Five Ways to Talk About Building Performance

5 WAYS TO DISCUSS BUILDING PERFORMANCE AT YOUR NEXT PROJECT PURSUIT

PASSIVE STRATEGIES

SITE12This includes not only the macro-climate, but also the micro-climate. Where your project is one of the biggest factors impacting the performance of your building. The key items to look for are dry bulb temperature, relative humidity and solar angles.

(Pro Note: You can get these with 2 simple clicks within cove.tool). Collectively these can help determine how the orientation of your building. In case, the site does not allow flexibility of orientation, these parameters help determine where to put high glazing percentage vs low glazing percentages on the building.

The most cost optimal way to create a high performance building is to exploit all passive strategies with appropriate massing, orientation, glazing percentages, natural ventilation, thermal mass etc, and then take the next step and use active strategies.

(Pro Tip : cove.tool automatically runs 6 most commonly used passive strategies to determine their impact on thermal comfort)

11/12/2018 Parametric Study

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PSYCHROMETRIC CHARTCLIMATE ANALYSIS

COMFORT - NO PASSIVE STRATEGIES

EVAPORATIVE COOLING

THERMAL MASS + NIGHT VENTILATION

OCCUPANT USE OF FANS

INTERNAL HEAT GAIN

DESSICANT DEHUMIDIFICATION

DEHUMIDIFICATION

7.45 %

Impact of Passive Strategies

% of additional comfort - higher is better

7.48 %

5.11 %

4.37 %

25.70 %

0.75 %

0.29 %

This chart shows the relationship between dry bulb, humidity ratio, and enthalpy.

The polygons overlaid on the chart represent di�erent strategies to increase

comfort. Based on ASHRAE 55-2013 under standard conditions.

11/12/2018 Parametric Study

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RELATIVE TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITYCLIMATE ANALYSIS

This graph shows the outdoor comfort in Denver using

the yearly range of temperatures and humidities.

11/12/2018 Parametric Study

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RELATIVE TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITYCLIMATE ANALYSIS

This graph shows the outdoor comfort in Denver using

the yearly range of temperatures and humidities.

PERFORMANCE ADDS AN INTRINSIC VALUE TO YOUR DESIGN. IT IS A VISION THAT HAS TO BE SOLD TO THE ENTIRE TEAM RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROJECT TO ENSURE IT DOES NOT GET LEFT BEHIND DURING THE DESIGN PROCESS.

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CARBON EMISSIONS

CERTIFICATIONS

3MONEYEvery project has a budget associated with it, making each aspect of the project subject to potential Value Engineering (VE). While, in the perfect world, VE may not exist, in our current world it definitely does. Doing a cost vs energy optimization to determine the lowest Return on Investment (ROI) gets owners more excited about the building performance strategies. To make the performance a realistic part of the project, always mention it’s impact on Money - First cost and Life Cycle Cost.

(Pro Tip : cove.tool runs a parametric cost vs energy optimization for first cost and life cycle cost.)

Although climate change is a reality that many have been experiencing and scientists have been documenting for years, it has only become more of an everyday term after visionaries like Elon Musk and Michael Bloomberg have spoken and written about it. Regardless, buildings contribute to over 30% of the total carbon emissions in United States and with our new facilities, we can make an impact.

Buildings contribute to over 30% of the total carbon emissions in United States and with our new facilities, we can make an impact. We live in a time where building performance certifications help raise the $/sf in rent and a better attract talent, student or tenant to a specific facility. With certification systems like LEED (USGBC), ASHRAE 189.1, Green Globes and more, are a great way to add that value to the project.

(Pro Tip : cove.tool does a preliminary calculation of your LEED EAc2 points.)

Cove.tool is the automated building consultant that parametrically optimizes design options for energy and cost performance in the early stages of the design process. Cove.tool is the foremost energy modeling soft-ware that integrates design and performance. Our validated results, unique features, and robust web app interface will give every project team the edge to make the best decisions sooner and more often. Together we will lead the industry to save energy, time, money, and our environment.

Five Ways to Talk About Building Performance at Your Next Project Pursuit

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11/12/2018 Parametric Study

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WHERE DO WE NEED TO BE?BENCHMARKS

Energy

72 kWh/m² National Average

22 kWh/m² 2030 Target

55 % Daylight

34 % Glare

EUI is expressed as energy per square meter per

year. It is calculated by dividing the total energy

consumed by the building in one year (measured in

kWh) by the total �oor area of the building. The most

common unit for EUI is kWh/m²/year.

Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA) describes the

percentage of �oor area that receives at least 300 lux

for at least 50% of the annual occupied hours.

Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) is the percentage of

people disturbed due to the level of vertical eye

illuminance.

Measured Energy Use of O�ces

% o

f O�

ces

11/12/2018 Parametric Study

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WHERE DO WE NEED TO BE?BENCHMARKS

Energy

72 kWh/m² National Average

22 kWh/m² 2030 Target

55 % Daylight

34 % Glare

EUI is expressed as energy per square meter per

year. It is calculated by dividing the total energy

consumed by the building in one year (measured in

kWh) by the total �oor area of the building. The most

common unit for EUI is kWh/m²/year.

Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA) describes the

percentage of �oor area that receives at least 300 lux

for at least 50% of the annual occupied hours.

Daylight Glare Probability (DGP) is the percentage of

people disturbed due to the level of vertical eye

illuminance.

Measured Energy Use of O�ces

% o

f O�

ces

11/12/2018 Parametric Study

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ANALYSIS SUMMARY

Building Type

O�ce

Location

200 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80203, USA

Energy

456 kWh/m²

The current model is done using ASHRAE 2013 energy

code assumptions. The current design is worse than the

national average and can be signi�cantly improved by

higher performance of envelope, HVAC and more. The

building load is driven by Heating and Hot Water.

11/12/2018 Parametric Study

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ANALYSIS SUMMARY

Building Type

O�ce

Location

200 E Colfax Ave, Denver, CO 80203, USA

Energy

456 kWh/m²

The current model is done using ASHRAE 2013 energy

code assumptions. The current design is worse than the

national average and can be signi�cantly improved by

higher performance of envelope, HVAC and more. The

building load is driven by Heating and Hot Water.

You’re EUI

National Average

10/25/2018 Parametric Study

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2030 CHALLENGEENERGY ANALYSIS

Cooling Heating Lighting Equipment Fans Pumps Hot Water

3.70 4.72 7.20 9.75 4.46 1.40 1.31

EUI LEED BENCHMARKING

32.53 kBtu/ft²

ENERGY COST

Electricity $30,593.49

Natural Gas $2,101.31

3 POINTS EAc2

YOUR EUI 32.53

77

0

2030 BASELINE 69.94

2030 TARGET 20.98

EUI BREAKDOWN