The Better Buildings Bulletin is a bi-monthly feature to help keep you up-to-date on partner successes, program updates, opportunities to participate, and more. To view the Bulletin online, click here.
Register today for the 2019 Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit! The Summit will be held July 10-11 in the Washington, D.C. metro area (Arlington, Virginia) with pre-conference activities on the afternoon of July 9. This 2-day event will feature interactive sessions with industry experts and market leaders, as well as many opportunities to network with peers. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore emerging technologies and share innovative strategies in energy and water efficiency with fellow professionals. Register now to reserve your place!
The following Implementation Models, Showcase Projects, and Solutions at a Glance demonstrate the hard work and innovative thinking of Better Buildings partners. Check out these replicable solutions and others in the Better Buildings Solution Center.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center, with its clinical partner Nebraska Medicine, launched the LiveGreen Ambassadors Program, an employee engagement structure for volunteers passionate about incorporating sustainability into their role and department, to increase engagement and reach their ambitious net zero emissions, waste, and water goals by 2030.
Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority (BCWSA) sought to integrate a cutting-edge software platform into its IT infrastructure that would allow it to accurately track energy use. After an in-depth review process, BCWSA contracted with a local vendor for a cost-effective Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that has enabled BCWSA to successfully monitor over 125 pumping stations and identify new opportunities for operational improvements.
The AlabamaSAVES Program – administered for the state of Alabama by Abundant Power and its affiliate, CleanSource Capital – acquired a participating interest in a third-party loan through its Participating Loan Program to support the redevelopment of the Mercantile National Bank Building in downtown Mobile.
Los Angeles Unified School District expects energy efficiency upgrades performed at Helen Bernstein High School to result in 28% energy savings and annual cost savings of $137,000. The school is a high-performance designed facility, incorporating sustainable and energy-efficient design and construction standards into its site, water, energy, materials, indoor environmental quality, and operations.
Energy efficiency improvements implemented at the Wendy’s Company headquarters, including LED upgrades, chiller replacements, and retro-commissioning, have resulted in 28% energy savings from a 2013 baseline and $174,000 in annual cost-savings.
Ulta Beauty is breaking down the split incentive barrier by implementing industry-leading roof-top unit (RTU) guidelines that are beneficial to themselves as tenant and to their landlords.
The Wendy’s Company created the Smart Family of Designs portfolio to provide development options to franchisees, including buildings that fit into smaller footprints and have features that promote energy efficiency.
Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Webinars, Industry Events
Better Buildings Webinars
March 5, 2019: 3 - 4 P.M. ET Better Buildings, Better Bodies: Strategies for Health & Wellness
Meet Better Buildings partners who are implementing design strategies in their buildings and sustainability plans focusing on the wellness, health, and productivity of the people inside them.
May 7, 2019: 3 - 4 P.M. ET Straight Talk: Talking to Multifamily Tenants about Utility Benchmarking
This webinar will identify strategies for working with tenants to share their utility data; it will also explore ways to engage multifamily residents about the benefits of energy efficiency upgrades.
February 19, 2019: 2 - 3 P.M. ET Tutorial Webinar on DCPro: An Energy Assessment Tool for Data Centers
This webinar will present an overview of the online DCPro energy assessment tool for data centers followed by a walk-through of the tool's inputs, outputs, and other considerations. DCPro is an "early stage" scoping tool designed for data center owners and operators to diagnose how energy use is distributed in their data center and determine ways to save energy and money.
February 21, 2019: 2 - 3 P.M. ET Lighting & Electrical Technology Research Team Call: Internet of Things (IoT)-Enabled Troffer Lighting Challenge and Interior Lighting Campaign (ILC) Recognition Selection
An easily upgradeable, competitively-priced troffer luminaire or retrofit kit for commercial spaces is the focus of DOE’s interior lighting efforts. On this call, DOE will seek feedback from industry about the near-term IoT applications that would be of most value to building owners. DOE will also share details on the 2019 ILC recognition process currently underway, including new innovative lighting system categories introduced this year.
Pre-registration is not required. Access the webinar here. Connect your audio through your computer or dial in: +1 (571) 317-3122 Access Code: 813-580-069
March 7, 2019: 1 - 2 P.M. ET Space Conditioning Technology Research Team Call: New Technology Reviews
This call will provide an overview of research activity, resources, and new space conditioning technologies. Michael Deru (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) will highlight new technology award winners from the 2019 AHR Expo, including the Product-of-the-Year winner.
March 20, 2019: 1 - 2 P.M. ET Plug and Process Load (PPL) Technology Research Team Biannual Call
Technical team lead Kim Trenbath (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) will provide updates on current and upcoming Plug and Process Load team research efforts and other relevant industry developments. Alice Kandt (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) will provide a summary of a recent field study that assessed a wireless meter and control system (“smart outlets”) for plug loads in two retail environments. Discussion will follow.
This event will feature two days of educational sessions, case studies, hands-on workshops, and lectures from today’s green schools experts. Content will serve multiple audiences: administration, construction, faculty, and operations.
April 29 – May 1, 2019 PRSM National Conference 2019
PRSM’s annual conference for retail facilities maintenance professionals is one of the largest multi-site retail-focused events in the country. It combines education sessions, networking, and an expo of over 300 exhibitors.
What is the relationship between a building’s energy efficiency features and its financial performances? Through the Better Buildings Alliance’s Market Solutions Team, DOE is working to find out. New research is underway in this field that offers new insights into these relationships, and what they could mean for valuing high-performance commercial real estate. Final results are expected in the Spring, but the Beat Blog has an inside look!
Better Buildings partners are proving that healthcare facilities can achieve significant water savings without jeopardizing water quality or patient care. The Healthcare Water Efficiency and Program Management Toolkit collects partner experiences and other valuable resources to provide guidance tailored to the Healthcare sector for efficient water management while maintaining control of infection.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), a Better Buildings Challenge partner, was announced as a winner of the 3rd-annual Zero Net Energy School Leadership Award at the Green California Schools and Community Colleges Summit. The event brought together K-12 schools, community colleges, and associated stakeholders to share best practices in energy management and explore new emerging technologies. In addition to being recognized, LAUSD also took part in leading discussions about incorporating environmental principles into classroom instruction.
More than 100,000 homes have been rated by organizations nationwide using DOE’s Home Energy Score! This tool for homeowners, homebuyers, and renters estimates home energy use, home energy costs, and provides cost-effective solutions to improve home energy efficiency. Keep reading to learn more about the savings potential of homes scored to-date.
The 2018 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo convened Better Buildings partners across all sectors to learn about the latest trends in sustainability and the built environment. This year’s theme, “Human X Nature,” set the stag for a host of health-related sessions, many of which utilized research and tools from DOE National Laboratories and featured Better Buildings partner leadership on zero energy and innovations in real estate finance.
For years, manufacturing plant personnel and experts have relied on several DOE software tools to increase industrial energy efficiency – both at the plant-level and for specific energy-consuming systems. Now, these tools have been combined into the new Manufacturing Energy Assessment Software for Utility Reduction (MEASUR) tool suite!
When your organization wants to save energy, the first place to start is usually a plan. But a good plan only works if the people in your organization are part of the plan. People are the most powerful resource for any organization wanting to meet ambitious energy efficiency goals. This is especially true in an apartment community. Two Better Buildings Challenge partners have shared recent examples of ways they have successfully included people to meet their goals – both staff and residents.
The use of commercial property assessed clean energy (CPACE) continues to grow across the country, with nearly $600 million in funds deployed through 2017. Better Buildings Financial Allies are helping to drive energy efficiency by offering innovative financing options, and several Allies have achieved significant milestones that reflect the increased market adoption of commercial PACE financing
Recent news articles featuring Better Buildings partners are listed below. Partners have been recognized by Facility Executive, Retrofit Magazine, Sustainable Brands, and more.
This case study from the Home Upgrade Program Accelerator highlights process improvements undertaken by Build It Green and Pacific Gas & Electric to streamline California’s Home Energy Program. As a result, the application review process has fewer errors and the predicted energy savings are more reliable.
The March 31 deadline for the 2019 Green Lease Leaders application period is fast approaching! Green Lease Leaders is an industry-acclaimed recognition program created by the Better Buildings Alliance and the Institute for Market Transformation. Now entering its sixth year, the program has recognized landlords, tenants, and real estate teams in the commercial office, retail, and industrial sectors – representing more than 1.8 billion square feet of space – for their efforts to break down barriers to higher-performing buildings by addressing energy and water use through smart lease clauses and corporate guidelines.
Register to apply for the Landlord, Tenant, or Team Transaction categories by March 31, 2019.
Contact us to receive one-on-one guidance for earning recognition or for information on greening your lease.
Water used in hospitals and other health care facilities comprises 7% of the total water use in commercial and institutional facilities in the U.S. This toolkit aggregates resources to provide guidance tailored to the Healthcare sector for efficient water management while maintaining control of infection. A variety of assessment and resources are available for those interested in developing strategies around water management that are separate from energy management.
The Envelope Technologies Research Team (ETRT) is seeking Better Buildings Partner input on research activities related to passive wall performance and field validation work on a new Building Enclosure Performance (BEP) metric. The ETRT includes 31 building owner/manager members and an additional 30 industry stakeholder friends. Get involved to engage advancing building envelope technologies! Contact Melissa Lapsa, Team Lead, for more information.
A study of commercial mortgages and energy usage for multifamily buildings showed a statistically significant relationship between mortgage default rates and energy use and price: higher energy use and higher whole sale electricity prices are associated with higher default rates. This study, sponsored by DOE and conducted by University of California Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, extends prior work that demonstrated a similar effect in office buildings. Detailed results are available here.
Hear from leaders at the national laboratories working to advance technologies related to space conditioning, lighting, plug loads, building envelope, and energy management information systems.
Using lessons learned and experts in the field, this webinar can help set up your site for creating a Smart Labs Program. Prioritizing energy efficiency in labs can help organizations quickly meet their energy saving goals.
Better Plants partners and representatives of the R&D community discuss how they have informed research into new energy-related technologies, materials, and best practices.
Six communities in different parts of the country with populations between 5,000 and 250,000 are profiled in a new fact sheet for innovative and replicable energy efficiency program ideas: Arlington, Virginia; Bellingham, Washington; Chula Vista, California; Madison, Wisconsin; Takoma Park, Maryland; and Walla Walla, Washington.
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