By: Caitlin Carpenter - Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Source: Enermodal Engineering
As the number of sustainable buildings continues to increase, it has become apparent that not all green buildings are created equal. As Canada’s leader in green buildings, Enermodal Engineering has developed a unique solution to encourage the development of more and better sustainable buildings. Called Delivered Performance, Enermodal’s new service creates a guaranteed financial reward for owners to aim for a more energy efficient, environmentally-responsible building.
Stephen Carpenter, president of Enermodal, says there are two main challenges with LEED buildings (and green buildings in general) that are addressed through Delivered Performance:
LEED/sustainability consultants charge more on the greenest projects – those that require the most innovation and paperwork – which acts as a disincentive for building owners to move beyond the status quo to the highest level (LEED Platinum) of environmental design.
Much of the time, actual green building performance does not live up to the energy, water, and resource savings projected during the design phase.
“LEED consultants – by charging more for higher levels of LEED – are making the same mistake that power companies make when they charge people less money per unit energy for using more total energy. This is the opposite of what we should be doing to encourage efficiency,” says Mr. Carpenter.
Instead, Enermodal’s Delivered Performance service offers a financial reward to building owners who achieve LEED Platinum: Enermodal will pay the CaGBC registration fees (often around $16,000).
“It’s an unusual business model, but if we’re serious about getting buildings to operate more efficiently, it is up to LEED industry leaders to eliminate some of the disincentives,” Mr. Carpenter adds.
As for the second issue of green buildings not living up to their designed potential, Delivered Performance changes the end point of the LEED consultant’s services. Instead of operating under the traditional LEED consultant modus operandi of “Our job isn’t finished until the LEED plaque is on the wall,” Enermodal’s informal motto is “Our work isn’t finished until the building is performing the best that it can.”
To fulfill that promise, Enermodal analyzed its best-performing green buildings to find out why these projects achieved their energy and resource efficiency potential. It was found that those buildings that Enermodal provided multiple services for (commissioning, measurement and verification, energy modelling, LEED design and certification, and mechanical and electrical design), performed the best.
Enermodal’s Delivered Performance package takes advantage of Enermodal’s unique breadth of service offerings to provide the full spectrum of sustainable building services:
Engineering peer reviews at concept, schematic, and final design stages
Contractor training
Regular building site inspections
Comprehensive building commissioning
Indoor air quality testing
Envelope airtightness testing
Energy and water verification and optimization
First year operational support
Public/media relations
When a client uses the Delivered Performance package, they receive 5% package discount off Enermodal’s total fee.
Delivered Performance is a critical part of achieving LEED Gold or Platinum because it incorporates credits essential to high performing buildings:
Fundamental Commissioning (EAp1)
Energy Savings for Enhanced Building Airtightness (EAc1)
Best Practice Commissioning (EAc3)
Measurement and Verification (EAc5)
Construction IAQ: Testing Before Occupancy (EQc3.2)
Potential Innovation Point for Green Education (IDc1)
Besides the discount on these services and associated LEED credits, there are many benefits to Delivered Performance:
An increased likelihood that the building will live up to its predicted energy savings
A better performing building
A building project is set up to achieve LEED for Existing Building certification (in addition to LEED-NC) if desired
“With all the environmental difficulties we face today and the major part buildings play in those issues, we in the building industry cannot conduct business as usual,” Mr. Carpenter says. “We need to move beyond just achieving project energy savings to hit LEED requirements. We need to create buildings that function as intended, while providing that incentive for innovation to developers.”
