Sustainable Design & Construction at Yale University July 2009

Accepted Measures of Sustainabity 1.LEED Rating –Certified –Silver –Gold –Platinum 2.Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions –Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (MTCDE) –Carbon Neutral = Zero CO 2 emissions –Measure Energy Use as proxy for CO 2 ASHRAE 90.1 Energy Modeling

LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design –Sustainable building rating system –Administered by the US Green Building Council –Provides Standard for measuring sustainability results Rates performance in 6 categories –Sustainable Sites –Water Efficiency –Energy and Atmosphere –Materials and Resources –Indoor Environmental Quality –Innovation and Design process

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction October 2005, Yale committed to reducing greenhouse gas emission to 10% below 1990 levels by % reduction in emissions, while at the same time increasing the campus square footage by 15%

Status of Sustainability in New Construction May 2009 LEED Rated Buildings: –Malone Engineering Center, Gold, met ASHRAE 90.1 –Class of 1954 Chemistry Research Building, Silver, 30% below ASHRAE 90.1 –Sculpture Building, Platinum, 30% below ASHRAE 90.1 In Progress: –Kroon Hall/Svc. Node, seeking Platinum, 50% below ASHRAE 90.1 –Social Science Academic, seeking Silver, 30% below ASHRAE 90.1 –Art and Architecture, Seeking Certified, 20% below ASHRAE 90.1 –Stoeckel Hall, seeking Silver, 30% below ASHRAE 90.1 –Health Services Center, seeking Silver, 30% below ASHRAE 90.1 –Greenberg Conference Center, targeting Gold, 30% below ASHRAE 90.1 Other –SPP Cogeneration, no LEED target, will reduce emissions by 27,000 MTCO 2 E/yr

Analysis Energy savings Carbon emissions reduction Yearly cost savings Life cycle cost Benchmarking

Energy Savings

CO 2 Emissions Reduction

Energy Usage

Cost Savings

Benchmarking

Yale’s Projects vs. ASHRAE % Below ASHRAE 30% Below ASHRAE 5 GoldGold/ Platinum Silver/ Gold Silver LEED Rating

LEED 2009 Harmonization –Prerequisites and credits the same across all rating systems –110 possible points Weighting of Credits better reflect impact on GHG Emissions Regionalization –Extra points for achieving specific credits

6-month transition period LEED VERSION CHANGE IN PROGRESS

Sustainable Building Design & Construction Committee Developing standards for all building projects, not just new construction Integrated Design Uniform approach Look beyond Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions –Water Conservation –Resource Management –Storm Water Management –Air Quality –Land Management Addressing LEED revision frequency Provides for project specific guidance to Planners and PMs Planning for Post-Occupancy –Continuous Commissioning –Verification of performance –Record keeping and documentation –Benchmarking

Sustainable Building Design and Construction Committee

Yale’s Sustainable Strategies Energy and Carbon Emissions –Insulation, thermal mass, shading –Heat recovery with coils, heat pipes, and enthalpy wheels –Ground source heat pumps –Efficient ventilation systems using displacement ventilation, natural ventilation, and improved control technology –Renewable energy: photovoltaic, wind power, fuel cell –Commissioning

Yale’s Sustainable Strategies Storm water retention and reuse Grey water systems Low flow fixtures Dual flush toilets and waterless urinals FSC Certified wood Construction waste recycling Recycled and recyclable materials Locally sourced materials

Lessons Learned Early LEED Gold can be achieved without addressing Energy –USGBC plugged this hole in 2007 Sustainability planning early in the project yields better results Labs represent a huge opportunity for energy savings

Lessons Learned Later Difficult or impossible to successfully ADD sustainability to an existing design Unusual concepts can work, but require more effort –GSHP –Displacement Air –Green Roofs –Solar Design (Heat AND Light) What works in one project can not be universally applied to all projects The Sustainable Construction job isn’t over when construction ends

What is the Cost of Green Architecture ? Lessons Learned Later

Integrated Design –Holistic approach to design –Sustainability is a factor in every design decision –Design is a joint effort between technical specialists –Interactions between building systems and their effect on performance is known and addressed –Requires communication and respect across design disciplines –Requires common design goals