CHAPTER 4
Green Buiding Technology and Finance
We all live in them, work in them, get educated in them, play in them, and get healthy in them...our Buildings.
But buildings are among the greatest consumers of energy, resources and contribute large amounts of greenhouse gases that affect the climate change crisis facing our world. But enter The Green Building Era... With giant and small steps to erase some of the current deficits that affect the planet, utilities, comfort, safety, health, efficiency, and economics. THE GREEN, SUSTAINABLE REVOLUTION IS UPON US. California is a leader in this and is helping shape the present, repair the past mistakes or ignorance, and helping the Green Economy benefit all.
Architects, designers, engineers, constructors, builders, owners, funders, products, materials, HVAC, energy producers, water -- all utilities -are turning the INDUSTRY UPSIDE DOWN. This chapter conveys a wide swath of what new options, and technologies we have, including retrofits and decarbonizing existing structures and creating the very Smart Buildings of tomorrow. Please refer also to Chapter One for both non-profit and for-profit funding resources, in addition to those disclosed here
INTRODUCTION
SUMMARY OF CASE STUDY
For Chapter 4, Energy Information Systems (EIS)
The focus of this study is energy information systems (EIS), broadly defined as performance monitoring software, data acquisition hardware, and communication systems used to store, analyze, and display building energy data. At a minimum, an EIS provides hourly whole-building electric data that are web-accessible, with analytical and graphical capabilities [Motegi 2003a]. Time series data from meters, sensors, and external data streams are used to perform analyses such as baselining, benchmarking, building level anomaly detection, and energy performance tracking.
Energy information systems are viewed as a promising technology for a number of reasons. There is widespread recognition that there is often a large gap between building energy performance as designed and measured post-occupancy energy consumption, and a growing body of evidence indicates the value of permanent metering and monitoring [Brown et al. 2006; Mills et al. 2005; Mills 2009; Piette et al. 2001b]. Energy information systems are also well aligned with current trends toward benchmarking and performance reporting requirements, as in recent federal and state mandates.
Dozens of EIS are commercially available, yet public domain information is often vague, and demonstration software may not be available. In addition, a lack of common terminology across vendors, and a significant degree of salesmanship, makes it difficult to discern exactly what functionality the tools offer, what the hardware requirements are, or what makes one product more effective than another. This study was designed to extend and update an earlier report [Motegi and Piette2003], and it is guided by three high-level objectives:
1. To define a characterization framework of EIS features that provides a common terminology and can be used to understand what EIS are and what they do.
2. To apply the framework to EIS products to achieve a better understanding of the state of the technology, its distinguishing capabilities, and its leading-edge functionality.
3. To conduct case studies, to begin to understand the interplay between common features, diagnostics, and energy-saving actions.
