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March
4, 2004
This
is hardly the beginning of the project, but it is the point at
which I feel the need to track the various tasks and leads and
dead ends. There are too many things up in the air to be
without a log entry system.
Beginnings
To
set the stage… I personally believe in having an ecological
relationship with the world we live in. I am not
experienced in building construction or engineering. But
I am the co-owner (with my business partner) of a
commercial-building-to-be. Since I will be paying for
it, I want it to reflect my ecological philosophies, and to be
affordable to maintain through the years.
We
began, in 2001, by talking to the commercial lenders with whom
we already did business. Direction from the lenders was
simple: Keep in mind that the standard rule of lending is to
mortgage only 80% of the appraised value of the building.
Mortgage holders will be looking at the resale potential of
the building, and will judge that by how well it offers usable
space for an easy-to-market cost and function.
Specialized functions reduce the ease of marketing.
Similarly, added costs for installing “green” features
were not viewed as a marketing asset. The lenders
recommended a goal of the lowest possible cost per sq. ft.
(For example, in 2001, builders estimated the low end was
$40/sq. ft. for warehouse space, and $90/sq. ft. for office
space) The lenders recommended that the more expensive,
windowed, finished, office space be kept to under 30% of the
building’s total square footage. They also recommended
we work with large commercial building firms whose bonded
rating was beyond question.
Next
we met with such commercial builders, saw examples of their
work, and discussed design ideas with their architects and
engineers. We spoke of our ecological philosophy, but
believe our words were foreign and unheeded. We were
offered various standard box designs, and told that utility
consumption would likely run $30,000/year for the 24,600sq.
ft. design. The commercial builders considered that 82˘/sq.
ft. annual utility expense quite reasonable, or “great.”
We
were not satisfied with the design, and gave up on working
with Design-Build firms. We had imagined there’d be
great convenience and efficiency in having architectural
design, engineering, and contracting all in one firm.
But it did not give us an experience of knowing that
individuals who shared our philosophies would be implementing
them.
Energy
Modeling
Fast
forward to 2004. We have chosen an architect, and an
engineering firm. (see Design Team) We’ve also
picked an energy systems commissioning agent –Michael Tillou
of etc Group, Inc. Mike is also proficient on the DOE2
energy modeling software for analyzing the yearly utility
costs for various choices of systems and materials. He
submitted a scope of work for energy modeling.
My
first question was “Hadn’t someone already done any energy
modeling/ analysis as part of the designing of the geothermal
heat-pump system, or the $12,000 paid to a respected firm for
HVAC system design? Or as part of the basic conceptual design
by an architect with ecological values?” The answer
was “No.” (After calls to both engineering firm and
architect.) Rule of thumb estimating was probably used
by those experienced in a specific system, such as the
geothermal. Standard building code analysis for
worst-case heating and cooling load was used for the HVAC
design. If a firm has the right software, then they can
take the analysis to the next level of determining annual
energy cost and life cycle cost. But even our
engineering firm, of 35 members covering all engineering
disciplines, still sub-contracted out such energy modeling
work.
Now
that I knew I wouldn’t be duplicating work already done, I
just had to figure out which energy choices I needed analyzed
in order to make the best decisions.
March
8, 2004
I
had scheduled a site visit with an alternative energies expert
and installer from the far side of my region, because
alternative energies experts are few and far between. I
invited other Design Team members to attend, so that we could
all be working on the same page. But the meeting was
cancelled due to health issues and spring snowstorm.
I
changed tactics from conversational brainstorming about the
possibilities, to seeking written bids on specific systems and
their general price ranges. This way I could share the
information with the Design Team without having to gather
people in one place. And –I reasoned—theoretical
systems that might be possible but for which I had no
installer, and no idea of cost, were not going to be useful to
my decision making task.
I
set out to find installers and systems to seek bids on.
We are located in Western Massachusetts, between the
Berkshires and the Pioneer Valley (Connecticut River), between
Southern VT, Northwestern CT, and NY east of Albany. A
web search on photovoltaic rebate opportunities turned up 4
leads for all of Western Ma.
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