Building Management Hawaii February/March 2014 - (Page 8)

EnErgy ManagEMEnt Engineered Efficiency: A Holistic Approach Finding your building's perfect energy balance. By Gene Albano W hether your building is of newer construction or in need of improvements, energy efficiency provides a great platform to "rethink" your building and integrate plans for all of its elements. That's because, as every building owner and manager in Hawaii must be painfully aware, our island state imports fossil fuel to produce 94 percent of our energy, and has the highest electricity rates in the U.S. Air conditioning, in particular, is expensive, averaging 34 percent of electrical usage in an office building, but going as high as 80 percent in some cases. Lighting ranks second, at an average 27 percent of an office building's energy costs. For building designers, this poses a very basic challenge: How to make use of Hawaii's free, abundant daylight without also letting in the sun's heat? In the past two years, WSP Hawaii, the local arm of an international engineering firm that specializes in energy efficient design and construction, has worked with architects and owners to come up with two very different, cutting-edge work spaces-'Iolani School's Sullivan Center for Innovation and Leadership, and the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Both pioneering projects were designed to meet the stringent standards required to receive L.E.E.D. gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design program. Both are beautiful and comfortable green buildings that foster cooperative learning and creativity- and are also sustainable in terms of maintenance costs. Similar to office buildings, educational/research facilities face high cooling loads. Each of these projects faced unique challenges that make them a constructive case study in building green. 8 February-March 2014 BMH Photography of the Sullivan Center by David Franzen. The glass curtain wall of the Sullivan Center for Innovation and Leadership at 'Iolani School makes the entire facade transparent, with stunning views. Iconic Architecture: The Sullivan Center at 'Iolani School 'Iolani School's Sullivan Center for Innovation and Leadership (SCIL) took shape in a creative process of collaboration between the architects of Group 70, the school trustees, administration, teachers and students and WSP Hawaii. Perhaps the single most distinguishing and arresting feature of the 40,000-square-foot, $23-million 'Iolani School's library on the second floor of the SCIL. center is its soaring glass curtain wall that stands four stories high and covers the full width of the façade. This transparent, sky-blue building "skin" is beautiful and highly functional, providing abundant, nonglaring daylighting throughout SCIL. For WSP Hawaii, the curtain wall presented a dual engineering challenge-preserve Group 70's inspirational design and its sense of freedom while maximizing the center's energy efficiency. WSP Hawaii could not rely on typical external resources to help keep the building cool, as the architects specified no external shading because they wanted to showcase the unique application of the glass façade and preserve the building's views. As such, WSP had to strike just the right energy balance with a combination of high-performance window glazing and wall and roof insulation. Fortunately, the building's primary east-west, south-facing orientation minimizes the sun's heat penetration into the building. Also, like other structures in this sun- baked school, SCIL features photovoltaic solar panels on its roof that offers a sun barrier and produces renewable energy. www.buildingmanagementhawaii.com http://www.buildingmanagementhawaii.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Building Management Hawaii February/March 2014

ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Engineered Efficiency: A Holistic Approach
Why Host An EV Charger
The New Age Of Energy Metering
Are You On Island Time?
Time To Stay Cool
Through The Tinted-Glass, And What Savings You’ll Find There
SECURITY
Managing Off-Site
Safe & Secure
HVAC: Top Trends
EDITORIAL Notes
An Industry Unites At Expo 2014
The (Often Overlooked) Success Factor
On Site: Men At Work

Building Management Hawaii February/March 2014