The M Files

Have you seen the latest green building news? Even the U.S. Department of Defense is now mandated to prove the financial value of LEED certification.

We're entering an era of green transparency, my friends, and we better stop making excuses why our LEED projects fall short of energy expectations.

Our “plain English” EUI results from a series of projects with a public school client.

My last post pointed out three problems with LEED energy goals, and why achieving their energy efficiency targets tend to be hit or miss. This week let's flip those problems into opportunities. Here's a three-step strategy to LEED energy success.

1. Communicate the energy goals in plain English.
2. Establish energy accountability measures.
3. Begin with the end in mind—a sensible Measurement and Verification (M&V) plan.

Communicate the energy goals in plain English.
Learn to speak the language of Energy Use Intensity (EUI). Nothing says more with so little effort. If you don't know the definition of EUI, you should. It's a single number that represents a building's energy use relative to its floor area. EUI serves as the basis of the Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool. The EPA has a nice explanation of the concept on its website.

So what I'm advocating is this: On LEED projects, where it's necessary to seek certification points based on X% improvement from a theoretical base condition, convert that goal into an EUI target. In the case of our example cited in my last post, the 25% savings from the ASHRAE 90.1 baseline converted to an EUI of roughly 50 kBtu/square foot annually. Now that's a good goal. It's easily communicated and committed to memory. It implies responsibility both on the parts of building designers and operators. It's easily measured and verified on the project's tail end.

Getting the project team to think this way might take awhile. But doing it time and again will eventually make you a building energy prophet. Our team can often predict energy retrofit outcomes with very little effort. After initial engineering analyses, we subject our energy goals to the all important "sniff test." If it doesn't smell right, we re-check our calculations. No kidding!

Establish energy accountability measures.
After my last post, a colleague wrote, "I would be interested to hear if you have any ideas on how to improve the [accountability] process for LEED projects other than the obvious recommendation of a [Guaranteed Energy Savings Agreement.]" He knows of our appetite for energy performance-based contracts.

Putting a single entity contractually on the hook for energy performance is the absolute best way of assuring successful outcomes. As he said, that's obvious. Unfortunately, this method of contracting hasn't reached the building construction industry mainstream yet, and I'd be perceived as a radical by proposing widespread acceptance of performance contracting as the LEED energy solution.

So what accountability measures can be introduced to traditional building design and construction models?

If you aren't willing to institute a contractual framework, how about simply assigning a LEED energy champion? Let's call him the Energy Czar. We did that in my college fraternity. We gave him authority. When the Czar spoke, we obeyed. It was simple and highly effective.

As with our successful performance-based contracts, the Czar would have energy expertise. He'd play a role in conceptualizing, designing, administering construction, and commissioning the facility. There would be no fragmentation of energy responsibilities. It seems so simple, but I've never experienced anything like it on a project seeking certification.

Begin with the end in mind – a sensible M&V plan.
Stephen Covey asserts that Habit #2 of Highly Effective People is to Begin with the End in Mind. I suggest that thoughtful M&V plans do just that on any project with an energy goal.

Many perceive M&V plans as adding a layer of paper-laden bureaucracy to the end of a construction project. It doesn't need to – and shouldn't – be that way. The most effective M&V plans are action-laden, paper-light. We prefer to use International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) standards and our reports are rarely more than 20 pages.

Commit to engaging the M&V team early in the design phase, and then, give them a voice to influence design decisions. After living with our energy guarantees for over a decade – the good, the bad, and the ugly – I can unequivocally swear that this step is essential to create a legacy of energy success stories.

M&V plans should be specific to the building, and every building is unique. By having the M&V plan feed the design, actual execution of the plan after occupancy can feel like a formality. When's the last time you experienced that on a LEED-certified project?

LEED energy victory is within our grasp.