Building Systems Upgrades

Follow these sustainable strategies as your space undergoes a building system upgrade to improve energy or water use and occupant comfort. Federal projects should meet or exceed the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings. Refer to the Apply Section of SFTool for representative project case studies to discover key practices, benefits, results and checklists.

When considering upgrading building systems, such as lighting, HVAC, or plumbing, calculating cost savings associated with different products can help you make the best choice. The Department of Energy’s Cost Savings Calculator compares products based on relevant specifications and compares the savings to both the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) baseline and top-of-the-line models.

Also consider predictive maintenance technologies, an emerging systems upgrade. Read about some of the most useful types, such as thermography and ultrasonic analysis, in the Operations and Maintenance Guide released by DoE.

Electrical

 

Mechanical (HVAC and HVAC Controls)

• Follow federal environmental and energy guidelines for product and service purchases

 

Plumbing

• Follow federal environmental and energy guidelines for product and service purchases

 

Acoustic Systems

• Reinforce acoustically quiet areas with appropriate visual cues such as opaque walls or signage

• Follow federal environmental and energy guidelines for product and service purchases

 

References/Resources

• Acquisition.gov | Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 23 - Environment, Energy, and Water Efficiency, Renewable Energy Technologies, Occupational Safety, and Drug-Free Workplace
• Acquisition.gov | Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 52 - Solicitation Provisions and Contract Clauses, Subpart 223
• LEED Building Operations & Maintenance (O+M) Rating System and LEED Reference Guide for Building Operations and Maintenance

Related Topics

Acoustics

A space with good acoustics allows for confidential conversations among collaborating workers without affecting those engaged in individual, focused work. It is not too loud, does not echo too much, and controls excess noise pollution from both indoor and outdoor sources.

GSA | Sound Matters

Adequate Ventilation and Exhaust

Adequate ventilation and exhaust is important to prevent build-up of odors, carbon dioxide, allergens and toxins in indoor air. Provide separate exhaust for copy, printing, break rooms, and food preparation areas. Flush out occupied spaces prior to occupancy. Use energy efficient or variable drive fans for enhanced air movement. Consider bringing in more fresh air into the building. Ensure the building management staff is conducting preventive maintenance on all building exhaust systems (restrooms, garage exhaust fans, etc). Seal ventilation duct opening during construction or renovations to reduce dust and particle build-up.

Advanced Power Strip (APS)

Advanced power strips (APS) save energy by controlling the power supplied to plug-in devices during unoccupied periods. A variety of APS technologies exist on the market that vary in complexity, control strategies, data collection abilities, and costs.

Potential barriers for APSs include: occupant acceptance, communications, lack of personnel time for analysis, and complex controls in some instances. These devices may require operations and maintenance to update controls, manage data, and troubleshoot incorrect operations and communication failures on a regular basis.

Explore Plug Load content to discover more.

Aerator for Faucets

Faucet aerators are flow restriction devices designed to reduce the amount of water that comes out of a faucet by mixing air into the water stream. Standard faucet flow rate is 2.2 gallon per minute (gpm). High efficiency aerator flow rate ranges from 1.5 to 0.5 gpm, offering significant water and energy savings.

EPA WaterSense | Showerheads

EPA | WaterSense at Work - Faucets

DOE FEMP | Best Management Practices - Faucets and Showerheads

Automatic Fixture Sensors

Motion detectors can be installed on toilets, urinals and faucets to ensure that they automatically flush or turn on and turn off. They can be hard wired or they can run on batteries. 

Daylight Controls

Daylight controls measure the amount of daylight/ambient light in a room and adjust the electric light levels accordingly. Daylight controls should be designed with multiple zones to reflect the differing levels of ambient light entering a space. In areas closest to the window where there is a great deal of daylight in the space, the controls dim the electric light levels; and in areas farther away from the window with lower levels of daylight, the controls increase the amount of electric light in the space.

Dual-Flush Toilets

A dual-flush toilet is a type of high-efficiency fixture. Dual-flush toilets are those that have two levels of flushing – a higher water use flush (full flush) for solids and a lower water use one (reduced flush) for liquids. The effective flush volume of a dual flush toilet is 1.28 gallons per flush. Dual-flush toilets are available in tank or flush valve types.

See High-Efficiency Fixture.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is a comparison of the amount of energy used compared to the amount of output produced. In the built environment, this means using the least amount of energy (electricity, natural gas, etc.) to operate a facility appropriately. Steps that can help a building run efficiently include: ensuring there are no air leaks, using sensors or timers to ensure the building isn’t operating when vacant, and using energy-efficient equipment.

Glare Control

Glare can had an adverse affect on worker comfort and productivity. Glare control strategies block, control, or filter sunlight to avoid negative effects of glare and heat and maximize good daylight.

Glazing

Tinted glass and glass with a reflective coating are glazing alternatives that reduce heat gain. One example, low-e glass, has a thin metal coating to allow light to pass through the glass;  heat remains on the side where it is originating (it keeps the sun’s heat out of the building and mechanical heating inside the building).  Low-e coatings contribute to energy efficient window assemblies.

Whole Building Design Guide | Windows and Glazing

Green Cleaning

Cleaning removes pathogens, dirt, and impurities from surfaces or objects. Cleaning works by using soap (or detergent) and water to physically remove pathogens from surfaces. This process does not necessarily kill pathogens, but by removing them, it lowers their numbers and the risk of spreading infection.

Healthy, or sustainable, cleaning refers to processes and procedures that minimize harmful effects to the occupants of the built environment while also being able to use the cleaning tools and products for an indefinite time frame. The goal is to negate negative effects on the built environment and its occupants.

Visit SFTool's Healthy Cleaning page to learn more.

Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems are designed to work together to maintain occupant comfort. From residential to commercial settings, HVAC systems help to keep people comfortable and healthy by maintaining good indoor air quality and comfortable temperatures.

Whole Building Design Guide | High-Performance HVAC

High-Efficiency Showerhead

A showerhead that does not exceed a flow rate of 2.0 gpm.

EPA WaterSense | Showerheads

DOE FEMP | Best Mangement Practices - Faucets and Showerheads

High-Efficiency Urinal (HEU)

A urinal that does not exceed 0.125 gallons per flush (1 pint per flush).

EPA WaterSense | Urinals

DOE FEMP | Best Management Practices - Toilets and Urinals

Light Shelves

Light shelves are architectural elements designed to bring more natural light into a space. They are usually installed above eye level and have highly reflective surfaces which reflect sunlight onto the ceiling and throughout the space.

Nonwater/Waterless/Dry Fixtures

A nonwater fixture is a type of high-efficiency fixture. There are nonwater toilets and nonwater urinals, although nonwater urinals are far more common. Nonwater urinals have no flush mechanism. Liquid travels through a gel-filled cartridge which forms a seal designed to prevent odors from escaping. Maintenance involves the replacement of the cartridge after a certain number of uses, specified by the manufacturer. There are various types of nonwater toilets including foam, incinerating and composting - all of which eliminate the need to flush water down the toilet during normal operation.

See Composting Toilet

See High-Efficiency Fixture

Occupant Control

Workspaces should be designed to allow for occupant control over lighting (light switches, occupant or daylight sensors with override capability, etc) and thermal comfort (operable windows, individual thermostats, and underfloor air diffusers). Building operators should provide information about control use to occupants.

Occupant Engagement

Occupant engagement involves communicating with, enabling and empowering building occupants to help meet sustainability goals for the building. This can involve providing information on actions occupants can take to improve building performance and resource efficiency, while making it easy and appealing for occupants to do so (e.g. actions that improve productivity).

Occupant Sensor/Automatic Lighting Control

Occupant sensors and automatic lighting controls can save energy by turning lights off when occupants are not present or when enough daylight is present to light the space. These controls can also help occupants take advantage of the benefits of natural light.

Plug Load Control

Plug load control comes in two basic forms. Energy savings are achieved when the device is either transitioned to a low-power state, or it is de-energized to eliminate the power draw. Both can be executed either manually or automatically. A low-power state is between a de-energized state and a ready-to-use state. This includes standby, sleep, and hibernate modes as well as any “off” state that has a parasitic power draw. A de-energized state is when electricity is not being provided to the device. This is analogous to physically unplugging a device’s power cord from a standard electrical outlet.

The most prevalent plug load contral strategies include:

• Manual Control: Most plug-loads can be manually powered down with built-in power buttons, shutdown procedures, or a control device that energizes and de-energizes electrical outlets based only on manual input. The effectiveness of manual control depends entirely on user behavior and should be implemented only if no other methods apply.
• Automatic Low-Power State: The first, and in some cases most effective, control method is a built-in, automatic low-power state functionality such as standby or sleep. Some manufacturers include this functionality to reduce energy consumption of idle devices. Internal processes monitor idle time, and when the device has been in an idle state for a given period, it will power down to a low-power state.
• Schedule Timer Control Device: Certain plug-loads have predictable load profiles. These devices are used during the same times each day or at regular intervals. A scheduling-control device can effectively manage a predictable plug-load. It applies user-programmed schedules to de-energize the plug-load to match its use pattern and energize the plug-load so that it is ready for use at the time when it is required.
• Load-Sensing Control Device: Plug loads may have a primary-secondary relationship. A primary device, such as a computer, operates independently of other (slave) devices. A secondary device, such as a monitor or other peripheral, depends on the operation of other (master) devices. A load-sensing control device should be implemented for such a relationship. It automatically energizes and de-energizes secondary devices based on the “sensed” power load of the primary device(s). Whenever the primary device goes into a power state below a given threshold, the load-sensing control can power down the secondary devices. The sensed (primary) load is typically an electrical outlet or an auxiliary port (e.g., universal serial bus (USB) in the case of a computer).
• Occupancy-Control Device: Occupancy control can save a great deal of energy as it energizes plug-loads only when users are present and de-energizes them when the space is vacant. This approach pinpoints the main source of wasted energy during non-business hours and reduces wasted energy during business hours. However, the largest drawback is that occupancy controlled devices may energize and de-energize outlets at inappropriate times.
• Manual-On, Vacancy-Off Control Device: A manual-on, vacancy-off control device is a slight modification of the occupancy-control device. It energizes a plug-load when it receives manual input from a user and de-energizes the plug-load automatically based on lack of occupancy. This control should be implemented for plug-loads that are needed only when users are present (e.g., task lights, monitors, and laptops).

Plumbing Systems

Commercial and residential plumbing supplies and systems. Products in this category may also apply to the acquisition of construction and facilities operations & maintenance services.

Renewable Energy

Renewable energy comes from sources that are either inexhaustible or can be replaced very rapidly through natural processes. Examples include the sun, wind, geothermal energy, small (river-turbine) hydropower, and other hydrokinetic energy (waves and tides). Using renewable energy reduces a building's carbon footprint. There are various options for providing renewable energy to buildings, the most common being solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Buildings can also purchase renewable energy from offsite sources.

EPA | Renewable Energy

DOE | Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Solid Waste

Waste comprises all materials that flow from a building to final disposal.  Examples include paper, grass trimmings, food scraps, and plastics.  Responsible stewardship tries to divert as much waste as possible from the landfill.  This can mean recycling paper, mulching or composting grass trimmings, and reusing large items, such as furniture.

EPA | Land, Waste, and Cleanup Topics

Speech Privacy

Speech privacy is the inability to overhear other people’s conversations and the ability to have a conversation without others overhearing. Poor speech privacy is the most widespread problem in commercial buildings.

Submetering

Submetering or system-level metering is used to determine the proportion of energy use within a building attributable to specific end uses or subsystems (e.g., the ventilation system of an HVAC system). This energy use information can be used to support energy management and identify opportunities for additional energy saving improvements.

SFTool's Submetering Wizard

See U.S. Department of Energy guidance for Federal Agencies.  

Ventilation

Ventilation is the process of "changing" or replacing air in any space to control temperature; remove moisture, odors, smoke, heat, dust, airborne bacteria, and carbon dioxide; and to replenish oxygen. Ventilation includes both the exchange of air to the outside as well as circulation of air within the building. It is one of the most important factors for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in buildings.

Water Conservation

Over 400 billion gallons of water are used every day in the United States. Demand is increasing even though usable supply is decreasing. Civilian agencies in the federal government use 47 billion gallons of water per year, the equivalent of more than 70,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. These agencies could save 7.8–12.3 billion gallons (17–26%) annually just by using simple “off the shelf” water conservation measures, including replacing existing toilets, faucets, and showerheads with more efficient versions.

GSA | Indoor Water Conservation

DOE | Developing a Water Management Plan

DOE | Guidance for the Implementation and Follow-up of Identified Energy and Water Efficiency

DOE | Measures in Covered Facilities

Worker Productivity

Productivity is the quality and/or quantity of goods or services produced by a worker. Good indoor environmental quality – access to views, comfortable temperatures, comfortable lighting, good acoustics, and ergonomic design, etc. – supports employees’ ability to do a good job. On the other hand, compromised IEQ hinders their ability to work. It makes good business sense, then, to keep employees happy, healthy, and productive. This, in turn, creates more and higher quality output for organizations.