Best Practices & Case Studies
Resources
government wide
January 22nd, 2016
432 Compliant Facility Audits - B. Gustafson, Jan. 2016
Brad Gustafson of DOE Federal Energy Management Program describes how energy auditing is done across the federal government with varying levels of success in complying with Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) Section 432. Given the requirements for remote audits in E.O. 13693 (Section 3(a)(i)(A)), he asks if there is interest in developing a standardized approach to federal energy audits, including remote audits, in order to improve compliance and success.
June 20th, 2016
Building Glass and Lighting Impacts and Solutions - L. Kordella and E. Kershner, Mar. 2015
Offers behavioral, immediate low-cost and long-term solutions to prevent bird deaths caused by reflective building windows.
March 4th, 2024
Circadian Light for Your Health – B. Steverson, March 2017
GSA’s Bryan Steverson explains the importance of daylight for human health, highlighting some preliminary results from a GSA study on deploying desktop LEDs that can mimic natural daylight. Some advice from Brian and his colleagues for overcoming circadian disruption: “Get Light. Mostly Daylight. Morning Best!
For more information, visit the GSA Circadian Lighting Research page.
March 25th, 2019
Deep Energy Savings Using ESPCs - M. Gartman, M. Jungclaus, and K. Porst, Sept. 2015
Builds on the July 2015 report Deep Energy Retrofits Using Energy Savings Performance Contracts: Success Stories, co-released by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and GSA. Michael Gartman and Matt Jungclaus of RMI join Kinga Porst of GSA to discuss GSA's National Deep Energy Retrofit program, best practices, keys to success, and case studies. To learn more, visit the RMI webpage, "Federal Deep Energy Retrofits." And stay tuned for an upcoming, more detailed webinar on this topic from RMI/GSA.
February 27th, 2024
Energy Master Planning for Community Resilience – A. Zhivov, December 2018
Dr. Alexander Zhivov of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers explains how energy master planning can make campuses and communities more resilient to major energy disruptions, with case studies from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Gram, Denmark. For more information, visit the International Energy Agency (IEA) Energy in Buildings and Communities Program (EBC) Annex 73 website
and view these U.S. Army Corps presentations from the 2016 and 2017 Energy Exchange conferences.
February 4th, 2022
Energy Storage at Federal Buildings - D. Kaneda - Jan 2022
David Kaneda, Principal, IDeAs Consulting and Chair of GSA’s Green Building Advisory Committee, presented information on the Committee’s recently posted findings and recommendations on energy storage for federal facilities. For more information, see the November 2021 Advice Letter, “Recommendations for the Adoption of Energy Storage in Federal Buildings,” at GSA.gov.
May 24th, 2018
Every Drop Counts: Maximizing Your Agency’s Water Savings with WaterSense Tools and Resources – T. O’Hare, May 2018
Tara O’Hare of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gives an update on the WaterSense program’s current tools and resources. New offerings include the WaterSense Commercial Facility Leaks Checklist and guides for drip irrigation. For more information, visit the EPA’s “Best Management Practices” website for commercial buildings.
August 30th, 2023
Hot Water Temperature Maintenance Efficiency Opportunities – C. Cejudo and A. Davila, April 2021
Carmen Cejudo and Alex Davila of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory describe the goals and approach of the Water Management Program within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program. One of these goals is to develop maps, tools, and recommendations to help agencies improve water efficiency in their facility operations. In this presentation, the PNNL experts describe various innovative ways to maintain hot water at fixtures to promote a fast, reliable hot water supply, and in the process, save water and energy.
To learn more, visit the FEMP Water Efficiency in Federal Buildings and Campuses website, at https://www.energy.gov/femp/water-efficiency-federal-buildings-and-campuses.
March 14th, 2017
Indoor Water Conservation – D. Horn, Mar. 2016
Don Horn of GSA’s Office for Federal Building Health and Performance introduces viewers to an annotated, interactive PDF guide and quiz for water efficiency measures and lessons learned for indoor water conservation. Viewers are also encouraged to visit the extensive water-related resources at SFTool.gov.
March 27th, 2017
Influence of Occupancy on Building Energy Use and Use of an Occupancy-Adjusted Performance Metric – A. Selvacanabady, January 2017
PNNL’s Abinesh Selvacanabady describes the findings of a report—co-authored with the lab’s Kathleen Judd—that analyzed the correlation between occupancy and energy use intensity (EUI) in the GSA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and GSA Byron Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Denver, CO.
For more information, contact Abinesh Selvacanabady.
March 27th, 2017
Interior Lighting Campaign – M. Myer, March 2017
Michael Myer of Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL) describes this national program, with a goal to document high-efficiency retrofits of 1 million troffers by April 2017. The campaign met its goal three months early. Also covered in this presentation are case studies of some of the impressive lighting projects that counted toward that 1-million-troffer goal, as well as the new PNNL certificate series on Advanced Lighting Systems available to federal agencies.
For more information, visit the Campaign’s Web site.
April 7th, 2024
Mastering Campus Sustainability Management: Tools for Success – N. Baker, K. Fowler, O. VanGeet, and J. Maestas, September 2016
Led by Nic Baker, DOE-FEMP’s Large Campus Innovative Change (LCIC) Team explores why the federal government could benefit from a shifting its sustainability focus to the site- or campus-level. A FEMP analysis of EISA reporting data, for example, indicates that the top 450 energy-using federal campuses account for roughly 75% of all federal energy use. LCIC team members Kim Fowler of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Otto VanGeet of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; and Jesse Maestas of Verus Resource Management provide a wide-ranging overview of this topic. Included in the presentation are best practices for campus-level sustainability, a particular focus on energy management, and an exploration of the financing options available to agencies doing energy projects.
See the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Global District Energy in Cities Initiative for further information.
January 18th, 2017
Overview of the BTO Cybersecurity Related Buildings Project – J. Hagerman, January 2017
Joe Hagerman of DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) gives an overview of the DOE Building Technologies Office (BTO) interactions with building owners and operators relating to cybersecurity. He describes lessons learned from pilot projects using the PNNL Buildings Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (B-C2M2). Finally, PNNL’s George Hernandez adds a brief look at VOLTTRON, the lab’s “application platform…for distributed sensing/control applications” that provides secure communication capability.
For more information:
PNNL B-C2M2, at https://bc2m2.pnnl.gov
Buildings-Grid Integration: VOLTTRONTM: http://bgintegration.pnnl.gov/volttron.asp
May 1st, 2017
Overview of WaterSense Resources – V. Blette, Mar. 2016
Veronica Blette of EPA WaterSense describes the many resources available to federal facility water managers, from WaterSense and beyond. Among the topics covered are flushometer-valve toilets, commercial and institutional water best management practices, and drought maps. Veronica also lists upcoming joint WaterSense and ENERGY STAR webinars in 2016.
March 27th, 2017
Sustainability Success at the Provo Area Office – J. Kresge and C. Southworth, March 2017
Josh Kresge and Cary Southworth of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Provo (UT) Area Office take viewers on a guided tour of how their team transformed the facility and its grounds into a 2016 FEMP Energy and Water Management Award-winning case study.
For more information:
Reclamation Provo Area Office homepage.
Case study YouTube video.
2016 FEMP Energy and Water Management Award Winners site.
agency specific
December 21st, 2016
Army Net Zero Initiative - K.Kingery Jul 2014
An overview of the Army's net zero pilot program and installations. Learn more about the Army's net zero program and read the Army's Sustainability Report.
February 20th, 2020
DEA's EPIC Solar Project – M. Sandler, February 2020
Mike Sandler, Energy Program Manager at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), presents a case study of the 2.47-megawatt DC solar photovoltaics (PV) system at the agency’s El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) in Texas. He describes how DEA used an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) energy sales agreement (ESA) project structure for the solar array, utilizing funds from a U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Management Program (DOE-FEMP) AFFECT Grant. The solar array is expected to generate approximately 80 percent of EPIC’s electricity.
For more information, see the EPIC ESPC ESA case study document on the FEMP website; the ESPC ENABLE Program and ESPC ESA home pages; and the full list of 2019 FEMP Energy and Water Management Award Winners.
May 17th, 2023
Denver Federal Center Building 48 Modernization – J. Sielcken, M. Bartels, B. Fortune, and M. Swanson, March 2023
This case study presentation describes the modernization and electrification of Building 48 at the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Denver Federal Center in Colorado. Formerly an ammunition manufacturing plant and warehouse, this 1940s-vintage facility is being transformed into a modern, high performance green office building. Compared to new construction, this project will see an 87 percent decrease in embodied carbon simply by reusing materials present in the existing building. Speakers: Jason Sielcken, AIA, GSA Regional Chief Architect; Brandon Fortune, PE, GSA Senior Project Manager; Michelle Swanson, PE, Vice President and Market Leader, RMH Group; and Matt Bartels, AIA, Senior Vice President, CannonDesign. To learn more, see the GSA DFC Building 48 modernization project website: https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/regions/welcome-to-the-rocky-mountain-region-8/buildings-and-facilities/colorado/denver-federal-center/dfc-building-48
May 24th, 2018
Dyess AFB Energy Program – T. Denslow, Jan. 2018
Tom Denslow, Energy Manager at Dyess Air Force Base, describes how the base achieved impressive energy and water savings, earning it a FEMP Federal Energy and Water Management Award. Strategies included using a $75 million, multi-phase utility energy service contract (UESC), employing energy savings performance contracts (ESPCs), and installing ice storage capabilities.
May 24th, 2018
Emerging Technologies: GSA’s Proving Ground and Pilot to Portfolio Programs – K. Powell, May 2018
Kevin Powell, director of GSA’s Office of Emerging Technologies, discusses the GSA Proving Ground and Pilot to Portfolio programs that “enable GSA to make sound investment decisions in next generation building technologies based on their real world performance.” He describes two standout technologies in more detail: High-R, low-e window retrofit panels; and magnetic levitation (maglev) chiller compressors. For more information, see the GSA Emerging Technologies website.
February 27th, 2024
Evaluation of GSA Total Estimated Cost Impact (TECI) Metrics and Building Benchmarking – V. Loftness, October 2020
Professor Vivian Loftness of Carnegie Mellon University presented her team’s research findings from an analysis of GSA’s smart buildings program, called GSALink. Installed in a growing list of GSA buildings, GSALink notifies building managers with “Sparks,” or real-time alerts about suboptimal operation of major building equipment. For a 60-building portfolio in GSALink, the CMU study estimated annual cost savings of $7 million in energy, $4 million in maintenance, and $6 million in societal benefits. For more information on the research that Prof. Loftness and colleagues are doing, visit the CMU Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics (CBPD).
April 21st, 2021
FBI Energy and Water Conservation Investment Program – O. Huxley and E. Koprowski, April 2021
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Energy Program Manager Olwen Huxley and FBI Environmental Program Manager Elizabeth Koprowski describe the FBI’s Energy and Water Conservation Investment Program (FEWCIP). Launched in FY 2018, FEWCIP allows Bureau facilities to competitively apply for energy efficiency project funds set aside by the FBI Finance and Facilities Division. Energy and water saving projects previously considered lower priority compared to more urgent facility needs can now be funded without using scarce sustainment dollars.
June 20th, 2016
GSA Advanced Metering - ION EEM Status FY2015 - B. Wright, Jan. 2016
GSA Public Building Service's Brian Wright describes how remote energy audits from First Fuel Analytics help GSA reduce its energy consumption.
November 6th, 2023
GSA Reagan Building Decarbonization/Electrification Case Study – J. Kliem, October 2023
John Kliem of Johnson Controls, provides an overview of GSA’s Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center’s (RRBITC) National Deep Energy Retrofit (NDER) ESPC project. John discusses the project details, the various ECMs and the results, which led to the project’s goal of electrification and decarbonization. For more information, visit https://www.gsa.gov/blog/2023/06/21/gsa-makes-electrifying-move-at-ronald-reagan-building-and-international-trade-center
August 11th, 2015
GSA’s Total Workplace Program - C.Hardy Jan 2015
GSA's office makeover to reduce energy, space, and rent while increasing workplace collaboration. Learn more at GSA's Total Workplace.
August 11th, 2015
GSA's Sustainable Buildings Study Using Whole-System Thinking - JParisi, Nov. 2012
A detailed study of building operational costs, including externalities, and what measures can reduce those costs.
December 14th, 2017
ISWG REopt Tool: Overseas Buildings Operations – T. Evans and D. Shaffer, Dec. 2017
Todd Evans and David Shaffer of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) share how they utilize NREL’s Renewable Energy Integration & Optimization (REopt) model to evaluate and prioritize solar photovoltaics projects at State locations around the world.
For more information on REopt, visit the REopt and REopt Lite Web Tool webpages at NREL. You can also download an overview of REopt and REopt Lite here.
December 15th, 2022
NASA Sustainability Highlights – E. Mszar, November 2022
Eugene Mszar of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) explains how NASA strategically manages its building portfolio to support the agency’s space exploration mission. To learn more, visit the NASA Office of Strategic Infrastructure homepage.
September 29th, 2022
Net Zero Embassies – D. Shaffer, September 2022
David Shaffer of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) describes the agency’s efforts to transform energy use and resilience at U.S. embassies worldwide, with particular focus on Embassy Koror in the Republic of Palau in the western Pacific. Electricity prices in Koror are among the world’s most expensive. By installing rooftop and carport solar photovoltaics and retrofitting campus lighting with highly efficient LEDs, Embassy Koror is set to become the State Department’s first Net Zero Energy embassy. To learn more, visit the OBO project portfolio website (https://oboportfolio.state.gov/).
March 9th, 2023
Net Zero Labs Pilot – S. Hayter and S. Dixon, January 2023
Sheila Hayter of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sam Dixon of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) share details about the Net Zero Laboratories (NZL) Pilot Initiative, a four-lab collaboration that launched in May 2022. The pilot involves four national laboratories—NREL, INL, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)—across multiple campuses. The speakers describe the decarbonization technologies and approaches being taken by each of the four pilot partners. To learn more, read the initiative’s launch announcement on the DOE website; and visit NREL’s and INL’s NZL homepages.
March 11th, 2016
Net Zero Partnerships - A. Morgan, July 2015
"Net Zero Partnerships: Promoting Sustainability and Resiliency Through Net Zero Technology and Approaches." How the EPA works with other agencies, such as the Army, to advance Net Zero Energy, Water, and Waste initiatives. For more information, visit the EPA Web page, Promoting Sustainability through Net Zero Strategies.
February 27th, 2024
NIST Gaithersburg’s Approach to a Solar PV Array Project – J. Bollinger, June 2020
In this case study presentation, John Bollinger of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) explains how NIST developed an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) ENABLE energy sales agreement (ESA) task order award for a 5-megawatt solar photovoltaics (PV) array at its Gaithersburg, MD, campus.
For more information, see the NIST ESA case study/fact sheet; the Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) ESA website; and the ESPC ENABLE website.
April 27th, 2020
Recent Sustainability Successes for Veterans Affairs – A. Gilani, April 2020
Asad Gilani, Portfolio Manager at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Energy Management Program, gives a run-down of sustainability progress at the agency, including significant energy and water savings and renewables growth even as hospital visits have grown. For more information, visit https://www.energy.va.gov/.
June 20th, 2016
Reclamation's Commissioning Initiative – Results and Best Practices - K. Whitford & P. Dawson - Nov. 2015
Kerry Whitford and Patrick Dawson of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, present agency-wide training on Reclamation's Commissioning Initiative. Includes case studies of the Carl Hayden Visitor Center in Page, AZ; and the Folsom Civil Maintenance Facility in Folsom, CA.
August 1st, 2018
The Impact of High-Performance Buildings – D. Horn, July 2018
Don Horn of GSA’s Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings summarizes the findings of GSA’s study of sustainable design in federal facilities, posted June 2018. This report compares FY 2015 – 2017 data for 100 high-performance federal buildings—those that meet the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings—to legacy federal building stock for which comparable data were available. It finds that high-performance buildings outperformed legacy stock in energy and water use, building operating expenses, landfilled waste, and overall tenant satisfaction. For more information, visit the report website: https://www.gsa.gov/impacthp
August 11th, 2015
USDA: Sustainable Buildings – CBroad, Sep. 2013
A look at how USDA is incorporating sustainability into their buildings.
building specific
December 21st, 2016
Better Buildings Federal Award 2012 Winner: Reclamation's Desalination Facility - RShaw, SHolland, updated May 2015
The Better Buildings Federal Award (BBFA) is awarded to the federal building that achieves the greatest percentage of energy intensity savings for a given year. The 2012 winner was the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility. This presentation looks at how the Bureau of Reclamation achieved an impressive 53.6% reduction in building energy intensity over its September 2011 baseline for this facility.
May 31st, 2017
Case Study: NASA/Clark Energy Group JPL ESPC Contract – R. DeVelle and S. Rigdon, May 2017
Bob DeVelle and Steve Rigdon of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory / CalTech describe the comprehensive energy savings performance contract (ESPC) at JPL that involved 120 buildings and will save nearly $1.2 million annually in energy costs.*
*This PDF contains speaker notes. Slides that include notes have a small icon at their top left. To view the notes, hover your cursor over the icon.
For more information, visit the 2016 FEMP Energy and Water Management Award Winners site and the NASA JPL web page.
March 4th, 2024
Case Study: New U.S. Courthouse, Los Angeles, California – D. Allen, May 2018
Duane Allen of GSA’s Pacific Rim Region describes this AIA Top Ten award-winning design-build project in L.A., including its innovative "serrated façade” that cuts the solar heat gain of the building by nearly half. The building is on track to meet and even beat its aggressive target for energy use intensity. For more information, visit the 2018 AIA/COTE Top Ten website.
February 7th, 2017
Data Center Efficiency: Partnering with DOE - S.Keppler, updated Mar. 2015
An overview of DOE's Better Buildings Challenge to increase energy efficiency of data centers. Learn more at the Data Center Challenge Website.
May 24th, 2018
Greening a Leased Office - L. Dawson, Nov. 2015
Liz Dawson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes how her team worked with GSA and the building owner to implement a number of energy and water conservation measures at the FWS Northeast Regional Office Building in Hadley, MA. This retrofit earned the Hadley FWS team a 2015 Federal Energy and Water Management Award.
August 11th, 2015
GSA and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI): Deep Energy Retrofits - C.Carmichael, V.Olgyay Mar. 2014
An introduction to RMI and their energy efficiency work, looking at deep energy retrofits achieving at least 50% energy savings. Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Institute.
March 4th, 2024
GSA Case Study: U.S. Land Port of Entry, Columbus, NM – E. Richter and D. Richter, December 2020
Elizabeth Chu Richter and David Richter describe how their firm, Richter Architects, designed and delivered an American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten award-winning expansion of the U.S. Land Port of Entry in Columbus, NM. Indirect overhead daylighting, rooftop solar photovoltaics, grassland restoration, and water harvesting to reduce irrigation in the desert environment are some of the design features that helped earn the project LEED Platinum certification.
For more information, see the AIA COTE Top Ten Showcase page for the Columbus LPOE project.
August 11th, 2015
GSA's Demonstration Project: EPA Denver Headquarters - J.Heerwagen Jul 2013
A close look at a high performance green building, concentrating on the building/occupant interface.
August 11th, 2015
High-Performance Building Design and Case Studies - RCheng, updated Apr. 2015
A comprehensive look at high performance building design and project delivery including three case studies: the Wayne Aspinall Federal Building & Courthouse, the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building and the Federal Center South Building.
April 7th, 2024
NASA Ames Sustainability Base - SDianati, Nov. 2012
A close look at NASA's Sustainability Base building, a 50,000 sq. ft. high performance office building.
May 10th, 2017
Reclamation's Commissioning Initiative – Results and Best Practices - K. Whitford & P. Dawson - Nov. 2015
Kerry Whitford and Patrick Dawson of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, present agency-wide training on Reclamation's Commissioning Initiative. Includes case studies of the Carl Hayden Visitor Center in Page, AZ; and the Folsom Civil Maintenance Facility in Folsom, CA.
June 20th, 2016
USACE Seattle Headquarters – RThomas, Mar. 2013
An in-depth look at the Federal Center South Building 1202, a high performance green building.
October 12th, 2017
WELL Designed – Case Study: ASID Corporate Headquarters – Dr. S. Chung, Oct. 2017
Dr. Susan Chung of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) explains how her organization’s headquarters became the world’s first space to earn platinum certification in both the WELL and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) systems. ASID continues to track wellness indicators at its headquarters over time to assess progress and determine areas that need improvement. For more information, visit the ASID website.
January 13th, 2021
Zero-Net Energy Building Examples and Statistics – C. Higgins, updated Feb. 2015
A look at zero-net energy buildings across the nation by number, type, size and ownership. Read the National Institute of Building Science article based on this data.
industry wide
February 27th, 2024
Laboratory Ventilation Management Program – O. Van Geet and T. Smith, March 2019
Otto Van Geet of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Tom Smith of 3Flow introduce the concept of a Smart Labs Ventilation Management Program. Labs that optimize ventilation and exhaust systems can create safer, more efficient workplaces, realizing significant energy savings in the process.
For more information, visit the DOE Better Buildings Smart Labs Accelerator website.
February 27th, 2024
Liquid in the Rack: Liquid Cooling Your Data Centers – D. Sartor and O. Van Geet, March 2019
Dale Sartor of Laurence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Otto Van Geet of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provide an introduction to utilizing liquid cooling technologies to cool data centers, as well as an NREL case study showcasing the results of deploying such technologies at the lab’s Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) in Golden, CO.
For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s Center of Expertise for Energy Efficiency in Data Centers, hosted by LBNL; and visit the ESIF page on NREL’s website.
February 27th, 2024
Solar Decathlon 2020 Briefing – H. Carr, May 2019
Holly Carr of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) provides an update on recent changes to the Solar Decathlon program and previews upcoming events culminating in the next Solar Decathlon National Showcase, to be held in June and July 2020 in Washington, DC. For more information, visit the DOE Solar Decathlon site.
October 5th, 2018
Solar PV in Severe Weather Locations: How Design, Construction and O&M Can Improve Survivability – G. Robinson and A. Walker, September 2018
Gerald Robinson of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and Andy Walker of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) discuss lessons learned and best practices for mitigating damage to solar photovoltaics (PV) systems, both before and after severe weather events. The slide deck provides a number of resources for more information, among them the FEMP fact sheet “Solar Photovoltaic Systems in Hurricanes and Other Severe Weather” and the Rocky Mountain Institute’s report Solar Under Storm: Designing Hurricane-Resilient PV Systems.