Project Sustainable Design Management

Methodology For Sustainable

Solutions (BIM book)
Revised 10 31 2012
2011/10/19

 Describe an order of operations that will help

any design team achieve a more sustainable
result.
By thinking about specific issues at the correct
time in the project process, you can minimize
negative impacts and keep both first cost and
operation costs low.

Order of Operations
Simple steps for sustainable design of buildings & the expansion:
1. Understanding climate
2. Reducing loads
3. Using free energy
4. Using efficient systems

1. Understanding climate, culture, and place

2. Understanding the building type
3. Reducing the resource consumption need
4. Using free/local resources and natural systems
5. Using efficient manmade systems
6. Applying renewable energy generation systems
7. Offsetting remaining negative impacts

1.Understanding Climate, Culture, and Place

1.1 Climate
Location, Sun, Temperature
and Dewpoint, Rainfall,
Psychometric chart, Wind,
Flora and Fauna.

1.2 Culture
Culture of Community,
Culture of an Organization

1.3 Place
Skyline: Chicago and Houston

1.1.1 Location
Latitude () & Longitude () of the project site
makes finding the rest of the climate information much
easier, for example,
when the seasons are during the year.
PV panels are placed equal to the angle of latitude.

Solar south and magnetic south

To use the sun for passive heating, energy, and daylight,
buildings should:
have a long east-west axis, face solar south, and keep the
long faade within15 degrees of solar south.

1.1.2 Sun
Basic sun angles & insolation data for that area
Azimuth () and Altitude ()
Azimuth is the horizontal component of the suns position
Altitude is the position of the sun in elevation expressed in
angles from the horizontal plane

Insolation () amount decreases when away

equator
Based on sun angles and solar south to orient a
building, glazing, shades (depth and angle) to
minimize solar heat gain and solar penetration.

By knowing the insolation levels of a particular region,

the size of solar collector can be determined for hot
water heating and electricity generation, measured in
kilowatt hours per square meter per day

1.1.3 Temperature and Dewpoint

Gathering the average maximum, average, and
average minimum temperatures on a monthly basis.
Tells potential time periods to use natural ventilation.
Temperature + moisture determines overall comfort
To design external shades ()
Degree day = daily temp. - control temp. (65 F)
Dew point close to temp. means high humidity.
High temp. tells body to cool by sweating, but high
humidity inhibits evaporation of sweat. Discomfort.

Need for Heating and Cooling

1.1.4 Rainfall
Gathering the average monthly rainfall
Figure how much runoff potential has either created
or mitigated based on your choices for surfaces in the
design of elements. (roofs, walkways, driveways, and
landscaping)
How much water can be captured for reuse for toilet
flushing, irrigation, fountain, or garden.

1.1.5 Psychometric Chart

The greater number of data points that land within the
comfort zone, the less mechanical heating, cooling,
and humidity control will be required.

1.1.6 Wind

For natural ventilation & window openings, gather

wind data: speed, direction, and duration. Not vary
much from nearby airport data.

1.1.7 Flora and Fauna

Information on indigenous () flora and
fauna is the second most challenging piece of
data to gather.
Capture the main types of ecology around the
project site.
Find reference books or experts.
To list wildlife, trees and shrubs, grasses and
sedges (), and forbs () and wildflowers

Ecoregion Data

1.2.1 Culture of Community

Community members educate us on what they feel is
most valuable and precious to them, what makes them
unique, and what they need, want, and fear most about the
project. Spend time with them.

1.2.2 Culture of Clients Organization

What is the history of the organization?

What is the overall vision for the organizations future?
How is the company structured?
What is the internal demographic of the employee base?
What is the overall commitment to sustainable thinking?
What and/or who is going to be the key driver in decision
making?

1.3 Understanding Place

Every place is unique and has its own sense of
character.
The methods by which weve developed our
land into towns, cities, and metropolises define
and redefine that place.
Replicated malls in the US destroy the nature.
Set sustainability goals, create guidelines,
conceptualize the development, study,
dialogue

2. Understanding the Building Type

How a building type responds to its
surrounding climate? It is lost due to codified
uniform standards and warranties tied to
standards.
Misapplied technology and higher costs.
Large heating and cooling loads come from
conduction.
Conduction is the transfer of heat through
matter, making up the envelope of the building.

Energy Consumption
Domestic Hot Water 6%

Domestic Hot Water 11%

Area Lights
23%

Vent Fans7%
Pumps & Misc.
0.5%

Vent Fans 16%

Area Lights
23%

Heat Reject
1%

Misc. Equipment
12%

Space Cooling
20%

Space Cooling
13%
Misc. Equipment
22%

Space Heating2
5%

Energy consumption chart for Kansas City residence

Kansas City office building

Heating Load
Infiltration 9%

Wall Conduction
25%

Infiltration 38%

Window Glass
38%

Wall Conduction
14%

Roof Conduction
3%

Heating load chart for Kansas City residence

Roof Conduction
14%

Window Glass + Frame Conduction

23%

Kansas City office building

Cooling Load
Equip. to Space 3%

Infiltration 0%

Infiltration 9%

Wall Conduction
13%

Equip. to Space 19%

Light to Space 2%

Wall Conduction
37%

Occupants to Space
2%
Internal Surface
Conduction 0%

Roof Conduction
14%

Window Glass Solar

2%

Light to Space 18%

Window Glass and
Frame Conduction 9%

Roof Conduction
2%

Window Glass and Frame Conduction

23%

Cooling load chart for Kansas City residence

Occupants to Space
10%

Window Glass Solar

17%

Kansas City office building,

How about Seattle?

3. Reducing Resource Consumption Need

The greenest building is the one that is never built.
The greenest building is the one that is already built.
If it is not absolutely necessary, dont create it.
Space
Materials
Energy
Water

3.1 Space
Does the client need this space?
Space has upstream environmental impacts from
manufacturing and construction as well as downstream
environmental impacts related to maintenance and
disposal or recycling.
Do we need this?
Reduce the required resources to build and operate the
project.

3.2 Materials
How can you use as few as possible, or use the ones
you must have the most effectively?
Every material should have a (or more) purpose(s) in a project.
Concrete floor with metal deck: add reflectance ()
Embodied energy refers to all the energy required for the
creation of that material or product, from harvest to delivery to
use.
Concrete has many benefits, including its durability and high
mass, the fact that its surface can be an attractive finish, its
recyclability, and the fact that it can be made locally.
Cement is 10~12% of, but 85% embodied energy of concrete.
Lucky there is a way to reduce its embodied energy.

University of Texas Health Science

Center at Houston School of Nursing
It contains high fly ash ()
concrete for the structure.
The project replaced 48% of
the Portland cement in the
concrete mix with fly ash.
Common use is 25%.
Fly ash is a by-product
material of coal fired power
plants, and in concrete
mixes it acts very much like
Portland cement.

3.3 Energy
12 most common energy efficiency measures:
1) Building orientation
7) Optimized lighting
2) Building massing ()
8) Efficient equipment
3) Optimized envelope () 9) Passive solar
4) Optimized glazing ()10) Thermal mass
5) Optimized shading
11) Natural ventilation
6) Daylight dimming
12) Optimized mechanical
systems

 Combine the first seven for collective better

solution: face south, east-west, glazing % on
south wall for daylight, external shades, to
reduce need for cooling.
Set goals for each strategy for various levels of
achievement.
Simple policy decisions can reduce energy.
Set point temp. 26 degrees C for cooling.

Energy performance matrix

Temperature set
point reduction
simulation

3.4 Water
Reducing the buildings need for water.
Do not use drinking water to flush waste or water
grass lawns, the two primary areas.
Reducing the flushing (1.6 gpf), water-free urinals.
Landscape materials should be native to the area.
Survive on the average and seasonal rainfalls for that
climate area, to eliminate extensive irrigation systems.
Reduce the need for water and capture a GHG reduction
at the same time.

3.4 Water UBC Center for Asian Research

Setting new standards for energy and resource
efficiency, saving remnant of old growth forest, and
building materials were salvaged, no sewer
connection, use composting toilets and constructed
wetland.

4. Using Free/Local Resources and Natural

Systems
Nothing comes for free, but wind, rain and sun.
Only pay for the systems to collect these
resources.
They can be predicted on a regular basis.
Reduce the resource need, select products from
the region, use salvaged materials, the energy
to transport those materials is lessened.

4.1 Wind
Energy generation and natural
ventilation cooling, used in lieu of
off-site energy resources.
Prior to the development of
mechanical ventilation systems, all
buildings relied on natural
ventilation.
Uses natural forces of wind and
buoyancy to deliver fresh air into
buildings. Two types:
1. Wind driven ventilation
2. Stack () ventilation

4.1 Wind
Natural ventilation improve indoor env. quality
(fresh air, less mechanical system noise) and reduce
operating costs. Rely on:
Building location on site and proper orientation
Building mass and dimensions
Window types, locations and operation
Integration of stack inducing elements
(open stairs, chimneys)
Efficient envelope construction
(conductance and infiltration)
External elements (shading devices and vegetation)
Flexible temperature ranges for comfort

4.2 Rainwater
For the past several decades, people have been happily just piping
this water away with high embodied energy man-made structures
like concrete pipes and, in some cases, pumping systems to
another location so somebody else can deal with it.
This standard practice causes erosion () and flooding
problems downstream in quantities and rates, too challenging for
natural systems to handle.
Rainwater harvesting: Collect, filter, store and convey water
to the end use.
Collect it from the roof, parking lot, or site runoff. Store it in
barrels or cisterns, located on the roof, at grade, hidden in the
sublevels of the buildings or under parking lot.

4.2 Rainwater
Rainwater can be used for irrigation of site landscaping,
development of water features on site, water for industrial
processes, flushing toilets, chiller water, geothermal heat sinks.
Each level of use increases requirement and cost for filtration
and cleaning, so lower-quality, non-potable needs first.
Use of a rainwater harvesting system also reduces water runoff
from the developed area.
Localized natural systems should be used to handle both the
quantity and quality of the water prior to letting it leave the
site.
Strategies for this include green roofs, pervious paving,
bioswales, rain gardens, and constructed wetlands.

Pervious paving, Missouri Botanical Gardens

Rain Garden, Kansas City

Bioswales at Anita B. Gorma Conservation

Discovery Center, Kansas City

Constructed wetland at Anita B. Gorman

4.3 Sun

Most powerful resource

Provides light, heat, and power
Natural light and artificial light
Daylighting: Integrating the use of natural daylight
for primary interior illumination of buildings.
Design strategies:
1. Orient the building to face solar south.
2. Determine where to put the glazing and how much is
required to create a daylighting solution.
3. Use external shading: reduce heat gain, and control
unwanted glare inside the building.

4.4 Material
Reducing resource need
Selecting as many materials from within the
region as possible.
Benefits include a better
connection to the place, better
economics for the local
surrounding community and,
in most cases, a smaller
environmental footprint.

Salvaged wood for the Discovery Center

5. Using Efficient Man-Made System

Buildings needs are unlikely met by natural
systems. Gaps acquired by man-made systems:
Mechanical system
Plumbing (on-demand systems)
Electric lighting
Efficient equipment (Ex. CRTs=>LCDs)

5.1 Mechanical System

Get the right-sized mechanical system
Due to excessive on-off cycling, oversizing of
systems can raise purchase cost, increase energy
use, and shorten product life. This is especially
true for heating and cooling systems.

Integrating the systems

It is possible to capture some lost heat and use it for
other purposes.
Creates higher total system efficiency.

 When selecting mechanical systems, use computer simulations.

Select the most efficient version combined with proper use of
control systems.
Space conditioning, lighting, equipment are the biggest needs,
with different degrees of efficiency.
Underfloor air distribution (UFAD), raised floor systems 2 to
4, allowing cables and ductwork to run underneath.
Advantages:
1) no hot dirty return air from above,
2) closer to the occupants. Doesnt have to blow fast, less fan
energy, deliver cool air at 10 degrees warmer, saving
cooling energy.

5.2 Plumbing
Stored water kept hot for use in sinks, showers.
Wait for hot water because supply pipe has cooled off.
On-demand system: heat the water as it flows thru when it
is requested, instead of keeping an entire tank at a given
temp.
Flushing toilets and irrigation are the two largest use of
water. Use dual flush (1.6/0.8 gpf), low 1.2, 0.8, 1.0
Use metered or infrared () sensor operated faucet
save about 75% of water.
Use high-efficiency drip irrigation system, save 50%.

5.3 Electric Lighting

Efficient light fixtures together with control systems.
Three main components that affect efficiency:
Fixture (reflectors, diffusers, and the types of
lamps)
Ballast, provides starting voltage to turn on the
lamp
Light, select bulbs based on lumens per watt (light),
not watt (heat)
5.4 Equipment
LCD less energy, less heat, less glare

6. Applying Renewable Energy

Generation System
Renewable energy is energy from sources other than
fossil fuels.
7 recognized renewable energy sources:
Solar
Wind
Biomass
Hydrogen

Geothermal
Ocean
Hydropower

Power should be located on site to minimize energy

loss due to distribution.
Focus on site-based renewable energy.

 Some of them work well at both large and small scales

Seattle uses 49% hydro. Kansas City is 78% coal and only
1% renewable
It takes resources to create systems that harness energy and
not all of them benign
Each renewable system is not available for every location.
For example, wind speed 12 mph to generate power. PV
(solar) panel potential
Renewable energy can be significantly more expensive
35 years to pay for a solar system
Renewable energy certificate (RFC). Additional fees an
owner pays to sponsor putting renewable energy on the grid.
Close to carbon offset but not quite.

7. Offsetting Your Negative Impact

Embodied energy of design effort, materials selected, and
construction
All of this embodied energy can be equated to a carbon
dioxide unit equivalent
Offset by supporting programs that compensate for or
reduce emissions.
Carbon offsets for purchases
Offsets linked to renewable
energy and energy efficiency
projects are more permanent
than those that involve
planting trees to sequester
A second-growth forest on
(absorb) carbon ().
Bainbridge Island, Washington

After completing the seven steps in the order of

operations, you will have created one of the most
sustainable buildings possible.

Spearville wind farm