Sustainable Facilities Tool General Services Administration

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

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

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/category/106783

Is there sub-metering installed for the following systems: light and lighting controls by floor or by zones, plug loads by floor or by zone, major e...

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

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

https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/commercial_initiative/sustainable_guide_ch5.pdf?bcsi_scan_F066E91406BDD76E=0&bcsi_scan_...

Develop an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) manual to serve as the HVAC-management policy and a central operating reference for building management ...

https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/commercial_initiative/sustainable_guide_ch5.pdf

An environmental conscious HVAC upgrade can reduce energy usage bills by lowering resource consumption and improving the indoor environment for huma...

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

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

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

Analyze room configurations and HVAC distribution layouts to ensure all parts of a room are receiving adequate ventilation, especially spaces where ...

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

Optimization of the HVAC system is critical in maintaining a healthy and productive indoor environment. The mechanical engineer is responsible for p...

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

Proper maintenance extends the life of your HVAC equipment and saves energy along the way. Panicked, late night service calls for your suddenly br...

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

Green Globes certification for NC requires careful attention to HVAC systems, thermal comfort, and adequate ventilation. Several questions are asked...

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

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

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

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 ...

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

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

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

The HVAC system has a tremendous impact on natural resources, through electricity, gas, and other purchased energy as well as water consumption, mat...

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 lighting engineer ultimately determines the power used by the lighting system. The engineer’s equipment selection also affects how much of this ...

The occupant has a great impact on HVAC-related energy use. Individual controls help ensure comfort for those in the building. Occupants without t...

The interior designer has an impact on HVAC systems in several ways. Interior partitions and furniture placement affect air flows. Certain space fu...

The owner must be on board with HVAC design and operation choices, as these will have an impact on first costs. Lower operating costs, however, resu...

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

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

Green Globes for Existing Buildings encourages the proper maintenance of not only HVAC equipment but also building elements that have an impact on h...

Mechanical engineers should be brought to the integrative process table to give insight as to how to successfully integrate the HVAC components into...

Providing thermal comfort controllability can be achieved in a number of ways. Individual controls, such as thermostats, local diffusers, variable v...

Occupant IEQ surveys often report significant dissatisfaction with building acoustical performance. The acoustical engineer is tasked with creating ...

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...

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

One major environmental impact directly related to HVAC systems is the release of refrigerants into the atmosphere. A pound of these chemicals, part...

When employing sustainable HVAC strategies, financial benefits can be realized from several sources, including energy savings from proper controls, ...

EISA 2007 established energy management goals and requirements, of which a sustainable lighting strategy is necessary, for federal buildings. It est...

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...

The lighting engineer, in cooperation with the rest of the integrative team, should ensure as much natural daylight permeates the space as possible....

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...

Your electricity bill tends to have several line items, such as costs for generation, distribution, and taxes. Some of these are related to consump...

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

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

Views to the outdoors provide building occupants with not only natural daylight but a visual connection to the environment. This visual connection h...

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...