A very interesting video produced by the Rocky Mountain Institute and the U.S. Green Building Council (LEED). Showcasing case studies and how some corporations and businesses are pushing the limits on sustainable and energy saving building design. If buildings use aprox. 40% of all energy in the U.S. then they would be a very obvious place to start re-designing. I'd like to hear your thoughts after watching the video. High Performance Building Perspective and Practice Rocky Mountain Institute and the U.S. Green Building Council have partnered to produce a compelling film that documents the business case for building green. Thirteen LEED projects are profiled. This film features interviews with the CEOs, business executives, developers, school administrators, government officials, building managers, and design professionals who recognize the real benefits of going green. Also check out the case studies and accompanying downloadable PDFs for each of these exciting projects. Read the case studies An RMI Production Gregory Franta, Principal-in-Charge Caroline Fluhrer, Project Manager Erik Bonnett, Researcher Caroline Clark, Researcher This film was made possible by the generous funding and support of: Ayrshire Foundation CoreNet Global Gates Family Foundation U.S. Green Building Council Jim Aresty Christopher H. Smith Lafayette Energy Company Shell Hydrogen Production: group positive, llc, a sevengroup company Tom Keiter, producer/director Joe Myers, camera/director Greg Feinberg, editor Traci Watson, associate producer www.sevengroup.com Direct Video Downloads Feel free to download these videos directly ›
I was just going to head out into the garden while it's quiet, so I'll watch the half hour video later. Architecture and engineering have always interested me, but I've yet to find a generous benefactor to pay the bills while I go back to school. It should be possible to construct buildings that produce more energy than they consume. If the average developer had any concern about a building's lifetime energy costs, our homes and cities would look quite different.
You're not going to get any argument from me about USGBC and LEED. I hope to be LEED AP NC ref2.2 next month.
I build high performance buildings. My current project is a 7000 sq ft residence that is nearing completion in sweltering Austin Texas. It has the largest residential solar array in Texas and will supply all it's electrical needs on an annual averaged basis and will likely create a surplus of electrical energy. The building envelope was developed by me and others with the initial concept coming from Neal Hutcheon back in the 50s. We are currently air conditioning the building with one 10 seer 3 ton unit that was salvaged from an old building that was being renovated. We have just experienced the hottest spring on record. In the last 34 days we experienced 18 record high temperatures and 16 days in excess of 100 degrees. Even that old inefficient, cobbed together system maintained 71 degrees upstairs and 77 degrees on the midlevel and 72 degrees downstairs during the hottest part of the day. This is with 10 workers working inside the house with a table saw, planer, jointer and various other power tools. There was much coming and going and loading in and out. The total electrical consumption for air conditioning for the month was just less than 100$ with power costs of over 10 cents per Kwh. The estimated total hvac energy costs for the building once it is finished and occupied is 780$ per year if we were buying electricity. Total building envelope cost on this building was no more than any other well built modern building. There is no evidence to the naked eye that it uses any unusual building technique. My own home is 4000 sq ft and we use an average of less than 1000 Kwh and 11 gallons of propane per month. We use rainwater collection for all our domestic needs which represents 10% of our electrical consumption for pumping and disinfection. Our consumption is due to come down as we are starting to switch from incandescent to LED lighting through much of the house. This whole thing is finally catching on. Hurray for high energy prices and mold claims and lawsuits. They are leading to energy efficient buildings with superior durability and indoor air quality. It is exciting to have been on the leading edge.
Tony, I forgot you were pursuing that. That is so cool! Ray, it sounds like an incredible building and the opportunities for people like you are opening up like the Great Rift Valley did eons ago. LOL Do you have any papers or literature on the work you are doing or have proposed? I visited a local green design residential unit in Chico during the CSU Chico Sustainability Conference III and as amazed at how efficient it was considering it was hot out and it was a 2 story building. The energy bills they displayed were quite low as well. *jealous* We attended 2 green architecture seminars during the conference and I was quite impressed with how low the costs were compared to only 10 years ago. Someday when I own a home again it'll be be at least as efficient as some of those showcased in the video and hopefully a net producer of energy.
