Title: Reading and Audio-Visual Assignments
Course: WGF 105 DEVELOPMENT > Section: Content

Sub-Title | System Saving Opportunities: HVAC and IEQ
Content
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are responsible for providing thermal comfort and fresh air to building occupants. This is no small energy task, and as a result, HVAC systems consume an average of 30% of a facility’s energy use. These systems are often some of the biggest sources of energy waste, but also provide some of the largest opportunities for both energy and financial savings.

Many improvements to HVAC energy efficiency are among the “low hanging fruit” and can be achieved at little or no cost. Larger projects can also pay for themselves quickly.

These improvements make striking a balance between comfort and efficiency easy, and help ensure:

- Worker productivity
- Occupant satisfaction
- Personal health
- Lower operating costs throughout the life cycle of the facility
- Reduced risk exposure to fluctuating energy prices

Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, and as a result their comfort, health, and work performance rely heavily on indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The indoor environment of an office facility is affected by a combination of conditions:

- Thermal Conditions (temperature and humidity)
- Lighting (amount, type, and color)
- Acoustics (noises and volume)
- Ventilation (air content and quality)

Maintaining each of these conditions within prescribed and standardized ranges will contribute to improved overall IEQ and occupant satisfaction. The personal ability to control these conditions also can lead to higher occupant satisfaction. Since IEQ is embedded in all aspects of building design & operations, any changes to building design or operational practices can have significant impacts on interior conditions. Thoughtful integration of an IEQ strategy can lead to healthier occupants and positively impact vision, mood, and comfort factors, thereby increasing performance, satisfaction and reducing absenteeism and healthcare costs.
Video | High Performance Buildings: Perspective and Practice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiKhXrDds8U
Content
Lighting accounts for nearly 20% of the total electricity consumption of commercial buildings in the United States. Effective lighting systems involve the integration of lighting technologies with the building as a whole – across the lifecycle of a building. Green technologies and design strategies are more conducive to energy and financial savings, and improved human health, productivity, and satisfaction.

Lighting choices in offices affect:

- Comfort and mood of workers and visitors
- Ambiance and visual appeal of the space
- Up-front costs of lighting equipment
- Utility and maintenance costs
- Associated greenhouse gas emissions
- Space usability and worker productivity
- Safety and security

People living in the United States, in 2011, generated 250 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW), or 4.4 pounds per person per day. While people recycle more, they also generate 39% more MSW today than they did in 1960. These MSW figures include common trash or garbage, excluding construction and demolition waste and hazardous waste.

In federal buildings, solid waste management is a system whereby there are inputs of materials through purchases, consumption of materials, and outputs of waste as by-products (example, cardboard packaging) and end products (example, discarded lamps). The Waste Management Hierarchy1 illustrates a basic framework for managing materials to reduce waste, from most sustainably preferable at the top to least sustainably preferable at the bottom.
Link/Upload
Explore Sustainable Building Systems – Sustainable Facilities Tool

http://sftool.gov/Explore#building-systems

http://sftool.gov/Explore#building-systems=hvac

http://sftool.gov/Explore#building-systems=ieq

Attributions | Image and content courtesy of Sustainable Facilities Tool – U.S. General Services Administration