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

Why simple incentives are the key to dynamic energy efficiency

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Photo by Mark Turnauckas, via Flickr.

Photo by Mark Turnauckas, via Flickr.

What do you think about when you consider extreme energy efficiency? Perhaps you think about gigantic solar arrays, intricate water reclamation technology, or slick computerized building controls.

While all those measures are well and good, you don’t have to buy fancy equipment or use luxury materials to achieve superior energy savings.

When it comes to lowering energy consumption, I believe that simple utility incentives—which are often just a few lines of text—may very well be our most powerful tool.

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Policy innovations propel energy efficiency

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NEEC report cover

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

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Stone34 building in Fremont

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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Why ‘Net Zero Commissioning’ could revolutionize building performance

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NetZeroGraphicWP

This infographic demonstrates the growing prevalence of net zero energy buildings over the past few years. Infographic courtesy of the New Buildings Institute (NBI).

McKinstry’s Phillip Saieg and Josh Harwood are pioneering the concept of “Net Zero Commissioning”—a re-envisioning of the industry that posits the necessity of commissioning agents positioning themselves on the net zero energy frontier in order to stay relevant.

Though most in the construction industry are familiar with the concept of a net zero energy building (wherein the total amount of energy used by the building is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site), Saieg and Harwood think commissioning agents need to become a vital part of the net zero discussion.

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Performance contracting: A strategy to address water woes in the West

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DroughtPhotoWP

Photo by Anthony Quintano, via Flickr.

As raging wildfires, barren fields, and dried-up waterways continue to dominate the landscape of the American West, it’s abundantly clear that drought and water scarcity are critical issues that require immediate action.

While there’s no comprehensive solution to the current drought, organizations and individuals throughout the region are looking to use every possible strategy to mitigate the drought’s impacts.

McKinstry explored how using a simple yet innovative procurement mechanism—performance contracting—could quickly help address water conservation in the seven Colorado River Basin states (AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, UT, WY). What we found was that schools and public governments in those states could save big.

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