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| Region 8 Headquarters – Denver, CO |
Built: 2006
Cost: $90 million
Square Feet: 301,292
Occupants: 922
LEED Certification: Gold
ENERGY STAR Score: 94
Performance: Bested the national average in all categories surveyed, with scores generally comparable to the other LEED Gold buildings in the sample.
INFORMATION COURTESY OF GSA AND WHOLE BUILDING DESIGN GUIDE
Some technologies, however, are a different story. Take a look at how building systems affect each other to find the best area to invest in. Instead of only considering first cost, find choices that pay off in the long term whenever possible, advises Todd Jersey, architect, owner, and principal in charge of design for Todd Jersey Architecture. “You could put in electric baseboard flooring, which is very low-cost and efficient, but if you’re smart about it and say ‘We have this many dollars, so let’s spend it on insulation,’ you don’t need the heat,” Jersey explains. “You can call that settling – I call it smart design. It’s about the maximum performance per dollar spent.”
Existing buildings can also reap considerable benefits from retro-commissioning, in which a third-party commissioning team inspects your facility to look for poorly performing equipment, control system set points that must be recalibrated, and other energy hogs. The process can cost $20,000-$40,000, explains Rob McAtee, H&A’s vice president and mechanical engineering department head. However, the reduced energy bills and higher building performance will cut back considerably on wasted energy, even if you don’t take any additional action to green the facility.
The Future of the Green Premium
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| EPA Region 8 Headquarters – Denver, CO |
A review of green material costs over the last few years makes it clear that prices are likely to continue to drop, especially for maturing technologies like photovoltaics, because products that have already proved their potential in many buildings put consumers’ minds at ease and allow demand to grow. It’s worth keeping an eye on the costs of equipment and materials you hope to implement when they become affordable.
In the meantime, sustainable O&M practices and sensible, yet budget-friendly retrofits can produce a big impact on your company’s green credibility, as well as its bottom line.
Reduce the replacement of building materials and other items that aren’t past their prime yet, especially when renovating or remodeling the building, Pierson adds. “One of the greenest things you can do is reuse. That has the lowest carbon footprint,” Pierson explains. “Decide what’s important in the building and figure out a way to save it. Then you’ll have a good sense of what will be reused and what will be new construction, which produces a clean budget and cost structure to go with it.”
The costs of greening buildings ultimately rely on changing attitudes among architects, builders, and owners, Pierson adds. “It will take the obsolescence of sustainable design as a different kind of building system,” he explains “As soon as that becomes standard – and we’re approaching that – then we’ll see the cost fall into place.”
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