Does greening require "behavior" changes? I've mentioned our offices have been under construction since January. Here are a few tidbits I've learned along the way about greening the business. We're still not moved in, we are slowly "migrating in."
Does greening require "behavior" changes? I've mentioned our offices have been under construction since January. Here are a few tidbits I've learned along the way about greening the business. We're still not moved in, we are slowly "migrating in.""Greening" Products We Implemented
Englert -metal roof system with cool roof technology (Kynar, a material of the Teflon family is a reflective paint used in roofing materials)
Why? The cool roof reduces heat buildup at the top of the building. Old roofing methods and materials transfers heat to lower extremities. Reduced heat buildup reduces overall cooling and extends life of the roof infrastructure and substrates.
Schuco -Solar Thermal hot water Slimline II system. We also installed their 3-pane thermal windows.
Why? The SHWS (solar hot water system) we adopted reduces carbon by about 80 percent or about 6.5 tons of carbon. By producing 80 percent of our own hot water year round, our energy consumption drops, as does our energy footprint. This also eases the burden (size) of building our own AE (alternative energy) power plant. Lifecycle is 5-7 years (replace glycol type of solution and high pressure fittings) and 20+ years on thermal panel output.
We raised the height of windows on the north face to increase natural lighting, and because the north, northwest face is colder during winter months, we installed 3-pane thermal windows filled with argon gas between the panes.
Trane -Heat Recovery system and DC powered steam humidification and air purification
Why? The heat recovery system pulls out stale air, crosses it over to heat fresh, cooler incoming air and uses minimal energy in the process. The net effect is a healthier work environment with adequate fresh air exchanges. DC powered humidification and air purification knocked down power usage about 70 percent over older conventional systems that are AC powered. Water consumption is reduced in half and wasted water is zero, meaning for every gallon used there is no waste as opposed to the old system of pumping 2 gallons of water to drip over coils to get 1 gallon of humidification. Humidification is important to the extent that when there's a noticeable lack of it, static discharge becomes prevalent.
Branded Logic - UltraTouch interior insulation (thermal & sound)
Why? The insulation serves two purposes, making our office energy efficient for cooling or heating, and quieting down the office with the sound absorbing properties of the UltraTouch. The denim fiber is very dense and absorbs sound, especially from our equipment and workrooms.
Lightolier -Downlighting cans compatible with CFL and LED lighting Why? Lighting cans must be compatible with the building materials and type of bulb/appliance in use, including any dimming requirements.
CREE Lighting Solutions - LR6 LED lights
Why? The LED bulbs shaved our lighting consumption by nearly 50% over CFLs, last longer, are less maintenance and a lot less heat. Read more here.
Mold Tough & Mold Defense Sheetrock - used throughout the below grade areas.
Why? Mold is caused by trapped moisture in the air and is evident in many areas of residential and commercial building. We used both brands of drywall only because of availability of sizes. The former "green board" product once used in bathrooms and lavatories is considered obsolete and in some jurisdictions does not meet code. The upcharge for the new Mold Tough/Defense was minor over standard drywall costs. The prevention of mold directly impacts the overall air quality within the structure and this directly impacts the health of occupants. Mold is more costly to remediate than it is to prevent.
Water Fixtures - are low flow aerators and water efficient appliances.
Greening Construction Practices We Observed
Distance - to and from the utility entry (demarcation) and any AE solution is key. Shorter is always better. Longer means you need a bigger wire gauge (higher costs) and you face loss (efficiency) when you get the energy generated to where you need it. Roof top solar photovoltaic (PV) isn't always the best practice because with high roof top temperatures there is loss of energy/efficiency.
Southern exposure - is key solar real estate. Don't let anything block it or get in the way.
Planning & Zoning - some of these people write the rules as they go. Think of the process as a tragi-comedy and you'll do okay. If you adopt wind, whatever tower height you use - use this number to measure from any property line, parking lot, road, highway or anything that can be construed as a public safety issue; meaning: if the tower falls, can it hit something? Never mind traffic lights and poles that "could" hit something or someone where they may fall -the same rules don't apply. Wind towers are designed better than most "State Highway" poles, and remember for wind power generation - higher is better, but the costs go up too.
The earth is a natural insulator - and our first floor is covered by earth on three of the four sides and the temperature year round is about 64 degrees F. Something to consider for data centers unless you are in a coastal area or have high water tables. The concrete slab is 6-8 inches thick and mostly responsible for the constant temperature.
Other Lessons
Money - "Green = profit" (for someone else). Seriously, I'll let you know as time tallies up the wins and losses and how all these investments pan out. Whether or not we reach "true" Net Zero sustainability still remains to be seen. Being there (here) vs. delegating or leaving things up to contractors makes a huge (positive) difference, but you must have the time, be willing to risk your sanity and then be prepared to get in their faces.
Demarcation -I didn't centrally locate our demarc but I did manage to squeeze a few more square feet into useable space. The disadvantage - my guys pulled all the drops maybe 40 feet longer, per drop. No worries, I bought several pallets earlier in the year (before price hikes). What I did do was have my guys install a spare 3 inch electrical conduit back to the utility room from a multipurpose space that is centrally located.
Why do green products and services cost more?
This question is from my wife the CFO. Would you pay more to go green? If yes then why, if no, then why not? For a peek at what other companies are doing, go here. Then, a confessional from Mr. Not-Always-Green - I got busted by the Editor-in-Chief when I commented that my memory lapse (about a recent article detail) was due to paint fumes. I considered friendlier paint at $35 per gallon vs. $27, but they didn't offer the historic color I wanted for my office - FLAME (a federal color). So, as it turns out, I am a bit rebellious. That cost another 11 days of open ventilation to remove the smell of paint fumes. Next time around, I hope the earth friendly paints will have more choices in color or maybe my choices of color will change by then.
IT/Telecom
We removed an equipment cabinet completely from our utility room. We are now using a 19" wall mount rack solution from MiddleAtlantic. We freed up floor space and still have plenty of spare room in the smaller wall rack. Late last year and earlier in 2008, we migrated the PCs over to MACs running MAC OS (tiger) and Parallels for Windows XP. We are using Sonicwall VPN clients to connect to our customer sites for maintenance, patches and moves/adds/changes/deletions. We are moving in the APC green UPS for each computer. The backup solution is Apple's hosted solution (MobileMe) that also provides our calendaring, remote access to files, bookmarks, fax and email including synchronization with our iPhones. The ADTRAN 1224 STR PoE is still providing us with firewall, router, and PoE. Each of our Centrex lines (Centrex isn't dead) use embedded call-forwarding variable to roll our landline calls over to our iPhones. Our internal hybrid IP Panasonic system connects to our desktop phones and our door entries with video cameras with intercom between them. We are using the wireless card in our hybrid IP-PBX with two existing 3-channel access points. We use three shared multipurpose printers (printer, fax, scanner) and plan to replace the oldest (15+ years) with a more power efficient Xerox network printer. (Our printers must support both MAC and Windows OS) Our IT energy footprint is about 1/4th of what it was just about a year ago as a result of all the subsequent mini-energy projects I engaged and posted on. (Preparing for Alternative Energy) On a serious note -I've briefly considered not having the Hybrid IP-PBX or any system at all and in place, using just our iPhones. Because the cell carriers are what they are, that's not going to happen anytime soon. Maybe I'm old school but I still think the phone system is the gateway to a company's soul and if your business front sounds lousy, then you can assume the rest is too.
Environmentally friendly and sustainable products take careful consideration and evaluation. Green products are often treated to meet fire/building safety codes and what's used to treat them isn't any better for the environment, especially if there is a fire - remember for example TEFLON properties may be low smoke producing but you don't dare leave your respirator at the firehouse. Next, consider performance of the products, because this may mean paying higher labor costs to install to ensure performance. Then, there's durability - how long will the products last?
More importantly there are always safety factors in products. A 29 cent alloy clip that I was insistent on, drove the contractor nuts. Not only did I get my clips; I got them where I wanted them. He just needed to remember to bring his pneumatic impact tool to secure the clips to tie the soffits to the joists in lieu of depending upon his pneumatic nail gun. My last reasoning that drives the contractors over the edge is my reply to them when they state, "you won't see that once drywall is up;" and I replied, "yes, you're right, but I'll remember that it's there."
There is arguably a major difference in construction practices and attitudes and there is a great example between those in the U.S. and Europe. Properties in Europe are built to be intergenerational while the focus in the U.S. is seemingly on costs and keeping them down by faster turnarounds. Are we trading off longevity for low costs and fast turnarounds?
So for any IT wares comes a warning: green gear including energy modifications must be as versatile as what is in place today. Then again, when it comes to energy, I still think a holistic view within the company is more important and necessary. More time was spent on research and fact finding and then convincing the guys doing the work that old ways aren't necessarily the best ways when it comes to energy and sustainable products.
Contractor Concerns
* Ensure that all materials are compatible with one another * Do the contractor skill sets and knowledge base match the "green" or "energy" improvements being made? * Call on experienced others and ask their opinions * Plan, plan, plan then work the plan but remain flexible * Document what you are doing, especially when it comes to internal systems - IT/Telecom, HVAC, power, alternative energy, etc
