How the bailout and stimulus bill can promote green building design

The $700 billion Wall Street bailout package and the $787 billion stimulus package both included important provisions for promoting and continuing the green building design movement through grants and tax incentives. This is encouraging news for those building owners and developers who want to incorporate green building design features into their projects but must sacrifice them due to financial and first cost restraints. The 2008 Wall Street bailout package extended the tax deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings for five years (until 2013). Additionally, the stimulus package has funding provisions for greening federal buildings, affordable housing, and commercial and institutional buildings, including health-care facilities. The House Bill provides $5 billion for upgrading federal buildings and making them energy efficient. It provides energy sustainability and efficiency grants and loans to help school districts, colleges, local governments, and some hospitals become more energy-efficient. Building owners and developers can take advantage of these incentives through a number of green engineering designs that can be classified as renewable energy and produce significant energy cost savings in their buildings. The selection of the most appropriate system requires an analysis of the building's heating, cooling and electricity loads and consumption as well as the utility rate structures for that particular region. A brief description of some of the more applicable engineered systems as published by the Department of Energy is listed for consideration. Combined Heat and Power Systems Conventional electricity generation is inherently inefficient, using only about a third of the fuel's potential energy. In building applications where heating or cooling is needed as well, the total efficiency of separate thermal and power systems is still only about 45%, despite the higher efficiencies of thermal conversion equipment. Combined heating and power (CHP) systems are significantly more efficient. CHP technologies produce both electricity and thermal energy from a single energy source. These systems recover heat that normally would be wasted in an electricity generator, then use it to produce one or more of the following: steam, hot water, space heating, humidity control, or cooling. By using a CHP system, the fuel that would otherwise be used to produce heat or steam in a separate unit is saved. Distributed Energy Systems A growing trend in the power industry is towards distributed generation. Distributed generation involves placing small, modular electricity generators close to the buildings where the power is used, which helps utilities defer or eliminate costly investments in transmission and distribution system upgrades, and provide customers with better quality, more reliable energy supplies and a cleaner environment. Technologies used for distributed electricity generation include wind, solar, bioenergy, fuel cells, gas micro-turbines, hydrogen, combined heat and power, and hybrid power systems. The use of distributed energy technologies can lead to improved efficiency and lower energy costs, particularly in combined cooling, heating and power (CHP) applications. CHP systems provide electricity along with hot water, heat for industrial processes, space heating and cooling, refrigeration, and humidity control to improve indoor air quality and comfort. Fuel Cells A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device that converts hydrogen and oxygen into electricity and heat. The source of this fuel is generally natural gas. It is very much like a battery that can be recharged while power is being drawn from it. Instead of recharging using electricity, however, a fuel cell uses hydrogen and oxygen. Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells are developed for smaller-scale stationary power as well as transportation. The PEM fuel cell has the appropriate size and operating characteristics for building use. Offices, health care, lodging, and educational buildings have the load characteristics and economies of scale that make PEM fuel cells attractive. The use of the waste heat for absorption cooling or heating water increases the overall efficiencies and paybacks of the fuel cell. Green Power The term "green power" generally refers to electricity supplied in whole or in part from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, geothermal, hydropower, and various forms of biomass. Increasingly, electricity customers are being given electricity supply options, either as retail power markets open to competition or when their regulated utilities develop green pricing programs. More than 50% of retail customers in the United States now have an option of purchasing a green power product directly from their electricity supplier. In addition, consumers can support renewable energy development through the purchase of green energy certificates. Making the choice to purchase a green power product supports increased development of renewable energy sources, which can reduce the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Greater reliance on renewable sources also provides economic benefits and can improve our national energy security. By using this option, commercial building owners or occupants can benefit from green electricity without having to invest in and maintain the technology themselves. Photovoltaic Systems Photovoltaic (PV) technology is the direct conversion of sunlight to electricity using semiconductor devices called solar cells. Photovoltaics are almost maintenance-free and seem to have a long life span. The photoelectric conversion process produces no pollution and can make use of free solar energy. Overall, the longevity, simplicity, and minimal resources used to produce electricity via PV systems make this a highly sustainable technology. PV is currently cost-effective in small, off-grid applications such as microwave repeaters, remote water pumping, and remote buildings. While the cost is high for typical applications in buildings connected to the electric power grid, the integration of PV into commercial buildings is projected to greatly increase over time. In fact, worldwide PV manufacturing is growing at a healthy annual rate of more than 20 percent, and the focus of research is to reduce the cost of PV systems, and to integrate PV into building design. Wind Energy The terms "wind energy" or "wind power" describe the process by which the wind is used to generate mechanical power or electricity. Wind turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. This mechanical power can be used for specific tasks (such as grinding grain or pumping water) or a generator can convert this mechanical power into electricity to power homes, businesses, schools, and other buildings. Modern wind technology takes advantage of advances in materials, engineering, electronics, and aerodynamics. Wind turbines are often grouped together into a single wind power plant, also known as a wind farm, and generate bulk electrical power. Electricity from these turbines is fed into the local utility grid and distributed to customers just as it is with conventional power plants. A single turbine may provide enough power for a home, school, or business. Smaller scale wind turbines for applications in commercial properties are now being manufactured. They can produce up to 1.5 KW and produce about 2,000 kWh. The can be integrated with the building architecture and are engineered to operate quietly. All of the measures listed above will count towards achieving LEED points and certification. In particular, they will help the building meet the energy prerequisite which now requires LEED certified buildings to achieve 14% less energy costs than predicted by ASHRAE 90.1. Matthew Donolli, P.E., Esq., is a partner for Edwards & Zuck Consulting Engineers, New York, N.Y.