Design-build offers a lot of advantages to an owner or developer looking to achieve LEED® certification or one of the higher LEED ratings. The most important benefit is often not recognized as such, and that is the assembly of a professional team that knows how to work together in the early stages of the project. A green project requires careful planning and serious commitment to the guiding principles established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). And while the LEED rating is the primary goal, building owners and occupants will enjoy the additional long-term benefit of reduced operating costs for years to come — if the team looks beyond the short-term objective of achieving the LEED points necessary for the rating. Energy efficiency and sustainable energy sources often have the greatest impact on just how “green” a building actually is. Here is where the choice of the right electrical contractor can make a real difference.
“We’re at a crossroads where the rising costs of energy and the emerging technologies to actually do something about those costs have met,” said Rex Ferry, CEO of Valley Electrical Consolidated Inc., Girard, Ohio, and president-elect of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). Ferry was speaking to electrical contractors and renewable energy experts gathered for the recent Energy Solutions Summit in Los Angeles. Ferry chaired the summit, convened by NECA to share and further develop the range of members’ green building expertise.
“Green construction, energy efficiency and renewable and alternative energy all present opportunities and challenges for building owners, facility managers, developers and the contractors who work for them,” Ferry said.
“Designers and developers who are committed to green construction deserve to have an electrical contractor committed to helping them achieve those goals, while saving money on energy costs over a building’s life,” said Glenn De Soto, Morrow-Meadows Corp., City of Industry, Calif. “We know that green building requires looking at all the available options to conserve energy, operate more efficiently, and in some cases, generate electricity on-site through a renewable source,”
Companies like Morrow-Meadows and DBIA Chairman Tom Sorley’s Rosendin Electric are among a growing number of electrical contractors that recognize that the electrical contractor can no longer be a “pipe and wire” subcontractor, but must become a total energy solutions provider.
The NECA Energy Solutions Summit brought together a number of industry leaders from across the country to share their expertise and brainstorm how electrical contractors can best serve the green construction market.
Building owners, occupants and developers are looking for both small and large ways to dramatically cut their energy use and incorporate sustainable power into their day-to-day lives.
The electrical contractor brings expertise to the design-build team in three specific areas that contribute to the success of the sustainable construction project.
“Energy conservation, energy efficiency, and responsible energy production — those are the keys to meeting customer’s needs,” said Tom Glavinich, associate professor of engineering at University of Kansas and a leading industry researcher for ELECTRI International. “Each building project is different and requires a customized energy solution.”
Energy Conservation
Energy conservation is about using less energy without impacting the occupants’ everyday activities or productivity. An important part of energy conservation is advanced controls on both the utility and customer sides of the electric meter. The electrical contractor on the design-build team provides the knowledge of these controls in their selection and application.
On the utility side of the meter, controls can include time-of-day (TOD) metering that encourages customers to reduce their energy use during peak demand times when the utility must use its most expensive and least-efficient generating resources to meet this demand. By charging customers based on TOD usage, customers have an incentive to shift their discretionary energy use to off-peak times when electricity is less expensive for the utility to produce.
Conservation from the customer’s side of the meter includes things as simple as unplugging appliances not in regular use and as complex as advanced lighting and HVAC controls. These automated electrical systems that adjust lighting and environmental control based on occupancy, daylighting and other sensors are “building automation,” “integrated building systems,” and other terms. However, their true function lies in their ability to manage a building’s energy and should be referred to as “energy management systems” or “EMS.” EMS is about reducing building operating and maintenance costs, as well as being environmentally responsible – which leads us to the second point, energy efficiency.
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency seeks to reduce energy by using more efficient materials and equipment to generate, transfer and use energy both on the utility and customer sides of the meter. Conservation can only save so much; a systematic approach to cutting energy use is necessary to be truly green.
“Reducing the power it takes for a building to operate is usually the first step an owner can take to cut operating costs, while also reducing a building’s environmental impact,” said Dick Nogleberg, Placer Electric, Sacramento. “Energy-efficient systems are an important aspect of [USGBC] LEED ratings, but their real attractiveness to building owners lies in the money they can save over the life of a building.”
The electrical contractor is involved with two of the prerequisites and up to 28 of the 69 total credit points necessary for a building to achieve LEED certification — slightly more than 40 percent of the total LEED credit points available. This means that when an owner decides to go for LEED certification, the electrical contractor will likely have a significant impact on the project’s success.
When it comes to LEED, electrical contractors can be involved in light trespass reduction, energy performance, atmosphere and lighting controls, on-site renewable energy, daylighting and managing construction materials.
Electrical contractors can also contribute to LEED credits for design and innovation.
Owners and facility managers who have an existing relationship with an electrical contractor, either in terms of maintenance or new installation, have immediate access to the professional who can perform an “energy audit” for their building. They can ask the electrical contractor to determine how much power is being used and what systems are required the most. The electrical contractor can then offer a list of options for reducing power use or improving energy efficiency.
Improving energy efficiency on the customer side of the meter can include installing or retrofitting energy efficient lighting, transformers, motors, and other electrical distribution and utilization equipment in buildings.
The USGBC often reminds contractors to look more holistically at the entire project, not just their discrete systems, as well as how those systems will function over the entire life cycle of the building. At NECA, we’ve seen several cases where other problems in a building are fixed through energy-efficiency practices.
Responsible Energy Production
The third prong of the energy solutions approach is energy production. The U.S. is taking its first steps towards a major transformation regarding how we think about and use energy.
Consumers are becoming more educated about alternatives to conventional power generation, such as solar, wind, and biomass.
Effectively using these alternative methods of power generation, however, takes specific skills and experience with a wide array of new products.
“I often remind my colleagues in the construction industry that it takes less money to save one kilowatt hour than it does to produce one kilowatt hour — meaning the costs of building new power plants and upgrading building systems to accommodate increased power demand are much more costly than projects that increase energy efficiency,” Ferry said. “That’s one reason we recommend energy audits and taking steps to optimize energy efficiency before exploring the incorporation of alternative energy sources into a building.”
There’s a lot to be gained by building owners who invest in alternative energy sources. However, the owner can only benefit if the new technology and equipment necessary for alternative power is designed and installed correctly.
No owner would have a roofer handle installation of a building’s main electrical service. Why then would a roofer be the choice for installing PV panels? Just because the power source is now on the roof rather than in the basement doesn’t mean that it isn’t power generation, transmission and distribution — precisely the kind of work best handled by an electrical contractor.
This shift to localized power generation represents a dramatic change in the traditional central plant approach that has dominated the electrical industry since its inception.
The barriers to private grid-connected, small-scale distributed generation installations have been reduced or eliminated in most states. Benefits like net metering, utility rebates and tax incentives also go beyond environmental sustainability to make green generation technologies very attractive to building owners.
Total Energy Solution
A total energy solution for a design-build project requires the skillful integration of energy conservation, energy efficiency, and responsible energy production. The right electrical contractor brings this to the design-build team. NECA is working hard to further develop the knowledge and skills of its member contractors in energy solutions and to provide the resources they need to serve the design-build community.
Rex Ferry says, “Electrical contractors have a professional responsibility to deliver a total electrical solution that meets the customer’s green building goals. This is our commitment to the environment and our communities.”
Rob Colgan is executive director, marketing, of the National Electrical Contractors Association.