Commercial kitchens are one of the most challenging spaces to electrify, but we need to take on this challenge in order to decarbonize restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, and other buildings with commercial kitchens. Is another green certification program the answer?

In this episode, Chefs Christopher Galarza and Duke Gastiger are back to dive into EcoChef—the first electric kitchen rating system and certification program with the goal to standardize how commercial kitchens are designed, built, and operated. They discuss the origin story of EcoChef, the structure of the program, the pilot project with Duke’s RE Farm Café, and why commercial kitchens need a dedicated certification program for electrification.

Keep listening: If you missed it, listen to part one of our conversation with Chefs Christopher and Duke, It’s Getting Hot in Here! – Why We Can’t Stop Talking About Electric Kitchens.

Episode Guests

Chef Christopher Galarza

Christopher is a pioneering force in the culinary world, known for his unwavering commitment to sustainability and innovation in kitchen design. As the founder of Forward Dining Solutions LLC and co-founder of EcoChef, Chef Galarza has become a leading advocate for decarbonizing commercial kitchens and championing the Green Industrial Revolution within the foodservice industry. His work is driven by a deep passion for environmental stewardship, and he is widely recognized for his efforts in educating and empowering chefs, culinary professionals, and designers to adopt sustainable practices. Read more

Congratulations to Chef Christopher for becoming a Certified Executive Chef (CEC), making him the first chef in history to earn this certification in an all-electric kitchen! Read more

Learn more about EcoChef at ecochef.org.

Chef Duke Gastiger (pictured with Monica Gastiger)

Duke and Monica bring specialized talents and passion to RE Farm Café at Windswept (1000 S Fillmore Rd, State College, PA). Duke’s prior corporate life with Sheraton and Hyatt Hotels embraced training with master chefs from around the world, learning the essence and nuances of each of their cuisines. With a strong entrepreneurial drive, Duke returned to his college town in 1985 to acquire The All-American Rathskeller. In 1987, Duke opened Spats Café and Speakeasy, a themed “prohibition era” eatery. Read more

Host: Kelly Westby

Kelly leads the Building Operations, Decarbonization, and Efficiency (BODE) team at SWA. She has a wide range of experience in building science, commissioning, and energy efficiency retrofitting.Kelly’s commissioning, energy code, and efficiency projects cover millions of square feet of commercial buildings along the East Coast. She also speaks at events and conferences, sharing her expertise on industry best practices.

 

Sponsor

Passive House Accelerator

Thank you to our episode sponsor, Passive House Accelerator!

Passive House Accelerator is an online community and media company dedicated to accelerating the transition to clean, resilient, zero-carbon buildings.

Every week, Passive House Accelerator produces new original content, including Passive House Accelerator LIVE! online educational events, Passive House Podcast episodes, articles about low-carbon building, video content, and a newsletter. In addition, it also publishes a magazine twice a year and hosts the acclaimed Reimagine Buildings online conference series.

Visit passivehouseaccelerator.com to subscribe to the newsletter, register for an upcoming event, and browse the latest podcast episodes, articles, and videos.

We Want to Hear From You!

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected].

About Buildings and Beyond

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Dylan Martello | Tricia Carr | Ian Slakas

The post Do We Need a Green Certification Program Just for Commercial Kitchens? (Hint… Yes) appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

Remember when gas stoves became a political issue last year? While all that public debate was happening, there were chefs around the world embracing the concept of all-electric kitchens and getting past the learning curve to induction cooking.

We don’t hear about gas stoves in the news as much as we used to, but kitchen electrification will always be a hot topic here at Buildings + Beyond! In this episode, we invited Chef Christopher Galarza back to the podcast to talk about the progress being made to transform more commercial kitchens into efficient, safe, and climate-friendly spaces. Chris brought Duke Gastiger, who built a net zero, all-electric commercial kitchen at his farm restaurant, to join the conversation.

Keep listening: Our previous episode with Chef Christopher Galarza, It’s Time to 86 Fossil Fuels in Commercial Kitchens, is available here.

Coming soon: Look out for part two of this episode all about the EcoChef electric kitchen rating system and certification.

Episode Guests

Chef Christopher Galarza

Christopher is a pioneering force in the culinary world, known for his unwavering commitment to sustainability and innovation in kitchen design. As the founder of Forward Dining Solutions LLC and co-founder of EcoChef, Chef Galarza has become a leading advocate for decarbonizing commercial kitchens and championing the Green Industrial Revolution within the foodservice industry. His work is driven by a deep passion for environmental stewardship, and he is widely recognized for his efforts in educating and empowering chefs, culinary professionals, and designers to adopt sustainable practices. Read more

Chef Duke Gastiger (pictured with Monica Gastiger)

Duke and Monica bring specialized talents and passion to RE Farm Café at Windswept (1000 S Fillmore Rd, State College, PA). Duke’s prior corporate life with Sheraton and Hyatt Hotels embraced training with master chefs from around the world, learning the essence and nuances of each of their cuisines. With a strong entrepreneurial drive, Duke returned to his college town in 1985 to acquire The All-American Rathskeller. In 1987, Duke opened Spats Café and Speakeasy, a themed “prohibition era” eatery. Read more

Host: Kelly Westby

Kelly leads the Building Operations, Decarbonization, and Efficiency (BODE) team at SWA. She has a wide range of experience in building science, commissioning, and energy efficiency retrofitting.Kelly’s commissioning, energy code, and efficiency projects cover millions of square feet of commercial buildings along the East Coast. She also speaks at events and conferences, sharing her expertise on industry best practices.

Episode Resources

From Christopher’s Bio:

• Forward Dining Solutions
• EcoChef – the first electric kitchen rating system and certification
• American Culinary Federation Pittsburgh Chapter
• Understanding the Green Industrial Revolution: An Interdisciplinary Look at the Hospitality Industry

From Duke’s Bio:

• RE Farm Café at Windswept
• RElearn Cooking Class: Pepper Condiments – Sunday, Sep 22, 2024 at RE Farm Café

Induction Cooking:

• Martin Yan Talks Wok Induction Cooking – The Switch Is On YouTube Channel

Gas Stoves & Our Health:

• Population Attributable Fraction of Gas Stoves and Childhood Asthma in the United States – RMI
• Asthma in the Black Community – National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
• Study finds combustion from gas stoves can raise indoor levels of chemical linked to a higher risk of blood cell cancers – Stanford Report

Pennsylvania CHECK Program:

• Sizzling News for Commercial Kitchens: Get Up to $8,500 to Learn About Sustainability and Electrify Your Cooking – Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection

Sponsor

Passive House Accelerator

Thank you to our episode sponsor, Passive House Accelerator!

Passive House Accelerator is an online community and media company dedicated to accelerating the transition to clean, resilient, zero-carbon buildings.

Every week, Passive House Accelerator produces new original content, including Passive House Accelerator LIVE! online educational events, Passive House Podcast episodes, articles about low-carbon building, video content, and a newsletter. In addition, it also publishes a magazine twice a year and hosts the acclaimed Reimagine Buildings online conference series.

Visit passivehouseaccelerator.com to subscribe to the newsletter, register for an upcoming event, and browse the latest podcast episodes, articles, and videos.

We Want to Hear From You!

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected].

About Buildings and Beyond

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Dylan Martello | Tricia Carr | Ian Slakas

The post It’s Getting Hot in Here! – Why We Can’t Stop Talking About Electric Kitchens appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

Maryland is implementing a state-wide Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS) for buildings 35,000 square feet and over as a requirement under the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022. The proposed regulations have also established benchmarking and reporting deadlines for covered buildings. These regulations were first published in December 2023, followed by a new draft (PDF) in July 2024.

Let’s take a look at what we know so far about this new BEPS in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Maryland BEPS: What We Know Today

Goals

The goal of Maryland’s BEPS is to reduce the direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve energy efficiency of the state’s building stock. To achieve that, the regulation requires covered buildings to meet both net direct emissions and energy use intensity (EUI) standards.

In December 2023, the Maryland Department of Energy (MDE) published the interim and final targets for net direct emissions and final site EUI targets for 2040 and beyond (PDF). Covered buildings under BEPS must meet or be below these specified standards in any given year starting in 2030.

Timeline

The baseline year for a building—the year of energy performance for which buildings will be measured under BEPS—will be the 2025 calendar year data, including the weather-normalized values of net direct emissions and site EUI of all covered buildings. The final, most stringent standard will be enacted in 2040 and beyond, while there are increasingly robust interim standards in the periods of 2030-2034 and 2035-2039.

Regarding benchmarking, building owners must submit an initial report for the calendar year 2024 by June 1, 2025. The baseline calendar year 2025 data must be submitted by June 1, 2026. In addition, the benchmarking data must be third-party verified every 5 years beginning on June 1, 2026, to ensure data quality and accuracy.

Maryland benchmarking and BEPS timeline

Benchmarking

The draft regulations have established requirements for benchmarking and third-party verification along with the approved qualifications of the verifier. However, the definition of “third party”—i.e. the verifier’s relationship to the building owner—is not yet determined. MDE aims to publish a verification guide and host informational sessions on several BEPS topics in August 2024 to address some of these questions. Information on these sessions is available here (Google Forms).

EUI Standards

While the December 2023 draft regulations included both net direct emission and site EUI standards, the July 2024 updated draft was published with only net direct emissions standards. These interim and final emission standards for the periods of 2030-2034, 2035-2039, and 2040 and beyond are listed in the regulations based on the property type. The previously proposed final site EUI standards have been removed from the updated draft. However, MDE aims to reestablish site EUI standards in 2027 based on 2025 baseline energy data.

Alternative Compliance Fees

The covered buildings’ reporting will be evaluated each year for compliance with net direct emission standards. If a building exceeds its standards, the owner is subject to an alternative compliance fee for every excess metric ton of emissions. The compliance fee is initially $230 per metric ton of excess CO2e in 2030, and it will increase by $4 per metric ton each following year.

Exemptions

There are some exemptions from benchmarking and BEPS. Conditions for exemptions include financial distress, no occupancy, or planned demolition during the reporting year. MDE may also determine to allow exemptions for reduced occupancy during baseline year and lower the compliance fines for affordable housing providers.

Planning for Maryland BEPS

Key Points

Building owners should keep a few key points in mind when preparing for BEPS:

EUI Standards

While site EUI standards will be revisited in 2027, the proposed targets published in December 2023 should act as a likely guide. Building owners should continue with their planning for necessary improvements to reduce energy usage.

There will be 3 years between the release of those targets and the first interim compliance year in 2030; owners should start preparing sooner rather than later.

Net Direct Emission Standards

Net direct emission standards remain in the regulations with no changes to timeline. These are the most robust standards of the two, and regardless of the site EUI target status, building owners must begin work now to reduce direct emissions and likely identify opportunities for electrification.

Owners are also advised to avoid installation of electric resistance heating as a building improvement strategy due to its unknown relationship to site EUI targets and future regulatory requirements.

Recommended Next Steps

Maryland building owners should aim to develop their short- and long-term goals now.

• The immediate next step is to start collecting all building data this year and prepare for the initial benchmarking reporting due in 2025.
• Building owners should plan to identify and make necessary improvements to comply with interim and final BEPS standards.
• It is not recommended to install new gas equipment or replace existing gas equipment with a similar make and model considering the net direct emission standards. A lower-carbon alternative should be explored if equipment is at or near the end of its useful life.

Maryland BEPS hits its first interim cycle in roughly 6 years. Building owners should start planning for improvements, consider electrical infrastructure upgrades, and communicate with their utility providers for BEPS compliance.

We’re ready to help Maryland building owners comply with BEPS. Contact us!

Written by:

 

 

Iffat Ridwana, Building Systems Engineer at Steven Winter Associates

 

 

 

Adam Szlachetka, Senior Building Systems Consultant at Steven Winter Associates

The post Maryland BEPS: Timeline and Recommendations for Building Owners [July 2024 Update] appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

Accessibility consultants work at the intersection of architecture and social justice. It’s much more than checking the boxes on accessibility requirements of laws and codes; it takes precision, dedication, and creativity to solve problems and remove physical barriers to access that have historically marginalized people with disabilities.

To mark the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, we invited three members of the accessibility team at Steven Winter Associates (SWA) on the Buildings + Beyond podcast. Combined, they have almost 40 years of experience as accessibility consultants! We hope you’re as inspired as we are by their wisdom (yes, wisdom; we talk a lot about this), lessons learned, and stories from the field.

Episode Guests

Carlos Sevillano

Carlos is a Senior Accessibility Consultant at SWA focusing primarily on residential projects. His key responsibilities include conducting plan reviews, field inspections, and providing technical guidance to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulatory and building code requirements for accessible design and construction.

 

Jeff Heitert

Jeff is an Accessibility Consulting Director and a 15+ year veteran of the team at SWA. He has specialized expertise in the complex scoping and technical requirements of federal, state, and local regulations and building codes that require accessible design and construction. Jeff oversees quality control and consulting services for large multifamily and mixed-use projects throughout the country.

 

Jennifer Low

Jennifer is a Senior Accessibility Consultant at SWA. She provides accessibility compliance and consulting services through plan reviews, field inspections, due diligence and barrier removal surveys, remediation development, litigation consulting, technical assistance, and training with focus on healthcare.

 

Host: Kelly Westby

Kelly leads the Building Operations, Decarbonization, and Efficiency (BODE) team at SWA. She has a wide range of experience in building science, commissioning, and energy efficiency retrofitting.

Kelly’s commissioning, energy code, and efficiency projects cover millions of square feet of commercial buildings along the East Coast. She also speaks at events and conferences, sharing her expertise on industry best practices.

Episode Resources

More podcast episodes about accessibility:

• (ENCORE) ‘All-Access’ with Peter Stratton
• The Devil’s in the Details: Common Accessibility Oversights

Blog posts about accessible design and construction:

• 5 Misconceptions About the Americans with Disabilities Act & 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design
• Trends in Healthcare: The State of Accessible Medical Diagnostic Equipment Standards
• 5 Misconceptions About Fair Housing Act (FHA) Design and Construction Compliance
• Top 10 Accessible Design Oversights: Hotels
• VIEW ALL

The book by Peter Stratton, Managing Director of Accessibility Services at SWA, discussed in this episode:

• “A Basic Guide to Fair Housing Accessibility – Everything Architects and Builders Need to Know about the Fair Housing Act Accessibility Guidelines”

Interested in joining our team?

• Careers at Steven Winter Associates

Sponsor

Passive House Accelerator

Thank you to our episode sponsor, Passive House Accelerator!

Passive House Accelerator is an online community and media company dedicated to accelerating the transition to clean, resilient, zero-carbon buildings.

Every week, Passive House Accelerator produces new original content, including Passive House Accelerator LIVE! online educational events, Passive House Podcast episodes, articles about low-carbon building, video content, and a newsletter. In addition, it also publishes a magazine twice a year and hosts the acclaimed Reimagine Buildings online conference series.

Visit passivehouseaccelerator.com to subscribe to the newsletter, register for an upcoming event, and browse the latest podcast episodes, articles, and videos.

We Want to Hear From You!

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected].

About Buildings and Beyond

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Dylan Martello | Tricia Carr | Ian Slakas

The post Career Diaries – What’s It Like Working As an Accessibility Consultant? appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

The number of multifamily residential projects targeting Passive House certification has been rising steadily over the past decade, bringing along many exciting challenges.

This has been especially prevalent in New York City, where increasingly stringent energy standards and a desire for innovation have made designing to Passive House standards an attractive goal.

As the number of Passive House projects passing through our offices in New York City; Washington, DC; Boston; and Norwalk, CT continues to grow, we have seen some important overlaps with one of our other consulting services: accessibility compliance.

In the United States, multifamily new construction projects consisting of four or more dwelling units are subject to the Fair Housing Act, as well as state, city, and local accessibility laws and codes. Projects targeting Passive House certification must comply fully with all applicable accessibility requirements.

In this blog post, we will focus on projects in NYC—although most newly constructed residential projects across the country will be subject to some variation of the criteria discussed below, for both Passive House and accessibility standards.

This blog post was originally published on October 6, 2017. The authors reviewed for accuracy and republished on July 8, 2024.

Passive House and Accessibility – What Do They Have in Common?

Both standards pay close attention to details that have long-term impacts on building occupants. Passive House standards emphasize design details intended to improve occupant thermal comfort, focusing on air tightness, condensation potential, and thermal bridging. Accessibility laws and codes are intended to remove physical barriers to access, creating built environments that are usable by all people, with and without disabilities.

We find that the most successful projects focus on these details early and carry that attention to detail through every step of the design and construction process.

Our Passive House and Accessibility consultants have discovered many areas that overlap while collaborating on Passive House projects.

For this blog post, we have chosen to focus on one area where we frequently find problems—doors.

Doors – Designing for Passive House and Accessibility Compliance

Door thresholds and jambs may be something that is often overlooked by the everyday user, but they have a massive impact on both accessibility and Passive House compliance.

The height of a threshold can make it nearly impossible for someone using a wheelchair to enter a building; a thermal bridge at a typical balcony door can cause substantial energy loss. As a result, Passive House and Accessibility standards heavily regulate details at thresholds and jambs, although they focus on different aspects of those details.

Doors & Accessibility Compliance

Threshold, bevel, and level change requirements

Door Thresholds

Thresholds at doors that are part of the accessible route must not exceed ½ inch in height with a bevel of no more than 1:2 and unbeveled level changes cannot exceed ¼ inch. This applies to all building entrances in NYC, doors to all amenity and dwelling unit terraces, and other doors along the accessible route throughout the building.

Many thresholds we have seen exceed these level change requirements with heights as great as 2 inches, and we have yet to see a sliding door threshold that works with a standard installation.

If a threshold with a height of more than ½ inch is used, it must be recessed into the floor assembly in order to comply, which comes with its own set of difficulties.

A front approach to a recessed door

Door Jambs

To enable a person using a wheelchair or other mobility aid to open and move through a door, certain clearances (MP4) are required beyond the latch and perpendicular to that door.

The specific dimensions of these clearances are dependent upon the direction from which the person approaches the door, but no matter the approach, the clearance can be pushed back from the face of the door a maximum of 8 inches. This means that doors set into thick partitions (e.g. CMU or other structural walls) are often not compliant.

If the partition thickness may result in a door that is recessed more than 8 inches, the best option is to install a jamb that centers the door within the thickness of the wall. For extremely thick partitions, a side lite or thinner wall type on the latch side of the door frame may be required to achieve compliance.

Frequently, this is an issue that we see come up late in the design phase or even after construction has already begun. Shifting door frame locations within wall assemblies after significant design decisions have been made (e.g. beyond 50% Construction Documents) may trigger the need for our Passive House consultants to reevaluate exterior door insulation strategies, which can result in critical delays.

Passive House

Passive House standards require an air-tight building and a close examination of thermal bridging.

Thermal bridging occurs where building materials connect indoor and outdoor conditions, allowing heat loss and the potential for condensation to occur. These thermal bridge conditions inevitably occur where two materials meet, such as where a door frame connects to a wall.

Thermal bridges may exist on all four sides of a door frame: sill or threshold, jamb, and head. To minimize the impact of thermal bridging, think about the following:

Air Leakage

Passive House buildings must pass rigorous air tightness testing, so door frames must connect to the building’s air-tight layer. Gaskets and weather stripping at the door-to-door frame connection prevent air movement between indoor and outdoor conditions.

Typical sliding doors will not satisfy Passive House standards; the inherent moving parts prevent a secure, air-tight seal.

Continuous Thermal Boundary

Many Passive House projects in NYC use continuous rigid insulation on exterior walls. Over-insulating, where continuous exterior rigid insulation wraps from the exterior wall onto the jamb and overlaps the window frame, is another strategy to reduce thermal bridging at door jambs and heads.

Thermal continuity is trickier at door thresholds. Stem or foundation walls below grade often have rigid insulation on the interior or exterior, and this must be aligned and connected with the thermal boundary of the door. This leads to the next consideration: material choice.

Material Choice

The standard entry door threshold is a metal plate on top of a solid concrete stem or foundation wall structure. Is there a way to separate this metal plate from inside and outside? A handful of door manufacturers offer thresholds with both integral insulation and two thermally separate thresholds (indoor and outdoor) connected by a gasket or other less conductive joint.

Condensation Potential

Condensation forms when humid air turns into water droplets on a cold surface. A cold surface in a warm room is ripe for condensation, like a metal door threshold on a cold day.

Passive House consultants perform calculations to identify and reduce the condensation potential, especially at less insulated envelope portions like window and door frames. Where there is condensation there is the potential for mold growth and compromised durability.

Best Practices for Meeting Passive House and Accessibility Requirements

Both Passive House and Accessibility standards can be satisfied with thoughtful design and meticulous execution during construction. While we have come across some specialized solutions (like these magnetized thresholds), these products often come with a hefty price tag.

Here are some best practices we recommend:

No Sliding Doors!

Conventional sliding doors can cause major problems from both Accessibility and Passive House perspectives.

Draw Simple Details

Details that are easily repeated throughout the building greatly improve the construction team’s ability to successfully implement the design. Complexity can lead to confusion.

Consider Specified Materials

Ensure that details at jambs and thresholds are thought through using the materials that will actually be used to construct them.

Change with Care

If anything changes (e.g., flooring materials are switched out in value engineering), then details must be revisited. Changes that may positively affect Passive House goals can negatively affect Accessibility compliance, and vice versa.

Bottom line? Pay attention to details and plan early!

Contact us to speak with our Accessibility and Passive House consultants.

Written by:

 

 

Joanna Grab, Sustainability Director on SWA’s High Performance Building Solutions team

 

 

 

 

Theresa D’Andrea, Accessibility Consulting Director on SWA’s Accessibility team

 

 

 

The post Designing for Passive House and Accessibility Compliance: It’s All in the Details appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

We like to say that a building is not sustainable if it does not sustain the health and wellbeing of all its occupants. This includes considering how the materials, technologies, and building systems affect indoor air quality, comfort, and the physical and mental health of those utilizing the space.

In our post-COVID world, it also includes how a building can protect its occupants from viruses and other airborne illnesses.

We’re sharing real-world examples of how SWA consultants have helped to mitigate potential negative impacts on occupant health in high-performance buildings. Keep reading to learn about:

1. Commissioning Passive House Ventilation Systems
2. Installing Heating and Cooling (HAC) Systems with a Fully Ducted Return
3. Removing Barriers to Maintenance Access

RELATED POST: Sustainable Buildings Are Healthy Buildings: How to Design and Maintain a Healthy Built Environment

Prioritizing Occupant Health in High-Performance Buildings

When we work on projects with sustainability and efficiency goals, we encourage the developer, architect, and other members of the project team to consider how their choices will impact building occupants. If there are any potential negative impacts, these issues should be addressed as early as possible.

Commissioning Passive House Ventilation Systems

In Passive House buildings, the envelope is designed to be airtight and mechanical ventilation systems introduce fresh air and exhaust stale or contaminated indoor air.

Without a correctly functioning ventilation system, energy performance of the building as well as indoor air quality and occupant comfort all suffer.

Commissioning engineers ensure that a building’s energy-related systems perform efficiently, reliably, and maintain occupant comfort. They advocate for building operators and incorporate lessons learned from other buildings so that a building maintains its performance over its lifetime.

The following are common issues that our commissioning engineers must address in Passive House ventilation systems.

Key ERV Setpoints: Airflow, Static Pressure, and Supply Air Temperature

If there are central energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) that run 24 hours a day or at a constant volume, it’s the installation that takes care of everything. They can easily be installed properly and run smoothly depending on what other interlocks they may have. But if they need to interlock with say, a heat pump, that adds another layer of complexity.

For variable air volume ERVs, at design phase, the engineer must include the key set points needed by the installer and the testing and balancing contractor such as the minimum and maximum airflow, the duct static pressure (and its sensor location), and the supply air temperature set point.

Other ERV Setpoints: CO2 Concentration and Schedules

If it’s a variable volume ERV, chances are it’s serving different variable air volume (VAV) boxes or ZRT boxes, for example, in amenity spaces within a residential building that are not supposed to have ventilation 24/7.

The sequence of how those VAVs modulate needs to be clearly communicated in the drawings and the specs and confirmed during the submittal review phase. If a VAV box is going to be controlled by a CO2 sensor, what’s the CO2 level that triggers it? What is the CFM level that the VAV is going to modulate to? And based on those changes, what’s the static pressure that the ERV needs to maintain?

If it’s a time clock that will control the VAV, that needs to be shown in the mechanical drawings and electrical drawings, and it’s critical to identify the responsible trade. Because it’s in the mechanical drawings, is the HVAC subcontractor responsible for installing that? Or is it the electrician? Or is it a split of both?

ERV Sensor and Controller

Another common issue with variable ERV systems is that if they are variable volume and they need to maintain a duct pressure set point, the sensor must be installed in the right location and wired to the controller. The controller must also be set up to maintain that duct pressure.

Prior to final testing of these units, we request the Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing (TAB) reports. When it’s a variable air volume ERV and there’s no static pressure set point noted in the TAB report, that’s a red flag. We can tell right away that it was not balanced correctly. The balancer and HVAC contractor need to return and make the adjustments prior to testing.

Other times, there is a static pressure set point noted on the TAB report, but when we show up on-site and the controller looks like the image below on the left, both supply and exhaust fans are working to maintain an airflow, but there is no duct static pressure sensor installed, whatsoever! And no one knows how that set point made it into the report.

Read more: What Can Go Wrong with Passive House Ventilation Systems—and How to Prevent It

Installing Heating and Cooling (HAC) Systems with a Fully Ducted Return

Not only has the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) made significant progress with reducing carbon emissions, it also requires mechanical ventilation and air infiltration testing—which means that air coming in and out is quantified and controlled for optimal indoor air quality.

In most cases, building code sets the bar for new construction and renovation projects. The problem is that states can be slow to adopt progressive codes.

Industry professionals who embrace voluntary sustainable building programs, such as ENERGY STAR®, LEED, NGBS, and Passive House are ahead of the code curve. But how does the rest of the industry get there?

Step 1: Install a continuous air barrier that aligns with the thermal barrier (insulation). Pay attention to air sealing, including compartmentalization in multifamily buildings (i.e., unit to unit, unit to corridor, etc.). Engage an energy rater early in the design process and perform preliminary testing during construction to inform where air sealing needs to improve before things are closed-up.

Step 2: After choosing high-efficiency heating and cooling (HAC) equipment, focus on the delivery system. If ducted, keep the runs simple, short, and fully duct the return side to the air handler.

Squeezing a heat pump into a ceiling cavity almost always leads to construction sequencing issues and poor installation. For example, the return duct to this heat pump was designed to be fully ducted. Return air should pass through the return grill and filter, then directly to the equipment.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen here. The drywall was completed before the mechanical rough-in was done, so by the time the installer tried to finish the sheet metal return, the space was too tight. Instead of a nice clean return duct, the air path is through a cavity full of dust and debris.

This often also results in the drywaller becoming a duct installer too, as the drywall is used for much (or all) of the return air pathway. This almost always introduces additional duct leakage into the system, which is never a good thing.

Another issue with this design is that we commonly see the heat pump in the ceiling cavity of the bathroom. While this makes sense if the unit has any moisture leaks (the units are commonly installed above a bathtub, or at least a tiled floor), it means that every time an occupant takes a shower there is a considerable amount of humidity introduced to the HAC unit.

During the summer when cooler temperatures are desired, condensation can form on the units and the access panels during operation, which can be a nuisance at best or an on-going maintenance issue and resident complaint that can be very difficult to solve.

Installing non-ducted HAC systems is one way to avoid these issues. However, some options, such as mini-splits, lack good filtration. Better filters will only go so far in providing a healthy living environment. Non-ducted and partially ducted returns will continue to introduce contaminants (insects, rodents, and the air pollutants they produce, etc.) into HAC systems, decreasing indoor environmental quality, reducing efficiency, and potentially causing maintenance issues.

Removing Barriers to Maintenance Access

When it comes to healthy buildings, it is easy to get lost in overly technical solutions to providing clean air. However, one of the most overlooked issues when it comes to maintaining healthy buildings is also one of the simplest: maintenance access.

It may seem like a quick fix, but many of the access issues identified by our commissioning team remain unresolved by the end of the project. It is not uncommon for us to hear from teams, “Who cares if it’s difficult to access a filter if it can be accessed?” But it is not enough for access to just be possible; it needs to be easy. The more barriers a piece of equipment has to maintain, the less likely it is to be regularly serviced—and that can have significant impact on energy usage and overall air quality.

Good intentions to provide a healthy building can easily be thwarted by poor maintenance access. This was exactly the case with a large new construction senior housing development in SWA’s commissioning portfolio.

This project placed a high emphasis on providing a healthy building for their residents in design, including accessories for their HVAC equipment, such as air purifiers and steam generators to maintain healthy air quality and comfort levels throughout the year.

While the design team focused on technical healthy building solutions, they failed to recognize that there was limited rooftop space, making placement of the equipment on the roof difficult.

Several large rooftop units serving ventilation air, kitchen exhaust, and temperature control for shared spaces had to be placed on shared roof space. Each one of these units has an outdoor air filter that needs to be changed regularly by maintenance once the building turns over.

Access to these filters requires a door to be opened and maintenance staff be able to pull the dirty filter out completely, and then insert the new filter without bending or damaging it.

During testing, our team found around half of the units on this project had very limited to no access to the filter. Access issues ranged from mild obstructions, such as condensate drain piping limiting the door from opening completely, to more severe limitations due to ductwork routing.

In both scenarios pictured, the filter is technically accessible. In theory, the cabinet door could be taken off its hinges to replace the filter. This is often the solution that is posed to us by project teams in lieu of moving equipment or rerouting ductwork.

In practice, we know that it is much more likely that the filter will never get changed than it is for a building super to take 20 minutes to unscrew a door just to change a filter.

For this project in particular, the inability to change the outside air filters negates all the effort (and money) that went into acquiring the air purifier and humidifier accessories for these rooftop units.

We know from warranty walkthroughs and our experience in existing buildings that access issues in new construction turn into maintenance issues during building operations. It is crucial to stress maintenance access early on to prevent costly and sometimes impossible fixes.

Health is Not an Afterthought

To create a sustainable and healthy building, consider occupant health, wellbeing, comfort, and safety at every step of the design and construction process. Human health should never be an afterthought.

Click here to learn about 550 Madison Avenue, New York, NY—a project prioritizing health and pursuing WELL Gold certification. SWA is proud to be part of the project team as the WELL consultant.

Click here to contact SWA and connect with a healthy buildings expert.

 

Contributors:

Commissioning Passive House Ventilation Systems

 

 

Luis Aragon, Senior Building Systems Engineer on SWA’s Building Operations, Decarbonization, and Efficiency Team

 

 

 

Michael Schmidt, Senior Building Systems Consultant on SWA’s High-Performance Building Solutions Team

 

Installing Heating and Cooling (HAC) Systems with a Fully Ducted Return

 

 

Karla Butterfield, Sustainability Director on SWA’s Sustainable Building Services Team

 

 

 

 

Alex Guerrieri, Sustainability Consultant on SWA’s Sustainable Building Services Team

 

 

Removing Barriers to Maintenance Access

 

 

Rachel Harrington, Senior Building Systems Consultant on SWA’s Building Operations, Decarbonization, and Efficiency Team

 

 

The post Efficiency and Health: Prioritizing Occupant Health and Wellbeing in High-Performance Buildings appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

On the very first episode of Buildings + Beyond, Passive House pioneer Lois Arena answered the most common questions asked about meeting the high-performance requirements of the Passive House standard. You loved the episode—it’s one of our most popular of all time—and we loved recording with Lois. So, 6 years later, we decided to record a highly anticipated follow-up episode.

Listen as host Robb Aldrich poses the same 10 questions from the original episode, and a few new ones, to Lois and Dylan Martello—who both work on first-of-their-kind, largescale Passive House projects at Steven Winter Associates. What answers have remained the same, and what has changed in the last 6 years?

Click here to listen to the original episode.

Episode Guests

Lois Arena, Director of High-Performance Building Solutions at Steven Winter Associates

Lois possesses over 25 years of experience in the building science field and has extensive experience with new and existing buildings. Lois holds both US and International Passive House consultant certifications and is currently consulting on some of the largest and most difficult Passive House projects in the world.

She has co-authored and presented training programs about energy efficient building practices to professionals in all sectors of the building industry and is regularly invited to present at conferences and private firms around the world to discuss the benefits of and road blocks to Passive House adoption.

Dylan Martello, Senior Building Systems Consultant at Steven Winter Associates

Dylan focuses primarily on advanced energy modeling, Passive House design consulting, and building performance analysis. Dylan brings a keen understanding of the economic, social, and environmental implications that come with energy efficiency measures in advanced building design.

Dylan also serves as an integral part of the Buildings and Beyond podcast production team, providing sound engineering and editing for each episode.

Episode Resources

• Passive House Institute
• PHIUS
• Passive House Accelerator
• Passive House Accelerator YouTube Channel – Offers a wide range of useful technical and non-technical videos
• Sendero Verde – Tour the Construction of This NYC Affordable Housing Development – One of the largest certified multifamily Passive House developments in the country

Sponsor

Passive House Accelerator

Thank you to our episode sponsor, Passive House Accelerator!

Passive House Accelerator is an online community and media company dedicated to accelerating the transition to clean, resilient, zero-carbon buildings.

Every week, Passive House Accelerator produces new original content, including Passive House Accelerator LIVE! online educational events, Passive House Podcast episodes, articles about low-carbon building, video content, and a newsletter. In addition, it also publishes a magazine twice a year and hosts the acclaimed Reimagine Buildings online conference series.

Visit passivehouseaccelerator.com to subscribe to the newsletter, register for an upcoming event, and browse the latest podcast episodes, articles, and videos.

We Want to Hear From You!

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected].

About Buildings and Beyond

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Dylan Martello | Tricia Carr | Ian Slakas

The post Your Top 10 Passive House Questions, Answered – The Long-Awaited Part 2 appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began revising its Indoor AirPlus (IAP) specification for homes and residential buildings in early 2020. Since the first drafts of version 2, several factors have shaped the new standard, including the public’s hyper-awareness of indoor air quality (IAQ) during and post COVID, input from strategic partners, and considerations from multiple public comments.

The goal to improve IAQ across new and existing housing while addressing affordability and expanding access to healthy housing among disadvantaged populations will not change.

But a lot will change for building designers, developers, owners, and property managers that earn the Indoor AirPlus label for their buildings.

For starters, the program will now be written as Indoor AirPlus (previously “airPLUS”), and there are two levels of certification: Certified and Gold. EPA anticipates that version 2 will be available for use in fall 2024, and version 1 will be sunset in January 2026. During this overlap period, partners may opt to use either version.

Below, we’ve summarized the changes to expect from Indoor AirPlus version 2.

If you’re new to Indoor AirPlus and are looking for ways to improve IAQ and occupant health, you’re in the right place. We’re starting with an overview of indoor air pollutants and the history of Indoor AirPlus.

This blog post was originally published in June 2023. It has been updated based on the latest draft of Indoor AirPlus v2.

Indoor AirPlus Version 2 Guide

Quick Refresher: What is Indoor AirPlus?

Americans spend up to 90% of their time indoors, where, according to EPA, they can be exposed to indoor air pollutants associated with irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat; headaches, dizziness, and fatigue; and respiratory diseases, heart disease, and cancer.

Asthma, the most common chronic disease among children according to the World Health Organization, can be triggered by indoor air pollutants. The National Institute of Health says that living in substandard housing often leads to exposure to triggers and higher rates of allergen sensitization. EPA identifies those triggers as:

• Secondhand smoke and wood smoke
• Dust mites, cockroaches, and other pests
• Molds
• Pets
• Nitrogen dioxide and chemical irritants
• Outdoor air pollution

At SWA, we work with these entities to make buildings perform better. While the goal is often to reduce energy usage, water usage, material consumption, and carbon emissions, these efforts are futile if building occupants don’t feel safe, healthy, and well.

Indoor AirPlus is one pathway to deliver healthier buildings. The specification was developed in 2008 to build upon the energy efficiency and durability measures in the ENERGY STAR® program.

Whereas ENERGY STAR is the next step to performing better than code, Indoor AirPlus (which requires ENERGY STAR as a base program) builds upon the indoor air quality, water management, and durability measures of ENERGY STAR. The next level evolved to Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Zero Energy Ready Homes (ZERH) in 2013. Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) formed in 2007 and began requiring ZERH in March of 2015.

Image source: EPA

Indoor AirPlus Version 2: What to Expect

EPA drafted Indoor AirPlus version 2 to push the market forward while being mindful of added costs.

Building designers, developers, owners, and property management companies have direct control over measures within the Indoor AirPlus specifications. And the third-party verification requirements, which align with compliment programs like ENERGY STAR and ZERH, creates a comprehensive solution to addressing threats to indoor air quality.

During the development of version 2, and specifically, after considering partner and public feedback, EPA has fine-tuned the specifications to be relative, impactful, and achievable.

Significant Changes

Here are a few of the most significant proposed changes for version 2:

Two levels: There will be two levels of certification. The base specification will not require ENERGY STAR certification and will have a lot of requirements accommodating existing homes and multifamily buildings.

Performance based: The more rigorous level, Gold, will require ENERGY STAR certification and incorporate additional performance-based metrics.

Radon risk strategies: Radon mitigation or awareness measures must be implemented, regardless of the radon zone in which the project is located. Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and causes more than 20,000 deaths per year. Radon Zone 1 projects must install an active system, or a passive system with tested results below 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/l). Radon Zone 2 projects may opt to install a system or test. And Radon Zone 3 project teams must, at the very least, share the EPA’s Citizen’s Guide to Radon (PDF) with residents.

IAQ monitoring: Considering public comments regarding the cost, availability, and accuracy of IAQ monitors, EPA changed air quality monitoring in rooms that contain solid fuel-burning appliances, like wood fireplaces, from a requirement to a recommendation in the final draft.

Water detection: Water leak detection or a floor drain will be required for below-grade spaces, like basements. This includes a recommendation that the leak detection can shut off the water supply if a leak occurs.

Advisories

An advisory is a recommendation for better or best practice. EPA uses advisories to introduce strategies and concepts that may become requirements in future revisions of the specification. EPA includes an advisory if the practice is important but may place undue burden on the builder or rater or the technology isn’t yet readily available.

For example, IAP requires that wood framing and insulation not be enclosed if they have a high moisture content and advises that the lumber moisture content be ≤18%. But it does not require builders to measure moisture content on all framing members.

EPA has increased and enhanced the advisories in IAP v2, creating an encyclopedia of high-performance building best practices.

Other Enhancements

The following enhancements coming in version 2 will help achieve optimal indoor air quality:

Heating and cooling (HAC) equipment: For Gold level, all HAC equipment and ductwork must be located within the thermal and air boundary. There are several practical exceptions to this requirement, such as ducts ≤ 10 feet and duct leakage tested ≤ 1 CFM25 per 100sf of conditioned floor area.

Ventilation: Mechanical ventilation must be installed in each dwelling unit (Certified) and the system must be balanced (Gold).

Filters: Filters for ventilation systems must be MERV 8 (Certified) or MERV 13 (Gold). Filters for ducted HAC systems must be MERV 11 (Certified) or MERV 13 (Gold).

Portable air cleaners: Non-ducted (i.e., mini-split, hydronic, etc.) heating and cooling systems must also have stand-alone portable air cleaners for each of the two largest living spaces.

Combustion pollutant control: No combustion equipment can be used within the home’s pressure boundary unless mechanically drafted or direct-vented (Gold).

Emissions standards: Material emissions must meet rigorous California Department of Public Health (CDPH) testing standards.

Image source: EPA

The Bigger Picture

Indoor AirPlus is available for any residential project, regardless of size or height. While Version 2 won’t require ENERGY STAR for Certified, single-family homes and duplexes looking to achieve Gold will need to earn a label under the ENERGY STAR Homes program. For all other residential buildings, that means the ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction (ESMFNC).

Raters are transitioning from ESMFNC v1.1 to v1.2 since the 45L incentive, updated in the recent Inflation Reduction Act, will require ESMFNC v1.2.

The recently released ZERH v2 program drives all-electric buildings, requires electric vehicle-ready charging, tighter air-leakage testing thresholds, and more efficient equipment requirements.

The ENERGY STAR program’s commitment to no-less-than 10% better than code means that each next-step program—Indoor AirPlus, ZERH, and PHIUS—will continue to build rigor and results into their programs.

EPA’s technical advisory team has weighed valuable stakeholder feedback while meeting the challenge of improving IAQ and increasing program participation. The team has also worked closely with the ENERGY STAR and ZERH teams to ensure the programs continue to be symbiotic and stackable.

SWA & Indoor AirPlus

SWA is proud to play a role in the development of Indoor AirPlus version 2. SWA became an Indoor AirPlus partner in 2011 and has received the Indoor AirPlus Leader Award for 12 consecutive years.

Gayathri Vijayakumar‘s experience providing technical support to ENERGY STAR and as a member of the 2024 IECC development committee has been invaluable during the four revisions of Indoor AirPlus v1 and with increased contributions through the development of Indoor AirPlus version 2. SWA’s Director of Building Enclosure Services, Bill Zoeller, has given critical feedback about moisture management and durability items. Scott Pusey has weighed in on ventilation and testing procedure issues. He, along with Steve Klocke and several SWA raters, gave feedback from a field person’s perspective. That pragmatic approach is critical to the development of standards and specifications where strategies are practical and implementable in the field.

Have questions about Indoor AirPlus, IAQ, or occupant health? Fill out our contact form to speak to one of our IAQ experts.

 

Written by Karla Butterfield, Sustainability Director on SWA’s Sustainable Building Services Team

 

 

The post Indoor AirPlus Version 2: What Changes Are Coming? [Updated] appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

In case you missed it, emergency legislation has extended the DC third-party data verification deadline to July 1, 2024.

In the past few months, SWA has helped Washington, DC, building owners complete mandatory third-party benchmarking data verification for 2023 calendar year data. With the deadline extended, now is a good time to talk about the recurring issues we’ve seen and the lessons we’ve learned.

Third Party Verification Timeline (Source: Building Innovation Hub)

5 Notable Data Verification Corrections

SWA has come across several challenges and learned a lot through our benchmarking data verification efforts. While some of the data corrections may be unique to the buildings, some are more general. Here are five of the issues we’ve seen so far.

1. Should the property be benchmarked as one building?

If you have one large property with a few buildings, you may expect that it would be benchmarked as one. It is not quite so simple! The correct benchmarking depends on several factors including equipment and utility metering configuration of the property. We have seen a few instances where buildings should be benchmarked separately but are reporting as one.

2. Are your building’s GFA and property use correctly reported?

Your building’s gross floor area (GFA) and space use types are the key factors for benchmarking reporting, yet we have seen over or under reported GFA in buildings along with inaccurate or missing space use types.

3. Are meter numbers accurate?

Unfortunately, we have seen misalignment between the meter list building owners have provided to Pepco and the list Pepco returns.  There may be transposing errors, missing meters, or extra meters in the Pepco list. Correcting this adds time to the verification process. Ultimately, DOEE puts it on the owner to ensure the two lists align, so give yourself time for revisions if possible.

4. Is there a ground-floor retail space?

If your building has ground floor retail spaces, there are several things you need to consider to report those correctly. Retail spaces may even be eligible for exclusion from the benchmarking report if they meet certain criteria. Updating or excluding these retail spaces requires a benchmarking data correction before verification can be completed.

5. Does your building have on-site renewables?

Your building may have solar panels, and if so, there should be a solar meter reporting the total generation on site. The benchmarking report is incorrect without solar meter information, and verifiers cannot complete the verification checklist without on-site renewables where applicable. The only exception is if you have community solar; this does not need to be entered in Portfolio Manager.

Playing Catch-up

If you haven’t started third-party verification for your building, contact us! We can discuss your building and help you meet the extended July 1 deadline.

SWA helped the Building Innovation Hub develop a sample scope of work (SOW) for DC’s third-party benchmarking data verification requirements along with a companion how-to blog post. You can also catch up on DOEE’s third-party verification webinar and a combination Hub/SWA webinar that were delivered before the emergency legislation extended the reporting deadline.

 

 

Written by Iffat Ridwana, Building Systems Analyst on SWA’s Building Operations, Decarbonization, Efficiency (BODE) team

 

The post Benchmarking Data Verification in DC: What We’ve Learned (So Far) appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) or “model code” establishes the minimum requirements for building energy efficiency. The code is updated every three years, and for 2024, a new consensus-driven development process brought together diverse stakeholders to determine those requirements.

However, the International Code Council’s Board of Directors recently voted to go against consensus and remove mandatory provisions relating to building decarbonization from the 2024 draft.

In this episode, host Robb Aldrich interviews Gayathri Vijayakumar, Principal Mechanical Engineer at Steven Winter Associates and a voting member of the 2024 IECC Residential Consensus Committee, to find out… what happened?

Episode Guest

Gayathri Vijayakumar

Gayathri is a Principal Mechanical Engineer at Steven Winter Associates. For over 18 years, she has specialized in evaluating residential and multifamily buildings with an emphasis on high-performance construction and renewable energy systems.

Early in her career, Gayathri provided technical assistance to sustainability projects by performing energy modeling and conducting cost-benefit analyses of energy efficient measures in both new and existing residential construction. She leveraged that experience for her current role: providing consulting to federal, state, and local agencies, codes, and programs to develop emerging standards and procedures that involve energy efficiency and indoor air quality requirements. This includes the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Multifamily New Construction Programs, where she has provided technical support since 2008, and more recently, their Indoor airPLUS program.

Gayathri is also an active contributor to various technical committees that share a goal of improving codes and standards. She currently is a voting member of the 2024 IECC Residential Consensus Committee and Chair of RESNET’s Standards Development Committee, SDC300.

Episode Information & Resources

Previous episodes on energy code:

• How Codes Get Made with Gayathri Vijayakumar (Apple Podcasts | Spotify)
• Answering the Tough Questions About Energy Codes (Apple Podcasts | Spotify)

IECC resources:

• 2021 IECC intent statement
• 2024 IECC intent statement: Find on pages 3-4 of Leading the Way to Energy Efficiency (PDF)
• Code Council’s response (PDF) when asked for clarification on the 2024 IECC intent statement
• 2024 IECC appeals
  • Submitted appeals
  • Results from the Appeals Board (PDF)
  • Results from the Board of Directors
• DOE graph showing improvement in residential and commercial energy codes (1975-2021)

We Want to Hear From You!

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected].

About Buildings and Beyond

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Dylan Martello | Tricia Carr | Ian Slakas | Lucy Koch

The post 2024 IECC – What Happened? appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..

When is it the right call to improve the energy efficiency of existing building systems, or upgrade and electrify them?

Though electrification is important to reduce carbon emissions, electrifying buildings is not straightforward. Factors like cost, existing infrastructure, compliance needs (and we’ll say it again: cost!) can keep building owners from going all-electric.

In this episode, Buildings + Beyond co-host Robb Aldrich catches up with Ryan Merkin, Vice President of Business Development at BlocPower (and a SWA alum). They discuss the eight areas Ryan considers when deciding to focus on efficiency vs. electrification:

• Building height
• Planned capital expenditures (CapEx)
• Current system condition and remaining useful life
• Heating energy source: oil and electrical resistance
• Existing systems: Individual/unitized vs. central
• Packaged terminal ACs (PTACs) and through-wall sleeve ACs
• Regulatory drivers (LL97, ESG, etc.) and incentives
• Metering: who pays what now; who would pay in the future

Note: This episode was recorded in December 2023. Mentions of “next year” are referring to the year 2024.

Episode Guest

Ryan Merkin

Ryan Merkin is Vice President of Business Development with BlocPower. He is an experienced leader with over 20 years in the building science and energy consulting industry. Ryan has a demonstrated history developing decarbonization projects for new builds and retrofits. He is skilled in the delivery of consulting services for low energy building design, electrification, engineering and retrofit studies, energy code adoption and compliance, DER strategies, solar design, smart building system integration, utility and incentive programs, and professional training.

Prior to joining BlocPower, Ryan was a Vice President and Director of Multifamily Energy Services for 13 years with Steven Winter Associates. Ryan is active in the New York metropolitan area engineering community as board member and former President of Association of Energy Engineers New York City Chapter.

Ryan received a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from University at Albany, State University of New York and Master of Science in Geosystems from MIT.

Episode Information & Resources

BlocPower projects:

• Clean Heating for a Beloved Preservation Organization
• Multifamily, Low-Rise Home With Heating System at the End of its Cycle
• A Solar & HVAC Retrofit for a Multifamily Building

We Want to Hear From You!

Send your feedback and questions to [email protected].

About Buildings and Beyond

Buildings and Beyond is the podcast that explores how we can create a more sustainable built environment by focusing on efficiency, accessibility, and health.

Buildings and Beyond is a production of Steven Winter Associates. We provide energy, green building, and accessibility consulting services to improve the built environment. For more information, visit swinter.com.

Hosts: Robb Aldrich | Kelly Westby

Production Team: Heather Breslin | Dylan Martello | Tricia Carr | Ian Slakas

The post Choosing Electrification or Efficiency (When Both Aren’t Possible) appeared first on Steven Winter Associates, Inc..