Applying the Environmental Performance Criteria Version 2.0 to a New Laboratory Building

Rick Phillips and Renée Azerbegi, RMH Group, Inc.
Thomas Wuertz and Philip Macey, RNL Design

Objectives:

The design process for this sustainable laboratory is a learning experience in applying the Environmental Performance Criteria (EPC) as a LEED™ for labs, one we wish to share. We hope the timeliness of this conference will help to ensure that the Application Guide for LEED™ for Labs, which is being adapted from the EPC and is expected to be released at the end of 2003, will incorporate the lessons learned from our and others' experiences. In this way, this first Application Guide for LEED™ for Labs will be more readily of use to the general public since it will already be revised based on its strengths and shortcomings as proven in the field.

We plan to share with the audience specific lab-related EPC criteria, the obstacles we faced applying the EPC to this lab project in Colorado Springs, and our recommendations for improving the EPC.

Findings:

We will present the lessons learned from our design experience. We will focus not only on which EPC criteria we decided to apply to this laboratory, but also on our reasoning for not using specific EPC criteria (not LEED™ Version 2.1 related). Some of the EPC criteria are relatively easy to implement, while others are not readily applied, seem unrealistic to use, or have methodologies for calculation that are unclear.

Based on our experience, we will provide recommendations to Labs21 for how to improve the EPC for the general public once it is accepted as the LEED™ for Labs Application guide.

We will also describe our design, focusing in particular on mechanical and electrical systems. We will describe our design which is anticipated to reduce building energy usage, not including plug loads, by more than 45% and water consumption by more than 30%.

In summary, we will provide guidance on how to design sustainable labs to the general design audience.

Labs21 Connection:

Design for this 45,000 sf laboratory in Colorado Springs applies the Labs21 Approach to the whole building design in an attempt to achieve a sustainable, high-performance, and low-energy laboratory. By using the EPC, this laboratory design will minimize energy usage (reducing it by more than 45% without plug loads), protect occupant safety by tracking chemical and hazardous materials and disposing of them properly, include extensive commissioning to ensure proper system performance (including fume hood commissioning), integrate a high amount of daylight with views for all occupants, employ a range of water efficiency strategies, use renewable energy, specify green construction materials, and reflect both a sustainable laboratory building and a sustainable office building. Some of the energy-efficiency measures include low-flow fume hoods, heat recovery on the exhaust, direct evaporative cooling on the air-handling-units, an air-cooled chiller with an evaporatively cooled condenser, extensive daylighting, efficient lighting, high-efficiency staged boilers, and a renewable energy system. Water conservation strategies include non-potable water for irrigation, flow restrictors on faucets, and ultra-low flow urinals.

We anticipate this showcase facility will significantly reduce energy and related emissions and will provide a process for tracking energy, water, and chemicals so that the owner will be able to easily maintain a sustainable laboratory for the future.

Biographies:

Rick Phillips has over 15 years of engineering experience in institutional and consulting environments. His background includes more than five years as a mechanical engineer and project manager at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he was involved in projects from small mechanical retrofits and safety upgrades to major new construction. He served in a similar capacity at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center for five years, where his work involved a variety of air handling systems (constant- and variable-air-volume, reheat, multizone, and dual-duct), specialized mechanical systems for laboratory and hospital environments, and air conditioning for computer rooms.

In addition to his design and project management experience, Mr. Phillips has expertise in HVAC/environmental controls. He was responsible for UCB's campus-wide energy management system, including development of controls specifications and review of controls designs for all construction at the university. His work at UCHSC included numerous projects to design and modify pneumatic and electronic control systems.

Renée Azerbegi has extensive coursework and professional experience, through which she has gained a comprehensive understanding of building systems for commercial, institutional, and recreational facilities. In addition to design, she has coordinated projects, conducted site evaluations, monitored and evaluated systems, written statements of work, and selected equipment. She has also performed energy modeling and provided sustainable design consulting using the US Green Building Council's LEED 2.0 Green Building Rating System. Ms. Azerbegi's commitment to the environment is further evidenced by her workshops and articles on alternative energy sources and energy conservation opportunities. She is proficient with DOE2, Energy-10, CHVAC, Federal Renewable Energy Screening Assistant (FRESA), LumenMicro, and Building Life Cycle Cost (BLCC).