FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What are "high performance" and "green" buildings?

Why build these resource efficient buildings?

How is a high performance building achieved?

A "high performance" building provides a comfortable and high quality environment for its occupants while using less energy and having lower operating costs than a typical building.

A "green" building, in addition to being energy efficient, includes consideration of site development and transportation issues, wise water use, indoor air and environmental quality, and use of materials that are renewable, recycled, recyclable and non-toxic during manufacturing, use and disposal. Different levels of achievement of these goals may be quantified using the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED™ scorecard.

They cost less to operate: often less than 2/3 of what a typical building would cost, increasing profits year after year for the life of the building.

On average, over 3/4 of the overall cost of the building's heating and cooling system goes to utility costs and maintenance over the life of the system, while less than 1/4 of the amount occurs during construction.

High performance buildings are just more comfortable, reducing "thermostat wars". They often have better indoor air quality which increases employee productivity.

Many also take advantage of daylighting strategies. Natural daylight, when properly used, is not only cooler and cheaper than artificial lighting, it has been shown to noticeably increase retail sales and and raise student test scores. Many researchers believe that it is an important factor in increasing employee productivity.

Buildings use and waste a lot of our precious resources: building operations account for 2/3 of our electricity use, 1/3 of our total energy use, almost 40% of municipal solid waste and 1/4 of all the wood harvested every year.

A fully integrated design gives big benefits but often costs almost the same to build, especially with the available utility incentives. For example, a building with energy efficient glass and lighting will stay comfortable even with less air conditioning installed. The increased cost of windows and lights are offset by the reduced initial cost of the air conditioning equipment.

Integrated approach to design, as early as possible. In the normal design process, the mechanical and lighting systems are typically designed well after the basic building shell. In reality, the entire building functions as a whole with each system contributing. To achieve full benefit of the installed components, this interaction is recognized and the envelope, lighting and mechanical systems are all designed together.

Team coordination. The architect, lighting designer and mechanical engineer work together emphasizing efficient design and coordinating ideas and plans. Brummitt Energy Associates Inc. assists in this process with ideas and analyses to help choose the most effective measures and approaches for a particular project. San Diego Gas and Electric's Savings By Design program also provide financial incentives to the design team, usually covering the costs of these extra measures.

Computer simulations. In the normal design process, a mechanical engineer designs the system to satisfy the peak loads of the building. An integrated building simulation also estimates the annual energy use of the building, not just it's peak load. It includes the interaction of architectural choices, mechanical system options, lighting levels and controls. With this information about a building's load profile, customized air conditioning equipment can be chosen. Life Cycle Cost analyses can be done, which include operating savings as well as initial cost. Brummitt Energy Associates Inc. has performed thousands of simulations, made recommendations, and provided analyses that helped people make informed choices.

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