For the 401 Crescent Road Project, our intention is to reduce the environmental impact of the existing building with two approaches.  The first being to (tighten up the shell of the existing structure) and the second to utilizing new mechanical systems that looks to transfer the current energy consumption from fossil fuel driven sources to renewal energy sources.  We have strategies several perspectives and have arrived as what our team believes to be a good balance between the projects economic and social goals.  The first part of this renovation is to super insulate the shell of the building raise both the R value to its maximum per existing condition, and to replace/ reseal any and all doors and windows to ensure a tight thermal envelope.  Once this process is completed we will then rely on an ERV (energy recovery ventilator) to maintain fresh air for the occupants of the building.  (The unit specified for the project is the Alpine Pure unit AP ERV 200H)  This unit will exhaust stale air from the buildings master bathroom and the other bathroom on the main level providing the residence with a slight negative pressure of about 10-15%.

After the design of the thermal envelope has been improved the team next looks at the mechanical systems to see what the most effective system could be installed.   Given site constraints and minimal invasion to the existing residence we will be utilizing both a GSHP (Ground Source Heat Pump) and PV (Photovoltaic) panels.  Starting with the Photovoltaic system we have sized our panels to eliminate the current auxiliary electrical usage (ie. Daily electrical requirements) while allowing minor usage to supply the power to Mechanical units to be pulled as needed from the main electric supplied by PECO.  At the clients discretion they may further reduce their carbon footprint by choosing wind energy or other alternative electrical supply sources.   With the 7.75 kW array installed we hope to easily achieve the above describe goal of reducing the energy usage to only that need to maintain the Heating and Cooling system of the home.

Next our team looked at how to now most efficiently heat and cool the residence through naturally independent sources and the GSHP (NDVO 38 A11-1CTL: Water Furnace) is what our team specified for this application.  Utilizing a built in ECM fan and an intelliboard control panel we can effectively split the system into two zones.  The first zone being the second floor or the attic which is seldom used to allow usage only when need.  The second zone will be the main living area and the basement.  Again, allowing the occupant better control of the energy usage.

The final step to reducing the client’s energy usage was to integrate a passive solar glazing along the back of the house.  The glazing is essentially creating a greenhouse that will provide solar heat gain during the winter allowing much of the home to be heated simply by the naturally occurring sun.  The glazing is design very specifically to maximize its solar collection in the winter while utilizing a series of shading devices in the summer to protect from the afternoons intense solar exposure.

Overall our approach has looked to balance the economic output by the client while combining several sustainable technologies into one package in order to minimize and stabilize the daily cost of living in the residence.  Thus allowing a more predictable expense and while giving greater independence from the current energy market, giving the home a lower carbon footprint as well as a greatly reduced operating cost.  While our goal of Net Zero Energy Consumption was not reached our solution will be a great reducing in energy cost and nearly complete independence from its current fossil fuel reliance.

In addition to marketing, Bryan’s background in finance and management goes back to when he graudated from college. He has been in those fields since then, refining his skill set and learning more and more from those around him. When you work with Bryan, you will see his love for business and this industry and he will do whatever it takes to make sure the job is done right.

The state of Pennsylvania is currently offering large rebates of up to $10,000 for any building that meets LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, guidelines. However, that grant will be expiring at the end of November, but one company in Pennsylvania is helping those looking to go green streamline this process to meet the deadline.

That company is Energy Reconsidered, which is based out of Philadelphia. Energy Reconsidered has one of the most innovative systems on the market, as their product can create a virtually self-sufficient home through the use of all types of green energy sources. In addition to owning the product and installing the product, they are also a LEED consultant, so you can be sure that your building will qualify for any type of LEED rebates.

That may sound all great, but in the world is LEED certification and how can it get you some money back from your green energy installation?

LEED has a very specific set of instructions and guidelines that you must meet in for your building to qualify for LEED certification. There are certain levels of certification that are available, depending on how much green energy your system is producing. Currently, in Pennsylvania, buildings receiving LEED certification can receive a $5,000 grant through PPL. In addition, if a building were to meet the Gold LEED certification, a grant of $10,000 is available.

Green energy is certainly getting cheaper, and the long term benefits are increasing because of the lower upfront cost. In addition to the lower costs, owners of buildings that are LEED certified can also show others in the community that they are being socially responsible and trying to reduce the carbon footprint that they will leave.

The only caveat with this grant is that it will be ending in a few months, meaning if you want to take advantage of the rebate, it needs to be done quickly. While you do not need to complete the project by November, you do need the necessary parts to be put in motion. That is where a LEED certified and green energy consultant, such as Energy Reconsidered, can really save be your lifesaver. You can visit Energy Reconsidered online at www.energyreconsidered.com or call the company directly at 215-242-2943.

ER’s signature line of product is a series of Heating, Ventilation, and Cooling (HVC) Components that have been developed in Luxembourg. Isomax Building Technologies is the industries leader throughout the world within building technology industry and with their technology we can deliver the (HVC and Hot Water) to a building with as little as 6 kWh/m² or in the English standards 0.56 kWh/sqft. Through exclusive rights to develop the United States market ER is responsible for bringing to market and implementing the patent protected inventions by Dipl. –Ing., Phys. Edmond D. Krecke, Luxembourg. An integrate solar energy and inherent geothermal heat sync system we find excessive natural amounts of energy already present in the environment. By collecting the naturally occurring solar radiation and storing the radiation in the earth ER’s system then delivers back the building most of the energy needed for the (HVC). Through this heating and cooling process the buildings are able to achieve and in most cases exceeds the Passivhaus Technology, which is one of the most stringent building criteria utilized in the building industry worldwide.

In addition, to lowering our energy consumption, ER is pushing even further to address the root of the Environmental Crisis, and that is at the level of Carbon Dioxide (CO²) Emissions released. Energy Reconsidered is committed to help reduce the carbon footprint in the construction industry by implementing green building products and techniques that will lead to at least competitive LEED certification or better. ER’s focus is to establish new energy consumption and CO² Emission standards for the building industry, and by doing so, raise the bar to meet society’s challenge to reduce the on-going environmental stress of building habitation and therefore grow independent from the utility company.

ER realizes that these environmentally friendly systems have to meet economic justification to the consumer and will make sense beyond the environmental considerations because it has long-term financial value. ER’s systems are projecting a 3.86 year return on investment (ROI) just below the industry standard of 8 years ³ with the signature systems. Not only are end users seeing immediate benefit through the combination of construction techniques and products, the new techniques virtually eliminate waste on the job site and utilize either high quantities of recycled, down cycled, and post consumer building materials.

With much pride ER feels the company is providing the most advance products on the market, all while maintaining an aggressive ROI. ER’s innovation will continue to allow company growth at the same time delivering a comprehensive buildings solution with environmental responsibility focusing us on the planets future.

We might still be waiting on that Super Bowl, but Philadelphians have one huge victory to celebrate. Competing against groups from across the country, the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster (GPIC) for Energy Efficient Buildings won $129 million last August from the Energy Regional Innovation Cluster (E-RIC) Initiative. The award included $122 million from the Department of Energy to support an Energy Innovation Hub at the Navy Yard, tasked with developing energy-efficient building technologies, designs and systems.

This prize is not only a boon for the Navy Yard, it’s also a tremendous feather in the city’s cap, and promises to have a huge regional impact in the coming years, attracting investment, green businesses and top-flight R&D to this unique incubator.

But the mission of GPIC goes beyond technology — it’s not enough to have a great idea, people have to use it. The consortium will also analyze and encourage emerging markets, sustainable practices and simple, effective behavioral changes.

Mark Alan Hughes is heading up GPIC’s Policy, Markets and Behavior team. A professor at Penn and original founder of the mayor’s Office of Sustainability, he has an extensive background in public policy, planning, design and getting people to do things despite themselves (see: teaching undergraduates). He talked to Flying Kite about the genesis of GPIC, the information gap and making thermostats a bit more fun.

Flying Kite (FK): How did you get involved with this project?
Mark Alan Hughes (MAH): It’s actually a fairly serendipitous and casual story. There was a national call for consortia of universities, corporations and public agencies to come together in regions around the country to respond to this funding opportunity. The RFP [Request For Proposals] generated lots of responses. Penn State stepped up to try and build a consortia in the mid-Atlantic area. They invited people from around the region to an initial meeting at the Navy Yard. A lot of people were busy at Penn on that particular day, and I was free. So, I went down, and one thing led to another. We spent the next three or four months working on a proposal. It was a bear of a process. In the end, we had a team of 23 member organizations — about a dozen universities, five or six global corporations and a large variety of regional public agencies.

FK: Once you guys won, how did your role change?
MAH: The RFP — which is kind of a historical document now — is the best one I’ve ever seen in 25 years of this work. It was extremely thoughtful, and provided very clear guidance. The funders recognized the importance of policy, individual and collective behavior, as well as market structure to this effort. It was not just about technology. So, it was obvious, even at the proposal-writing phase, that we needed to represent our own commitment to those areas. After we won, I became task leader.

But the real idea is about integration. We’re divided into research teams, but we’re really trying to collaborate across those teams, across disciplines and across sectors — as well as integrate what’s going on inside the hub with what’s going on outside in the larger region. The whole point of the thing is to try to get engineers, architects, policy developers and behavioral scientists to all work together.

FK: Once you figure out all these brilliant ways to save energy, how do you get people to actually use them?
MAH: It depends. Some people who come to this work from the technology side have an instinctive view that if you can just get people to behave right — or if you could just get government to subsidize right — then technology will shine. This isn’t really a technology problem. We can achieve much, if not almost all, of our energy efficiency goals for buildings with existing technologies. It’s more a behavioral problem.

Sometimes it’s about information. There’s a lot of jargon and confusion, and there’s a lot of asymmetry with information. There are things that some people know and others don’t. That makes it difficult for people to make decisions.

One of the classic examples is a feedback mechanism. There are lots of emerging examples of smart thermostats that report back to you how much electricity you use. Most modern televisions, cable boxes and other plug-in devices continue to draw power even when the consumer thinks of them as “off” — the “phantom load,” or “vampire load.” That’s an example of something that people just don’t have enough information about. And when they do have information, that can lead to some simple behavioral changes.

There are other things that make it difficult for people to do things that we want them to do. Let’s go back to the programmable thermostats. People buy them, and they don’t use them. The problem is less about information and more about engagement with the technology. Here, one of the most instructive areas of research is games. The problem with the thermostat is not that it’s too complicated, the problem with the thermostat is that it’s no fun. We know that games have very particular kinds of qualities. Nobody reads the manual to a game. The interface teaches you how to play, as you play. So, one of the things that we’re coming to understand about our technologies — whether it’s in the house or for an operator of a huge office building — is that these interfaces have got to teach you how to play, and they’ve got to keep you in the game.

FK: How is this model — the innovation cluster model, the collaboration model — different from how things usually happen?
MAH: I think there are two important funding theories. One, you can call “the collaboration model.” And it’s really hard, because you have to respond to the DOE’s concerns on the project, but you also have to respond to the concerns of other federal agencies that are more interested in the job training aspects or the manufacturing/industry aspects or economic development. They were asking us to collaborate, and they were also requiring themselves to collaborate.

It can be complex, but it’s also how you get some of that creative conversation. On one hand, a building is so simple, so familiar, and on the other hand, it’s so complex, and involves many different disciplines. There are lawyers writing leases, operators running machinery and architects designing cool facades. And then there are users, owners and renters. It forces these kinds of collaborations.

The other funding theory is way less familiar, even though the idea has been around for a long time. That’s regional funding. It’s important to note how cool — and unusual — that aspect of this is. The real bet that the feds and the DOE are making here is that buildings are specific. Regions have climates, they have building stocks (that were built at certain times), they have local rules about building codes, and they have local unions, builders and design firms. So, there’s no such thing as a national solution to squeezing more energy efficiency out of buildings.

FK: Do you want to talk for a minute about the Navy Yard as both a bargaining chip and an incubator for ideas?
MAH: There are so many advantages. First, it’s a big portfolio of buildings. There are two to three hundred buildings at the Navy Yard across a huge parcel of land about the size of Center City itself. It’s like a small city. Also, the land and all the infrastructure is owned by the city. We have unified ownership, yet it’s filled with a wide variety of private clients. And it has its own independent microgrid.

It’s perfect. The goal of this whole task is taking existing commercial buildings and retrofitting them. Seventy-five percent of the buildings that are going to exist 30 years from now already exist. If we don’t get our hands on how to make existing buildings more efficient, we’re not going to be able to meet our goals.

FK: This really is such an exciting project for the city.
MAH: It really is. I think that’s the other real angle here. The city rolled out Greenworks. They rolled out related things like GreenPlan and EnergyWorks. So, the city, starting with the mayor’s real commitment to environmental sustainability as a policy strategy, is starting to benefit from this virtuous cycle.

Isomax is the flagship technology that drives everything that we do at Energy Reconsidered. The simple definition of this would be that it is a hybrid green energy technology that utilizes geothermal and solar power, all while incorporating green construction materials.

Prior to developing his own line of businesses Michael’s enter the industry nearly 10 years ago into the market place found a very different economy and construction landscape.  His projects range from 3-6 million dollar commerce center, schools, and office complexes.  Later moving into the construction industry Michael was a primary contractor for several unique houses within the Philadelphia architectural portfolio. Then just before going it alone, he worked in the hospitality and the restaurant industry, this experience provided an alternative perspective to the building industry exposing him to new thought process and imaging requirements.  All these diverse experience has led to his success today

The goal of this project is to extend the boundaries and the conversation regarding sustaining community development and outdoor urban resources through utilizing creative work as an exciting catalyst for appreciation, reflection and dialogue. New Trails aspires to create immediate excitement and activity, while fostering a connection between the direction and potentials of the relationship community and commercial development shares with the natural world surrounding it. With New Trails we aim to stimulate growth and investment in the cultural, commercial and natural corridors of these communities.

In conjunction with New Trails a comprehensive full-color exhibition catalog/field-guide will be produced. The catalog will feature original responses to the project and works from Katrina Kuntz (Independent Curator/Critic), Margaret Winslow (Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art, Delaware Art Museum) and Bryan Rice (Programmer, Adaptation).

Projects from Manfred’s Past