Experts on Built Environment Design Training For Scoring Energy Efficiency

Members of NJIT’s Center for Building Knowledge (CBK) have produced training material for how to use the first standardized tool for evaluating and scoring the energy efficiency of buildings. Approximately 129 million households and more than 4.7 million commercial buildings account for close to 40% of total U.S. energy use, consuming more energy than the transportation or industry sectors, according to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. CBK is out to make a difference on that front, ultimately reversing the trend toward global warming through the direct application of research and education on building performance and the built environment. 

With the support of ongoing funding from the DOE, Christine Liaukus and Terra Meierdierck, Program Managers at CBK and Michelle Lin, a CBK Clean Energy Scholar, and Honors College student who is currently in her final year of the Bachelor of Architecture program at Hillier College, have recently completed the third update. As a Clean Energy Scholar, Lin’s primary role is to help CBK staff research, develop content for, and produce online education focused on improving the clean energy performance of buildings across the State of New Jersey. Results of their work are posted to the Clean Energy Learning Center, an online education portal created for key New Jersey stakeholders – building owners and managers, design professionals, energy and other professionals, contractors, code officials, homeowners and others – on the benefits of clean energy solutions in the built environment.

The software for the Building Energy Asset Score tool was developed by DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and CBK developed the initial and updated online training. Lin, who did most of the work for the 3rd update describes the training as a tool that enables basic building modeling, “Asset Score uses Energy Plus, a program that simulates envelope, energy and mechanical systems. We’ve made the courses modular with a way to track progress and knowledge retention, with an assessment at the end. We are also working to create awareness of the tool within the industry with this training as a way to enhance sustainability practices and to push for widespread adoption. Teaching the basics of building modeling, it is useful for building energy auditors, in that it will generate a standardized energy efficiency rating.” 

The use of a standardized tool that generates an energy efficiency rating for existing buildings is not yet widespread. Until now, determining energy efficiency has been somewhat of a black box. The training modules developed by CBK are designed to put this tool into the hands of the construction industry and non-professionals alike, making it available to anyone who wants to assess the energy performance of their buildings. 

The more widely the tool is used, the greater the direct potential of lowering of energy consumption and carbon emissions from the built environment.

“The tool was developed because there was no single standard by which to evaluate buildings and their energy efficiency - there are multiple factors that have to be taken into account such as the external environment; very cold or very hot climates will influence both the design of a building, its systems and its energy use,” Meierdierck added. “With regard to the building itself, the tool will evaluate the heating and cooling systems, and elements such as the building envelope, windows and lighting. It is useful because it measures potential upgrades to the envelope, mechanical and electrical systems and helps buildings meet and exceed energy efficiency codes.” 

Lin, who is also pursuing a minor in sustainability, said she thinks this tool has an important place in the teaching and practice of architecture. “The training is designed for professional energy auditors and to educate the construction industry -- architects, building engineers, contractors, builders and owners, but I think it is a useful tool for architecture students as well. In order to actually get buildings to use no energy, or get to net zero and eventually produce their own energy, as designers we need to first understand how energy moves within a building.”

“When I was taking Andrzej Zarzycki’s course, Design Strategies for Net Zero-Energy and Zero-Carbon Buildings, we studied buildings that pushed for sustainability, and I believe this tool is an additional benefit. By capturing the factors that impact a building’s carbon footprint with modeling tools we can understand the bigger picture.”

This tool and training is also relevant to the other courses in sustainability on offer at NJIT, including Building Energy Modeling with Professor Hyojin Kim, and Sustainability Policy and Practice with Professor Maurie Cohen. Sustainability practices need to take into account many things, from the quality of data that is being used to the kinds of social and cultural issues being addressed in research by Cohen on the need to downsize housing. 

Recognizing that property owners' top priority may be driven by their building budget and the economics of energy efficiency, DOE has made the tool free, with open access to the CBK training. Widespread adoption of the tool for the purpose of informed retrofitting also holds tremendous potential for extending the life cycle of existing buildings while reducing the impact of the built environment on the natural environment. 

By providing this training, CBK has drawn the line from research on building performance, to training and application, to improving conditions for human habitation in both the built and natural environments.