Why Sustainability Part II & Making A Case for Zero Energy Buildings

Dear Golden Gate ASHRAE Members and friends,

Happy March, last month I talked about the winter a lot and it’s still the topic of fodder lately. Locally, we have had a pretty wet winter and we need it. Our next meeting’s topic is Water; we hope you can join us in Marin on March 4th. Sign up here.

Some parts of the east coast including Washington DC had the biggest snowfall on record. Now once again, I don’t want to get political, yet it must be pointed out how ridiculous some folks are when they try to say that a snow accumulation in almost every state means that there is no such thing as global warming or climate change or denying the FACT that population and industrialization in the last 75 years are the primary contributors.

I am often appalled with rhetoric of narrow minded denial and dismissal. I can only assume that if one is educated and you don’t accept these facts, you are either financially too deeply-invested in conventional fuels and the status quo, or you just have not gotten up to speed with the right information and evidence.

Simply put, we are faced with far too much terribly false information out there. Even within our own professional community, there are those of us that are totally in denial of the hard facts of what is going on with energy and the environment. According to a recent Architect Magazine story and survey, our colleagues are practically split 50/50 when it comes to believing in sustainability and the ‘green movement’. If ASHRAE performed a survey like this, I am not confident we would do much better as a Society.

I guess I find it so astonishing because for more than two decades I have been studying energy and renewables. I have continued to become more involved and informed with the issues and technology. I know that we MUST make a difference, now.

ASHRAE’s focus on Sustainability is commendable, but I believe we must take it to another level. I mean a much bigger level, comparable to what Shawn White did in Vancouver last week with his sport.

I believe that we must eliminate the loopholes that still allow inefficient building systems and components from being installed. Performance based allowances that hide bad design must be eliminated. We need our codes and standards to have more restrictive mandatory measures. I believe that the ‘cost effective justifications’ are there if you consider that conventional fuels are subsidized and that we have not put a price on emissions yet.

Here at Golden Gate, last month we continued our focus on Sustainability with the presentation on Zero Energy Buildings. Brad Jacobson from EHDD gave a wonderful overview of projects from their high performance design past experience. I would like to elaborate on one part of the discussion surrounding the goals and merits of Zero Energy Buildings:

First, we must design our new buildings as efficiently as possible. We also must strive towards better maintenance and renovations that include energy conservation measures. The fact of the matter is whether you are talking about new construction or retrofits, there is only so far you can go when it comes to efficiency. After a certain amount of effort, you get to a point where you cannot reduce you energy demand any further. Some efficiency measures are low hanging fruit, and others are far too costly to consider. The fact of the matter is in some instances, renewables are cheaper than some efficiency measures. PV is dropping in price. Solar Thermal was just added to the CSI. Fuel Cells (Combined Heating and Power) have been adopted by the Federal ITC and the SGIP programs. Distributed Generation, in some cases, has already reached price parity and then some. It totally depends. The best case example is this: PV power costs $0.17/kWh, over the lifetime. Today Tier 5 Electricity prices from PG&E now are above $0.40/kWh. You do the math.

The point here is that we must consider both efficiency and renewables. In one of my previous President’s messages, I made the case for renewables, please check out the Fog archives. Also, if you want to get up to speed, I recommend: reading the IPCC reports; watch the PBS Frontline archives on Climate Change; read Energy Autonomy by Hermann Scheer; read Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman; read the reports from ice core sampling by Dr. Konrad Steffen from the University of Colorado. The information out there is not conjecture or extrapolation or political maneuvering, it is hard data.

And most importantly, join us and get involved with the Golden Gate Chapter and ASHRAE, we need your participation.

Best regards,

Scott Wayland, P.E.
Chapter President, 2009-2010

Main Program:
Lori Steere, Community Affairs Representative, EBMUD:
The Growing Global Importance of Recycled Water

Tech Session:
Brian Soderholm, Water Control Corporation: Commercial Water Reclamation and Reuse

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