trial has motivated E3T to explore energy savings potential in other situations and sectors, including small commercial applications and forced air furnace-heated homes. Further research efforts based on the residential pilot have already led to the launch of a small commercial ductless heat pump measure for limited applications.

Technology Evaluation Process

BPA’s E3T follows a rigorous prioritization and evaluation process to ensure efforts are focused on technologies and practices that will serve BPA customers well, and that BPA is best positioned to influence. This is accomplished through a combination of road maps to identify gaps and opportunities, and technical advisory groups comprised of subject matter experts, West Coast utilities and other regional organizations, including the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Washington State Energy Program. If a technology proves to be a viable efficiency opportunity, measure development plans are implemented. The overarching goal of the process is to create a steady pipeline of new technologies for integration into energy efficiency programs while providing the Northwest Power and Conservation Council all of the information necessary to identify additional technologies for future Power Plans. A database of the technologies identified by the technical advisory groups is publicly available to facilitate information sharing. All of E3T’s technology assessment reports can be accessed on BPA’s website.

Current E3T Initiatives

A number of commercial measures are currently being evaluated and analyzed by the E3T team. These measures include: variable capacity heat pumps (i.e. inverter driven technology such as ductless heat pumps and variable refrigerant flow commercial systems), solid state (or LED) lighting, Web-enabled controls and optimized rooftop HVAC unit operation.

Energy efficiency HVAC measures—such as optimized rooftop unit operation—have required significant investment in measurement and verification work to define what strategies and conditions truly save energy, and to quantify those savings.  As a result of this extensive research, BPA has collaboratively developed a draft standard measurement and verification protocol, and the most comprehensive, publicly availabledatabase of rooftop unit energy use. Ultimately, this information would be of use in supporting an optimized rooftop unit operation program.

As BPA’s E3T team continues to evaluate technologies with large potential savings, it demonstrates its ability to integrate lab-testing, field-testing and pilot programs to quantify and verify savings for utility customers. To learn more about the E3T group and the technologies currently being evaluated, visit BPA’s E3T website, and engage in E3TConnect and Conduitnw.org, which are online communities for professionals interested in collaborating on energy efficiency emerging technology.

All CBC Members will receive a complimentary VIP ticket which gives access to the expo, keynote, and many open sessions.  In this year’s Keynote, Robert Clarke and Danilo Stapula from the Department of State, will discuss COBie and BIM: an Integrated Standards Based Environment for Building Management.

Ecobuild America focuses on timely topics and real world solutions throughout all project life-cycle phases. Targeted training is available for commercial, industrial, government, institutional and residential AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) professionals as well as educators. Attendees will be able to access expert insight on a broad range of topics including:

• Building Information Modeling
• Geographic Information Systems
• Green Technology
• High Performance Building
• Sustainable Design
• Energy -Efficiency
• Security Smart Buildings

Visit the CBC blog to download your CBC Member VIP ticket and visit Ecobuild online to find out more on Ecobuild.

Only a few short years ago, the outlook for commercial building energy policy seemed bright.  A new consensus for enhanced energy and climate security, renewed legislative focus, and a dynamic marketplace seemed to be driving rapid innovation and change in the construction and operation of next generation low-energy commercial buildings.  Today, the scene is dramatically different.  The new construction market is weak, capital is scarce, and policy development seems all but stalled. However, while the path to higher efficiency is difficult, the need has only increased.

Danfoss, a global group leading in the research, development and production, sales and service of mechanical and electronic components for HVAC/R and allied industries, hosted a recent EnVisioneering Symposium E3: Energy, Efficiency and Economics. Danfoss’ Envisioneering initiative aims to explore opportunities in combining engineering innovation to create products and solutions that are energy-efficient and environmentally responsible, while ensuring sustainable business growth.

The event convened executives of the HVAC and building industries to explore the critical intersection of energy, efficiency and economics, and define today’s challenges and tomorrow’s path for an improved energy future. The conclusion: Dramatic energy efficiency gains require equipment manufacturers and engineers to focus on utilizing existing technologies and a whole building systems approach, and building owners and operators need to be equipped to overcome the challenges of high up-front costs.

Senator Jeff Bingaman opened the symposium with a presentation of a four-part proposal for making the United States more competitive in clean energy technology: renewed commitment to R&D, strengthening the domestic market for clean energy technologies, expanding the financial infrastructure for investment in these products and equipment and promoting U.S. manufacturing capabilities.

However, as Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), pointed out, there is an urgent issue facing such technology development and the way building systems are engineered: current equipment with today’s product designs is quickly reaching maximum levels of potential efficiency. He suggested that a whole building systems approach would open a new range of possibilities – but that requires a radical departure from most existing design and construction practices and a fresh look at the way we approach standards.

Greg Dobbs, director of distributed generation research and education at Penn State University, outlined an even more radical approach to the future of buildings. He described the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster (GPIC) for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is a joint project between Penn State and the U.S. Department of Energy, geared to making fully instrumented, reconfigurable, integrated whole building systems believable through real-life demonstrations at The Philadelphia Navy Yard. An experiment to bring to life the buildings of tomorrow, the program’s vision is rooted in whole building systems, highly professional building delivery and maintenance and a new grid-to-building relationship.

As one of five DOE centers at The Navy Yard, GPIC is highly visible. In August 2010, it was announced that the GPIC would be awarded more than $129 million from the U.S. DOE and other agencies. The Navy Yard site is hosts approximately 270 older buildings that can be renovated for a variety of uses, including residential, commercial, industrial, research, retail and historical.

While innovation in technology opens the path to change, the issue of high first costs remains, even if a technology is more cost-effective over its whole lifetime due to lower operating costs. Reid Detchon, who heads the Energy Future Coalition and serves as vice president for energy and climate at theUnited Nations Foundation, outlined new opportunities for bringing low-cost financing to support energy efficiency technologies that make economic sense. In addition to low-cost financing, Detchon also talked about continuous commissioning, which would allow building owners to contract with an off-site agency to monitor their building systems and complete routine check-ups to ensure building performance.

According to Karen Penafiel of BOMA International, changes in the ability to obtain data from commercial building tenants could further improve the ability of building owners to monitor energy use, improve strategies for efficiency and better implement a whole building approach. Currently, tenants are required to give permission for buildings to collect aggregate data, hampering owner-operator ability to integrate changes in tenant-occupied buildings.

Finally, Eugene Smithart, director for systems and solutions at Trane, closed the program with the suggestion that the answer lies with existing technology and a major dose of ingenuity.

Danfoss North America President John Galyen summed up the spirit of the meeting well, observing, “If we as an industry can figure out a way to tie together first cost orientation, delivering on the promise of life-cycle costs through better education and accountability, and keeping that promise over the long run and for many years, we can achieve great strides – certainly, we will be a lot further along than we are today.”

Transforming the commercial buildings market to become “net-zero-energy-capable” will require dramatically lower levels of energy use sectorwide. A comprehensive and concerted industry effort, partnering with utilities and government, must be sufficient in scale to influence the more than $600 billion per year spent on commercial new construction, renovation, and energy bills by fundamentally reinventing today’s standard “design-build-operate” building delivery process as an integrated system throughout a building’s life cycle.

In response to this need, in 2007 Congress called for creation of a Commercial Buildings Consortium (CBC) as a joint effort by the US Department of Energy (DOE), building owners and developers, states, utilities, and other stakeholders to develop and implement a multi-year agenda to transform the market  through coordinated technology development, demonstration, and deployment. Since 2009, the CBC has attracted over 500 members, many of whom contributed actively, through 12 working groups, in developing two major reports released in early 2011: Next Generation Technologies Barriers and Industry Recommendations and an Analysis of Cost and Non-cost Barriers and Policy Solutions.

The technologies report addresses barriers and recommendations on the building envelope, mechanical systems and controls, lighting and daylighting, miscellaneous IT and process equipment, CHP and multi-building systems, grid integration, and energy modeling.  The report on market barriers and policy solutions examines energy codes and standards, integrated design and building delivery, benchmarking and performance assurance, voluntary programs, finance and valuation, owners and tenants issues, and workforce development.  Both reports emphasize that achieving low- and net-zero energy performance depends less on individual technologies than on well-executed integrated design.

This paper reviews the concept of net-zero energy (NZE) buildings and where we stand today. We discuss  some of the near-term actions and longer-term strategies needed to accelerate technology innovation; make today’s best practices tomorrow’s business-as-usual; and deliver dramatically lower levels of energy use along with high-quality, healthy, and pleasant indoor environments that are resilient, adaptable, durable, and grid-responsive – while achieving market-accepted economics.