“Plug and play” may be three of the most appreciated words in modern English. When sophisticated computing equipment goes from the box into its full operating glory quickly and easily, it’s a thing of beauty.
That same ease-of-use concept is a driving force behind Advanced Buildings, an initiative in energy-efficient commercial construction. The program’s Core Performance guide, focusing primarily on lighting, HVAC, and building envelope measures, provides clear proven methods to create a building far more energy efficient than code requires.



State-Of-The-Shelf


The program, created by the New Buildings Institute and implemented in the northeast by National Grid, greatly simplifies the design phase of new buildings, leveraging “state-of-the-shelf” technologies. Those advanced products are both cost-effective and readily available to builders. National Grid provides financial incentives to incorporate these techniques and technologies into design and construction.
“Our customers see many benefits in Advanced Buildings, but three elements stand out,” says Fran Boucher, Advanced Buildings Program Manager for National Grid. “First and foremost, they end up with a high quality, environment-friendly building that saves on energy. Second, the program streamlines the process by providing specific efficiency features with proven effects. And third, of course, the financial support provided by National Grid makes all these great ideas very affordable.” 
Developers of Tremont Yard, a mixed use commercial building that includes office, restaurant, and data center space in Lowell, incorporated a variety of Core Performance measures, including enhanced insulation, glazing improvements, lighting systems, a high efficiency condensing boiler, and variable speed drives on pumps and fans.
In addition, daylighting controls dim lights near windows when the level of natural light allows.
These measures yielded considerable savings in usage of both electricity and natural gas – approximately $21,000 per year – and earned incentives of $120,000 toward equipment costs.
“You are always looking for ways to create a better building,” says building owner Will Soucy. “Energy efficiency is a key part of that effort, for obvious reasons.” 
Project architect John Sullivan, Jr., AIA, agrees, “Incorporating energy-efficient equipment and materials makes a building much more valuable to the owners and more attractive to tenants.” 



Right-Sized Efficiency Measures


While the building envelope and lighting system energy savings strategies in Core Performance are scalable to projects of any size, most of the specific recommendations are fine tuned for projects of 10,000 to 70,000 square feet. 
“Core Performance meets an important need in the small and mid-size building marketplace,” says Boucher. “It allows a design team to create a very efficient building without the expense and additional steps of energy modeling.” 
A small scale Core Performance project at the Brooks School, a boarding school in North Andover, has literally become a learning laboratory in energy efficiency. Part of the school’s science program is built around the sustainable features incorporated into the Brooks science center. The building features daylighting and motion controls, high efficiency envelope, and solar technologies. The facility is frequently toured by design professionals and education administrators as inspiration for their own projects.
The 30,000 square foot building, a size considered by many to be too small to achieve high levels of energy efficiency within a reasonable design fee budget, is testament to the power of Core Performance guidelines. “The building is modest in size,” says John Trovage, Brooks School director of facilities management and project manager, “but the performance improvement achieved here is huge.”



The Right Mix


Owners, architects, and builders who want to take efficiency up another level beyond Core Performance have many tools to do so, but for many design teams, Core Performance delivers the right mix of convenience, energy savings, and economics. 
The guidelines are designed to achieve energy efficiencies of 20 to 30 percent better than state code. Between monthly savings and up-front incentives, the incremental cost of the higher performance materials and equipment is typically recovered in two years or less. Third-party inspection and testing assures that the Core Performance features perform as expected. “Advanced Buildings just makes energy efficiency easier and more cost-effective,” says Boucher of National Grid.
For more information on National Grid’s energy efficiency programs, including financial incentives and technical support, visit www.thinksmartthinkgreen.com or call 1-800-787-1706. Additional information on Advanced Buildings can be found at www.advancedbuildings.net. n