Committee on the Environment

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  • 1.  ISO 50001 - Future Energy Management Standard

    Posted 12-07-2010 03:10 AM
    This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Technology in Architectural Practice and Committee on the Environment .
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    The International Standards Organization says in a news release on July 8, 2010:

    "The future ISO 50001 standard for energy management was recently approved as a Draft International Standard (DIS). ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that the standard could influence up to 60% of the world's energy use."

    This will lead to more building monitoring and instrumentation to learn about buildings' energy performance. Right now most people do not check their house when they leave in the morning and come home at night to see what kind of mpg the house did today. But a few do. 

    As architects we think more about the skin of buildings and the materials of which they are made rather than how they are operated. But the world is starting to look at reducing waste in operations, particularly in utilities. Without any capital investment in new energy savings fixtures, boilers or other materials, many buildings can save 10 to 50% of their energy usage through realtime monitoring.

    Is anyone assisting their clients in reducing energy usage after their buildings are built?
    Has anyone developed tools for this?
    What if buildings were fitted with instrumentation like cars and airplanes?
    What if commercial buildings notified their owners or managers or architects via alarms when any lighting or HVAC system, water or gas using appliances or motors went out of their normal range of energy consumption?
    What if commercial companies managed their energy resources like they do pens and paper clips?
    What if architects or engineers could sell this consulting services to improve their clients bottom line?
    Why does Europe and China seem more interested in this than we are?

    References: 
    http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1337


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    Richard Scott AIA
    Owner
    Aquatic Excellence
    Austin TX
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    AIA26 San Diego June 10-13


  • 2.  RE:ISO 50001 - Future Energy Management Standard

    Posted 12-08-2010 01:42 PM
    Hello all,

    I hope that many of you are aware that EnergySTAR for buildings is an existing good tool for a first cut at measuring building performance.  Dividing utility billing by square footage gives energy use per sq ft, and then EnergySTAR takes that a step further by adjusting it for climate and comparing your building to others of similar occupancy and use.  You can rapidly see if your building is operating efficiently and look at trends over time.

    In terms of improving performance, there is a whole industry in building retrocommissioning that helps building owners save energy.  Buildings with advanced Building Management Systems (e.g from Tridium, Siemens, Honeywell, etc.) can easily report spikes in energy consumption and efficiency figures for chillers, fans, etc to building operators.  Many buildings would need upgrades to have that level of performance, but as I think you imply, the lack of it has more to do with building owners not placing a priority on it - the technical capability is there.  In my experience in California, the main way that owners have started to make improvements is through publicly-funded rebate programs, but LEED-EB O&M is also starting to get owners interested in managing for energy efficiency.

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    Raphael Sperry AIA, LEED AP
    Green Building Consultant
    Simon & Associates, Inc.Green Building Consultants
    San Francisco CA
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    AIA26 San Diego June 10-13