The Partnership for Achieving Construction Excellence (PACE) roundtable event held last fall was an opportunity to mingle with professionals in the industry and discuss critical issues of today’s business. One of the topics discussed was the current energy and economic impacts on construction. There has been increasing interest in incorporating principles of sustainable design and energy efficiency into building projects. These practices would lead to lower-than-industry-standard operational costs, occupancy productivity gain, and are environmentally beneficial. The following analyses are intended to not only offer energy saving opportunities reducing operation costs but also to provide a high quality working environment for students and faculty.

The first study focused on energy conservation through retrofitting. William and Mary’s Rogers Hall will be undergoing a major renovation to upgrade its research facilities. This is a perfect opportunity to apply retrofitting techniques that would result in reduced energy consumption. In this analysis, the existing lamps were compared to the installation of more energy efficient ones. This included the initial costs of purchasing and installing the new lighting system as well as the yearly energy costs of both options. Based on this information, the annual savings of the new system were presented and the time for the system to pay for itself was determined.

The second study analyzed the current lighting layout and looked into possibilities of implementing daylighting techniques to reduce electrical costs. Natural light can result in energy and cost savings only if the lights are shut off or dimmed when sufficient illuminance levels are met.  Installing control devices to regulate the operation of lighting fixtures would result in lower energy consumptions and costs as well as reduced maintenance (shorter burn hours).

The final analysis investigated the feasibility of reducing cooling loads through the use of window overhangs on the south façade of Rogers Hall. During the daytime, solar radiation through the large windows causes significant heat gains in the smaller office spaces and results in increased cooling loads. By installing a window shading devices, solar heat gains would decrease resulting in lower cooling loads and increased energy cost savings.

Full Report (PDF) - Posted April 7, 2009

Report without Appendices (PDF) - Posted April 7, 2009