USGBC Member Spotlight-Adrian Charest

By Grey Lee

Adrian Charest is head of our Membership Committee.  I took a few moments to sit and talk with him regarding life, work and sustainability. Here is what he had to say.

 

 

 

 

What is your current job? How does it differ from past jobs in regards to Sustainability?
I am a Construction Engineer at RSMeans. I research the construction process, provide consulting services and instruct seminars on estimating. With this job, I have the opportunity to be involved with new building technologies and construction techniques in the industry.

When did you first become interested in Sustainability?
I caught the bug in college and have had some involvement with environmental responsibility ever since.

Why are you a member of the MASS chapter and how did you get there?
Becoming a member was the next logical step after receiving (LEED) accreditation with the intent of growing my professional network, taking advantage of the many educational opportunities and having fun!

How are you an Environmental Steward?
On a personal level, I make my environmental contributions through a lot of little things that we all do: recycling, reusing and keeping a level of environmental awareness related to my actions. Professionally, I have had the opportunity to promote green buildings by researching and analyzing green construction trends through the development of the RSMeans Green Square Foot models and supporting the upcoming Earth Day event.

How do you help raise Environmental Awareness?
By encouraging membership in the USGBC Massachusetts Chapter!

If I needed to find you on a Saturday afternoon, where would it be?
I would be taking part in one of three activities: walking the local Conservation Lands with my wife and daughter, throwing tennis balls with my dog at the park or browsing beer recipes at the local brew shop. Cheers!

 

 

 

 

Deep Energy Retrofits with Brian Butler and the Residential Green Building Committee

By Rose Brakesman

By Rose Brakesman
 
What better time to talk about Mass Save Deep Energy Retrofit than on a cold February evening with the Residential Green Building Committee. Brian Butler walked us through how Boston Green Building does a Deep Energy Retrofit (DER).
Some DER “rules of thumb”:
1.5 air changes per hour (ACH)
R5 windows
R10 basement slab
R20 foundation walls
R40 walls above foundation
R60 in the roof/attic
DER is documented and looks for a reduction in energy use between 50-90%, so the process starts with determining a baseline on energy use and a blower door test to document the number of air changes per hour (ACH) in an existing older house. Many of these houses are what Brian calls “gushers”, which are houses that leak air and energy at an alarming rate. One house that Boston Green Building is tackling for DER just went through a blower test and had 9 ACH. (DER is 1.5 ACH).  9 ACH is equivalent to leaving a two foot by two foot hole in the exterior wall year round! 
Jokes abounded… “Did you leave the bathroom window open during the test?” Nope, double checked. Many older houses are just that leaky from gaps around the windows and doors, leaks where the basement meets the frame, and so on. This is the kind of house that can most benefit from a Deep Energy Retrofit and there are many like this. 
Additionally, most of the current housing stock in Boston will still be here in 2050, so building better new homes won’t help nearly enough. Happily enough for Brian and his cohorts, it doesn’t look like they’ll run out of work anytime soon! Even nicer is the DER “guidebook”- the Mass Save Deep Energy Retrofit Builder Guide; this is more helpful than a long process of repeated submittal, revision, and re-submittal so that the guidebook streamlines the process. Hopefully more builders will jump on board and provide some DER competition!
 
After addressing the building envelope, there are typically additional complications and hazards that go along with “tightening things up.” One such issue is indoor air quality. In the original leaky building there’s a “stack effect” where supposedly “fresh” air starts in the basement (along with mold and mildew), then it moves upward through the house via temperature stratification. Once the building envelope is at 1.5 ACH or less, then there is no stack effect. Facilitated ventilation is required and that is a very good thing. Now stale air can be taken from one area of the house that will be moved through heat recovery ventilation (HRV). A high efficiency HRV unit is the best way to go and can have an efficiency of 90%, which means stale air at 72o is exhausted and fresh air is drawn in at around 65o.

In the end, Brian and Boston Green Building are “dragging poorly performing homes kicking and screaming into the 21st century and hopefully addressing all the issues to keep from killing the occupants.” Originally, only one utility company participated in Mass Save DER, but now there are six participating utilities. Conspicuously absent from the list is NStar….but there is some carbonated bottle shaking going on to hopefully bring them back on board.
 

See you at the next Residential Green Building Committee meeting on Monday, March 10th at 5:45pm at 281 Summer St, Boston!

LEED Exams Change-over to LEED v4:

By Grey Lee

This just in from USGBC National:
 
The LEED Green Associate and LEED AP exams will evolve for the LEED v4 rating system in June. The last day to take the credential exams with LEED v2009 content will be June 15, 2014. The first day to take the exams with the new LEED v4 content will be June 30, 2014. No tests will be administered in between these dates.
 
For the first time, LEED project experience competency will be assessed within the LEED AP exam. Practitioner experience is critical to the LEED AP designation; as such, proficiency will be tested objectively within the LEED AP exam itself. The requirement to submit proof of LEED project experience at the time of application is no longer required as of June 30. However, GBCI strongly urges candidates to gain meaningful project experience prior to taking the test, as it is critical to successful exam performance.

Innovations in Sustainabiltiy & Resiliency

By Grey Lee

We had a great program in our EcoDistricts series. Thank you to event sponsors EnerNOC, the City of Boston, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and to District Hall for hosting us!

From the Boston Redevelopment Authority:

On Tuesday, 2/4/14, the BRA and the Massachusetts Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) hosted an Innovations in Sustainability and Resiliency panel discussion. Panelists representing the finance and tech industries, as well as government, came together to discuss the development of EcoDistricts and the role of resiliency in Boston's Innovation District and beyond. The EcoDistricts framework emphasizes sharing energy solutions amongst area stakeholders. Over 100 attendees participated from a broad cross section of the sustainability community that included architects, engineers, developers, financial consultants, and federal/state/local government officials.
 

 

The first keynote speaker was Kairos Shen, Chief Planner at the BRA, who emphasized that the biggest challenge facing the creation of Eco Districts is partnerships. Shen stressed that the technological solutions already exist, but it's the partnerships that will allow them to be effective.
 
The second keynote speaker was John Aubrecht, President of the Longwood Medical Energy Collaborative, who represents Boston's greatest concentration of medical institutions that includes over 2,000 hospital beds. The concentration of critical energy users in the Longwood Medical Area (LMA) rely on the Medical Area Total Energy Plant (MATEP) for heating, cooling and electrical services. Aubrecht's presentation focused on building partnerships between LMA institutions, financial institutions, and energy markets. He also discussed the challenge of finding organizational strategies for the multiple stakeholders in an Eco District.
 

The panel on Eco Districts was moderated by Galen Nelson, Director of Market Development at the Mass Clean Energy Center. Nelson discussed his time in Hamburg, Germany where an old grain silo was used to create an energy bunker that now produces enough heat for 3,000 households and electricity for 1,000 homes. Other panelists included Karthik Rao from EnernNOC, who discussed how each individual building can contribute to local energy markets; Vice President of Natural Systems Utilities Bruce Douglas, who discussed the use of waste heat in sewer systems and capturing underutilized sources of energy throughout the city; Director of SustainServ Matthew Gardner,  who discussed emerging technology used to measure the energy of a city and showed how it was applied in the Innovation District; Director of Boston Global Investors Charlie Reed, who discussed his company's planning strategy for district energy in the Innovation District.
 

 
More panels discussing EcoDistricts beyond energy technology are forthcoming, including EcoDistricts in the context of water and organizational models. Stay tuned via the BRA EcoDistricts page.
 

Photos by Grey Lee
 

Annual Meeting: Survey Results

By Grey Lee

One of the fun things we announced at the Annual Meeting were the results of our Action Plan Survey. Thank you to all 148 of you who were able to complete the survey this year! We feel this is a good sample of our most active participants. Adrian Charest, Chair of our Membership Committee, was thrilled to hear the results (below).
 

Neil Angus, our Vice Chair, summarized the findings as follows. Thanks Neil!

2014 Chapter Survey – 2014 Action Plan

Feedback and Input from you our members on existing programs, offerings and advocacy – what is working and what is not or needs improvement.

What direction should we be going in the future – what you, our members, would like to see – educational programming, advocacy, communications, networking.

Great response rate – over 140 responses (thank you!!)

We're still analyzing details, but here’s a few highlights of preliminary findings:

Main Reason for Joining: Networking, support the Chapter mission and learn more about green buildings and communities.

Great feedback on events we currently put on and level of interest for new events we are considering – even some great recommendations on how we might improve our current offerings

Huge interest in: Net Zero and Positive energy building.

Lots of interest in higher level training in NC and interest in EB and ND

Wanted: new programming on energy management, green products and LEED vs other sustainability rating systems

Great feedback on the timing, duration and delivery methods of our programming. People wanted to see programs on climate change, building resiliency & affordable green buildings for everyone!

Excellent feedback on our existing communications tools (the website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) and suggestions for improvements to those tools.

Many respondents are LEED APs or GAs and are interested in GBCI continuing education credits – we are working on improving our programming offerings to include more GBCI approved programs so stay tuned!

Thanks again for all your feedback – it truly will help us provide more value to you and further our mission of green buildings and communities for all!

The 2014 Massachusetts Green Building Awards

By Grey Lee

We want you! Actually…we want your buildings and your green building innovations!
 
We have streamlined the process as well as the categories of our event; also we hope to see dozens of entries in both the Green Building of the Year award and the Green Innovation Award. The contest will culminate with our Earth Day Gala on April 17th, 2014. We look forward to seeing you there!
 
Since 2008, USGBC Massachusetts has recognized the most innovative green buildings, products, processes and technologies in the Massachusetts real estate community. Past winners have demonstrated ingenuity, replicability, and scored well on the triple bottom line – an important concept in sustainability that considers the building’s overall impact on economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity.
 
This year’s entry deadline is March 15, 2014 and winners will be announced in April 2014.
 
2014 Entry Categories:
 
Why Should I Enter?
  • Local Recognition: submissions will be put on display at the Earth Day Gala as well as at various USGBC MA events. Award entrants will be highlighted on the USGBC MA website and in the media surrounding the Earth Day Gala.
  • Regional Recognition: one existing building will advance to a regional EBie competition held in NYC in June 2014
  • Feedback: the submissions will be judged by a panel of 3-5 judges and a summary of responses will be available to entrants upon request.
  • Inspiration: the awards are designed to highlight Massachusetts’ innovation in green design and operations. They recognize buildings that best live up to their green design potential and help raise the bar for future buildings.
 
What are the Entry Criteria?
Click here for the 2014 Massachusetts Green Building of the Year Award.
Click here for the 2014 Massachusetts Green Innovation Award.
 
If you have any questions after reading the criteria, please contact the Awards Committee.

Living Buildings are On Their Way

By Grey Lee, Executive Director

The Living Building Challenge (LBC) raises the bar on the level of sustainability pursued in green building projects.

 

The Chapter hosted a presentation on the LBC by Shawn Hesse of emersionDESIGN. Shawn is a Living Building Challenge Ambassador and member of the Cambridge Net Zero Taskforce. He is also a loyal member of the USGBC MA Chapter.  Thank you to Shawn for presenting and to Laur Fisher for organizing the event that was held at the MIT Center for Collaborative Intelligence in Kendall Sq. Cambridge!

 
About 25 people came out to hear the in-depth introduction to the challenge. A considerable amount of contingent came from Harvard University.  Could there be something in the works? Maybe, as an organization, we can support a friendly little contest between a few of the campuses around here! There is already a Living Building coming together at Williams College in Berkshire County. Others came from architecture practices, the City of Boston, the State of MA, and other institutions. Thank you to all who could make it, even with the “snow emergency” bells ringing!
 

The Living Building Challenge is a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification program that addresses development at all scales. A one hour introduction by Shawn reviewed the seven performance areas, the certification process, and reviewed project examples. What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place? It is really an inspirational system.

 
The USGBC MA Chapter looks forward to working with the LBC community to facilitate greater adoption of the principles of the Living Building Challenge into our industry. Let us know if you are interested in learning more and/or advocating for more Living Buildings!

 

Cape Cod Materials Dinner: Cost Effective Selections For Everyday Construction Projects

By Grey Lee, Executive Director

The USGBC MA Cape & Islands Interest Group (USGBC MA Cape) co-hosted an event last night in Hyannis with the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod (HBRACC) where a panel of founders from USGBC MA Cape presented “Cost Effective Green Materials for the Everyday Construction Projects”. 
 
The event drew the largest crowd HBRACC had seen in years with over 110 attendees. The crowd networked for the first half-hour and then sat down for the full dinner and presentation.
 
 

 

 
 
After a preliminary introduction to USGBC MA Cape and its goals from Adam Prince, the expert panel of material suppliers discussed what defines green materials, how they are beneficial, and easy opportunities for integrating green materials into typical construction projects.
 
Presenters included:
 
Craig Fischer, Shepley Wood Products Architectural Window Specialist.  Fischer provides Andersen window expertise to builders and architects from design to project completion on Cape Cod.  Shepley Wood Products has been providing quality lumber, building materials and services to building professionals since 1978.  Shepley is a certified FSC material supplier for Southeastern Massachusetts.
 
Nicole Goldman, founder of 'g' Green Design Center, has been an entrepreneur in the design industry for thirty years.  She is now serving a growing community throughout the Cape Islands and Southern coast of Massachusetts providing interior design, green materials and a vast array of healthy products for residential/commercial renovation and construction.
 
Richard McLaughlin, owner of Fresh Interiors in South Yarmouth, has been working to provide design-oriented interior finish options for kitchens, baths, flooring and finishes that promote a healthy living environment for residential and commercial projects.  He has been working from Boston to Provincetown for the last 5 years.
 
 
 
USGBC MA Cape is working now to plan future events, content, and tours that typically happen every two months. Be sure to visit our website for notifications or contact communications@usgbcma.org to request to be on the Cape & Islands mailing list. You can read more about the group at their webpage.

MPG Ratings for Homes? They're coming!

By Michael Sigmon, Communications Coordinator for the Residential Green Building Committee

This entry written by Michael Sigmon, Communications Coordinator for the Residential Green Building Committee
Alissa Whiteman and Ben Pignatelli from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (Mass. DOER) made a presentation to the Residential Green Building Committee on their pilot program on the Home MPG (Home score card). It was a well-attended meeting with over 20 people arriving to connect on the topic. As soon as the first slide was up, the rowdy bunch was firing off questions and making their own analyses of the project. Alissa and Ben were great, very able to handle the “shark tank” of residential energy efficiency sharpshooters in the room. All in all, it was a great discussion and everyone learned something new. Hopefully the group was able to provide some useful feedback as the DOER looks at expanding the program to other areas of the state.
 
 
The pilot took place in the Springfield, Massachusetts area and surrounding towns. The data collection took place in conjunction with the free MASSAVE energy audit that all rate payers of public utilities can ask for. The pilot was funded by the U.S. DOE and is taking place in 9 geographic locations across the US. Read about the pilots across the country here.
 
 
 
The idea behind the pilot was to create a straightforward way for the average consumer to identify the important components of a home based concept on apples-to-apples comparison. Using a prescriptive method, the DOER identified HVAC systems, domestic hot water systems and envelope insulation values for formulating their scoring system. Their thought was that by using this metric, they could make a fair comparison across dwelling unit types. This also leads to consumer education that is crucial for good decision-making in selecting energy efficiency measures for a home.
 
 
After getting their audit and initial score card, the plan is to render a second score after weatherization and equipment upgrades have been completed. A part of the score card is a projection of a home’s carbon rating, which can inform the occupant even further about the impact of their house's energy performance.
 
 
 
Organizations that cooperated with the pilot are the Center for Eco Technology and the Pioneer Valley Planning Council.
 
The program results are for the Springfield area:
2116 Score cards
799 Retrofits
 
 
Thanks again Alissa and Ben!
 
 
 
The Residential Green Building Committee holds a meeting every month, usually on the second Monday, at the USGBC MA offices in Boston. Each meeting has a presentation on a relevant and timely subject from experts in the field.  Various aspects of committee business are then attended to ideas such as our advocacy work, communications, creating resources for the community at large, and other work that supports the Chapter's mission. Feel free to come check us out – our next meeting is Feb. 10th.

 

 

Welcome New Sponsoring Partner AtSite!

By Grey Lee

 

 
 
Thank you AtSite for becoming a Silver Chapter Sponsoring Partner!  We are thrilled to work with our new partner to help make more buildings go green. Coming to us from their base of operations in Washington DC, AtSite is committed to delivering building management expertise to enable facilities to embrace efficiency and sustainability.
 
 

AtSite guides building owners, occupiers and operators with the design, construction, operation and optimization of buildings and spaces. The company utilizes smart building technologies, energy management tactics, sustainable best practices and integrated buildings strategies; these ideas are aimed to deliver high quality, low cost and environmentally responsible buildings. By combining its talented building experts, open technology platforms and best-in-class global industry partners, AtSite delivers measurable results to building owners across many sectors such as healthcare, commercial, education, and a number of other uses.

 
 
AtSite has some great content on their website regarding building performance management and you can read about more of their work through their blog – take a look here
 
Thank you Davor Kapelina and Lisa West for reaching out!  We are eager to help you all build your presence in New England. There is a lot of opportunity for USGBC MA to support solution provision in the building management space. I believe Steve Black of AtSite will be at the Existing Buildings meeting on Friday – so we'll get cracking!