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Interpreting the green dream
Ecolibrium: We talk about it quite a lot, but what is sustainability in the built environment?
Healey: Sustainabilitymeansmanythingstomanypeople.Atahighlevel,itmeansconsideringissuesinaholisticallyandmulti-disciplinaryway,takingintoaccountshortandlong-termissues.Attheprojectlevelwherethingsgetdelivered,sustainabilityisreducedtoamanageablenumberofissuesthatareresolvedinacontext-specificsetting.Typicallytheseincludeenergy,water,indoorenvironmentqualityandcost,amongothers.
ManageabilityisasignificantissueandisoneofthereasonswhyGreenStarhasbeensuccessful;ithassimplifiedwhatcanbeaverycomplexandesotericsubjectintosomethingthatthewholepropertymarketcanunderstand.
Rusly: Itperhapshastwomainalteregos,thefirstbeingenergyefficiency
andtheothercarbonreduction.Thesetwoarecorrelatedandhaveacomplexrelationship.Inmyviewsustainabilityisaboutconsumingtheleastamountofenergywhileusingeco-friendlymaterials,naturalorrenewableresources,toprovideacomfortableindoorenvironmentsothattheoperationtosustainthebuildingandtheoccupantsinsideitwillbemeasuredbythereductionintheamountofcarbonreleasedtotheatmosphereintermsofthebuilding,runningormaintainingit.
Healey: It’simportanttorememberthatsustainabilityisaboutfindingadynamicbalance–it’smorethanjustenergyefficiencyorevenenvironmentalissues.Youhavetobalancearangeofissuesthatsometimesconflictandsometimescomplementeachother.Thedynamicaspectissignificant,becauseweoftentalkaboutsustainabilityasifitisastaticgoal.Wewillneedtocontinuallyreviewwhatwearedoingasthelocal,regionalandglobalcontextchanges.
Ardren: Tome,sustainabilityinthebuiltenvironmentstartswiththeapproachofusingwhatwealreadyhaveintheplacefirst,inasmarterandfar-sightedway.Itgoesbeyondtheusualenvironmental,socialandeconomicalparametersandneedstoincorporatetheoperationalandbehaviouralaspectsofthebuildinginmotion.
Itneedstogobeyondaccreditationandbecomethenew“thisishowwealwaysdoithere.”
Colls: Theultimateenvironmentaldesignaimforourbuiltenvironmentistocreatebuildingsthatarecomfortable,usenoenergy,nowater,producenowasteinoperationorconstructionandaremadefrommaterialsthatarederivedtotallyfromsustainablesources.Whilethisisvirtuallyimpossibletoachieve,thisaimactsasatheoreticallighthousefortheopportunitiesthatshouldbeconsideredinanyproject.
F E A T U R E
achieving the Green Dream
Tomorrow’s technology todaySeptember 16–17, 2010
Melbourne
What is sustainability? It’s a question without a simple answer, particularly as it relates to the built environment and HVAC&R. This month’s Achieving the Green Dream conference will go some way to defining it, but in the meantime Sean McGowan broached the subject with four speakers from the coming conference: Greenlight Consulting Services managing director Caoimhin Ardren; Nicki Colls, a senior associate from Sustainable Built Environments; Arup’s Dr Gerard Healey, Affil.AIRAH; and Dr Eddy Rusly, a senior building scientist from Meinhardt.
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Ecolibrium: What does it mean for HVAC&R?
Rusly: WhenitcomestoHVAC&R,sustainabilityismorefocusedonbeingenergyefficient.ManyfacetsofsustainabilitycouldbeproposedbutIthinkenergyefficiencyisintheforefrontofsustainability.Forexample,onecanargueatri-generationbiogassystemmaybemoresuitableforabuilding,butasmartnaturallyventilatedbuildingwouldbeapreferredchoiceeachandeverytimegiventhatthedesigncriteriacouldbefulfilled.Thefirstoneisaheavy-handedapproachandyetthesecondonemayjustbeasintriguingbecauseitputstheemphasisonutilisingnaturalresourcestomakeabuildingsustainableinitsoperation.
Healey: Thisdefinitionrequiresafundamentalrethinkonhowwedesignbuildings.Itfirstlymeanswehavetolookatmeansofreducingdemand,andthismeansaskingsomehardquestionslike,“Doweneedabuildingthatis21°Callofthetime?”
Thesecondstepisthenlookingatmeetingthisdemandwithaslittlemechanicalinputaspossible,whichmeansbeingefficientandreusinganythingpreviouslydefinedaswaste:heat,coolth,water,materialsetc.
“ it’s important to remember that sustainability is about finding a dynamic balance – it’s more than just energy efficiency or even environmental issues”
Obviouslyallthesestepsfocusondesign.Ifwewanttoachievesustainabilityonthegroundthenthefinalandcrucialfactoriscommissioning,maintenanceandongoingmonitoringtoensurethatthedreambecomesareality.
Ardren: Weneedtostopthrowingawayandreplacingequipmentjustbecausethere
isanoptionofanewtechnology–withpossiblymarginallybetterperformance–withoutfullyexploringallthere-use,re-commissionandre-configureoptions.Withthisinmind,weneedtodesigntoaccommodatefuturepossiblerenewalsoflargepartsofinstallations,whentheinevitablechangeintechnologyoccurs.
Ecolibrium: Everyone is claiming to, but are we really delivering sustainable buildings?
Ardren: Notatall.Unfortunatelyoldhabitsdiehardandtheinherentover-sizingofplantandequipment“justtobeonthesafeside”hasnotchangedalotinmostdesignoffices.
Thereisalmostabeliefthatefficientdesignisonethatrequirestheleastcreativeeffortandrequiresnostrategicplanning,conceptualisingandoptimising.Tosaynothingaboutthe“she’llberightmate”attitudetakentocommissioning,andtheproductionofaccurateandclearas-builtdocumentation.
FACT: There are an estimated 30,000 cooling towers operating in Australia.
FACT: Cooling towers can use between 5,000 and 10,000 litres per day.
The CTWEC website has been developed by AIRAH as part of a collaboration between industry groups, water corporations and the Victorian government.
www.ctwec.com
You can do the maths! We did and the result is a one of a kind cooling tower water efficiency calculator available online.
29s e Pte M Be r 2010 • eColi B r i u M
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Itappearsasthoughthemarketexpectsthatenergyefficiencyandsustainabilitymeansyouhavetouseamyriadofnewtechnologiesthathave“eco”or“enviro”aspartoftheproductnametobesustainable,insteadofusingexistinginfrastructureandtechnologiesinsmarterways.
Rusly: Perhapsit’snottotheextentitshouldbe,butweareonthewaythere.GreenStar,NABERS,FirstRateareleadingthecharge,andwhenthegovernmentgetsfullyinvolvedbymakingconcreteandcompulsoryregulations,thewholebuiltenvironmentlandscapewillberevolutionised.Rightnow,sustainabilityismostlyregardedasaluxury,somethingthatisgoodtohavebutcanbeoverlookedifnecessary.
Colls: Weareallstilllearningaboutgreenbuildings,andalotofemphasisiscurrentlyplacedondesign.Occasionallythedreamdoesn’tturnintoareality.Toooftenwehearthetrumpetsbellowingforthesuccessfulaspectsofabuildingwhilethemistakesarepushedunderthe
carpet.Andinsomecases,themistakesorproblemsareneverheardaboutbythedesignteamthemselves.
Wehavecometoapointwherethefailuretolearnfromtheselessonsislimitingthepotentialofthedesignindustrytomoveforwardduringthisperiodoflearning.Collectivelearningiscriticaltosmoothingoutthebumpsontheroad.
“ right now, sustainability is mostly regarded as a luxury, something that is good to have but can be overlooked if necessary”
Ecolibrium: Gerard, do you think it is misleading to claim we are delivering sustainable buildings?
Healey: Buildingsgenerallyarenotinherentlysustainableorunsustainable;itdependsonfactorssuchashowtheoccupantsusethemandwheretheysourcetheirenergyfrom.
Amoreaccuratequestiontoaskis,“Arewedeliveringbuildingsthatenableasustainablesociety?”TothisquestionIwouldanswerthatwehavemadesignificantimprovementsoverthepastdecade,butwestillhavemuchworktodo.Anareathatneedsworkisoccupantbehaviour.GreenStarhaschangedthedesignofbuildingsbyfocusingonattributes,buteffectivelyexcludesbehaviour.
Iacknowledge,however,thatitisgenerallymoreconvenienttotalkofsustainablebuildingsthansustainable-society-enablingbuildings.
Ecolibrium: Is there still a gap between “as designed” and “as built?”
Healey: Inmyexperiencethereis.Thiscancomefromavarietyofreasons,includingdesignersbeingunrealisticintheirexpectations,productsnotbeingavailablewithinprogramtimeframesandvaluemanagement.
Itisworthnotingthatthedifferencesbetweenas-designedandas-builtare
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notalwaysfortheworse.Iamworkingonaprojectatthemomentwherethecontractorhassuggestedanalternativeproductthatprovidesgreaterbenefits,measuredinGreenStarpoints,thanwhatwasoriginallyspecifiedbythearchitect.
Rusly: Thereisquiteabiggapbetweenthetwoterms.As-designedisusuallyfoundtobeover-designedandunder-implemented.Thereisnomethodicalerrorforusingbothofthem,butaconceptofconformityneedstobeestablishedsothatas-builtisnottoofarbelowas-designed.
Colls: Thefeedbackloopbetweenthedesignteam,buildingusersandmaintenancepersonnelcurrentlyappearstobebrokeninthecommercialworld.Iamcurrentlyreviewingtheoperationofgreyandblackwaterrecyclingsystemsthathavebeeninstalledinbuildingsthataremorethanayearold.Ifindthatgenerally,maintenancepersonnelandownersarecryingoutforsomeonetotalkto.Theydon’twanttolooklikeafailure,buttheywanttheirmessagetobeheardbythedesignworld.
Untildesignersaregivenaccesstothelessonslearntfromtheirbuildings,thegapbetweenas-designedpredictionsandas-builtperformancewillcontinue.
ArecentstudyofLEED-ratedbuildingsintheUSactuallyfoundthatenergymodellingreasonablypredictedtheactualenergyusetowithin1percent,albeititwithahighlevelofvariability.AsimilarstudyisneededinAustraliatodetermineifweareontherighttrack.Withoutconductingasimilarstudyhere,onecanonlybaseanassessmentontheclosed-doorfindingsthatveryfewbuildingsreachtheirpredictedperformancelevels.
Ecolibrium: Are sustainable buildings about achieving Green Star points, delivering genuinely high-performance buildings, or both?
Rusly: Unfortunatelyitisstillmoreaboutachievingthepoints.Theprestigeattachedtothestarratingisthere,sothatisagoodthing.Thekeychallengeishowtomakesuretheweightandqualityofthepointstrulyrepresentcredibleandjustifiableperformanceforthosethatachieveit.Thereforethemethodsforassessingandratingthepointshavetobeconstantlycalibratedandimprovedaswell.
“ We need to stop throwing away and replacing equipment just because there is an option of a new technology – with possibly marginally better performance – without fully exploring all the re-use, re-commission and re-configure options”
Alsoinrelationtoas-designedandas-built,itshouldbeforeseentohaveintheregulationsthatabuildingthathasachievedacertainas-designedstarratinghastocarryoverandachieveacomparablelevelofas-builtstarrating.Thisistopreventthebuildingownerfromunscrupulouslyadvertisingandkeepusingtheas-designedratingeventhoughnoratinghasbeendonesincethebuildingwasbuilt.
Healey: Forme,itshouldbethelatter.AchievingahighGreenStarratingshouldgiveabuildingagoodstartingpoint,butitisonlyonceabuildingisoperatinginitscontextthatyoucandeterminewhetheritissustainableornot.
Colls: TheuseofGreenStarcanoccasionallybeacynicalchaseforpointswhenconsideredlateintheproject.Sometimes,thelastfewpointssoughttoachieveaparticularratingcanbeexpensiveones.However,thereisdefinitelyashiftincustomerawareness,especiallyinpublicandeducationbuildings,wherethefocusistoachievesustainabilityfromtheoutset.Thisapproachcanleadtohigh-performancebuildings.
Ardren: Itneedstobeabitaboutbothandgobeyondstraightforwardaccreditation.Itneedstobeexpandedtoapointwhereowners,buildingmanagers
andoccupantscontinuetowanttodriveandmaintainhighperformance,bothforthegoodoftheplanetandthehealthandwellbeingofoccupants.Healthyoccupantsequalhealthyreturns.
Ecolibrium: Can these be mutually exclusive? In others words, can a genuinely high performing building have an average Green Star rating and vice-versa?
Healey: Definitely.GreenStarfocusesonbuildingattributes,notoperations,soitisconceivablethataGreenStarbuildingcouldberunverypoorlyandnotmaintainedproperly.TheUSGBChasseenthisinrecentstudiesoftheenergyperformanceofLEED-ratedbuildings.Ontheotherhand,therearemanywell-designedandwell-runbuildingsthatdonothaveGreenStarratings,eitherbecausetheypre-dateGreenStarfortheirbuildingtypeortheprojectteamdecidednottopursuearating.
Colls: TherearealreadyseveralbuildingsouttherethatdonotachieveaGreenStarrating,butstilldemonstrateexcellenceinsustainability.Howdoyoucompareamudbrickandrecycledtyre,student-builtclassroomthatusesnoheatingandcoolingwithasealed,glassboxthatachieves5stars?Bothapproachesneedtobeacknowledgedontheirmerits.
Ardren: Itisnotdifficulttohaveanenergy-efficientbuildingifyousimplyallowunderperformanceoftheindoorqualityandthermalconditionsofoccupants.ThecombinationofGreenStarmethodologyandparameters,togetherwithongoingperformancemeasurementandverification,allowsonetostartwithagoodproductandmoreeasilymaintainthislevel.
Startingoutwithapoorinherentdesignmeansyouwillalwayshavetoworkhardtoachieveaverageperformance.Equally,ifyouhaveagreatstartbutignoreongoingoperationsandmonitoring,youwillsoonhaveanunder-performingasset.
Ecolibrium: Eddy, you have a slightly different take on this?
Rusly: Well-designedbuildingsdidexistevenbeforeGreenStarandNABERScamealong.Thesebuildingswerelandmarksoftheirgenerations,markinganeraorshowcasingparticularlyexceptionalfeatures.Iftheyareratedtheymaybescoringquitehighorconverselyquiteaverage.
Caoimhin ArdrenManaging directorGreenlight Consulting Services
nicki CollsSenior associateSustainable Built Environments (SBE)
dr gerard HealeyBuilding services engineerArup
dr eddy ruslySenior building scientistMeinhardt
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Theemphasishereshouldbeaboutthepracticeanduniversalacceptanceinourcommunitythatsustainabilityispartofourlivesandthatourbuiltenvironmentwherecoloniesofhumanbeingsco-existtogethermustresembleourgreaterhome;i.e.Earth,thathasasystemtosustainitself.Whenwecandesignourlivingplacestobesustainable,wecanco-existwithotherspeciesonthisplanetthathavethesamerighttomaintainandsustaintheirexistence.
AsfortheGreenStarrating,it’slogicalthatabuildingthatscoreshighlywouldbehighlyefficientbecausetheaspectscoveredinGreenStararequitewide-rangingandcomprehensive.Ontheotherhand,ifabuildinghassomegoodcharacteristicsbutisquitelimitedinotheraspectsunfortunatelyleadingtoithavingalowGreenStarrating,itdoesn’tmeanthebuildingisnotgood,justnot“GreenStargood”.
Ecolibrium: Is greenwash becoming a problem in this space?
Ardren: Likeanyindustryexperiencingthisamountofattentionandgrowth,therewillalwaysbemarketinghypeandextravagantclaims.
Owners,designersandbuildingmanagersneedtobescepticalofclaims,andreallydrilldownon“inproduction”claimsofserviceandproductperformance.Lookforpeopleandproductsthathaveprovenresultsbothinnewdesignandindeliveringperformanceimprovementsofexistingbuildings.
Asdesignersandcontractorsweneedtochangethewaywethinkabouteachandeveryprocessweuse.Weshouldnotsimplyre-badgeateamthatlastweekwasdesigning/constructingthepoor-performingbuildingsthatareouttherenow.
Healey: Falseclaimsarealwaysanissue.Weallneedtocriticallyevaluate
claimsofperformance,whetheritisfromdesigners,productsuppliersorbuildingowners.Third-partycertification,productlabellingandmandatorydisclosurecangivesomereassurancethatbuildingsorproductsmeettheirclaims.
Rusly: Therearealwayssomeoperatorswhowouldtakeadvantageofthisopportunity.Itmightbeinappropriatetoover-hypethegreentagbeyondtheirgenuineintentionsbutIdon’tthinkitposesaproblemyet.Itmayinfactencouragehealthycompetition,andaslongasthefundamentalsbehindtheratingsystemsarestrong,thereisnoharmdonehere.
Ecolibrium: Nicki, you think the number of star rating tools is adding further complexity here?
Colls: Consumerawarenessofsustainabilityhasincreasedmarkedlyinthepastfiveyears.However,theplethoraofstarratingtoolsouttheresometimesleadstoconfusiononwhattoaskfor.
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A5-starresidentialbuildingjustmeetsthebuildingcode,andisonlyhalfwaytothe10-starmaximum.A5-starcommercialbuildingcouldmeanAustralianExcellenceusingGreenStar,orapredictedlow-energyuseusingNABERSEnergy.
Inthefuture,theintroductionofmandatorydisclosure,wherebuildingswillhavetodisclosetheiroperationalenergyrating,5starswillagaintakeonanothermeaningaspeoplebecomemorefamiliarwithwhata5-starNABERSbuildinglookslike.
“ As-designed is usually found to be over-designed and under-implemented”
Iwasrecentlytalkingtoanarchitectaboutanewjob,whichhesaidwasaimingfor5stars.AsthebuildingwasasingleresidenceIaskedhimtodefinewhat5starsmeanttotheclientandtheanswerwas,“Look,theyjustwantagreatbuildingthatsupportstheirsustainablelifestyle”.
Ecolibrium: Are shortcuts being taken in a quest to deliver sustainable buildings?
Ardren: Unfortunatelythisisthecase.The“burnandchurn”mentalityoftheITindustryiscreepingacrosstheHVACandconstructionindustry.Everyoneseemstobelookingfor,orproviding,thenextgreatestnewtechnologythatpromisesefficiency,withouthavingtochangethewaywethinkanddothings.Wewillnotachievetheoutcomeswedesirewithoutsomediscomfortofchange.Theoldquoteof,“ifnothingchangesthennothinghappens”isapplicableinthiscase.
Rusly: Shortcutsornot,thereareproceduresinplace.GreenStar,asoneexample,hasquiteastrictandextensivesystem.Ratherthanworryingaboutpeopletakingshortcuts,thesystemandproceduresshouldalwaysbeundergoingconstantreviewandcalibrationtoimprovesothatloopholesandshortcutscanbegottenridof.
Healey: Arelatedissueisnarrowvisiononretrofittingandrefurbishment.Whileacknowledgingthattherearepracticalconsiderationssuchasbudgetallocationsandtimings,therefurbishmentofspaceorplantprovidesagreatopportunitytoexploitotheropportunities.OneofthereasonstheEmpireStateBuildinghas
beensosuccessfulisthattheprojectteamtookastepbacktoconsiderhowvariouscapitalworksinitiativescouldhavesynergisticoutcomes.
Colls: Ibelieveanunderinvestmentincommissioningandbuildingmonitoringbyanappropriatememberofthedesignteamishinderingtheindustryfrommovingbeyondcurrentmistakes.ThereisaneedforESDconsultantstoworkdirectlyfortheclienttoavoidthedisconnectionbetweendesign,buildingandoperation,whichcommonlyinvolvesthreedifferentteams.
Ecolibrium: Are we complicating buildings too much, adding layers of complexity where they don’t belong?
Healey: Wearecertainlyaddingcomplexitytobuildingsaswestriveforincreasedfunctionalitywithalowerenvironmentalburden.Thereisamismatchbetweenthecomplexityofmanynewbuildingsandtheskills,understandingandresourcesoffacilitymanagersandusers.Duringdesign,itcanbedifficulttoappreciatethearrayofpracticalissuesthatcanplagueanewtechnologyorsystemunlesssomeoneinthedesignteamhashaddirectexperience.SomeoftheearlyGreenStarbuildings,suchasCH2and40AlbertRd,helpedbysharingtheirexperienceswiththewiderindustry.Morerecentlythough,theretendsnottobemuchsharingwithintheindustry,perhapsbecauseofcompetitivepressuresorfearofwhatthepublicorindustryperceptionmightbe.ThatisonereasonwhyconferencessuchasAchievingtheGreenDreamaresoimportantforourindustry–ithelpstoboostourcollectiveknowledgesothatwecanimplementnewtechnologiesinamorerobustway.
Rusly: Inthequesttoachievehighratingpoints,unfortunatelytheKISS(keepitsimple,stupid)principleisoftenthrownoutthewindow.GreenStarorotherschemeslikeLEEDandBREEAMarequitein-depthandcomprehensive.Buildingsthatachievehighregardsincertainareasbutfallshortintheoverallcriteriaarestillperceivedaslowlyperformingbuildingsfortheirlacklustrestarcount.Thesestar
ratingsintheirentiretyformarigidandwholesomestructurethatisprejudicedforpeopleoutsidetheindustryinsuchawaythatarchitects,stakeholdersandbuildingownersaredriventogoforhighGreenStarratingsornotatall,resultinginpaddedbuildingswithover-designedfeatures.
Colls: Intermsofcomplexity–itisimpossibletogeneraliseaboutavarietyofsolutiontypesthatarebeingoffered.Butthemessagefromthefacilitiesmanagersisthatsimplebuildingsworkbest.
“ too often we hear the trumpets bellowing for the successful aspects of a building while the mistakes are pushed under the carpet”
Ardren: Somedegreeofcomplexityisrequired,butitisimportantthatthisoccursinareaswhereitcanbeproventoaddvalue.Theoldadageof“foreveryproblemthereisasimplesolution–anditisusuallythewrongsolution”cansometimesbeapplicable.
Forexample,usingreallybasicsystemswithlittleornocontrolspreventsoptimisation,whileattheotherendofthespectrum,manysystemsaregoinginwithmultiplelayersofcontrolthatdonotaddanybenefittothefunctionaluseofthespace.Aclassicexampleislighting,withswitches,occupancysensors,C-Buscontrolsandothersystemsforsingle-usespacetypes,leavingthebuildingmanagerandoccupantswithongoingproblemstothepointwheretheseallgetbypassed,andlightsstayonallday.
Thedepthofcomplexityneedstobecriticallyreviewedthroughthedesignprocesstoensurethattheadditionallayersareprovidingrealvalue,efficiencyandfunctionalimprovement. ❚
Would you like to know more?
For a complete list of speakers and more information about the Achieving the Green Dream conference, go to www.airah.org.au/greendream2010
do you agree?For your say on sustainability write to [email protected]