WHOLE BUILDING DESIGN FOR A HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING

Designing a new building presents numerous opportunities to incorporate energy efficiencies at little or no incremental first cost in order to realize substantial operational cost savings over the life of the building. Recharge Colorado recognizes the importance of whole building design in achieving maximum energy and environmental savings and supports the designing and building of more efficient commercial and public buildings through its High Performance Building Program .  If you have a state-funded building project, you may be required to conform with the High Performance Certification Program policy adopted by the Office of State Architect. To further explore savings opportunities for individual commercial building systems, you are encouraged to explore the Commercial and Public Building Energy Savings Guides.  The answers to the questions below will outline some of the benefits of the whole building design approach, along with tips for getting started.

New Construction FAQ

1. What are some potential benefits of incorporating a whole building design approach?
2. What are some tips for starting on an energy-efficient whole building design process?

1. What are some potential benefits of incorporating a whole building design approach?

• It is far more cost effective to design your building right in the first place to maximize life cycle energy savings than to try to retrofit systems at a later date.
• As outlined by the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program:
  • Whole building design not only considers all building components, materials and systems but also examines their interactions to achieve the optimum design.  The whole building approach considers the interrelation of the project site, energy consumption, materials, indoor air quality, acoustic and natural resources and requires the frequent interaction of architects, engineers, prospective building owners and occupants, and individual building system specialists.
  • As an example, a well-designed building that uses extensive daylighting can reduce the requirements of the lighting system.  In turn, a more efficient lighting system reduces the indoor heating load, allowing for a smaller heating, ventilating and air conditioning system to be installed, saving both upfront capital costs and operational energy costs.
  • Whole building design can reduce energy use by 50% or more while lowering maintenance and capital costs, improving employee productivity, enhancing occupant comfort and health, and reducing environmental impacts.

2. What are some tips for starting on an energy-efficient whole building design process?

• The Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program has many useful suggestions for incorporating the principles of whole building design into your building project including:
  • Selecting an architecture and engineering firm with significant green design experience.  Maximizing energy savings while minimizing upfront capital costs requires design team members with green experience be involved from the very beginning of the process.
  • Considering including team members with specialties in indoor air quality, material selection and energy use.
  • Setting clear project sustainability goals during the project planning phase, communicating them to all team members and including language in contract documents, if necessary.
  • Having a green building design charrette that includes all team members and encourages the open exchange of ideas around:
    • The building’s orientation and shell
    • Interior spaces
    • Windows and doors
    • Lighting and daylighting
    • Energy and water
    • Heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system
    • Landscaping
    • Monitoring equipment and controls

  • The design charrette can discuss topics such as: 

    • Clearly establishing sustainable whole building design as a goal.
    • Siting and orienting the building to maximize southern exposures, if possible.
    • Establishing a plan for obtaining and incorporating energy performance and lighting analyses.
    • Setting energy reduction targets and green materials requirements to be included in contract documents.
    • Outlining contractor selection parameters that include credits for low-energy design and construction experience.
    • Avoiding oversizing HVAC systems.
    • Ensuring proper insulation levels and window/door choices.
  • Setting building system commissioning requirements and plans.
  • Establishing the cost analysis method you will use to help decide between multiple acceptable design alternatives.  Life cycle cost analysis is encouraged as a method of comprehensively evaluating the total cost of a system over its anticipated useful life, including initial capital costs, operating costs, maintenance costs, financing costs, expected useful equipment lifetimes and equipment salvage values.
• You may also want to consider designing your building to achieve an ENERGY STAR® rating.  The ENERGY STAR Guidebook can lead you through the process of setting energy targets, determining if your project achieves desired energy goals and verifying the actual energy performance of your completed building.
• Additional green building design and construction guidelines are available from the United States Green Building Council.