BerHoff Homes, LLC of Neenah, Wisconsin is building a home in Appleton, WI certified by EnergyStar, the US Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED-H program and the EPA Indoor airPlus program. The home will also be Zero-Net Energy, meaning it will have no gas or electric bills.
The 4,438 square foot farmhouse styled home incorporates advanced framing that reduces the amount of lumber used on the external structure by 43%. This reduces the framing costs and allows for more insulation for added thermal retention. One-inch foam board used for the external sheeting of the structure eliminates any thermal loss from the wood structure. Additional foam is used underneath the basement concrete floor. Cellulose insulation, which is made from recycled newspaper, and spray foam is used throughout to maximize insulating values. The attic trusses are also thermal broken to eliminate any remaining thermal bridging. Heating and cooling is done through an air source heat pump and supplemented by a pellet stove. Hot water heat is supplemented by solar hot water heat. A hot water loop system is in place, allowing for only 1 ½ cup of lost water before hot water is at the faucet.
Solar electricity is generated on site through a 6.11 kW solar panel array. A combination of LED lighting and compact fluorescent lighting is used throughout the home with all other appliances and equipment selected for their efficiencies and EnergyStar ratings. An onsite energy management system through an Apple iPad allows the homeowner to monitor the energy consumption and manage it to peak efficient levels. Anderson windows and doors are used throughout to achieve the highest level of thermal gain for the best value. Extensive recycling was done throughout the construction of the home to minimize the waste that would be otherwise sent to the landfills.
The home was originally slated to meet environmental building standards from the USGBC LEED-H program at the Silver level of certification. Through the selection process, it was determined that that home could meet the Gold level and is slated to achieve that level, making it the first LEED-H Gold certified single family home in Wisconsin. Cabinetry provided by Valley Cabinets of Neenah is also certified as a Green Manufacturer. Paints and carpeting are selected based on the chemical contents to negate unhealthy products in the home. Reclaimed bricks from a demolished building in Milwaukee are used in the lower level bar area and bathroom. The home incorporates many other reclaimed items such as hardwood flooring, slate roofing tiles as floor tiles, interior doors and hardware, sinks and faucets, accent wood, light fixtures and a countertop for the bar that once was a bowling alley lane. Rainwater will be captured for the garden. All landscaping will feature native and edible landscaping with no-mow grass.
The home was designed by Cindi McSwain of Appleton with the assistance of BerHoff Homes, LLC. Its farmhouse feel is inviting to a time lost, while the contemporary lower level offers a retrofitted historic look with new contemporary features. The home has three bedrooms, two full baths with two half-baths, a solarium for food production, office, a kitchen any chef would love, a home theater and adjacent bar designed for home brewing. It also has a passive root and wine cellar for food and spirit storage. The home will be completed in mid-August 2010.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
An interview with ThedaCare's Albert Park
A culture of sustainability and a desire for a greener built environment are common ground between The Boldt Company and the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance. That’s why it seemed natural to partner in the process of documenting the construction of a LEED registered project. As the industry voice in sustainable building for Wisconsin, the WGBA saw opportunity in partnering with The Boldt Company, a leader in sustainable construction, to journey through the LEED certification process on the new ThedaCare Physicians Clinic in the Fox River Valley (Darboy). Albert Park is the Director of Facilities Planning for ThedaCare. What follows is a question & answer session between Albert and the WGBA about how ThedaCare has integrated LEED design into their building model:
WGBA: Could you describe what set of events took place that moved ThedaCare to start designing environmentally responsible buildings?
AP: "Environmentally Responsible" is really a relative concept. We have been designing buildings for many years that are far in excess of minimal code requirements. Most projects included design characteristics intended to minimize energy consumption and maximize building performance. These design decisions were typically made based on life cycle cost discussions and on factors related to indoor air quality. The goal was to be good stewards of our financial assets. In the past few years, I'd say we really started to focus on being good stewards of our environment as well. The learning was, that financial stewardship and environmental stewardship go hand in hand. They are not exclusive of each other.
WGBA: How long did it take from the first discussion to building the first LEED registered building?
AP: We considered LEED Certification in a couple of early projects, but chose not to pursue the official certification. However we spent a great deal of time and energy discussing design issues as they relate to sustainability and in fact had sizable line items in the budget with funds dedicated to investment in longer term "green" investments. The Encircle Health Project completed last fall, will likely be LEED Gold. The Darboy clinic will receive LEED silver certification.
WGBA: How important is it that each project ThedaCare builds be LEED certified?
AP: Honestly, to me LEED certification is desirable, but not necessarily required for all projects. We have learned that if LEED certification is desirable for any given project, that decision needs to be made early on in the project development. The business case and the stakeholders are different from project to project, and each project must be evaluated based on its particular opportunities and constraints. That being said though, sustainability is an aspect of the building design that will absolutely be discussed and integrated into all of our projects regardless of LEED level of certification.
WGBA: Could you explain what the biggest challenges have been for you and your staff as ThedaCare made the leap to the LEED new construction model?
AP: Stakeholders vary from project to project, and these individuals have different levels of knowledge regarding sustainability. The assumptions that initial investments in LEED certification would be at the expense of program or other building amenities had to be addressed.
WGBA: Does ThedaCare have any plans to quantify results or changes that would be related to the new buildings, like enhanced job performance, decreased employee absences, increase in patient recovery time, etc.?
AP: We are currently planning to perform a Post Occupancy Evaluation on these projects. Defining metrics that can point to clear cause are difficult, but we believe possible. More on this in the future.
WGBA: Does the Darboy Clinic have any unique features in the design or construction that will make this LEED certified Clinic a different experience for employees and patients?
AP: I think the most obvious to our employees and staff is the natural daylighting. Health Care facilities can often be lacking in natural daylight due to the deep floor plates. Attention was paid to allowing much daylight into patient and staff areas.
WGBA: Could you describe what set of events took place that moved ThedaCare to start designing environmentally responsible buildings?
AP: "Environmentally Responsible" is really a relative concept. We have been designing buildings for many years that are far in excess of minimal code requirements. Most projects included design characteristics intended to minimize energy consumption and maximize building performance. These design decisions were typically made based on life cycle cost discussions and on factors related to indoor air quality. The goal was to be good stewards of our financial assets. In the past few years, I'd say we really started to focus on being good stewards of our environment as well. The learning was, that financial stewardship and environmental stewardship go hand in hand. They are not exclusive of each other.
WGBA: How long did it take from the first discussion to building the first LEED registered building?
AP: We considered LEED Certification in a couple of early projects, but chose not to pursue the official certification. However we spent a great deal of time and energy discussing design issues as they relate to sustainability and in fact had sizable line items in the budget with funds dedicated to investment in longer term "green" investments. The Encircle Health Project completed last fall, will likely be LEED Gold. The Darboy clinic will receive LEED silver certification.
WGBA: How important is it that each project ThedaCare builds be LEED certified?
AP: Honestly, to me LEED certification is desirable, but not necessarily required for all projects. We have learned that if LEED certification is desirable for any given project, that decision needs to be made early on in the project development. The business case and the stakeholders are different from project to project, and each project must be evaluated based on its particular opportunities and constraints. That being said though, sustainability is an aspect of the building design that will absolutely be discussed and integrated into all of our projects regardless of LEED level of certification.
WGBA: Could you explain what the biggest challenges have been for you and your staff as ThedaCare made the leap to the LEED new construction model?
AP: Stakeholders vary from project to project, and these individuals have different levels of knowledge regarding sustainability. The assumptions that initial investments in LEED certification would be at the expense of program or other building amenities had to be addressed.
WGBA: Does ThedaCare have any plans to quantify results or changes that would be related to the new buildings, like enhanced job performance, decreased employee absences, increase in patient recovery time, etc.?
AP: We are currently planning to perform a Post Occupancy Evaluation on these projects. Defining metrics that can point to clear cause are difficult, but we believe possible. More on this in the future.
WGBA: Does the Darboy Clinic have any unique features in the design or construction that will make this LEED certified Clinic a different experience for employees and patients?
AP: I think the most obvious to our employees and staff is the natural daylighting. Health Care facilities can often be lacking in natural daylight due to the deep floor plates. Attention was paid to allowing much daylight into patient and staff areas.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Energy Efficiency Comparison Between LEED v2.2 and v3
Energy Efficiency Comparison Between LEED v2.2 and v3
As illustrated by the new ThedaCare Clinic in Darboy, WI
Evaluation of the two LEED rating systems, New Construction v2.2 and v3 is important, not only in the determination of which rating system to submit the project under, but also in order to ensure that we’re achieving the energy efficiency goals that we based the design on. We are fortunate enough to have a knowledgeable partner in August Winter & Sons, Inc. as our HVAC subcontractor on the ThedaCare Darboy project. With the help of Wes Pohlman and Rick Verstegen of August Winter we can take a more in depth look at the differences in the energy efficiency section of these two rating systems.
One of the changes to v3 in the Energy and Atmosphere category is the increase in available points for Credit 1 - Optimize Energy Performance. There are now up to 19 points available for this credit as opposed to 10 points available in the previous version. However, as part of the new credit, the standard used is now ASHRAE 90.1 – 2007 without addenda. The previous standard used was ASHRAE 90.1 – 2004. The new ASHRAE standard raises the minimum efficiencies and standards required for the Building Envelope and HVAC. The following are building envelope examples of changes to the ASHRAE standard for Climate Zone 6 (all but 15 counties in the state of Wisconsin):
For a roof with insulation entirely above deck, the minimum insulation R-value increases from an R-15 to R-20 (a 25% increase in required performance) with the overall assembly u-value changing from U-0.063 to U-0.048 (a 31.25% increase in performance).
A steel framed wall above grade performance changes from an R-16.8 to an R-20.5 for insulation minimum (an 18% increase) with an assembly u-value change from U-0.084 to U-0.064 (a 31.25% increase in required performance).
The standards for vertical building fenestration have also changed. In some cases, values have increased. For example, in the 2004 standard, a building with 20.1 – 30% vertical glazing and operable windows required a u-value of 0.67 and a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of 0.49. The 2007 standard is now identified by vertical glazing type with Non-metal framing requiring U-0.35, Metal framing (curtain/storefront) requiring U-0.45, Metal framing (entrance door) requiring U-0.80, and all other Metal Framing requiring U-0.55. The required SHGC changes to 0.40. Comparing a Non-metal framing vertical glazing to the previous standard shows an increased performance requirement of 22.5% for the SHGC (0.49 to 0.40) and 91.4% for the u-value (0.67 to 0.35).
An example of this is shown in the energy model created for the ThedaCare Physicians – Darboy Clinic project. Two energy models were created to compare both standards. In the first energy model, comparing the building design to the ASHRAE 90.1 – 2004 standard (LEED NC2.2) showed an increased energy performance of 30.5% which provided 6 LEED credits for EA-C1. The second energy model showed an increased energy performance of 25.4% compared to ASHRAE 90.1 – 2007 (LEED 2009) which provided 7 LEED Points for the EA-C1 credit.
As illustrated, even with the higher minimum performance standards required in the new v3 LEED rating system, energy saving measures are better rewarded.
As illustrated by the new ThedaCare Clinic in Darboy, WI
Evaluation of the two LEED rating systems, New Construction v2.2 and v3 is important, not only in the determination of which rating system to submit the project under, but also in order to ensure that we’re achieving the energy efficiency goals that we based the design on. We are fortunate enough to have a knowledgeable partner in August Winter & Sons, Inc. as our HVAC subcontractor on the ThedaCare Darboy project. With the help of Wes Pohlman and Rick Verstegen of August Winter we can take a more in depth look at the differences in the energy efficiency section of these two rating systems.
One of the changes to v3 in the Energy and Atmosphere category is the increase in available points for Credit 1 - Optimize Energy Performance. There are now up to 19 points available for this credit as opposed to 10 points available in the previous version. However, as part of the new credit, the standard used is now ASHRAE 90.1 – 2007 without addenda. The previous standard used was ASHRAE 90.1 – 2004. The new ASHRAE standard raises the minimum efficiencies and standards required for the Building Envelope and HVAC. The following are building envelope examples of changes to the ASHRAE standard for Climate Zone 6 (all but 15 counties in the state of Wisconsin):
For a roof with insulation entirely above deck, the minimum insulation R-value increases from an R-15 to R-20 (a 25% increase in required performance) with the overall assembly u-value changing from U-0.063 to U-0.048 (a 31.25% increase in performance).
A steel framed wall above grade performance changes from an R-16.8 to an R-20.5 for insulation minimum (an 18% increase) with an assembly u-value change from U-0.084 to U-0.064 (a 31.25% increase in required performance).
The standards for vertical building fenestration have also changed. In some cases, values have increased. For example, in the 2004 standard, a building with 20.1 – 30% vertical glazing and operable windows required a u-value of 0.67 and a Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) of 0.49. The 2007 standard is now identified by vertical glazing type with Non-metal framing requiring U-0.35, Metal framing (curtain/storefront) requiring U-0.45, Metal framing (entrance door) requiring U-0.80, and all other Metal Framing requiring U-0.55. The required SHGC changes to 0.40. Comparing a Non-metal framing vertical glazing to the previous standard shows an increased performance requirement of 22.5% for the SHGC (0.49 to 0.40) and 91.4% for the u-value (0.67 to 0.35).
An example of this is shown in the energy model created for the ThedaCare Physicians – Darboy Clinic project. Two energy models were created to compare both standards. In the first energy model, comparing the building design to the ASHRAE 90.1 – 2004 standard (LEED NC2.2) showed an increased energy performance of 30.5% which provided 6 LEED credits for EA-C1. The second energy model showed an increased energy performance of 25.4% compared to ASHRAE 90.1 – 2007 (LEED 2009) which provided 7 LEED Points for the EA-C1 credit.
As illustrated, even with the higher minimum performance standards required in the new v3 LEED rating system, energy saving measures are better rewarded.
Friday, October 23, 2009
ThedaCare Darboy
We have been presented with a unique opportunity on this project. We are at a time in the LEED rating system where we can hold on to the LEED NC v2.2 - what we’ve all become familiar with – or move forward with LEED’s new Green Building Design and Construction Rating system for 2009. As a project team executing an integrated design process for our client, we are working together to reach a goal of LEED Silver Certification or above on this project. The trick is to select the rating system that fits the client’s needs, not simply to put a plaque on the wall. Our goal is to create a facility that enhances health care delivery for the client and also is energy efficient and environmentally responsible.
In order to allow us to select either rating system, we registered our project under the LEED NC v2.2 rating system with the ability to upgrade into the LEED Green Building Design and Construction Rating system by the end of the year. By keeping our options open, the project team will be able to effectively analyze the differences between the two rating systems. This period of selecting either rating system is our window of opportunity to not only take steps to achieving our sustainable goals, but also quickly get up to speed with how the USGBC’s rating system is evolving.
After closer examination of the Green Building Design and Construction rating system, we noticed the point total thresholds have increased considerably. We also have an opportunity to achieve more points in the LEED categories. Key differences between the two LEED rating systems are the water efficiency requirements and the updated ASHRAE energy standard. The water efficiency standard has been increased to ½ gallon per minute, meaning it is now mandatory that faucets have a flow of less than ½ gallon per minute to achieve the credit. Under the v2.2 rating system, a ½ gallon per minute faucet was needed to achieve the credit. Given the increased stringency of the standard, we’re now weighing whether or not ½ gallon per minute is suitable water flow for everyday use. Achieving the water efficiency credit or not has a potential for a 4 point swing in our project. While we will all be working to adapt to the new rating system, having a grace period will allow us to find the best solution for the building and our client.
In the next post we’ll discuss more about the updated ASHRAE standard, as well as address some of the Material & Resource credits we’re targeting.
In order to allow us to select either rating system, we registered our project under the LEED NC v2.2 rating system with the ability to upgrade into the LEED Green Building Design and Construction Rating system by the end of the year. By keeping our options open, the project team will be able to effectively analyze the differences between the two rating systems. This period of selecting either rating system is our window of opportunity to not only take steps to achieving our sustainable goals, but also quickly get up to speed with how the USGBC’s rating system is evolving.
After closer examination of the Green Building Design and Construction rating system, we noticed the point total thresholds have increased considerably. We also have an opportunity to achieve more points in the LEED categories. Key differences between the two LEED rating systems are the water efficiency requirements and the updated ASHRAE energy standard. The water efficiency standard has been increased to ½ gallon per minute, meaning it is now mandatory that faucets have a flow of less than ½ gallon per minute to achieve the credit. Under the v2.2 rating system, a ½ gallon per minute faucet was needed to achieve the credit. Given the increased stringency of the standard, we’re now weighing whether or not ½ gallon per minute is suitable water flow for everyday use. Achieving the water efficiency credit or not has a potential for a 4 point swing in our project. While we will all be working to adapt to the new rating system, having a grace period will allow us to find the best solution for the building and our client.
In the next post we’ll discuss more about the updated ASHRAE standard, as well as address some of the Material & Resource credits we’re targeting.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Introduction
Introduction to the WGBA Greenline Blog
A culture of sustainability and a desire for a greener built environment are common ground between The Boldt Company and the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (WGBA). That’s why it seemed natural to partner in the process of documenting the construction of a LEED certified project. As the industry voice in sustainable building for Wisconsin, the WGBA saw opportunity in partnering with Boldt, a leader in sustainable construction, to journey through the LEED certification process on a new ThedaCare Physicians Clinic in the Fox River Valley. As an embedded third party to the construction process, the WGBA will highlight the ecological construction practices that will bring the project from lines on paper to a sustainable model in our built environment.
What makes the process more interesting is that we’re currently at a juncture in the LEED rating system. Earlier this year, the USGBC introduced the newest version of the LEED rating system. On the heels of chronological improvements to the LEED for New Construction versions 2.0 to 2.2 rating system over the past 10 years, the USGBC released LEED version 3.0, or Green Building Design and Construction 2009. The ThedaCare Physicians Clinic happened upon a unique time in the LEED rating systems where the project will have the choice to proceed with either the LEED NC v2.2 rating system or the Green Building Design or Construction 2009 rating system. So the question is, what is different between the two systems and which rating system will the project ultimately submit for certification under?
Boldt Project Manager and LEED AP Nick Mueller and WGBA Fox Valley Member Circle Chair and LEED AP Heather McCombs will be providing updates on the WGBA website throughout the construction process. These updates will highlight milestones current to the phase of construction, compare and contrast sustainable construction practices, and also weigh the pros and cons of the two LEED rating systems. Perspectives and analysis from subcontractor partners and jobsite progress photos will add some additional depth and insight. You will also be able to take a first-hand walk through the entire process at the 2010 G2B Conference on April 28 in Appleton, Wisconsin.
This is a great opportunity to share sustainable building experiences within the construction industry through the eyes and voice of WGBA and a trusted leader in sustainability, The Boldt Company.
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