Saving Money with Utility Incentives

The Oncor Commercial Energy Efficiency Program offers incentives to Oncor commercial customers who implement qualifying peak demand and/or energy saving projects such as more energy efficient lighting (i.e. LED), reduced cooling demands and more energy efficient chillers and HVAC equipment. 

 To learn more about Oncor’s programs and find energy efficiency tips and questions to ask potential service providers, visit takealoadofftexas.com.

Oncor is the largest electric utility in Texas and serves more than 10 million customers across 410 communities and 120 counties. In order to qualify, customers must be located in the Oncor service area and receive electricity from an Oncor meter.

 

Wellness Best Practices for the Built Environment

There is a recent trend of incorporating wellness trends into building and workplace design. Our society has reached new levels of health challenges, which have precipitated this trend, not limited to stress, work/life imbalance due to constant connection and technology, air and water pollution, lack of exercise, an increasing number of working years, and poor diet. There is also a recent recognition of the impact of the built environment to cognitive development and a neurological connection linking physical and emotional development. We spend more than 90% of our time indoors and our workplaces and institutions can play a big part in improving human health through wellness.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal suggested that office buildings should look to NASA for inspiration when thinking about ideal human environments. We now have the data and controllability in our environments to design spaces that provide a level of control to maximize the wellness, associated productivity, benefits its occupants, previously only afforded to spaceships. 

There is a recent trend of incorporating wellness trends into building and workplace design. Our society has reached new levels of health challenges, which have precipitated this trend, not limited to stress, work/life imbalance due to constant connection and technology, air and water pollution, lack of exercise, an increasing number of working years, and poor diet. There is also a recent recognition of the impact of the built environment to cognitive development and a neurological connection linking physical and emotional development. We spend more than 90% of our time indoors and our workplaces and institutions can play a big part in improving human health through wellness.

 

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal suggested that office buildings should look to NASA for inspiration when thinking about ideal human environments. We now have the data and controllability in our environments to design spaces that provide a level of control to maximize the wellness, associated productivity, benefits its occupants, previously only afforded to spaceships. 

 

Using data from these studies as well as new advancements in sensor technologies, several rating systems have launched recently to advance health and wellness and improve the quality of life throughout the built environment.

  • The WELL Building Standard was launched in October 2014 by Delos to address health issues related to office environments. It outlines strategies for the improvement of air and water quality, nourishment, fitness, the mind, light, and comfort.
  • Fitwel was recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and administered by the Center for Active Design. Fitwel provides an evidence-based checklist focusing on health in the following categories: increased physical activity, healthy food options, occupant safety, social equity for vulnerable populations, morbidity and absenteeism, community health, and feelings of well-being.
  • RESET (Regenerative Ecological, Social & Economic Targets) focuses on the real time measurement of occupant health performance of indoor spaces in real time. The parameters covered the rating system are air, water, and comfort (in development). Each must be monitored and tracked.

Other, more traditional sustainability rating systems like LEED and The Living Building Challenge (LBC) have also incorporated wellness. LEED Version 4 raised the bar on health-related strategies including a shift on healthy building materials and enhanced lighting. LBC has a health and happiness and materials petals focusing on daylight, biophilia, toxic material reduction, and natural ventilation.

Beyond impacts directly related to employee health, employers are realizing productivity improvements of 8-11% from indoor air quality, according to the World Green Building Council. Professional service organization, PwC, reported a 9% reduction in staff turnover, water savings of $2.7 million during the first phase of its wellness program. A similar organization reported a 10% reduction in staff turnover, saving $770,000 in one year1.

The focus on employee wellbeing exemplified by these new rating systems shows that this issue has renewed salience as we go about designing and building our spaces. New technologies are giving us the tools to measure the impact on the inhabitants of those spaces. Many of these strategies and technologies do not layer on significant costs and the data makes it clear that they have significant impacts on health as well as productivity.

Examples of strategies to increase wellness in the built environment:

Lighting:

  • Advanced lighting that does not disrupt the natural 24 hour cycle, including circadian rhythms and a focus on providing or simulating daylight wherever possible
  • Dimmable lighting that can help people see clearly and also adjust to different needs
  • Lighting sensors tied to movement

Culture:

  • Availability of Healthy Food Options for snacks and vending machines
  • Water purification systems and hydration stations placed strategically that encourage employees to hydrate
  • Adjustable surfaces, including desks and other work spaces that allow employees to work at varying heights depending on task
  • Laptops for employees to allow them to choose their preferred working spaces and flexible working hours
  • Flexible and multipurpose meeting spaces that include varying table heights and seating options

Active Physical Environments:

  • Walking paths to encourage activity outside and between offices
  • Provide active furniture such as treadmill and walking desks
  • Promote walking meetings
  • Stairways that encourage their use over elevators (include artwork, enhanced lighting, exposed stairways)
  • Trash and recycling in a centralized location versus at each employee desk
  • Distinct areas for break rooms to encourage employee relaxation and movement away from the desks and personal spaces
  • On-site amenities including exercise and yoga spaces as well as health services
  • Provide stretching and relaxation areas and/or gym memberships to employees

Air Quality:

  • Healthy building materials including furniture
  • Increased air quality through ventilation and enhanced filtration

1  2016. CBRE. “Wellness in the Workplace: Unlocking Future Performance.”

The WELL Building Standard

What is it?

There is a recent trend of incorporating wellness trends into building and workplace design. Our society has reached new levels of health challenges, which have precipitated this trend, not limited to stress, work/life imbalance due to constant connection and technology, air and water pollution, lack of exercise, an increasing number of working years, and poor diet. There is also a recent recognition of the impact of the built environment to cognitive development and a neurological connection linking physical and emotional development. We spend more than 90% of our time indoors and our workplaces and institutions can play a big part in improving human health through wellness or salutogenic design.

The WELL Building Standard was launched in October 2014 by Delos to address health issues related to office environments. It is the first building start focusing on health and wellness of people within the built environment. The standard outlines strategies for the improvement of air and water quality, nourishment, fitness, the mind, light, and comfort. Similar to LEED, WELL has a rating systems that allows buildings to be certified to certain levels of WELLness: Silver, Gold, and Platinum, and has a number of overlapping features. The certification can be used on both new and existing buildings as well as interior and core and shell projects. There are currently pilot projects underway for certifying education facilities, retail, restaurant, commercial kitchen, and multifamily residential projects. 

The project is documented using a verification matrix which allows teams to track the requirements for each credit. In order to ensure the wellness components of the project are functional, a performance verification must be conducted on the building for one year to evaluate several environmental parameters and achieve certification. Additionally, in order to maintain certification, recertification of the project must be done every three years (excluding Core and Shell projects).

Each of the credits in the WELL Building Standard are tied to the body system that it will benefit from digestive to endocrine to muscular. A sampling of the 100 features includes strategies for moisture management, antimicrobial surfaces, drinking water promotion, safe food preparation, mindful eating, active furnishings, olfactory comfort, workplace family support, and material transparency.

The Pilot for Educational Facilities includes the following additional credits which are geared toward health and wellness in schools:

  • Access to healthy food
  • Strategic dining area design (using Smart Lunchroom Assessment Scorecard and a convenience line for smart food choosers)
  • Fitness requirements, including sufficient lighting, sidewalks, crosswalks, safe routes to school, and playgrounds
  • Impact reducing flooring for a better acoustic environment
  • Education space provisions for to avoid classroom disruptions and stress

How much does it cost?

The cost to certify are broken up by registration, certification, and performance verification costs. Registration ranges from $1,500-$10,000 depending on the project scope. Certification fees start at $4,000 and range from $0.08-$0.23 per square foot depending on type and size of the project. Performance verification costs approximately $9,000 and ranges from $0.15-$0.35 per square foot. A 100,000 square foot building can expect to pay at least $54,500 for a new or existing building certification under the WELL standard or $81 per occupant. These costs include the registration and certification only and do not include the cost of implementing the measures or consulting.

The cost to pursue individual credits varies. For new construction, it is often easier to integrate into the design and existing buildings tend to be constrained by the features they already have in place. A recent buildout project completed with WELL features came to less than $1 per square feet in additional costs, while one of the first reported a premium of 1.73% ($3.60/sf)1 2. Building owners have indicated that health buildings rent as high as 20% more than market rate. In addition, there are operational and savings which drive down the cost as well as gains in productivity.

 

What are the benefits to sustainability?

Several studies have demonstrated the benefits of healthy buildings on student performance. Recent studies from Harvard indicate that improving indoor air quality has a positive effect on cognitive function, including decision-making, attention, concentration, and memory as measured by percentage of outside air and level of particulates3. Daylight is also a key component of sustainability and healthy design with demonstrated impacts of increased attendance and faster test scores for students4 5. 

Chronic exposure to noise can lead to deficits in test scores and student achievement tests and impede comprehension and concentration. Past research also tied healthy buildings to employee retention and reduced absenteeism, as well as increased value. By including healthy design principles in a project, we can ensure that both students and faculty function peak performance. 

 

1  http://www.nreionline.com/office/well-certification-worth-it-developers

2  Whitney Austin Gray, Delos. Expanding Salutogenic Design with the WELL Building Standard. 2016

3 2016. Environmental Health Perspectives. “Associations of Cognitive Function Scores with Carbon Dioxide, Ventilation, and Volatile Organic Compound Exposures in Office Workers: A Controlled Exposure Study of Green and Conventional Office Environments.” Web: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4892924/

4  Heshong Mahone Group. (1999). Daylighting in Schools: An Investigation into the Relationship Between Daylighting and Human Performance. Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Web: http://h-m-g.com/downloads/Daylighting/schoolc.pdf

5  Healthy Schools Network, Inc. (2012). Daylighting. Web: http://www.healthyschools.org/downloads/Daylighting.pdf

Integrative Design

Sustainable design benefits from a holistic, or integrated approach, that creates opportunities for the integration of a wide variety of systems and approaches. Changes in technology in both areas are driving the need to integrate a wide range of systems creativity in order to optimize outcomes for the client.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been asked about our approach to integrated design several times. Integrated design can be defined as: involving all design disciplines, starting from project inception through construction, rather than the typical linear structure with successive contributions. The process allows for systems-thinking rather than the architect and client agreeing on a design concept and then asking mechanical and electrical engineers to suggest appropriate systems at a later point. Major savings can be achieved in design if we think about concepts such as furniture, energy efficiency, and lighting and their impact on one other early while the design is still flexible enough to consider synergies. 

An integrated process is particularly important when it comes to sustainable design and realizing deep reductions in energy and water use. This is a practice that is ingrained in the process of how we work and further enhanced on projects that involve our design team in addition to our internal mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and civil engineers. Furthermore, involving the energy modeler and commissioning agent from start ensures that all possible options are assessed from envelope to lighting to mechanical systems before final decisions on layout are made.

A recent example of how this played out in one of our projects was during a charrette where we invited all of the disciplines to set goals. After some of the preliminary design concepts were presented, the mechanical engineer pointed out that there was a large amount of glass on the southern exposure of the building. Having the engineer in the room allowed us to make some quick changes that included adding shading and discussing high performance glazing, so as to not over size the mechanical systems as a result.

To help us achieve our energy goals using an integrated approach, we use performance-based modeling through a combination of BIM, energy, and water software tools. This approach allows for fast and simple inputs in the early design stages to determine the approximate load compared to similar buildings. The model can then be re-run throughout the design process to assess impacts from various scenarios and design changes, which can lower both capital costs as well as facilitate project delivery.

The process requires various disciplines and breaks down silos between disciplines, and therefore necessitates more effort on the front end of a project. In order to be effective, there must also be feedback loops so that integrated design is more than just a conversation. The charrette and subsequent progress meetings should be multidisciplinary as well and the resulting stronger team can prove meaningful beyond just the project scope.