Making Your Old Building a Greener and More Sustainable Place

“The greenest building is…one that is already built.” – Carl Elefante

Most of us spend the majority of our lives in some type of building—we may work inside a building and we may come home to another one. According to the United States Energy Information Administration’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey, existing buildings 20 years or older make up nearly 72 percent of the total square footage in the United States.

However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that approximately 1 billion square feet of preexisting buildings are demolished annually to make way for new construction.

If you currently manage or own an existing building, it is essential for you to understand the importance of retrofitting and restoring your structure and how doing so can make it inherently sustainable. In fact, working to make existing buildings sustainable may be more beneficial to the environment (and more economical) than any type of new construction project. According to the National Institute of Building Sciences, “With some exception, comparing similar uses, types and locations, the existing buildings reduce climate impact over the newly built. Additionally, the findings suggest that even sustainably-constructed new built structures do not recoup energy outlays for approximately 30 years when measured against a renovated existing building.”

In a nutshell, since preservation takes advantage of existing materials and infrastructure and lessens would-be waste created during the construction process, reusing older buildings and creating energy efficient operations can result in instant and long-lasting environmental benefits. In particular, maintaining and retrofitting an older building’s mechanical systems (HVAC, plumbing, and piping) can greatly reduce energy costs and lessen a building’s environmental footprint.

Commercial buildings have a big impact on our quality of life, comfort, security, and overall health but they also have the potential to consume much of our nonrenewable resources and create large extents of waste.

According to the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), buildings in the U.S. account for:

• 38 percent of all CO2 emissions, and
• 73 percent of electricity consumption

As would be assumed, green buildings consume much less energy than the average commercial building. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a set of ratings that are intended to help building owners and managers be environmentally responsible and utilize resources as efficiently as possible. According to a white paper on Green Building Performance by the General Services Administration (GSA), after evaluating 22 green GSA Buildings, it was determined that sustainable buildings generally:

• Consume 25 percent less energy and 11 percent less water
• Have 19 percent lower maintenance costs
• Have a 27 percent higher occupant satisfaction
• Emit 34 percent lower greenhouse gases

The Green Building Market and Impact Report states that LEED buildings avoided 0.35 percent of total U.S. CO2 emissions in 2011 and that the percentage of CO2 avoidance attributed to LEED buildings is estimated to rise to 4.92 percent by 2030. Those are large percentages and they clearly show the impact that sustainable efforts can and will make.

Sustainable development is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, both now and for generations to come. But it does require some effort on our parts.

To help ensure that your existing building’s mechanical systems are operating in an environmentally-conscious and sustainable manner, give us a call today at 301-350-5000 or click here for more information on how we can help.

In Focus: Enhancing the Sustainability of Existing Buildings

Dan Aghdam, President, RM Thornton Mechanical was recently published on Area Development Online discussing ways to enhance sustainability in existing buildings. 

Today, green building and environmental sustainability is one of the top priorities of anyone in charge of managing commercial properties. However, much of this buzz continues to center on new construction projects. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, existing buildings 20 years or older make up nearly 72 percent of the total square footage in the United States. Yet, the majority of these buildings were constructed at a time when energy consumption and environmental impact were not even considered during the planning phase. With such a high percentage of existing infrastructure, there is a far greater opportunity for achieving environmental benefits and reducing energy consumption by promoting more sustainable operations among existing commercial buildings.

Dan Aghdam | President | RM Thornton Mechanical

Buildings are continuously evolving. As new tenants arrive and interior renovations take place, commercial spaces are being utilized in a variety of ways. It is increasingly important for building managers to be acutely aware of their building’s operational needs and take the appropriate steps to optimize the functionality of mechanical systems.

Recommissioning Facilities
A fundamental step to improving sustainability is the recommissioning of an existing building. The process of recommissioning involves careful examination and hands-on testing of mechanical equipment and is essential to ensuring a building’s HVAC, plumbing, and controls systems are working properly and operating efficiently. The results produced by this careful testing are then used to create a plan of action that outlines ways to fix underlying problems and provides strategic recommendations for performing energy-saving upgrades. Like a tune-up for your vehicle, recommissioning is an important part of a preventative maintenance plan and is vital to increasing sustainability and reducing energy consumption.

As part of the recommissioning process, building managers should perform rigorous indoor air quality (IAQ) tests in accordance with American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ (ASHRAE) standards. IAQ testing can improve ventilation, reduce indoor air pollutants, and create a healthier, more productive environment for building occupants. While IAQ testing may not deliver immediate cost savings, research has shown it does provide a return on investment and long-term financial benefits. A study completed by William Fisk from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California found that IAQ has a significant impact on the productivity and overall health of employees. By improving IAQ and ensuring proper ventilation, building managers can greatly improve the comfort of their tenants and reduce symptoms of illnesses associated with sick building syndrome (SBS), asthma, and other respiratory conditions.

Using Economizers
The use of economizers — often referred to as “free cooling” — is another simple yet effective way of improving a building’s IAQ and energy efficiency. Depending on the climate, economizers use the outside air produced by colder evening and winter temperatures to cool commercial facilities. By harnessing natural air, economizers can provide building managers with an inexpensive way to improve IAQ, reduce harmful contaminates, and stabilize energy consumption.

Existing buildings provide many cost-effective opportunities for increasing sustainability without forcing building managers to make expensive replacements and perform costly repairs. By creating a customized preventative maintenance plan and strategically making economical upgrades to existing mechanical systems, building managers can greatly lessen their buildings environmental footprint and gain measurable results.

For more information about RM Thornton Mechanical, please click here.