Sustainable Design Starts with You!

Most people I talk to within the architectural profession say their firm does not do enough, if any, energy modeling. Surprisingly, less than half of the firms who have committed to the AIA's 2030 Commitment have not reported their portfolios (2019 Report, pg. 26). Additionally, the AIA 2030 By the Numbers Report says...

"In 2018, on average, modeled projects have an approximately 25% higher pEUI reduction than non modeled projects. Yet, the percentage of projects being modeled has not significantly changed since 2017, hovering around 50% for both the number of projects and the percentage of total GSF. This represents a significant missed opportunity." (2019 Report, pg. 28)

My impression is, in addition to the pressures of project deadlines, people just don't know where to start. The barrier to entry can appear especially limiting to those without any formal training around sustainable design, environmental science or energy modeling in particular.

Regardless of the preconceived obstacles,
sustainable design begins with you!

Thus, today's motivational post will highlight several resources and ideas you can use to develop your professional skills, raise the bar at your firm, and make the world a better place:)

Keep reading to learn more...

ASHRAE 90.1 Baseline - Revit + Insight

When performing early stage energy analysis it is helpful to compare your results against a baseline, such as ASHRAE 90.1 and Architecture 2030. In this post I will show how this is done in the Autodesk Revit and Insight workflow... and in just minutes.

What is ASHRAE 90.1?

The acronym stands for American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

From the ASHRAE 90.1 web-page:

"Standard 90.1 has been a benchmark for commercial building energy codes in the United States and a key basis for codes and standards around the world for more than 35 years."

Autodesk Insight is hardwired to use the ASHRAE 90.1 2010 standard. Below is a map showing which version of this standard is adopted by state, here in the USA: Commercial Energy Code Adoption by State.

Keep reading to learn more...

ASHRAE Standard 209-2018 -- Energy Simulation Aided Design for Buildings

This is very interesting… worth investigating for those involved/interested in energy modeling and high performance design.

Standard 209-2018 -- Energy Simulation Aided Design for Buildings except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (ANSI Approved)

AIA article: What style of energy modeling is right for a project?

"The ASHRAE 209 Standard makes it easier to define energy modeling goals and what types of energy modeling are most useful for a project"

ASHRAE Article: ASHRAE Publishes Energy Simulation-Aided Design Standard

“defines nominal requirements for using modeling to support integrated design efforts”

The cost of ASHRAE Standard 209-2018 is $67 for ASHRAE members.

Click here to view the preview PDF.

The AIA article is written by Kjell Anderson, AIA, who is director of sustainable design at LMN Architects in Seattle, WA. While I do not know Kjell, I did work on a project with LMN several years ago... the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center - Harbor side Ballrooms Addition, which is partially pictured below.

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