| Goals of the Program
SBIC’s Small Commercial Buildings program was developed to help
architects, engineers, builders, and their clients create energy-efficient
and environmentally sensitive small and medium-sized commercial, institutional,
and residential buildings. Our publications, resources, and training programs
promote the notion of building designers applying energy-efficient strategies
(EES) early in the design process by combining passive solar design techniques,
such as daylighting and shading, and conventional energy-saving measures,
such as insulation and high-efficiency lights. The goal of the program
is to educate thousands of architects, engineers, building designers,
academics, and students in the United States to apply these approaches
as part of the normal design process.
Activities
With the inception of the Designing Low-Energy Buildings with Energy-10
program, SBIC for the first time stepped beyond a focus on passive solar
design techniques for homes and into the realm of addressing the unique
challenges faced in designing climate-responsive, small commercial (internal
load dominated) buildings. Since 1996 SBIC has been the only distributor
of the Energy-10 software, a powerful design tool that analyzes—and
illustrates—the energy and cost savings that can be achieved through
more than a dozen sustainable design strategies. The software is designed
to help architects and building professionals generate data on a building’s
energy efficiency strategies quickly and easily, with minimal upfront
information. Hourly energy simulations help the designer quantify, assess,
and clearly depict the benefits of daylighting, passive solar heating,
natural ventilation, well-insulated envelopes, better windows, lighting
systems, mechanical equipment, and more.
SBIC developed a companion Designing Low-Energy Buildings with Energy-10
curriculum to give designers the opportunity to participate in discussions
about integrated design practices, as well as receive hands-on Energy-10
instruction. The workshop covers 16 energy efficiency strategies that
Energy-10 users need to understand in order to use the software effectively.
They are:
Daylighting Glazing Shading Energy-efficient lighting Lighting controls
Insulation Air leakage control Thermal mass Passive solar heating
Natural ventilation
Economizer cycle
Exhaust air heat recovery
High-efficiency HVAC
HVAC
Evaporative cooling controls
Solar water heating
Each EES discussion during the workshop gives tips on its proper use.
However, it is important to appreciate that these energy efficiency strategies
lose much of their effectiveness when applied in isolation. A sustainable
building achieves its superior performance through the integrated interaction
of the building envelope, HVAC, and lighting decisions. For instance,
in a daylit, passive solar building, low-e glass with high daylight transmittance
and a low shading coefficient should be considered in conjunction with
daylight dimming controls that modulate electronic ballasts.
By applying EES to their projects and analyzing their impact with Energy-10,
participants are able to understand how those buildings will perform early
in the design process.
The Designing Low-Energy Buildings with Energy-10 curriculum is intended
to serve the following audiences:
Architects and engineers who design commercial, institutional, and residential
buildings
Contractors who build them
Suppliers who stock and sell energy efficiency components
Building owners and managers who pay for and operate them
Lenders who make financing available
Public officials who write energy codes governing them
Utilities who power them
SBIC uses a team of certified Designing Low-Energy Buildings with Energy-10
instructors/trainers. Since 1997 SBIC has successfully developed over
a hundred workshops and seminars based on the Designing Low-Energy Buildings
with Energy-10 curriculum.
A sample Designing Low-Energy Buildings with Energy-10 two-day workshop
agenda and trainers’ syllabus, along with the Energy-10 hands-on
workshop exercises are provided here. Contact Doug Schroeder at DSchroeder@SBICouncil.org
to arrange for a workshop in your locality.
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