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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.

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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

F E A T U R E

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 matt@airah.org.au