ausonio green

Monterey College of Law Unveiling LEED Platinum Plaque

2011-01-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

Dan Geiger, Executive Director of USGBC – Northern California Chapter will officiate at the unveiling ceremony of Monterey College of Law’s Platinum LEED Medallion for its Community Justice Center on Tuesday, February 2, 2011 at 4:00 p.m. The LEED Platinum medallion represents certification of the highest standard of "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" as defined by the United States Green Building Council. It has become the first Law School in the nation to achieve this high distinction.

The Community Justice Center, located adjacent to the law school's current education center in Seaside includes a courtroom, five indoor and three outdoor caucus areas for mediation, and offices of the Mandell Gisnet Center for Conflict Management and the Monterey County Bar Association.

Daniel M. Silvernail A.I.A., Co-chair of the Monterey Bay Branch of the USGBC has also organized a presentation by Mr. Geiger on the “State of the USGBC” that will follow the ceremony. Mr. Geiger is a highly experienced social entrepreneur with more than 25 years of start-up, executive and leadership experience, and has consulted on business planning, strategy and organizational development in the nonprofit, for-profit and philanthropy sectors. Mr. Geiger is the senior executive for the USGBC – Northern California Chapter that serves more than 1,700 members in 5 regions of Northern California. He is a LEED AP, and holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC-Berkeley.

I will be giving a tour of the building after the unveiling.

EBOM Your Building

2011-01-21T10:50:00.000-08:00

How does the performance of your building stack up against your competitor's? Does your indoor environment support productivity? Does it make your employees and clients feel better about working with you? You can improve your building's performance by assessing and certifying your Existing Building Operations & Maintenance (EBOM or O+M).

There are many certification programs available, and they vary in their degree of rigor and prestige. Basic programs are self-certified either by the organization or an industry group. These programs are a step in the right direction, but are largely prescriptive, and because they are self regulated, they lack the clout of independent verification and accountability.

The next level is certification by an outside independent organization. One example is the Monterey Bay Area Green Business Program. Programs such as this are relatively simple and prescriptive. Another example, Energy Star, requires a licensed engineer to sign off on the building performance data.

The most recognized and prestigious program is the US Green Building Council's LEED Certification for EBOM or O+M. In Monterey County, the IBEW Local #234 building and the Portola Hotel and Spa were both certified under LEED EBOM last month by Ausonio Inc. The IBEW achieved LEED Gold certification and is the smallest building in the nation to receive this designation. The Portola Hotel & Spa received LEED Silver certification and became the greenest hotel between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

What makes LEED EBOM the greenest of all standards? According to Joe Piedimonte, LEED AP O + M with Ausonio Inc., "LEED requires that older buildings at least meet modern building standards for air quality, comfort and energy." Joe led in the certification of both buildings and attested to the greater rigor of the process: "Even the engineers on our team had to provide extra calculations and plans during the review process." Axiom Engineers provided expert advice for retro commissioning on the Portola Hotel & Spa, which led to serious ongoing savings. According to Janine Chicourrat, General Manager of the Portola Hotel & Spa, "The cost was more than anticipated, but we've more than made it back already with rebates and increased business."

Prescriptive Standards

2011-01-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Prescriptive standards are a one-size-fits-all approach to sustainability. It does not address the concept of sustainability as it impacts each situation. Instead, the focus is on what you specifically should do and might be limited by one industry or concern. The beauty of LEED is that it has selected the monumental standards for each aspect of sustainability. In one case the expert might be the Environmental Protection Agency, in another it is the South Coast Air Quality Management District. In many cases it is the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). I have always been amazed how the USGBC has managed to select high standards from a number of industries and disciplines.

Portola Hotel & Spa Achieves LEED Silver (EBOM)

2011-01-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

Ausonio Inc. advised Portola Hotel & Spa on LEED standards and guided them through the certification process, earning the hotel the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver certification, making it the greenest hotel between Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The leadership at the Portola Hotel & Spa was enthusiastic about implementing sustainable practices that would distinguish them from their peers. By targeting the LEED standard they opted for a national standard that is reviewed by experts outside of their organization.

Ausonio and the hotel’s “Green team” developed sustainable policies, and at Ausonio’s advice, hired Axiom Engineers, to improve efficiency of the indoor environment. The Portola Hotel & Spa implemented a range of efficiency improvements, including installing a CO2 sensor to control supply and return fans and a lighting upgrade that included installing CFL, high efficiency flourescents and LED light bulbs. Ausonio performed many of the sustainable upgrades including the use of Forest Stewardship Council lumber as trim and baseboards. In compliance with LEED requirements, all guestrooms are nonsmoking.

The hotel already has seen the benefits of these improvements in their first quarter energy bills that reflect a $20,000 savings compared to last year. Considered in this project were 215,754 sq. ft. of the 1978 building, including 327 rooms, meeting rooms, two restaurants and banquet catering. Ausonio was involved in the sustainable upgrade to the facilities and rooms, which included construction waste management, low VOC and high recycled-content materials and other sustainable building practices.

Retro Commissioning

2011-01-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Retro commissioning is commissioning for an existing building. Whereas testing and balancing of the mechanical system is a requirement for new construction in California, it is not required of a new system being installed in an existing building. Retro commissioning starts with the testing and balancing that may have never been performed on an existing building. In addition, retro commissioning tests the performance of the entire electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, and ventilation systems.

The retro commissioning process starts in LEED O+M by performing an ASHRAE Level I Energy Audit. This audit identifies low-cost or no-cost opportunities in the building. If the LEED O+M or EBOM project elects to pursue the further investigation and analysis, implementation, and ongoing commissioning there are up to 6 points to be gained, not to mention a serious return on investment on older buildings. Investigation and analysis undertakes the ASHRAE Level II Energy Audit that looks at some of the larger and more intensive capital outlays. It provides these in a ranking order of return on investment.

The Portola Hotel & Spa elected to pursue these credits. The retro commissioning agent Axiom Engineers was able to provide them with low-cost or no-cost opportunities as well as long range capital improvements. As a result, the Portola Hotel & Spa saved $20,000 in the first quarter of implementation and was able to improve its Energy Star Performance benchmark to a level that not only attained the minimum requirements of LEED, but gained two (2) points above that level.

IBEW #234 Achieves Gold Rating for LEED EBOM

2010-11-11T11:26:00.001-08:00

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 234 building has been Certified Gold LEED EBOM (Existing Building Operations & Maintenance) The building serves as the Union Hall for the local members and the Tri-County Joint Apprentice and Training Committee (JATC) training center for electrical workers. The building was originally designed and built by Ausonio in 1996, and Ausonio has now served as the LEED Consulting firm helping the IBEW get the building certified.

This is the first IBEW building to achieve LEED Certification in the nation, although there are two buildings that are anticipating certification for new construction in Indiana and Hawaii. This is also the first building in the tri-county area to receive a Gold rating for the Existing Building Operations & Maintenance Program (EBOM Version 2.0).

According to Andy Hartman, President of IBEW Local 234, " The idea of certification was also popular with our membership. They thought it was a good idea. With the Green Movement that is happening and that electricians are involved with a lot of that work, the membership thought it was fitting for us to be certified. They wanted to show that we care about the environment."

IBEW Local 234 is a very efficient building, rated at 37% above the national average for similar buildings. In December of 2009 they installed a new photovoltaic array. The 6.6kW DC system is producing power and uploading information to http:// bit.ly/SunnyPortal. There is also a link on the IBEW Local 234 website to view the historical production of the photovoltaic system.

IBEW Local 234 has a unique approach to Alternative Commuting Transportation. They changed the requirement that out-of-work union members come to the Hall to sign the Out-of-Work Registry each month and to receive job referrals. Now they can phone or fax for this purpose. As a result, in 2009 they reduced trips to the building by 80%, saving 186,745 miles and 85,903,066 pounds of CO2.

The grounds are cared for by an organic landscape service that uses sustainable practices, such as using only organic-based fertilizers and soil amendments. The planting areas surrounding the building are landscaped with native drought tolerant plants, which are watered by an automated rain-sensing drip-irrigation system. The beds are mulched, and weeding is done by hand.

IBEW Local 234 regularly hosts meetings for the Monterey Bay Electric Vehicle Alliance. They have recently applied for a permit to install a car charger for plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Community Justice Center Earns LEED Platinum!

2010-09-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Monterey College of Law's Community Justice Center has achieved a Platinum LEED rating. The project succeeded in getting all 55 points it was designed to achieve through its sustainable features. Platinum LEED only requires 52 points. This is the first Platinum LEED building in the Monterey Bay area completed by a 100% local Design-Build team (JHW Architects and Ausonio Incorporated).

Monterey College of Law has been working on this project for longer than three years, since it was Phase II. The LEED process started mid-2007, and the integrated a design approach was instrumental in its success, not to mention a very committed Dean and Board of Directors.

This project has its share of firsts. It is the first Platinum LEED project nationally that:
1. Is a building for a Law School.
2. Will serve as a court house.

It is the first local Platimum LEED project that:
1. Had a local architect (JHW Architects, Daryl Hawkins).
2. Had a local LEED AP (yours truly).
3. Brought together a local Design-Build team from the Monterey Bay.

Interestingly, this project was the second LEED Platinum building in the city of Seaside California.

A Basis of Design in Time can Save Energy

2010-07-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have been vigilant about writing an Owner Project Requirements (OPR) document at the outset of every LEED NC project. Usually after the first design charette a draft OPR is produced. It represents the sustainable goals and the programming of the owners facility. It is a requirement of commissioning, but it serves as a reference that guides us through the project.

The Basis of Design (BoD) is the next document that should be written immediately after the OPR. According to Richard Farkas, President of DCSI (http://www.lv-dcsi.com/), "the BoD is developed by the engineers to reflect their understanding of the OPR." The BoD should be prepared before the commissioning agent (Cx) starts reviewing the 50% construction documents (drawings and specification - also known as CD's). It's a nice thought, but be honest...how often does this happen? Too often the Cx has no BoD at 50% CD's and is trying to puzzle pieces of the OPR to the drawing and specifications. This is not the best use of Cx time. I can compare it to having a tax advisor spending more time sorting through your shoe box of invoices than look for tax savings or advantages.

I am currently working on St Therese Mission, which has targeted LEED v3 Platinum. DCSI is our Cx. Farkas has been persistent about getting his Bod's prior to reviewing CD's. Now I see why. With his time being free from having to connect puzzle pieces between the OPR, specifications and drawings, he can now focus on how the systems can meet the energy goals of the project. We are counting on 19 points in optimizing energy. Sure we have a dream team with RAFI Architecture, Petty & Associates Engineering and PDA, but it's 19 points in the desert...not any easy feat! The Cx can be a valuable resource to see how we are tracking at our energy goal. They can only do this if we free them up by having detailed BoD's.

Ribbon-cutting Community Justice Center

2010-04-14T15:29:00.001-07:00

The official ribbon-cutting and dedication of the Monterey College of Law Community Justice Center will be held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 20th at 100 Col. Durham Street, Seaside, CA.

The new Community Justice Center is registered as a LEED Platinum project that represents the highest standards of sustainable construction and planning. Included in the new building are two courtrooms, five indoor and three outdoor caucus areas for mediation, and the new offices of the law school’s Mandell-Gisnet Center for Conflict Management. The law school is also working with the Monterey County Bar Association and the Monterey County Superior Court to develop a community legal clinic that will use the new facilities to provide free or low-cost legal services to the community in the evening.

Progress on the world's first LEED registered floating building

2010-04-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

From the shore, you can see the structural steel take shape for the Marina Services Building at Forever Resorts at Cottonwood Cove.

Rod Taylor, Regional Vice President for Forever Resorts, surveys the structural steel. The project is awaiting K-tect energy efficient building panels.
http://k-tect.com/

Here is the view looking down the new dock. The orientation on the building is not the final direction.

Nyloboard is shown here. This product is made of 100% recycled carpet fibers. Studies of the EPA have shown that 4 billion pounds of carpet is disposed of in landfills each year. Nyloboard is a low VOC product that takes the place of wood, and is durable to elements.

http://nyloboard.com/why-nyloboard/sustainability

Upgrading your building

2009-12-10T08:42:00.001-08:00

ASHRAE's weekly eNewsletter "The HVAC&R Industry" quoted this interesting statistic:

"According to Research shows that over 50% of commercial buildings were built prior to 1980. For all commercial buildings, over 70% have not had an HVAC or lighting upgrade, or had their windows replaced; and, nearly 90% have not had an insulation upgrade."

This shows that there is plenty of opportunity to save energy costs for more than one out of every three buildings that we see.

Building Green in Salinas

2009-10-20T05:37:00.000-07:00

Sustainable Salinas - an Action Group of Citizens for a Sustainable Monterey County (CSMC) - and the City of Salinas present:
“Building Green in Salinas”

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
6:30 to 8:00 PM
Sherwood Community Center

Panel presentation on Salinas LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green buildings and guided tour of the new LEED-certified community pool.

Featuring:

Joe Piedimonte, Chairman of the Environmental Management and Sustainable Design Advisory Group for Hartnell College, and Green Building Consultant for Ausonio will discuss the LEED certification process and the benefits of green buildings.

Jeff Oberdorfer, Executive Director, First Community Housing (F.C.H.) will present FCH’s Salinas Gateway Development, 100% affordable rentals with a green, vegetated roof with all rainwater recycled back into irrigation.

Carl Niizawa, Deputy City Engineer for the City of Salinas, supervised the design and construction of the newly opened LEED Gold certified (pending) Salinas community pool. Mr. Niizawa will give a brief overview of the project, followed by a guided tour of the facilities.

CSMC is a local nonprofit organization whose mission is “to meet the challenges of Climate Change and Peak Oil by helping our communities to transition to sustainable uses of energy and resources.” Sustainable Salinas, along with the other Local Action Groups formed by CSMC, provides community education, promotes “green” building codes and ordinances to conserve water, reduce waste, create community gardens, offset carbon emissions, and many other projects. Join them for this informative free presentation. For more information about this presentation, Sustainable Salinas or CSMC, please contact Virginia Jameson at sustainablesalinas@gmail.com.
www.sustainablemontereycounty.org

KION 46 Coverage of the Ausonio LEED Registered Building

2009-09-12T23:41:00.000-07:00

PJ Javaheri of KION TV was looking for a story on green. At the time, Jeannie, Derek and I were knee-deep in a waste stream audit for our building. We had been collecting the waste generated in our building for the past week, and the morning PJ called we were busy going through bags of garbage to see how we could improve our recycling. We were in the process of determining that composting might be a viable option for our building. Alyson at the front desk explained to PJ that we were tied up, but he must have smelled a story. Not much later, he showed up to our building. We told him about some of the features of our LEED Existing Building project that we were working on for the Ausonio Building. For some reason, these features were more interesting to him than our waste stream audit. Derek and I left the garbage bags and our gloves, and before we knew it, we were on the roof with PJ! I have attached much of the segment that aired. The tape that I used was eaten by a rogue VCR at our office, so not all of the segment was captured, and it is a little rough at the beginning.

New Terms of Service for Twitter

2009-09-10T13:42:00.000-07:00

Hi,

We'd like to let you know about our new Terms of Service. As Twitter
has evolved, we've gained a better understanding of how folks use the
service. As a result, we've updated the Terms and we're notifying
account holders.

We've posted a brief overview on our company blog and you can read the
Terms of Service online. If you haven't been by in a while, we invite
you to visit Twitter to see what else is new.

Overview: http://blog.twitter.com
Terms: http://www.twitter.com/tos
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com

These updates complement the spirit of Twitter. If the nature of our
service changes, we'll revisit the Terms as necessary. Comments are
welcome, please find the "feedback" link on the Terms of Service page.

Thanks,
Biz Stone, Co-founder
Twitter, Inc.

Hartnell College Offers Introduction to Green Building this fall

2009-08-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

Construction Technology is now the Center for Sustainable Construction at Hartnell

Hartnell College in Salinas has added Green Building to its Fall curriculum. This course will be the first step toward an entire program for Environmental Management and Sustainable Design. There are two advanced courses planned for the Spring Semester, so there is momentum building.

I have been Chair for Hartnell's Environmental Management and Sustainable Design Advisory Group for almost a year. When I first talked to Mike Thomas about the purpose of the Advisory Group, I realized that there was a blank slate. I thought the only way we could chart this new territory is through the charette process. Our group met once a month for several months, planning a charette that would create a vision, a mission statement, and potential courses. The charette was a huge success.

The Introduction to Green Building course was designed to help construction management students, but also the community. Some of the topics to be covered are: Green Building definitions & careers, site selection & orientation, materials & methods, energy, indoor air quality, off site impacts, certification systems, professional accreditation, safety, records & computer tools, financial tools. The course was developed in conjunction with the Sustainability Academy. Laura Strohm, founder of the Sustainability Academy is also a member of the Hartnell Advisory group. Jordan Daniels, Co-Chair of the USGBC Monterey Branch will be the instructor. He should be able to tap into experience from the LEED project "Uptown Monterey," and the projects he over sees with Building Wise.

The official course title is: "CON 120 - SECTION #1366 - INTRODUCTION TO GREEN BUILDING"

Classes will be on Monday nights (6-9pm) from August 17th to December 14th, 2009. You can register by calling (831) 755-6755 or on-line at www. hartnell.edu/admissions/apply.html

First LEED registered Floating Building is launched

2009-08-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

The platform for the LEED registered Marina Services Building at Cottonwood Cove, Searchlight Nevada is in place. In these pictures you can see its location in the Marina. The platform was erected on land under strict protection for Lake Mead, as well as other erosion controls. I am in the process of reviewing invoices for the materials to document the recycle content of the platform. Construction of the building is due to start soon.

Monterey College of Law Wins Award

2009-06-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Monterey College of Law Community Justice Center project has been selected as a Building of America Award winner and is scheduled to be featured in the upcoming Green Building of America-Northwest Green edition of Construction Communications.

As a featured project, the publication will show how it is making a difference for its community through its sustainable elements. Construction Communications works closely with each region's cities, counties, major associations and organizations, developers and project teams to ensure the top sustainably designed and built projects are covered in each regional Green Building of America edition. You can view regional editions on our web site at http://www.constructionreviews.com/

Would your project benefit from registering to LEED v2.2?

2009-06-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

If your project is not in a dense urban setting you can lose valuable credits for transportation and density/community-connectivity under LEED 2009. The deadline for registration to LEED pre-2009 is this Friday, 6/26. This includes LEED New Construction and Existing Buildings. The cost of registration is $450 for members plus the time to process the registration. Once registered under v2.2, the project may have until 12/31/09 to move to LEED 2009 at no extra cost. This gives time to see if additional energy savings and renewable energy credits of 2009 out-weigh the penalty of not having density/connectivity or public transportation.

PG&E Energy Audit at Portola Hotel

2009-06-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

Technical Solutions Engineer Chris Saiz demonstrated his expertise as we walked through the Portola Hotel and Spa yesterday. We were conducting a Level I Energy Audit walk for the hotel's LEED Existing Building Operations and Maintenance certification. The account manager for PG&E, Alex Calvillo, arranged for this audit. Alex was present, as well as Alicia Kilgore from PG&E; Al Hittle, the Portola's Chief Building Engineer; and George Lewis from the Engineering Department.

We thought that most of the lighting upgrade opportunities had already been implemented, but Chris pointed out large areas in Jack's Lounge that could be converted from 50 watt MR16 halogen lights to 3 watt LED equivalents. There were also a number of incandescent lights still in some of the lobby areas that could be replaced with CFL's. Chris made a point of observing the intent of the lighting. If it was directional, he would lean toward LED lighting, even over efficient fluorescent lights.

The Portola Hotel has quite a large kitchen area that serves both restaurants and banquets. Chris offered inisights on the refrigeration and kitchen equipment, explaining how PG&E provides incentives to purchase or upgrade equipment. This will be valuable information for future reference. As equipment requires major repairs, knowing the incentives for replacing the equipment, as well as energy savings makes better informed buying decisions.

Similar to most luxury hotels, the Portola Hotel and Spa has a dedicated laundry operation. The hotel has a state-of-the-art co-generation plant to help make the laundry operation efficient. This did not stop Chris though. He saw opportunities to preheat water before it entered washing machines and to use heat exchange technology for the dryer operations. We also discussed time of day usage and the potential to change the schedule of operations to reduce the impact of peak time rates.

We managed to brave some rather vocal seagulls on the rooftop where Chris offered suggestions to improve the operation of the chiller and air-handling units. We also toured some of the gorgeous rooms. It's hard to focus on energy savings when you're enjoying a terrific view of the Monterey Harbor and marina, howevber, we did manage to find some potential savings here. Even a relatively small savings per room can get big when you consider it's multiplied by more than 300 rooms.

Finally, Chris was able to provide suggestions on reducing computer energy demand. Chris works primarily in the Silicon Valley, so data center energy management is a core competency for him. He made the case for virtualization using products similar to Vmware to reduce the amount of servers in the data center. Each server generates 255 watts for 8000 hours a year. It also requires about 350 watts of cooling, so this can add up! He is also a big proponent of energy management software that can shut down any of the hotel's 80 computers as they become idle.

We're awaiting a report from Chris about his observations. We will use that to implement low-cost/no-cost solutions. We will also form a long term capital plan based on upgrades that will present some large opportunities. This is where the LEED certification process challenges you to a higher benchmark of achievement. As a result, the Portola Hotel and Spa will achieve terrific energy savings, and offer a great place to stay for the Green-minded traveler.

Is this green washing?

2009-06-10T16:49:00.000-07:00

I had a client consider a Big Belly Solar for their project today. As usual, I went out to the product's "LEED," "Green" or "Sustainable" web page. Was I ever in luck? They had a LEED page! Now, how typical is this that every one of these products can qualify for an innovation point? And according to this promotional material, that can be the difference between Gold and Silver. I'm sorry, but I guess it's up to me to figure out how this product is going to get a LEED innovation point for using energy from the sun to compact what may have been compacted with nothing but a foot. Now, I know we are supposed to be diverting from the landfill, but is it innovative to just compact instead? Let me know if I'm off base on this. May be I just had a bad day...

The LEED Triple Bottom Line

2009-06-08T16:57:00.000-07:00

The USGBC through LEED encourages a triple bottom line of the environment, economics and society. Usually I am working with the economic and environmental aspects of the project. I have been wondering how a project like the Boys and Girls Club can balance out the social equity portion of a Green building. Some of the ideas I am thinking about are how a facility such as this will be accessible to children that may not have had the opportunity to be in a Green built environment. This is probably the biggest aspect of social equity. There would not be too many green buildings in our areas that would be designed for kids to hang out and feel safe. What a terrific opportunity!

Boys and Girls Club Alisal Unit

2009-06-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

I am very pleased to be kicking off a LEED eco-charette for the proposed new Boys and Girls Club in Salinas. The project is targeting Platinum. Our charette will include a tour of Chartwell School by Executive Director Douglas Atkins. Ausonio Inc was the builder of Chartwell School, and it achieved 57 LEED points to be the first ever LEED Platinum K-12 campus.

I look forward to leading a discussion about how the building design can engage youth in sustainability. We have a great invite list of city and community leaders. I hope we have a good turn out.

Presentation: A Higher Vision

2009-04-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

Joe Piedimonte gave this presentation at "A Higher Vision" hosted by Hartnell College on Monday April 20, 2009. You may download the PDF at the link below:

http://www.ausonio.com/AUSONIO-GreaterVision.pdf

Platinum Rated Home on HGTV

2009-04-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Michael Carlson is an architect we are working with on two LEED
projects: The floating building on Lake Mead and New Horizon's School in
Las Vegas. He will be featured on HGTV for the Platinum rated home he
designed. Carlson and his associates, Jedd Heap and Phil Lenzen,
designed a house in Tradition, a master-planned community in St. Lucie
County, for a special client - Home & Garden Television. The
2,430-square-foot structure is the 2009 HGTV Green Home Giveaway house,
and will be featured in the cable network's special at 8 p.m. Sunday,
April 19.

Regards, Joe

Shortcut to: http://www.carlsonstudio.org/news-awards/

Energy Star Rating for the Ausonio Building

2009-03-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

We started out pursuing LEED Existing Building certification. Along the way we discovered the Energy Star rating. I was familiar with this rating for appliances and computers, but never realized there is a huge category for buildings. Energy Star rated buildings are not as popular in Castroville as they might be in New York City. We have been contacted by the CoStar group and will be included in their survey. Refer to my blog entry on the last CoStar study: http://ausoniogreen.blogspot.com/2008/04/business-week-green-buildings-do-boost.html

Last week I received the following notice in my inbox:

Dear Joe Piedimonte:
Congratulations! Your application has been approved and you have earned the prestigious ENERGY STAR for:
Ausonio Bldg
Ausonio Affiliates
11420 A Commercial Pkwy
Castroville, CA 95012
The ENERGY STAR is the mark of superior energy performance and identifies your building as one the most efficient buildings in the nation. By taking this important step along the path to energy efficiency, you are not only saving money – you are preventing the release of greenhouse gases and protecting the environment.
Within 2 business days, your facility will automatically be included on our website as part of our registry of buildings to earn the ENERGY STAR (www.energystar.gov/buildinglist).

The only bad news is that the program has apparently run out of plaques.

Update on the LEED registered Floating Building

2009-03-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

Click the Document to read it.

Renewable Energy Credits

2009-01-20T21:50:00.000-08:00

I was looking into REC's (Renewable Energy Credits) for a project and what I discovered was interesting. I had always thought that REC's were noble credits, but they were not cost effective. I think I have changed my mind.

I am working with a client that has done an incredible job of building a sustainable office. Their project was registered right at LEED Gold, but my concern was "what if the USGBC throws out a few of their credits?" This project had nothing extra to cover any lost points. This would cause their project to be Silver, despite their golden commitment.

The client was looking into adding more photovoltaic panels to their project, but this was something they preferred to do at a later time. Adding this 18kWh system would require a large capital outlay, but they were willing to do this earlier than scheduled to gain 3 LEED credits. They had already maxed out the Renewable credits, so this would be just to optimize the Optimize Energy credits.

The client had invested significant capital in a PV system, and wanted to conserve their next investment for a few years. Yet, three additional credits might mean the difference between Gold and Silver. Then it occurred to me that there might be another solution: REC's. REC's would allow them to pay a small premium to use green electricity for 70% of their buildings needs. For their building, the initial estimate is between $1000 to $2000 a year for two years. There would be two LEED credits available for using this approach. This is not too bad of an option when faced with a $100,000 - $200,000 additional investment in a photovoltaic array for three LEED credits.

Getting with the program

2009-01-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

No posting since September! This is no reflection of activity. It's been busy, but I do not see things slowing down for a while. Thank you green economy. Since I do not see things slowing down, I need to find time to add to this Blog. This will be my new years resolution.

2008 Western Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Network Conference

2008-09-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Western Sustainability and Pollution Prevention Network (WSPPN) will be holding its annual conference in Monterey from October 22-24. I was not familiar with the organization, and was asked to speak at their conference. WRPPN was established in 1997 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve communication and information dissemination among network members to maximize efficiency of P2 implementation. As I have discovered, "P2" stands for "pollution prevention." After researching their website at www.wsppn.org, I realized that they are a valuable resource for sustainable practices. For example, they have posted a study on Janitorial cleaners. I will be using their study to further develop green cleaning programs. As a communication extension of the EPA, they can provide valuable information on a regional basis.

Hartnell College Environmental Management & Sustainable Design Committee

2008-09-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

As part of Hartnell College's Center for Sustainable Construction Program, I will be chairing an advisory group. The advisory group is titled "Environmental Management & Sustainable Design." The group will help guide the formation of a Sustainable Academy at Hartnell College. I am very excited about this undertaking, and I am enthused to have outstanding community members as part of this group. The vision we create will foster programs that embrace the new green economy. We will ultimately better prepare our local workforce, create certificate programs and help students on to 4 year degrees in a sustainable field.

A Floating LEED Project

2008-08-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about a project I registered as LEED NC this week. It is a partnership between Forever Resorts and the National Park Service. It will be a 2000 square foot floating houseboat rental building in Cottonwood Cove, on beautiful Lake Mead, NV.

I was introduced to this project by fundraising guru Jan McAdams http://www.fundinggreenbuildings.com/ who believed this project could reach the level of LEED Gold. This will be possible with the help of architect Michael Carlson of Carlson Studio Architecture http://www.carlsonstudio.org/. Michael is considering a modular building for this project. Rod Taylor, from Forever Resorts http://www.foreverresorts.com/marina4.html, has indicated that the floating foundation on this project will be considered for a long lifecycle. This will definitely be a innovative credit for an innovative project. The most interesting part to me about this project is how landscaping will be waterscaping. Any ideas on how to interpret “Open spaces” or irrigation?

More to come….

Your Town segment

2008-06-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

Joe Piedimonte talks about Chartwell School and Green Building on "Your Town" with guest host Tom Carleton. This comes in three segments:

It's Official for Chartwell School!

2008-04-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Chartwell School was awarded the LEED Platinum plaque this Monday. This was preceded by an executive briefing on sustainable schools. David Thorman, California State Architect, commended Chartwell School for creating a "landmark." Chartwell presented construction cost data for the first time. They confirmed that the state average cost for school construction is $350/sqft. Chartwell was built at $310/sqft...and by the way, it exceeded the USGBC Platinum standard by 5 points (57 as opposed to 52). The Ausonio Incorporated employees in the audience beamed for a bit after that announcement! Chartwell calculated that there was 9% premium for going 5 points over platinum. They believe the premium for building to Platinum level was only 3%!

The USGBC Monterey Bay Branch will be featuring a Green School Expo, with Chartwell featured. The event is free to the public, and you can sign up here:
http://www.usgbc-ncc.org/index.php?option=com_events&type=event&task=details&id=150&Itemid=109

Here are the details:

Event Details - Monterey Bay Branch Monthly Program: Green Schools Expo
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 (05:00 PM - 08:00 PM)

Moss Landing Marine Laboratories8272 Moss Landing RoadMoss Landing, CA 95039
View Map

The Monterey Bay Branch Monthly Meeting Presents: Green Schools Expo
For those interested in a healthy school environment:
School District Facilities Planners and Construction Directors, School Board Members and District Superintendents, Building Maintenance Managers, Purchasing Officers
Architects, Designers, Construction Managers, School Building Planning & Financial Professionals
School Principals, Teachers, Students, Parents, and Community Members

Explore new techniques and trends in school design
-Get answers to your specific questions from local experts
-Hear from those who have championed the process
-See the best new work in school design
-Learn about new and innovative products

A showcase of exhibitors to provide information about funding and services, and share their stories -Chartwell School, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey College of Law -Ausonio Inc., Blach Construction, Daniels and House Construction
-CHPS, USGBC-NCC, Santa Cruz City Schools Green Schools Committee, UCSC
-The SEE Program, MRWMD -EPA Tools for Schools, PG&E, Office of Public School Construction -Powersmiths, Blue line Power, Forbo, Haworth And More to Come!

Carpooling Options/Parking
Directions: Take Highway 1 to Moss Landing Road. The Marine Lab is directly after the cemetery when coming from the south, and past the Moss Landing School when coming from the north. Go up the hill and park in the lot on the left. At the end of the parking lot walk straight to the building closest to Monterey. Informal Carpool: Participants should arrive no later than 5 p.m. at one of these locations: Santa Cruz County Governmental Office Building, 701 Ocean Street, near the front doors at the visitor parking spaces; Seaside Home Depot parking lot, near the Shell Station.

Space is limited. You must pre-register before noon on May 5, 2008 to guarantee attendance at this event. Those who are not pre-registered will be admitted first-come first-served at the event. The registration fee for this event is free.

Environment 2008 . . . Where do we Grow from Here?

2008-04-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

Monterey— The Environment 2008 Forum Series by HECA continues on Wednesday April 16, 2008 at the Steinbeck Forum of the Monterey Conference Center. This second of three forums focuses on new technology and “building green.” The free and open to the public event begins with booth visitation and reception at 5:00 p.m.

Panelists include Rudi Lokhart (Hayward), Joe Piedimonte (Ausonio, Inc.), Bob Brown (CSUMB), Ben Licari (Graniterock) and Don Hall (PG&E). Alan Richmond, Chairman of HECA and Director of Communications and Marketing for the Naval Postgraduate School, will serve as Moderator. These experts will also answer questions from the audience.

The Higher Education Communications Alliance (HECA) serves to foster communication efforts among all higher education institutions in Monterey County, while developing collaborative opportunities for community outreach,” said Alan Richmond, Chairman of HECA. “Bringing information and open dialog on our local and global environment to local residents, in a free and open public forum, is part of our collective institutions’ educational mandate.” HECA’s members include the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Monterey College of Law, the Defense Language Institute, California State University Monterey Bay, Hartnell College, and Monterey Peninsula College.

Other sponsors of the forums include the City of Monterey, Hayward, PG&E, AT&T, Ausonio Inc., Graniterock, the Monterey County Herald, Schipper Design, KWAV97FM Radio, and Magic63AM Radio.

The program is also endorsed by the Monterey County Business Council and the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG).

The series concludes on Thursday, May 15, 2008 with a final forum geared for the every day consumer, entitled “Go Green, It Makes Cents.”

WHAT: Free forum on Building Green and New Technology

WHERE: Monterey Conference Center, Steinbeck Forum

WHEN: Wednesday, April 16. Reception at 5:00 p.m. Program at 6:00 p.m.

WHO: Presented by The Higher Education Communications Alliance

Business Week: Green buildings do boost sales, rental and occupancy rates

2008-04-08T16:25:00.000-07:00

It was just a matter of time. We knew that green buildings would have to be more valuable than standard construction. Yet, when clients would try to convince their lenders to help them build green, the appraisals did not support the improvements. The best one could have hoped for is that your loan underwiter would be savy enough to consider the lowered operating costs to qualify for a higher loan amount.

http://www.businessweek.com/investing/greenbiz/archives/2008/04/its_true_green.html

Here is the text in the event the article is permanently archived:

It's true: Green buildings do boost sales, rental and occupancy rates
Posted by: Adam Aston on April 03
Call it green magic. According a pair of studies that offer the first broad-scope examination of the economics of green buildings, they really do it all: lower operating costs, boost rental rates, increase sales values and even improve occupancy rates.

I’ve been skeptical. As much ink -- or e-ink -- has been spilled repeating the virtues of green buildings, there’s been woefully little hard data on how high-tech, high-efficiency buildings actually help the bottom line. “Trust us,” the green building industry seemed to be saying in recent years: “Build green and you will see rewards.” Such claims are instinctively believable, of course, because it makes sense that using less energy should lower building costs and make them more attractive both to tenants and future owners. Less rationally, green buildings embody the promise that very advanced technology can help solve our climate problems.

But the data has been scant, till now, because the vast bulk of green buildings are just a few years old, so data on their resale value, rental rates, and occupancy has been statistically slim. The results are in, and all those green building developers have reason to crow. A pair of studies released this week -- one by the New Buildings Institute (NBI) and one by CoStar Group-- support the claims. Amidst softening real estate markets, the news will be especially welcome. The data suggest that developers who abide by green standards put out by the US Green Building Council or the EPA’s Energy Star program will be able to fill their buildings fuller, and rent and sell them for more money than a conventional structure. The industry's next great challenge: to deliver similar metrics for the improvement of existing buildings, where the great bulk of the nation's energy is used, and wasted.

GREEN PREMIUM
Here’s how two building standards programs cut the energy use and enhance the finances of newly built green commercial buildings

LEED certified

Energy savings 25-30%*
Rent premium, per sq. ft. $11.24
Increase in occupancy rates 3.8%
Sales premium, per sq. ft. $171

* 25-30% for all LEED buildings, including certified, silver, gold and platinum grades. For gold and platinum, the savings approach 50%.

Methodology: Using CoStar’s commercial property database of roughly 44 billion square feet, the study analyzed over 1,300 LEED Certified and ENERGY STAR buildings that totaled about 351 million sq ft. These were compared with non-green properties with similar size, location, class, tenancy and year-built characteristics to generate the results.

The NBI study was funded by USGBC with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and can be accessed here:
https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=3930

View more information on the CoStar Group study:
http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=D968F1E0DCF73712B03A099E0E99C679

Welcome to the Ausonio Greenbuilding Blog!

2008-04-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

I am Joe Piedimonte. I am a LEED Accredited Professional at Ausonio Inc. I have passed the LEED Exam for Existing Buildings as well as New Construction.

I am actively working at transforming the Ausonio Offices to a LEED Silver Existing Building. I am also working on the second phase of Monterey College of Law, which has the objective of achieving Platinum level. Last year I was part of the Chartwell School Platinum LEED team.

This blog is dedicated to advancing green building in the Central Coast area. I will be sharing my perspective of how green building is progressing in our area. I will discuss the challenges of building green with in the cost range of standard construction. This will be a blog for ideas and thoughts to making green construction mainstream in this area.