Key

3503

Conference Year

2014

Keywords

Integrated Design, Advanced Energy Retrofits, Integrated Design Process, Roadmaps

Abstract

This paper details the deployment of the Integrated Design (ID) Advanced Energy Retrofit (AER) Roadmap for the energy efficient renovation of small to medium-sized commercial buildings in the US. The ID process discussed in this paper was developed as part of a suite of market targeted process documents and is the result of research sponsored by the US Department of Energy at the CBEI – Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (formerly the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub). The three-tiered document suite instructs and empowers owners, project managers, financial investors, architecture, engineering, and construction professionals, as well as energy modeling and measurement consultants with information on the value of ID in the process of completing an AER. This paper offers a detailed description of the ID AER Roadmap Project Team Guide intended for use by professionals in the AER field. More broadly, the ID AER Roadmap document suite includes an Overview brochure that introduces ID concepts, as well as a Reference Manual that details these concepts. The third part of the suite of documents is the Project Team Guide, which is the particular focus of this paper. It outlines the recommended ID process for all contracted participants of an AER and helps said participants identify shared priorities and goals of value to all team members. The Project Team Guide is structured into five distinct phases with each phase further defined by a Resource Gathering (RG) stage and/or a Collaborative Meeting (CM) stage. Additionally, this paper introduces a coordinated initiative to test and verify the process protocols developed in the Project Team Guide. By way of five AER demonstration projects, also funded by the Department of Energy, the Roadmap is being challenged and revised in the market. These projects involve the participation of public and private building owners, who range from large municipalities to small non-profits, and they represent a variety of building uses including institutional, commercial, and transportation. The scope of retrofit work for each project includes a building envelope and systems based renovation focused on achieving maximum energy saving. Typical energy conservation measures being considered include the replacement of heating and lighting systems, and the introduction of controls and sensors. These demonstration projects test and verify the structure of the protocols defined in the Roadmap including the proposed timeline of activities in each of the five phases, the recommended list of participants, and the Checklists and Guidelines that help organize all of the RG and CM activities and deliverables. Lastly, as part of the testing process, our research group facilitates the comprehension of ID principles and the actual use of the Roadmap documents by the project teams. Throughout the demonstration process, client feedback is documented via recordings, project team surveys, and summaries of collaborative meetings. Actionable observations are made and modifications to the Roadmap are registered. The goal of which is to create a verified process-based product for the market of small to medium-sized buildings that is articulate and robust enough to ensure an increase in the number of AERs completed in the decades to come.

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