Say goodbye to wasted water: How smart water meters help us conserve

January 5, 2016 by Spark Staff Leave a Comment

Photo by r. nial bradshaw, via Flickr.

We live in a thirsty world, but our water supply is dripping through our fingers.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), dripping faucets and leaking fixtures alone can waste more than a trillion gallons of water annually nationwide, and billions (if not trillions) are wasted through aging infrastructure. With drought looming in the West, many states are facing a serious water crisis.

Unfortunately, we don’t really know how much water is being consumed or how much is lost in transit. However, “smart” water meters and their infrastructure can help establish an accurate baseline across an entire city or utility. This can help reduce water waste, identify leaks and generate vital usage data.

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A “passive” look at the future of energy efficiency

December 21, 2015 by Skander Spies Leave a Comment

This Passive House—the “O2Haus” in Portland, Oregon—is one of the more than 120 certified by the Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) since 2001. The house was designed by PDX Living. Interestingly, it’s also available to rent on Airbnb. Photo via Flickr & courtesy of PHIUS.

In writing the 2012 Seattle Energy Code, the Seattle Code Committee did something that is perhaps unprecedented in the history of municipal regulations.

Namely, the new code included a path to compliance that would allow developers to essentially do anything they wanted to a building, so long as the building plans met a few simple prerequisites and a strictly-defined energy performance target. This is a provision that provided developers with a unique degree of flexibility, while also giving the city real leverage in mandating energy efficiency.

While this new compliance path in Seattle is optional (there are three other paths that design teams can use to comply with the code), it represents a shift in energy policy that is truly groundbreaking in America. This alternate compliance path is one of the first true “performance-based” codes in the country, and it represents a glimpse of the future.

Quite frankly, the modern construction industry evolved during a time when high performance wasn’t required in the built environment.

That time, however, is passing.

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Issue management: Are you paying for a tech tool or investing in an operational solution?

December 1, 2015 by Brandon Rogers Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: LendingMemo, via Flickr.

Like offensive linemen and line cooks, facility managers only get noticed when something goes wrong. That’s why they need the right tools to properly care for equipment, provide oversight of vendors and ensure that tenants remain happy.

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LED streetlights need smart controls

November 16, 2015 by Andrew Williamson 1 Comment

Difference in LED vs. high-pressure sodium streetlights.

LEDs aren’t just for student science projects anymore.

Out on our city streets, LED streetlights are an emerging technology that use significantly less energy, offer improved light quality, and last longer. On an apples-to-apples, technology-to-technology comparison, LED streetlights easily beat out all the other streetlighting technologies.

No wonder, then, that cities nationwide are beginning to replace their streetlights with LEDs. However, many cities are missing out on the real opportunity with LED streetlights: smart controls and the potential for a networked city.

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McKinstry and sports: a winning team

November 16, 2015 by Spark Staff 3 Comments

This is an aerial view of CenturyLink Field and Event Center, which is topped with an array of solar panels—as seen in the lower left. The view is from the south facing north towards downtown Seattle and was photographed on August 13, 2011. (ROD MAR/SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AND SOUNDERS FC)

As the leaves fall and the air grows colder, there’s one thing which draws an opinion from almost everyone:

Whether it’s football, basketball, hockey, or another fall sport, people love to play, watch, and talk about athletics. While we love sports at McKinstry, they’re also part of our job.

Much as teams have to practice and plan in order to play their best on game day, McKinstry has to work hard behind the scenes in order to make sure the stadiums and arenas hosting millions of fans are up to that task.

Here are the stories of three athletic facilities where McKinstry’s work has had a major impact on fans and players alike:

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How to make smart buildings

November 6, 2015 by Spark Staff Leave a Comment

At McKinstry, we think about smart buildings all the time.

Whether we’re working in factories, offices, or schools, our core goal is always the same: making the built environment more efficient and less siloed.

A building or space can be “smart” in many different ways, but the smartest buildings are usually extremely efficient. How, then, should building owners and operators strive to make their buildings smarter and attain that efficiency?

Recently, we produced a video that answers that very question:

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Policy innovations propel energy efficiency

October 30, 2015 by Ash Awad Leave a Comment

Cover photos taken from report commissioned by NEEC. Photo at center courtesy of Diana Rothery; right cover photo courtesy of Nate Watters.

Policymakers take note: energy efficiency may be your best economic development strategy.

A recent report commissioned by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) found that energy efficiency investments boosted the economies of Washington and Oregon by hundreds of millions of dollars more than if that money had been invested elsewhere. Not only does spending on energy efficiency generally remain localized, it also frees up capital that can be redirected towards other projects. Places that encourage investment in energy efficiency can then reap the long-term benefits of a stronger local economy, higher wages and lower unemployment.

We need a mix of market based tools to promote investments in energy efficiency. Here are three innovations that encourage broader adoption of efficiency and stimulate deeper, more persistent energy savings.

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Moving beyond design—and toward performance

October 16, 2015 by Jesse Sycuro Leave a Comment

McKinstry provided design-build mechanical and plumbing services for Stone34, a high-performance building in Seattle seen here. McKinstry has also measured and verified energy and water use ever since the building opened in August 2014. Stone34 is fully embracing performance-based outcome thinking, as project partners are still working to adhere to strict building performance guarantees. Photo by Doug Scott.

Today—more than ever before—building owners are pushing the construction industry to meet increasingly aggressive, socio-economic-driven energy performance targets.

Whether that push is motivated by a desire to save money or driven by more indirect benefits of lower energy use, owners are nonetheless demanding that building performance (in the form of energy efficiency) drive how their buildings are designed, built and operated.

Currently, the industry has two main strategies when it comes to constructing a building. The traditional approach is design-focused, siloed and—importantly—quite inadequate when it comes to guaranteeing building performance. As a result, the construction industry should be shifting and adapting to a new, performance-based approach across the board in order to meet the energy efficiency goals of building owners.

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5 key takeaways from the DOE’s Quadrennial Technology Review

October 9, 2015 by Spark Staff Leave a Comment

Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Quadrennial Technology Review (QTR) may be a mouthful, but here’s an easier way to think of it: it’s an important report covering energy technology that comes out every four years.

McKinstry is always on the lookout for the latest and greatest research and thinking in our field, so we’ve been taking a look at the QTR ever since it was released a few weeks ago.

Feel free to chime in with your own opinions and questions in the comments, but here are our five main takeaways from the whopper, 505-page document:

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If you’re cold at work, don’t blame building standards

September 15, 2015 by Kristina Sing 1 Comment

Photo by midnightcomm, via Flickr.

If you were on the Internet in August, you probably saw the headlines.

From the New York Times: “Chilly at Work? Office Formula Was Devised for Men.”

From CNBC: “Is your office too cold? Blame men.”

From San Diego’s KGTV: “Sexist thermostats: Science proves why women freeze at work.”

All of this coverage springs from a study published Aug. 3 in the journal Nature Climate Change. The study found that women have slightly lower resting metabolic rates than men, further arguing that current standards for designing office air conditioning systems are flawed, since they’re based on men’s metabolic rates and fail to factor in that metabolic difference.

While the narrative of “sexist” building standards conspiring to freeze women is undeniably compelling, I think it’s also extremely simplistic and misleading.

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SPARK

Discoveries, innovations, and insights that illuminate the future of the built environment

Say goodbye to wasted water: How smart water meters help us conserve

A “passive” look at the future of energy efficiency

Issue management: Are you paying for a tech tool or investing in an operational solution?

LED streetlights need smart controls

McKinstry and sports: a winning team

How to make smart buildings

Policy innovations propel energy efficiency

Moving beyond design—and toward performance

5 key takeaways from the DOE’s Quadrennial Technology Review

If you’re cold at work, don’t blame building standards

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