May 2011

project of the month
Studebaker East Residence Hall
Ball State University

The Studebaker East Residence Hall (see Stan Journals from April and July 2010 for other articles) is in full-swing construction now. The project was bid in December of 2010 and construction is expected to be complete in mid April 2012.  The project involves the gutting of the original building and replacement of the existing exterior skin. The renovated facility will employ new high-performance cavity walls with an efficient glazing systems that will exceed the ASHRAE standards by 30%. 


New studs for the exterior walls have already begun installation along with piping for a new radiant valance HVAC system that will connect to the campus's geothermal loop. The new building is expected to achieve a minimum LEED Silver certification. It is definite that the project will have an impact on the aesthetics and the energy efficiency that can be achieved with Ball State's facilities. We will continue to give you progress updates as the construction continues.


news
Battle of the Buildings - EPA's National Building Competition

 

Battle of the Buildings

Its official, Schmidt Associates has been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings to help improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and protect the environment. In the spirit of popular weight-loss competitions, we will battle it out against hundreds of other teams from buildings across the country.

The 2011 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition includes 245 teams from 26 different types of commercial buildings - such as retail stores, schools, hotels, and museums - that hail from 33 states and the District of Columbia. Eleven buildings are 100 years old or greater, the smallest building is just over 6,000 square feet, and fifteen buildings cover more than 1 million square feet of floor space with the largest totaling nearly 3 million square feet.

As the 2011 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition spokesperson, actor John Corbett, will provide energy saving tips and encouragement through videos posted on the competition website. The 2011 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition spokesperson is provided by JCPenney, EPA's co-sponsor for these events. The competition website will also feature a flash media wall with photos of all of the competitors, a live Twitter feed, and a Competitor Forum for exchanging ideas and strategies. 

“Buildings of all shapes and sizes are saving money and energy with help from EPA and ENERGY STAR,” said Jean Lupinacci, Director of EPA’s ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings Program. “We applaud the contestants of EPA’s ENERGY STAR National Building Competition for taking action to protect the environment and save energy in the buildings where we work, play and learn.”

Competitors will measure and track their building's monthly energy consumption using EPA's ENERGY STAR online energy tracking tool, Portfolio Manager; make improvements to their building's energy performance; and share their progress. Of the initial pool of 245 competitors, a small group of buildings will be selected as finalists in July. Among the finalists, the building that demonstrates the greatest percentage-based reduction in energy use intensity will be recognized as the winner on November 2, 2011.

According to EPA, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and energy use at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. On average, 30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Thousands of businesses and organizations work with EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and are saving billions of dollars and preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere each year.

Watch the battle unfold: www.energystar.gov/BattleOfTheBuildings

So far so good, after one week of effort it appears we are on track to reduce our electrical energy consumption by 14% just by being more diligent in turning off lights and computers.

Stan on Twitter
You may have already noticed, but if you didn't, Stan is now on Twitter. Encouraged by the Energy Star competition, Stan decided to take the plunge into social media. Now you can follow Stan's crazy shenanigans in more ways. Click on the link at the top of the page and see if I have anything good to say.

events

• Bike-to-Work Day - Friday, May 20 - get on your bike and ride
• Plant swap - this month - make sure to let Craig Flandermeyer know if you are interested
• Carpool to work/Mass Transit Day - coming soon

opinion

This Battle of the Buildings has really turned up our focus on the amount of energy we use in our office. We are planning on making some modifications to our office environment that will permanently reduce our energy consumption. The following list identifies some of the items:

• Place restroom fans on occupancy sensors (currently some of these run 100% of the time)
• Labeling switches to identify to users which lighting schemes are most functional and which are merely accent lighting.
• Removing unused track lighting in areas
• Reducing the number of can light fixtures in areas.
• Changing existing fluorescent light fixtures to LED (long range goal)
• Modify larger equipment with automatic shutdown setting or outlets.

So far, we have been able to make a good dent in our energy use just by changing some or our behaviors. Similar to a weight loss challenge, we are making strides everyday and we need to retrain ourselves to think about our habits more.  And its contagious too, once you communicate what you are trying to do, others are always willing to help out.

Stay Green,