12A— June 28 - July 11, 2013 — Mid Year Review — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
LEED
By William Amann, P.E., DCEP, LEED AP, M&E Engineers, Inc. Green Buildings Success Stories and Failures
true success stories. They use consider- ably less en- ergy and have a healthier in- door environ- ment. They cost less to operate and W
e have seen a lot of buildings designed for LEED that are
In most cases, the “additional” costs to achieve LEED are pretty insignificant. On the other hand, we have seen projects that are supposed to be LEED certified, or at least designed to LEED standards, that are only marginally better then the cheap, corner-cutting, offerings that some builders have been constructing for the past 30 years. While arguably, these buildings are marginally better, I consider these projects to be failures. There are some common fac- tors that differentiate the suc- cessful projects from the fail-
ures. Typically, in a successful proj- ect, the Client/Owner is actively engaged in the design process. They provide clear direction that the building be designed in accordance to best practices as opposed to code minimums. They are true champions of the project goals. That is not to suggest that the design team has carte blanche, keeping the project within budget is para- mount. But successful LEED projects are generally those in which the budget is generous enough for the team to design and build a well-built building.
There is very little “nickel and diming” the project. On the less-successful proj- ects, the Owner makes an initial statement or requirement about earning LEED , and then rarely discusses it again. Instead of maintaining a focus on the en- ergy efficiency goals, achieving LEED becomes a sidebar conver- sation, like selecting the finish colors or furniture. With little or no reinforcement of commit- ment, goals are marginalized, minimized, and delegated. Another touchstone of a suc- cessful project is that the design team has enough time in the
schedule to consider design features, research materials and systems appropriate for the particular project, complete analysis, and to create the de- tails that show how the building envelop is to be built. When a design team is driven by schedule, the design is often substantially complete before there is any discussion about energy. At this point some ad- ditional inches of insulation or a high performance glass may be considered. The architect throws the design over the fence to the HVAC engineer, who is supposed to somehow tweak energy savings out of the build- ing by selecting high efficiency equipment. By that point, much if not most of the potential en- ergy savings are already lost due to the lack of an integrated design process. Of course the minimum efficiencies required by ASHRAE are increasing which make the “after thought” approach more difficult. These buildings may still achieve some level of LEED certification, and they get a plaque, but the real potential value is largely squandered. In my experience, the most successful projects are those in which there is a LEEDmanager or consultant that keeps every- one cognizant of the issues. Once a team member has committed that “Yes, we can earn that point,” it has been very benefi- cial to have periodic reviews to make sure the credits are still on track. While the design process inevitably includes changes, no team member wants to disap- point the other team members (or the client) by reporting that a point has been lost. In cases where achieving a point becomes expensive, other team members quite often start of- fering suggestions on how to still achieve the point at lower cost. It seems to me that the LEED target score becomes a source of pride for all the team members, and they develop a stronger comradery because of this common goal. It is essential that a practical, integrated, thoughtful approach to designing and building LEED projects becomes the standard. In doing so, the successes of the future will vastly outweigh the failures. I know they will out- perform them. WilliamAmann, P.E., DCEP, LEED AP is president of M&E Engineers, Inc. & is chairman of the Somerset County Energy Council. n
William Amann
have a much lower impact on the environment. Perhaps more importantly, the people inside the buildings are healthier, happier and more productive.
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