| Goals of the Program
SBIC’s Small Commercial Buildings program was developed
to help architects, engineers, builders, and their clients
create energy-efficient and environmentally sensitive small
and medium-sized commercial, institutional, and residential
buildings. Our publications, resources, and training programs
promote the notion of building designers applying energy-efficient
strategies (EES) early in the design process by combining
passive solar design techniques, such as daylighting and
shading, and conventional energy-saving measures, such as
insulation and high-efficiency lights. The goal of the program
is to educate thousands of architects, engineers, building
designers, academics, and students in the United States
to apply these approaches as part of the normal design process.
Activities
With the inception of the Designing Low-Energy Buildings
with Energy-10 program, SBIC for the first time stepped
beyond a focus on passive solar design techniques for homes
and into the realm of addressing the unique challenges faced
in designing climate-responsive, small commercial (internal
load dominated) buildings. Since 1996 SBIC has been the
only distributor of the Energy-10 software, a powerful design
tool that analyzes—and illustrates—the energy
and cost savings that can be achieved through more than
a dozen sustainable design strategies. The software is designed
to help architects and building professionals generate data
on a building’s energy efficiency strategies quickly
and easily, with minimal upfront information. Hourly energy
simulations help the designer quantify, assess, and clearly
depict the benefits of daylighting, passive solar heating,
natural ventilation, well-insulated envelopes, better windows,
lighting systems, mechanical equipment, and more.
SBIC developed a companion Designing Low-Energy Buildings
with Energy-10 curriculum to give designers the opportunity
to participate in discussions about integrated design practices,
as well as receive hands-on Energy-10 instruction. The workshop
covers 16 energy efficiency strategies that Energy-10 users
need to understand in order to use the software effectively.
They are:
Daylighting Glazing Shading Energy-efficient lighting Lighting
controls Insulation Air leakage control Thermal mass Passive
solar heating
Natural ventilation
Economizer cycle
Exhaust air heat recovery
High-efficiency HVAC
HVAC
Evaporative cooling controls
Solar water heating
Each EES discussion during the workshop gives tips on its
proper use. However, it is important to appreciate that
these energy efficiency strategies lose much of their effectiveness
when applied in isolation. A sustainable building achieves
its superior performance through the integrated interaction
of the building envelope, HVAC, and lighting decisions.
For instance, in a daylit, passive solar building, low-e
glass with high daylight transmittance and a low shading
coefficient should be considered in conjunction with daylight
dimming controls that modulate electronic ballasts.
By applying EES to their projects and analyzing their impact
with Energy-10, participants are able to understand how
those buildings will perform early in the design process.
The Designing Low-Energy Buildings with Energy-10 curriculum
is intended to serve the following audiences:
Architects and engineers who design commercial, institutional,
and residential buildings
Contractors who build them
Suppliers who stock and sell energy efficiency components
Building owners and managers who pay for and operate them
Lenders who make financing available
Public officials who write energy codes governing them
Utilities who power them
SBIC uses a team of certified Designing Low-Energy Buildings
with Energy-10 instructors/trainers. Since 1997 SBIC has
successfully developed over a hundred workshops and seminars
based on the Designing Low-Energy Buildings with Energy-10
curriculum.
A sample Designing Low-Energy Buildings with Energy-10
two-day workshop agenda and trainers’ syllabus, along
with the Energy-10 hands-on workshop exercises are provided
here. Contact Doug Schroeder at DSchroeder@SBICouncil.org
to arrange for a workshop in your locality.
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