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Posts from the ‘High Performance Building / Sustainability’ Category

Jun 21

High Performance Whitepaper

High Performance Mechanical Systems for Institutional Buildings

When it comes to “High Performance,” are you up to snuff on the best available tools?  In his latest whitepaper, Alan Butler– with the help of Mechanical Engineers Tony Costa (Cost Engineers, Inc.) and Mike Lucas (Alfa Tech)–has compiled a careful study of the best high performance mechanical systems for institutional buildings.  The research ranges from popular displacement ventilation systems to less well-known enthalpy wheels and geothermal systems.  To learn more about today’s energy efficient systems for your latest building or project, download the whitepaper here.

Jun 8

What are Plug Loads?

You may see this device plugged into workstations, copy machines and other office equipment in the next few weeks. It is one of three of these devices I have on loan from the PG&E Energy Center in San Francisco. It measures the kilowatt hours used by any electrical device and can calculate costs on an annual, monthly or weekly basis. I have become increasingly interested in “phantom loads”, all that power that is consumed while our office machines wait to be used.  For example the Resource Station by my office has a computer, monitor and two scanners and is almost always left on 24 hours a day. Last night in the fourteen hours it was on while nobody was in the office it drew 2.26 kilowatt hours. Doesn’t sound like much but in the 6,256 hours it is left on when nobody is in the office it uses $177 dollars worth of electricity each year. This is 938 KWH per year which would probably be equivalent of  a pretty high residential monthly power bill.

There are lots of emerging technologies that I hope we will use in the new office. Some are as simple as occupancy sensors attached to plug strips which shut off all non essential power if you leave your desk for a period of time. We are  using  this at the new Yuba Center in Clear Lake.  New building wide  systems, similar to what we are using for daylight controls in our more sophisticated buildings, can sweep off circuits after hours and are intelligent enough to know if someone is working in that part of the building.

In the meantime think about all those transformers and devices sucking power around the office. If you can turn off a printer or copier on the way out as well as your computer we’d be  all the better. We are the best occupancy sensor devices. I’ll be tallying up the frightening numbers and showing some of the control systems  coming to the fore in  a Wine Wednesday presentation in coming  months.

May 13

More Photos from McCarthy Library Opening

Marina took these photos of students checking out the Sustainable Design Principles sign at the McCarthy Library Opening.  A version of this sign will eventually be incorporated as a permanent feature of the library.

Apr 22

Happy Earth Day from TLCD

Today marks the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.  At TLCD, we are conscious of both the materials and the practices we employ with each of our buildings.  As architects and planners, we understand the implications that the built environment has on the natural world, and we make it our job to employ the most sustainable strategies for all of our projects.

Our 18 LEED Accredited Professionals keep green building in mind throughout the design and construction process for each of our projects.  We are currently in design phases of three projects targeting some level of LEED certification.  Additionally, our High Performance Committee searches out innovative green practices to bring back to our work and our office environment.  For example, the High Performance Committee has suggested that we transform our office green roof installation into a roof garden to provide staff and guests with fresh garden goodies.  Attendance at the annual Greenbuild conference also helps our firm stay abreast of sustainable trends in the architectural community and beyond.

Happy Earth Day from TLCD!

Mar 22

“Greening” Classrooms at Cardinal Newman High School

In this short video, TLCD architects Jeff Blechel and John Dybczak discuss the “green” features in effect at Cardinal Newman High School.

Mar 19

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Green Roof gets a Haircut!

It was a beautiful sunny day, the last day of winter officially, and the perfect time to give our green test roof a spring haircut. Jamie and I got out the weedeater and a rake and went at it Friday at noon. Only one sprinkler head met its demise for the cause. The clippings went out to Kenwood where they were properly composted. Jaime and I got our eco-credits for the week and the roof got its first hearty drink from the irrigation system.  With only 4″ of soil the roof had dried out considerably in our short burst of warm weather. Our plan for the spring is perhaps to raise some healthy veggies on the roof garden to enhance our Wine Wednesdays. Stay tuned!
aB

Green Roof Maintenance Crew at Work. Note John Deere T-Shirt.

Mar 18

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Craig Gaevert tours the team at West College

This weeks Wine Wednesday took place in the field with Craig Gaevert offering a comprehensive tour of the West College Utilities Facility. With combined space of over 40,000 square feet, this facility includes an impressive new training center, a large shops building and it centralizes many of the City of Santa Rosa’s departments under one roof. The building boasts many green features, including raised floor ventilation, energy-efficient lighitng, solar panels, bioswales and sustainable building materials and finishes.

Mar 10

West College Utilities Facility Construction Photos

100310_west college constr photos

Check out some of Craig’s site photos from the West College Utilities Facility currently under construction. The insulated metal panels and rooftop solar photovoltaics are being installed. Looks great, thanks Craig!

Feb 19

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LED Test Drive

Two brand new LED light fixtures from Workrite are visiting our office for the week. These highly efficient fixtures are expected to have a 20 year useful life (no lamp replacement). Workrite is known for  ergonomic products like adjustable height workstations, monitor arms, and keyboard trays.

The super flexible task light is able to fold into itself becoming compact and extend virtually horizontally, inches above your desk. It has the ability to dim in four increments, and can be mounted to your worksurface or freestanding.

The undercabinet light can be mounted to a magnetic surface or strip, with the ability to tilt, directing the angle of light. The dimming mechanism for this fixture is coming soon. Both fixtures come with a 10 year warranty.

Check them out in the Martini Lounge and click the link below or let me know if you would like pricing or more info.

http://www.workriteergo.com/products/lighting.asp

Feb 4

Project Certification Conversion to LEED 2009 – One Project’s Experience

Wondering what the diefferences are between LEED v2.2 and LEED 2009 requirements? They are varied, and many. However, the attached article describes a real life experience of one project’s switch to the new rating system, describing the positive and negative issues. Well worth the read. Just click on the image to link to the article.

Enjoy!

"Hard-Won Lessons From a LEED 2009 Early Adaptor" by Tristan Roberts; BuildingGreen.com

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