Sustainable Facilities Tool General Services Administration

https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/toolkits/implement-energy-management-information-systems-emis-your-building-portfolio

Does the building have building automation systems (BAS)?

A planted roof enhances the performance of existing building systems (see System Bundling). This lowers the operating costs and, when replaced, resu...

A submetering system enhances building performance and resource use of existing building systems (see System Bundling).

By January 1, 2014, tenants and landlords have the right to request submetering systems, are required in all new construction multi-tenant buildings...

Has the building had an energy audit within the past three years for the lighting system?

Prevent adverse health effects through improved air filtration in the building ventilation system.

Regularly re-commission all building systems to ensure high IEQ is upheld.

Have systems and products been selected that facilitate building disassembly?

Provides total building sustainability guidance for designing and operating high-performance green buildings. From site location, to energy use, to ...

Ventilation is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to remove airborne contaminants such as moisture, odors, emissions from build...

Get the most out of your building systems. Learn more about commissioning in the O&M Section.

When it comes to procuring a metering system, resist the urge to ‘over-buy’ and focus on the specific metering equipment needed to accom...

Simplify real-time and interval data collected by submeters in an energy metering system that organizes building resource use according to energy an...

When considering adding supplemental submetering to existing building systems, consider ensuring branding compatibility with existing equipment and ...

When specifying or replacing a particular HVAC component, consider bundling that component with other related building equipment and strategies. Bui...

When specifying or replacing a component of the water system, consider bundling that component with other building equipment and strategies. Buildin...

Moisture can enter the office building in a number of ways, including leaks in the building envelope and plumbing systems or excessive moisture in t...

Submetering systems help to efficiently manage a building’s resource use, thereby creating a more comfortable environment for all tenants and ...

No matter how sustainable a building may be in design and construction, it can only remain so if it is operated responsibly and maintained properly....

Submetering systems help to improve resource efficiency and conservation practices in a building, which can be used to improve indoor environmental ...

Optimizing operations and maintenance (O&M) strategies for building equipment technologies and systems improves operational efficiency, reduces ...

When specifying or replacing a particular lighting component, consider coordinating that component with other related building equipment. Lighting t...

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) for Building Design and Construction (BD+C) addresses HVAC systems through a number of prerequi...

Providing access to uniform general lighting, daylight and views has demonstrated beneficial returns in occupant morale, comfort, and productivity. ...

Directly exhaust kitchen and bathroom areas to the outdoors. Consider a 100% direct exhaust system operated by a timer or the [building automation s...

When considering an IEQ focused renovation project of any size, consider bundling components together to create strategies that deliver the largest ...

Consider coupling photovoltaics with a planted roof to optimize performance (see Solar/Photovoltaic).

The Architect leads the planted roof design team. Since the roofing system is integrated into the building as a whole, the Architect should design t...

The integrative design process understands that buildings, their components, and their use type and surroundings are interrelated. Involving all sta...

Data provides important input to the design process. The availability of focused data can help establish direction for designing, building, and main...

Ensure that building and system operators have access to training or are already prepared to provide cost-effective meter and invertor maintenance o...

Submeters offer an exciting look into a building's energy consumption. While submetering systems by themselves have no direct impact on resource use...

Wayne Aspinall Federal Building Explores the energy-efficiency design features of the Wayne Aspinall Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Gran...

The integrative design process understands that buildings, their components, and their context are interrelated. Whole-building systems observe this...

On average, ten percent of the total water supplied by utility companies is lost due to leakage within the building.1 Identifying leaks early preven...

Thermal conditions, which include air temperature, relative humidity, and velocity, greatly impact overall occupant comfort and associated productiv...

Submetering technology can work independently to track specific utility information or consumption for a system or space, however, its potential is ...

The interior architecture and building layout play a significant role on the lighting strategy. Maximizing daylight requires meticulous planning of ...

The mechanical engineer will size the heating and cooling equipment based on both internal heat loads and heat loss through the building envelope. ...

The beneficiaries of a lighting system upgrade are the building occupants, who should be considered in all decisions regarding their environment. Oc...

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design for Operations & Maintenance: Existing Buildings (LEED O+M: EB) addresses lighting systems through...

Green Globes certification for NC projects directly necessitates a sustainable lighting strategy in the categories of Site, Energy, and Indoor Envir...

The lighting system is primarily addressed in the Energy and Indoor Environment categories of Green Globes for Existing Buildings. Incorporating hig...

LEED for Interior Design & Construction (ID+C): Commercial Interiors is intended for certification of spaces smaller than the whole building. Ev...

The integrative design process understands that buildings, their components, and their context are interrelated. Whole-building systems observe this...

The owner wants to maximize the project’s return on investment as well as the building’s market value. Implementing cost-effective water...

Civil engineers provide engineering expertise for the water related aspects of the building site, including how on-site water is supplied to the bui...

LEED for Interior Design & Construction (ID+C): Commercial Interiors employs a number of sustainable water system best practices in its certific...

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) for Building Design and Construction (BD+C) addresses components of a sustainable water system ...

Green Globes for Existing Buildings encourages cognitive implementation and metering of water heating equipment for energy efficiency measures. With...

Systems can malfunction, drift out of spec, or become obsolete over the life time of the building. It is important to commission and regularly re-co...

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) for Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M) dedicates an entire credit section to enhancing t...

Planted roof systems have a significant impact on the building's overall energy and material consumption. Take into consideration these impacts when...

Green Globes for NC emphasizes the benefits of a planted roof on other systems within the building. While it only mentions planted roofs directly on...

Using the data from submetering systems to better manage building operations and maintenance can have a significant impact on a building’s ove...

Submeters are a versatile building technology that can provide diverse resource benefits. Metered data helps to verify utility accuracy, identify en...

Submeters eliminate utility billing problems associated with arbitrary ratio-based measures (e.g. square footage) that favor high volume users over ...

LEED Building Design and Construction (BD+C) requires building-level water and energy metering. This requirement is intended to help identify opport...

LEED Operations and Maintenance (O+M) for Existing Buildings requires building-level water and energy metering. This requirement is intended to help...

Poorly designed lighting systems, characterized by uncomfortable fluctuations in luminance levels or excessive glare, causes visual discomfort and l...

Assessing existing lighting conditions and incorporating a building management plan to ensure lighting component upgrades are carried out as desig...

A planted roof is a system just like mechanical or plumbing, and should be thought about in the larger context of the holistic building.  As it...

By consuming 17% of the building’s total electricity consumption and further influencing overall energy demand by the waste heat it emits, lig...

The integrative design process understands that buildings, their components, and their context are interrelated. Whole-building systems observe this...

There is a good chance your building systems are not operating at their peak efficiency. The reasons for this are many, including but not limited to...

The architect has as much or more impact on the HVAC system than any other member of the integrative team. An architect’s decisions - the building ...

Human behavior and interaction with the building space plays a critical component in achieving holistic sustainability. Desired gains in energy effi...

The most frequently cited measures/opportunities are: Adjust reset and set-back temperatures and temperature settings – Settings are often adjust...

Harvesting systems capture alternate water sources, provide adequate treatment typically for non-potable applications to offset the consumption of p...

By establishing green cleaning contracts and purchasing agreements that specify environmentally-friendly cleaning and office materials, the facility...

The way occupants interact with and utilize the building space has a direct effect on overall IEQ as many times it is humans that introduce harmful ...

A successful Green Cleaning Plan limits the exposure of building occupants and maintenance personnel to potentially hazardous chemicals, ensures pro...

The integrative design process understands that buildings, their components, and their context are interrelated. Whole building systems observe this...

Cost Savings Submetering itself does not reduce utility costs, but the data can guide management strategies, investment, and operational decision...

Meter costs can be grouped into three main categories: equipment costs, labor costs, and recurring costs. Since submetering systems can vary greatly...

One of the best ways to save energy is to measure and manage it. There are two basic methods for managing resource use: through improved resou...

Provides the minimum requirements for energy-efficient design of most buildings, except low-rise residential buildings in the United States. Require...

The process of ensuring that your building is operating properly starts with commissioning. In general, commissioning is the process of ensuring tha...

Leaks are generally caused by poor workmanship. Unless the problems are ubiquitous, a project failure will not result. However, the process of ident...

People’s behavior is a critical factor in a building’s energy use and can often account for significant changes in the amount of energy ...

The lighting systems must be commissioned, and integrative design processes should be employed. A 30% reduction in energy use compared to ASHRAE ...

HVAC consumes an average of 30% of a facility’s energy use.1 Much of that use is wasted, at times right through the front door. Other times t...

Typical Federal Office Building Potable Water UseA typical Federal office building with 200 employees uses about 3,000 gallons of water in one day...

Research has shown that environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), or secondhand smoke, from cigarettes, pipes, and cigars has cancer-causing airborne parti...

A “roof over our heads” is an essential part of a building envelope, protecting occupants and building structures and systems from the e...

Reduced temperature fluctuations reduce thermal stress.  Benefits of a planted roof are realized through the extended life of the roof membrane...

The lighting system has a tremendous impact on building resources, primarily through the electricity and associated energy it demands. Designing, im...

Human behavior and interaction with the building space plays a critical component in achieving holistic sustainability. Desired gains in energy effi...

Lighting Ecosystem Lighting in the workplace can be better understood as an ecosystem that includes lighting design as just one component of a netw...

LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors emphasizes daylight as a beneficial lighting strategy for the whole building. The rating system puts a preference on...

HVAC components, particularly cooling towers, steam systems, and humidifiers, are responsible for large amounts of water consumption in our building...

The facility manager collaborates with the building owner to reduce operating costs and works with the occupant to provide a comfortable space. The ...

The mechanical engineer is responsible for sizing the heating and cooling equipment based on both internal heat loads and heat loss through the buil...

The Federal Energy Management Program’s guide Operations & Maintenance Best Practices has detailed guidance and checklists on the maintena...

Provide an easy to follow and convenient platform for building occupants to report noticeable malfunctions or complaints about the HVAC system to ma...

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) for Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M) addresses HVAC systems through a number of prereq...

Water efficiency measures do more than conserve water; they conserve a significant amount of energy as well. Federal facilities use sixty billion Bt...

An educational campaign stressing the importance and best practices of water conservation can quickly pay for itself. Employees should be encouraged...

Water contaminants in mechanical process equipment can form deposits, scales, or carryover if not properly expelled through blow-down. These deposit...

Provide an easy to follow and convenient platform for building occupants to report noticeable leaks, malfunctions, or complaints about the water sys...

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) for Building Design and Construction (BD+C) highlights indoor environmental quality in a fully ...

Green Globes for Existing Buildings addresses a healthy indoor environment through questions pertaining to the ventilation system, filtration system...

A recommended approach to developing and managing a cost-effective, sustainable waste management program is to: Form a multi-disciplinary team to r...

The Mechanical Engineer conducts energy modeling and optimizes the HVAC system. The Mechanical Engineer’s perspective is important at the plan...

Planted roofs have synergistic benefits that result in energy saving and stormwater management; they are an attractive alternative to traditional ro...

The GSA P100 Facilities standards establishes various requirements for several tiers of high performance federal buildings, with more stringent requ...

SITES is an interdisciplinary partnership to transform land development and management practices through voluntary guidelines and rating system...

Submetering systems are distinct among building retrofit investments in that they themselves do not reduce resource consumption. Their role in enabl...

Buildings with gross conditioned floor areas over 50,000 square feet are required to measure, monitor, record, and display energy consumption data f...

The Principles require installation of building level meters for electricity, natural gas, and steam using advanced or standard meters as appropri...

The Principles encourage the installation of building level meters for electricity, natural gas, and steam using advanced or standard meters as ap...

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) established a number of energy management goals for federal facilities involving components of a sustaina...

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct 1992) amended the National Energy Consumption Policy Act and gave federal agencies the authority to enter into ...

Providing high quality thermal and ventilation comfort as part of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) in commercial offices is a high priority for fe...

HVAC systems must be commissioned, and integrative design principles should be employed. A 30% reduction in energy use compared to ASHRAE Standa...

Commercial buildings have significant opportunities to conserve the quantity of water needed for daily operations through thoughtful design of the b...

Occupants have a direct impact on water use and are key to a building’s water conservation program. Significant water can be wasted from occu...

Install water meters. Use water efficient products. Reduce indoor potable water use by 20% compared to the specific building’s water use ...

Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) for Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M) dedicates certification credits to reducing the b...

It is no surprise that regular upkeep is necessary to maintain a high indoor air quality, as dust, dirt, and mold accrue on materials in the space o...

Lighting accounts for nearly 20% of the total electricity costs of commercial buildings in the United States.1 Effective lighting systems invol...

Some water system components, when bundled together, can significantly reduce overall building energy consumption as over eight percent of total ene...

Executive Order (EO) 13834, "Efficient Federal Operations", directed Federal agencies to pursue "reductions in building energy use and implement ene...

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) amends EPAct 1992 and establishes a number of energy management goals for federal facilities involving co...

Executive Order (EO) 13834, "Efficient Federal Operations", directed Federal agencies to pursue "reductions in building energy use and implement ene...

Leaks in the water system, if left unidentified and untreated, can serve as a catalyst for mold growth within the building space. Prolonged exposure...

Entryway dirt capture systems serve to isolate contaminants that would otherwise be carried into the interior space, leading to decreased IAQ, cosme...

By instituting an effective building recycling program, recyclable material replaces virgin material through multiple product lives. Recycling avoid...

Human behavior and interaction with the building space plays a critical component in achieving holistic sustainability. Benefits can only be achieve...

Submetering systems must be installed and maintained properly by trained and motivated O&M staff to achieve the design performance objectives. O...

Occupant behavior plays a critical role in achieving the designed energy efficiency of lighting systems. Energy modeling accuracies can often vary b...

Creating a sustainable and well-functioning lighting strategy by integrating efficient lighting technologies, controls, and space layout has been sh...

Poor indoor air quality resulting from dusts, molds, pests, and airborne contaminants like VOCs can lead to dizziness, skin irritations, asthma, sho...

In many areas of the United States it is possible to design vegetative roofs without irrigation, including much of the Midwest and East. Even in ari...

Enhances building performance by utilizing metered data to recognize system inefficiencies and energy anomalies. Identifies energy-consuming load...

Resource audits based on metered data help to determine the value of making investments in system retrofits and replacements to improve a building's...

Industry trends have shown that well-designed submetering systems can provide energy savings at varying levels of action. With unstable utility pric...

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are responsible for providing thermal comfort and fresh air to building occupants. This is...

Cost Savings The national average landfill tipping fee was $45 per ton in 2012. Diverting waste from landfills can lower total waste disposal cos...