Public Power - May 2008 - (Page 16)

LEEDing the Way Completed in 2005, this LEED-certified 40-unit Burlington apartment building continues to see very low electric and natural gas bills. Photo by Will Goodreau. the idea of spending $15,000 or more for a commissioning expert, not to mention an additional $30,000 for LEED certification, said Burns. “It can be an expensive process,” he admits. Sometimes, a building owner will ask why it’s necessary to pay someone to force project team members to talk to each other, said Burns. “But the fact is that you need someone outside the project team to keep an eye on everything the team members are doing.” Burns admits that having a third party going through the job site and commenting at every weekly meeting represents a learning curve for the project team. The LEED process costs extra up front, but it can also save money. For instance, in a multi-family apartment building that was pursuing a LEED certification, the commissioning expert said the building envelope was so good that a third planned boiler was not needed. However, the HVAC engineer was uncomfortable with that assertion. The two compromised and agreed that space would be left in the maintenance room for another boiler—should it be necessary. “That saved a lot of money and time,” said Burns. “If you save money on HVAC equipment, for instance, you can afford to build a better envelope.” In Burlington, four LEED-certified buildings have been completed, and another three are pending. They range in size from about 40,000 square feet to 300,000 square feet. “We want to see if the energy savings stick,” said Burns. The 16 MAY 2008 city’s electric department is looking at projects that have been completed over the past five years to learn if the buildings are more efficient. While Burlington does not have enough data yet to determine long-term building performance, it has gained important feedback—customer satisfaction. “I cannot think of anyone who has gone through the LEED certification process who wouldn’t do it again,” said Burns. Seattle City Light has found much the same response. “A lot of owners/developers told us they would go through the LEED process again,” said Robert Balzar, the utility’s director of conservation resources. He added that the utility has been slowly accumulating information on LEED projects and developing case studies. “The pilot incentive program for LEED-certified buildings brought all of us into the process,” said Little. As concern about climate change grows, electric utilities are looking for new ways to save energy and reduce their carbon footprint, he said. “Many are reaching out to their planning departments, to strategize on how to achieve effective energy savings. We’re seeing this happen in Seattle and in other cities.” Seattle City Light offers its customers two ways to participate in the LEED process. One is through the utility’s Energy Smart Services for new construction. “We estimate savings based on the energy efficiency measures proposed for the building. Then we pay an incentive based on those calculations, said Balzar. In addition, those customers participating with “We had been hearing about green buildings from customers, and then we attended a LEED workshop. We realized that we needed to be more knowledgeable.” “We’re collecting utility information on several projects and comparing their actual performance with predicted performance,” said Balzar. Publicity about LEED projects is prompting people to contact their utilities. “We’re getting more questions from our commercial customers about LEED,” said Burns, who is one of the LEED accredited professionals at Burlington able to help customers move through the process for a LEED-certified building. “We had been hearing about green buildings from customers, and then we attended a LEED workshop,” said Burns. “We realized that we needed to be more knowledgeable.” By working with other city departments, municipal electric utilities can augment their support of green-building projects. For instance, Seattle City Light has strong ties with the city’s department of planning and development, the permitting agency for building codes and the home of the green-building team, the utility in earning LEED points can buy some or all of their electricity as green power through the Green Up program. LEED-certified homes are on the horizon. While most LEED-certified buildings are found in the commercial and industrial sectors, there have been some residential projects—and more are likely. In Seattle, as in other cities, there is not much new construction of single-family homes within the service areas of municipal utilities, said Little. But the city boasts several award-winning residential projects—both single-family homes and multi-family complexes. And in the next year, the utility will probably launch a project for residential customers who want a LEED-certified home. LEED-certified buildings are designed to benefit the community, the environment, the building occupants and the owners. “We want good, energy-efficient buildings,” said Burlington’s Burns. “And LEED can achieve that.” ❚ PUBLIC POWER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - May 2008

Public Power - May 2008 Contents Perspective LEEDing the Way Ontario Moves to Mandatory Time-of-Use Pricing Journey to the Smart Grid Right-Sizing Transformers Energy Audits for Large Industries Economic Development Community Broadband Reliability Hometown Connections Parting Shot

Public Power - May 2008

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