Green Building Blog

In February, 2017, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) surveyed its members pertaining to sustainability issues facing their industry. Highlights from this report that are relevant to Michigan contractors and builders are summarized as follows:

Just have an energy audit done? Congratulations! It’s a great step toward saving money in both the short and long term, and toward creating a more environmentally-friendly building. But the audit is just the first step, not an end in itself. Don’t let it just sit on the corner of your desk, gathering dust! Whether it’s for business or home, here are some common-sense reminders of steps you can take to implement the audit.

Is Retrocommissioning Worth it for Facility Managers?

From their first meeting of less than 50 people just a couple of years ago to almost 500 this year, PACENation reflects the potential this groundbreaking policy has on the future of the built environment. PACENation is the national, non-profit advocacy organization for Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing.

In 2016, PACE passed the $3 billion mark in cumulative financing (commercial and residential). “What we’re really seeing is the birth of an industry. It isn’t just about burning less hydrocarbons, it’s also about saving money,” John Hickenlooper, the Governor of Colorado told the crowd.

In 2015, Wayne State University’s Academic Administration Building, Detroit, MI, was facing many of the same concerns as other office buildings of similar age. Tenants (in this case University employees) repeatedly complained to building maintenance staff that they were “too hot” or “too cold.” And the costs of running the building kept creeping up.

As part of a DTE Energy and Nexant Retro-commissioning (RCx) project for no-cost and low-cost energy conservation measures (ECMs) with short-term payback, Newman Consulting Group (NCG) conducted an ASHRAE Level 2 Energy Analysis and RCx Study on the building. We uncovered several opportunities that would not only make tenants more comfortable, but also save money. The DTE RCx program, however, dictated that any measures eligible for rebates from DTE under their Energy Optimization program could not be included in the ECMs implemented for this project, e.g., LED lighting, high-efficiency motors, or VFDs, to name a few. Still, we were able to make significant improvements.