Greening the Heartland 2012 Recap

Greening the Heartland 2012 Recap

by Sarah E Gudeman, Morrissey Engineering (2012 - 2013 USGBC NFC Chapter Chair)
Check our out conference pictures here. 

Most people in our industry have heard of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the Washington D.C. based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is "committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings".

As the current chair for our local Nebraska chapter of USGBC, I feel that I can say with certainty that far fewer people are aware of our local chapter, The USGBC Nebraska Flatwater Chapter. We have around 120 professional members currently and our membership includes architects, engineers, contractors, manufacturers representatives, salespeople, real-estate professionals, interior designers, sustainability consultants, and more. The function of our local chapter is to collaborate with other local professionals and advocate for green building and sustainable design on a local level.

And, did you know, that you as an individual are not actually a member of USGBC unless you're a member of the local chapter? National USGBC membership is for companies only... so even though your company may be a member, there's probably a local chapter that would love to network with you on an individual level.

Why is this starting to sound like an advertisement for local chapter membership? Well, along that same vein, most people have heard of the behemoth National USGBC conference GREENBUILD. Of course Greenbuild didn't start as a 23,000 attendee conference (last year’s numbers) back when it began in 2002. At that time it was about 4,000 attendees.

Scaling it back down to a local level, there is a regional conference that brings together 17 USGBC chapters and their members for an opportunity to network, collaborate, engage and educate on a much more manageable scale. This conference in the past few years has hovered around one fourth the size of the original Greenbuild. But when 1,000 individuals invested in sustainable design from a diverse array of backgrounds get together, some interesting things can happen on a much more realistic scale.

This regional conference is Greening the Heartland (www.greeningtheheartland.org).

Who hosts this relatively unknown entity? Well this could end up being a much longer post if I tried to explain all the background. Suffice to say that those 17 aforementioned chapters (one of which is your USGBC Nebraska Flatwater Chapter) form a USGBC Regional Committee. This committee is a structure for leadership development and initiative-driven work by representative bodies from each chapter. Each chapter is represented by a representative and an associate. And all of these individuals come together once a year for a face to face meeting at Greening the Heartland (GTH) to bring cohesion to a year’s worth of monthly conference calls.

But the conference is so much more than that. Each year, a different chapter in our Regional Committee acts as host for the conference, and takes on the tasks associated with planning three days of speakers, seminars, tours and a product exhibition all relevant to green buildings. And while I personally haven't been to Greenbuild, I can imagine that it's a similar composition, but where GTH is different is the ability to actually interface with the people presenting and learn about relatable project experience from our Heartland region.

Next year's conference is already in preliminary planning stages and slated to take place in Chicago. Based on my experiences at GTH 2012 I can say that I will be attending (as a likely future Regional Representative from our chapter it just makes good sense) but at the same time it was a unique conference experience and I would advocate for this format as well as encourage others to attend in the future.

The remainder of this post will attempt to summarize some of my favorite experiences from GTH 2012, which was hosted by the Indiana Chapter of USGBC and took place in downtown Indianapolis.

Appropriately enough I began my conference experience with a $7 ride on the public transportation express city bus from the airport to the downtown area. I will say that being car-less in downtown Indy is similar to what it would be like in downtown Omaha... so on my first night as I walked to the Nature Conservancy Efroymson Conservation Center to meet up with the other Regional Committee members, I had completed the first 2 miles of what I'd estimate was over 10 miles of walking during my time in the city (not counting morning runs along the very interesting, and thankfully flat, canal walk 5k course near my hotel).

But walking everywhere, and sharing cabs where appropriate, is in the spirit of the conference anyway, so even though my feet are still a little sore a week later, it will probably come as no surprise to those that know me that I'm happier for it.

The conference for me this year included:

- a tour of the aforementioned Efroymson Conservation Center

- firsthand experience with the wonders of pedestrian and bicycle-oriented signage and sidewalks.

- a seminar on Traditional Feng Shui and its implication for Green Building Research Assessment

- a presentation on a large scale GSA photovoltaic installation project

- two keynote speakers with very interesting approaches to sustainability

- a discussion with the manufacturer of what I can only describe as insulation ductwork

- a presentation on the sustainable design strategies developed and implemented at a new Laboratory Complex on the campus of Iowa state University.

- a seminar on quantifying electricity savings and examples of methods to reduce power consumption and providing guidance for measuring and calculating PUE in data centers.

- a presentation on the campus geothermal system employed at Indiana Tech and a discussion on the steps undertaken to renovate a historic 1857 building to LEED Gold.

- two lunchtime panel presentations and discussions

- a seminar on why building consumption measurement and verification is a lynchpin in the holistic movement toward energy efficient, sustainable buildings.

- miscellaneous expo time to appreciate innovative technologies in other disciplines

- wishing that the owner of the parked tesla roadster would show up so I could ask for a ride.

- a presentation on planning, budgeting/estimating tracking and ongoing performance results of several recently completed LEED certified projects around the region.

- a seminar on retro-commissioning at Butler University's health and recreation center and discussion of the results and conclusions.

- a presentation on Green Fume Hood Technology that utilizes a patented filtration system to allow the hoods to recirculate air back into the laboratory.

Each of these items are discussed in more detail below... it's the next best thing to being there!

Efroymson Conservation Center Tour: The center is described by the Nature Conservancy as “a bricks-and-mortar embodiment of our mission” and it really shows. The building features a geothermal HVAC system, small scale wind turbines, pervious paving, rainwater catchment and native landscaping that capture 100% of stormwater that falls on the site, FSC certified wood and salvaged materials from TNC preserves, raised floor air distribution, several tiers of green roof, etc. I don’t think I can recall experiencing a more perfect fit for a LEED project (pursuing Platinum certification). There’s even a 54 minute documentary on the building available for viewing online: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/indiana/greenbuilding/efroymson-conservation-center.xml

Pedestrian and Bicycle-Oriented Signage: Downtown Indianapolis is pretty pedestrian-friendly. And the signage that we just happened to come across was part of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail (http://www.walkindianapolis.org/trail.html). The 8-mile trail encircles downtown Indianapolis, passing through the city’s visitor and business district, arts and cultural hubs, and neighborhoods. Where most saw ordinary sidewalks, a group of progressive community leaders in Indianapolis envisioned alluring, wide paths made for pedestrians and cyclists, lined with distinctive lighting and landscaping, and enlivened by original large-scale art. I wish Omaha had something like this... and am cheering on the many groups currently working towards it.

Traditional Feng Shui and its Implication for Green Building Research Assessment:

Presented by Jiangmei Wu. Professor in the Department of Apparel Merchanding and Interior Design at Indiana University

This was just too interesting not to attend. And as I sat in the seminar, soaking up information, I couldn’t help but wonder why more people haven’t made the connection between Feng Shui and sustainable design / LEED rating systems. (Also, if you’re like me, you never knew that Feng Shui actually extends outside of the layout of a room to include the whole site and building design). The linkages are numerous and obvious for anyone familiar with either one of these concepts. Concepts like bagua orientation, sky wells and cold alleys, guobai, landscape and garden, interior layout, room size and proportion and local/natural building materials are so relatable to passive solar, ventilation, daylighting, outdoor views, indoor air quality, materials & resources, etc that what originally seemed like a stretch became interesting on a whole new level.

GSA Photovoltaic Installation Project:

Presented by Todd Reeder, Supervisory Property Manager for the GSA & Marcellus Byrd, Construction Manager for Gilbane Building Company

This presentation focused on the U.S. General Services Administration’s initiative to turn the Major General Emmett J. Bean Federal Center into a high performance green building. The project was funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is thought to be the Midwest’s largest rooftop solar panel installation. The array includes more than 6,000 Sunpower T5 318W panels and generates 2 MW of renewable energy. During unoccupied periods, the array generates enough power to put electricity back into the grid. HW solar water heating is also used at this project. The rooftop acts as a living laboratory and weather station with four types of photovoltaic technologies under testing for another 3 kW of power. Average monthly savings from IPL were calculated to be $321,000 with 1,601,000 kWh generated and 23,973,000 kWh consumed (~6.5% of total consumption). More information on that at http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/212761.

Keynote Speakers: First, Charles Fishman, an investigative journalist specializing in business innovation and social responsibility, spoke about how water resources will come to define this century. The message of this presentation was essentially to help change the way we look at water, our most essential but in many ways misunderstood resource. Mr. Fishman’s facts that I thought were most interesting included the following… 3% of all electrical generation in the U.S. is attributable to water treatment, production & distribution and that electrical generation is the largest user of water in the country.

The second keynote speaker, Jeremy Rifkin, joined us via weblink from the IE EU commission, and discussed the convergence of communication and energy. Mr. Rifkin is the president of the Foundation on Economic Trends and the author of 19 books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, workforce, society and the environment. He discussed how the ‘power’ of the internet is lateral in nature and how this caused a change in communication from the previous top-down distribution network. Similarly, what if buildings become part of the electrical grid and we modify the top-down distribution network and infrastructure to access on a public-wide basis? Lateral information exchange and a third industrial revolution are currently shaping the democratization of the energy grid.

Kingspan KoolDuct: This was one of the more interesting booths at the Expo, to me, for obvious reasons. The company/fabricator onsite to introduce me to KoolDuct was InSolution, based out of Indianapolis. But the technology itself comes from UK-based Kingspan Insulation (http://www.koolduct.kingspan.com). It would appear though that Delta Air Systems is the ‘official’ Kingspan KoolDuct System delivery partner (based in Toledo, OH). Read up on the system here: http://deltaairsystems.us/koolduct_engineering.html. There are certified fabricators and installers located all around the Midwest.

KoolDuct is a pre-insulated ducting system… minus the sheet metal. Fabricated from CFC/HCFC-free rigid phenolic insulation panels faced on both sides with factory applied siler aluminum foil, grip flange and joining systems, KoolDuct is available with thermal conductivity ratings of R-6.0 and R-8.1 and has superior resistance to burning and flame spread. Plus, since it’s lighter than sheet metal it doesn’t require as many supports, and doesn’t have exposed interior insulation like liner. It’s also durable (like ‘see how many of us can stand on it without it breaking or sagging’ durable).  It’s also only 15% the weight of insulated sheet metal ductwork and easily meets SMACNA’s Class 6 leakage rating. Good for installations indoors or outdoors, the insulation’s closed cell structure has excellent moisture resistance and is compliant with NFPA 90A & B and UL Listed as a Class 1 Air Duct to Standard for Safety UL 181. Not to mention that it’s been shown to save over 20% of total initial cost (obviously mostly from installation cost savings).

ISU Biorenewables Complex Project:

Presented by Seamus Kelly, Project Architect at ZGF Architects & Kerry Dixon-Fox, Capital Project Manager and Coordinator of Sustainable Design and Construction at Iowa State University.

A two-phase project designed to incorporate many sustainable building technologies. These included aggressive onsite stormwater mitigation (rain gardens, permeable paving, onsite retention and reuse), substantial reduction of potable water use, multiple energy recovery methods, de-coupling of ventilation and heating/cooling airstreams, radiant heating and cooling, integrated building control systems, natural ventilation and daylighting. The project is certified LEED Gold (NC v2.2) and showed that taking risks during design but not execution can yield some exciting results.

Data Center Energy Use:

Presented by Kevin Dennis, Territory Manager for Schneider Electric.

Presented by Schneider Electric, this was a more product specific presentation that discussed the fact that electricity usage costs have become an increasing fraction of the total cost of ownership for data centers. The presenters discussed quantifying electricity savings, examples of methods to reduce power consumption and provided guidance for measuring and calculating data center PUE.

Indiana Tech LEED Gold certification and Campus Geothermal:

Presented by Terry Thornsbury, President at Viridian Architectural Design, Inc. & Michael Lubbehusen, Principal at Primary Engineering, Inc.

The $3.5 million renovation of the historic 11,000 gsf Wilfred Uytengsu, Sr. Center (originally constructed in 1857) from a pre-Civil War era building to a showcase of modern energy-efficient design, materials and technology was no small undertaking. The design preserved the exterior brick shell of the building, as well as windows, and door openings but that was about it. An entirely new structure, floor and roof system was built into the existing shell. A $1.34 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy allowed the university to partner with WaterFurnace International on installation of a geothermal heating and cooling system as part of the renovation. The project had an initial goal of achieving LEED Silver certification, but achieved Gold instead (including all EAc1 points). Closed cell spray foam insulation on the interior of the brick helped stabilize the fragile façade and contributed in part to an overall wall assembly performance of R-24. A one-hour PBS documentary chronicling the history of the building and the renovation process was also created (you can watch a clip here: https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=190483610988875). The building is currently performing around $0.70/gsf. Three flat panel monitors in the lobby showcase the buildings’ data and dashboard interface.

The community geothermal system was designed to be built in phases, with 55 wells (for approximately 124 tons of installed capacity) completed in Phase 1 – the pump house was sized for 1,000 tons total. This Phase 1 well field serves the Uytengsu building and the Zollner Engineering Building, which had an existing 4-pipe HVAC system and was updated to include water-to-water heat pumps. The 12” diameter horizontal mains that connect these two buildings to the 3” mains of the well field loop add approximately 80 additional tons of capacity. Originally directional boring was planned to minimize impact to campus surroundings, but open excavation was required in the end. Each well was sized at 2.25 tons (400 feet deep) and has experienced temperatures ranging from 38 - 85°F. Total system volume is approximately 40,000 gallons and no glycol is included in the water to prevent contamination of the groundwater after what was considered to be inevitable system leakage at some point. The design team spaced wells closer together to help prevent freezing in the system.

Lunch Panels: Wednesday’s panel discussion topic was ‘Environment/Ecology’ and covered topics related to the GTH themes and the Sustainability ‘tenant of the day’. Panelists discussed their organization and roles in this area and then moved on to related topics in a moderated Q&A format, including such issues as local and regional water concerns, waste concepts, energy, climate and ecological strategies. Thursday’s panel was ‘Energy/Economy’ and included topics of local and regional energy strategy/policy, ‘green’ economic development, transit and alternative fuel/electric vehicles and related topics.

Speakers included Matthew Gutwein (President and CEO of the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County), Dr. Lisa Harris (CEO and Medical Director of Wishard Health Services), Michael Kaufman (Director of Special Projects and Civic Investment for the Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County), Larry Clemens (Indiana Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy), John Hazlett (Director of the Office of Sustainability for the City of Indianapolis), Jesse Kharbanda (Executive Director, Hoosier Environmental Council), Ann McIver (Director of Enrivonmental Stewardship, Citizens Energy & Water Group), Scott Miller (Director of Sustainability, Knauff Insulation), Brandon Pitcher (Sustainability Consultant, 5 Kingdoms Development, LLC) and John Waters (President, Waters & Associates LLC).

Building Consumption M&V:

Presented by Sachin Anand, Principal for dbHMS.

As anyone who’s done a predictive energy model knows, thousands of assumptions go into both the model and the building design. Measurement & Verification (M&V) helps manage expectations for the accuracy of the modeling compared to utility bills and closes the feedback loop from enhanced metering and energy model calibration. A good M&V plan should: Define Goals, Define Processes and Assign Responsibility. This all ties back into making building data more accessible to our clients and those paying the bills.

Purse Strings, Planning & Performance of Successful LEED certification:

Presented by Paul Todd Merrill, Director of Sustainable Construction for Clayco Inc, Christy Cunningham-Saylor, Environmental Specialist with Vertegy & Glenn Girardi, Project Director for Johnson & Johnson Sales and Logistics Co.

A panel discussion of three recognized sustainability leaders that incuded brief presentations by each panelist on planning. Budgeting/estimating, tracking and ongoing performance results of several recently completed LEED certified projects (including a 1,050,000 gsf J&J Consumer Distribution center in Mooresville, IN pursuing LEED Silver). There was some good audience participation in this one (especially since my USGBC Nebraska Flatwater cohorts from RDG Planning + Design and Kiewit Building Group were sitting in the front row with me). Discussion included sustainable planning, design and construction opportunities, benefits, risks and pitfalls.

Generally speaking, the mentioned cost add for each level of certification could be around 1-2% of total project cost (though at some level, depending on the starting budget, certification at the lowest levels doesn’t necessarily have to cost that much). The purse strings have to open at some point though, and each successive iteration of energy and sustainability improvement in design can factor into answering the question of ‘how much?’ ENERGY STAR to LEED Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum to BREEAM to NetZero Energy, Carbon, Water & Waste to the Living Building Challenge, to Regenerative Design and Biomimicry.   

Retrocommissioning at Butler University: The six-year-old Health/Resources Complex (http://www.butler.edu/hrc/about-the-facility/) was significantly under-performing in terms of energy (project was not commissioned initially). Retrocommissioning efforts provided a 15% energy savings and 0.7 year payback with approximate cost savings of $0.18/gsf.

Green Fume Hood Technology: A presentation on a specific product instead of a suite of general ‘green’ options, GFH Technologies (http://www.greenfumehood.com/) is a packaged filtration, detection and communication solution for significant energy savings from recirculation of filtered fume hood air back into the space (not necessarily the same as a recirculating fume hood). Obviously EH&S would have to be involved in a decision to install these and they’re not applicable for some uses (perchloric acid). There are four steps to decide if these hoods are a good fit for the application (the short list, a questionnaire, a report from GFH Tech, and programming).