The Advantages of Keeping Building Energy Performance on Your Radar

,

Light bulbs In a recent article regarding building energy performance policy, The Institute for Market Transformation revealed that “the building sector is the single largest user of energy in the United States, accounting for roughly 40 percent of total energy consumption, more than industry or transportation.” This article also stated that the US spends over $400 billion on energy for our buildings. Most buildings use much more energy than is necessary, which is largely due in part by the fact that buildings were constructed before energy codes were in place. However, the owners of these buildings need to upgrade their buildings to be more sustainable. Many are misinformed or don’t have the financial incentives to upgrade, but by raising awareness about this matter, we can save money for both consumers and businesses. In addition, we can see fuel economic growth, while also reducing carbon pollution for a healthier environment. Understanding your building’s energy performance and keeping it on your radar will provide a multitude of benefits. Find out how benchmarking can help your building stay aligned with energy use and cost-effective operations.

Why should I use benchmarks?

  • Energy benchmarking measures your building’s energy use over time so you can be aware of its energy performance and identify areas to eliminate the energy being wasted. You can also compare your own energy usage to that of other buildings’ to get a better read of where you can be more energy efficient.
  • By sharing this information with your city or state, policymakers can analyze the data and determine whether the intended results were achieved. From there, they’ll be able to use resources more appropriately and develop infrastructure plans accordingly.
  • Being transparent with your benchmarking data allows stakeholders on a larger scale work together to achieve a common goal. Others will recognize the effort and understand the importance, which can in turn prompt action on their part.

How can benchmarking help energy efficiency?

As buildings release information about their energy use on a large scale, building owners can stay competitive with each other to be the most energy-efficient.

  • Energy and cost savings: Energy waste is draining millions of the economy’s dollars. Benchmarking can lead to implementing cost effective measures to reduce this spending.
  • Job creation and economic growth: According to the Institute for Market Transformation, 77% of Philadelphia’s commercial building need upgrades, which would generate more than $600 million in local spending, while also supporting 23,000 jobs.
  • Improving utilities: Determining what utilities need to be improved in order to be more energy efficient will raise the performance of all buildings.

Energy benchmarking offers a range of benefits that are crucial for building owners, consumers, and the environment overall. Scranton Products utilizes High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) for all of their products. This material reduces environmental impact and offers both initial and long-term improvements to the indoor air quality of your projects. Click here to find out where you can buy Scranton Products.





Sustainable Building Products




Harnessing the Power of Deep Energy Retrofits in Your Building Projects

,

Enegry Efficiency As energy efficiency continues to gain more attention and the energy efficiency retrofit market develops, the benefits to architects continue to improve. According to The American Institute of Architects, building operations account for more than 75% of all electric use, and buildings are responsible for more than 40% of all U.S. carbon emissions. Because this is such a large percentage, the U.S. can’t address the energy and climate challenge without altering the way our buildings are designed and operated. American businesses are improving their operating conditions with plans to upgrade energy efficiency in their building. While this is a start, it’s more important that building owners see energy efficiency as a core business priority. But to do this, they must fully understand the benefits that it offers.

What is deep energy retrofitting?

A deep energy retrofit is a process that is performed in order to achieve large energy savings than conventional retrofits. For example: creating energy efficiency in most buildings is achieved by upgrading old systems with newer, more efficient technology. This is a standard retrofit, but it’s limited. It could prevent a building from even more efficient technologies with even greater savings. Designing a new approach for higher energy savings is called deep energy retrofits and aims for a savings of 50%. Deep energy retrofits are effective in cutting energy use, saving building owners money, and providing business for architects.

What are the existing trends used to improve energy efficiency?

Why should architects take advantage of this opportunity in the market? The energy efficiency market is a growth opportunity for architects. The architect community has engaged in multiple efforts to reduce energy waste by incorporating more energy efficient building design and construction. Deep energy retrofits reduce energy waste for a more sustainable environment, save building owners money to possibly create more construction for the economy, and can also be a source of business for architects. Other incentives for considering energy retrofitting include long term savings for building owners, the economical demand for energy efficient buildings, as well as incentives from the financial community.

What are some examples of sustainable products used in construction?

When designing and constructing a building, the products that you install into a facility are important. You want to make sure that you’re not adding products that are made up of harmful material that could be hazardous to a person’s health. Scranton Products bathroom partitions, lockers, showers and dressing compartments, and vanities are made up of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). This material reduces environmental impact and offers both initial and long-term improvements to the indoor air quality of your projects. Made from recycled materials, HDPE plastic resists mold and mildew for improved air quality and is one solid color throughout, so you’ll never have to deal with harmful emissions from paint. Be sure to take these ideas into consideration as an architect for a more sustainable environment. Click here to find out where to buy Scranton Products.





Sustainable Building Products




How the 4 Phases of Emergency Management Should Guide Education Building Plans

,

 

Duralife Locker - Blue

When you build your school’s facility, it’s crucial to focus on emergency management, for the safety of the students who walk through the doors every day. Nobody likes the thought of an emergency taking place in a school, but it’s important to consider. You have to be as prepared as possible in order to take the right actions should an emergency occur. Emergency management should be at the forefront of your education building plans. The US Department of Education has broken emergency management in schools down into four separate parts. Learn more about what you can do to make sure you’re ready.

  • Prevention-Mitigation: When creating the school, utilizing strategic design techniques can prevent or reduce damage. This can include making it more difficult for intruders to enter, or designing structures that can’t be damaged by the elements of weather.
  • Preparedness: Safety features are necessary when building a school, such as a school-wide communication system. This can alert the school, faculty and students of an emergency and allow everyone to act accordingly.
  • Response: This includes accessible floor plans that can make it easier for emergency responders to navigate the school site and reach people or areas in need. It can be difficult to figure out the layout of a building, especially one that’s large with reoccurring hallways. This could save a lot of time, as well.
  • Recovery: In the event that there is an incident, the school must remodel and adapt in a way that addresses the issue and ensures that the same problem will not occur again.

Planning for Safe Products

Another way to ensure that your school is safe is to utilize safe products and materials throughout the facility. Learn more about what types of products will be safe for your students. HDPE Plastic: High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) reduces environmental impact and also offers initial and long-term improvements to the indoor air quality of your products.Materials in your facilities can also be damaging to your respiratory system and cause even more health problems in the long run, especially in young children. Choosing eco-friendly, sustainable products will improve the air quality rather than polluting it like other materials. HDPE plastic is also resistant to bacteria and mold growth which can be harmful to students’ health as well. HDPE exhibited no microbial growth during a 21 day testing period. Solid HDPE plastic materials do not absorb moisture, making them resistant to mold and mildew. The surface is non-porous so the growth of mildew cannot be supported. HDPE plastic partitions are also fully power washable and steam cleanable, so you can wash them without the need for harmful chemical cleaners. In addition, HDPE plastic materials are one solid colored material throughout. This means you don’t have to worry about painting. Your HDPE products deliver no VOC emission and are GREENGUARD GOLD During the construction process, make sure that safety is accounted for. Click here to find out where to buy Scranton Products for a safer school.










The Environmentally Friendly Secret Weapon Every Building Should Have

,

When designing or remodeling a building, facility owners are faced with many challenges. The two most common needs for a building concept are aesthetically pleasing designs and durable features, but a commonly forgotten yet important aspect is a strong environmental impact. But how can you build a facility and incorporate sustainable materials at the same time?

While unknown by many building owners or facility managers, there’s an environmentally friendly secret weapon that every building should have. You can read on to learn about the sustainable benefits of HDPE plastic materials.

Recyclable

The recycling loop works at its highest level when buildings purchase materials made from post-consumer recycled products but are also recyclable so they can be disposed of in an efficient manner. This process helps to reduce industrial waste, but not all facility and building materials are able to contribute.

HDPE plastic materials are available with up to 100% post-consumer products in order to provide facility managers with the ability to support the recycling loop. And with 100% recycling material, you can dispose of these products in an environmentally friendly way when you’re remodeling or renovating. HDPE secretly provides this added sustainability while other common building materials, such as phenolic or solid color reinforced composite, do not.

Non-Chemical Dependent

Many facility owners constantly experience a need for expensive chemical cleaners in order to efficiently clean their building materials. This is especially common in restrooms, where germs are frequent. However, these harmful cleaners usually have concerns surrounding their production and impact on indoor air quality.

Thankfully, if you choose materials made of HDPE plastic, you won’t need to worry about these harmful chemicals. HDPE plastic can be power washed or steam cleaned. And since it’s built with a solid color throughout and scratch resistant, facility owners won’t have to reapply chemically infused paints to cover up fading or marks.

Free of Urea-Formaldehyde Resins

While you may not be able to see them, many facility and building products have added urea-formaldehyde resins worked into them. While used to increase durability, this type of resin can be harmful for the air around your building. Your patrons will be in jeopardy of moderate to severe allergic reactions that could result in anything from a runny nose to difficulty breathing.

While HDPE plastic helps to improve and maintain an environmentally friendly and healthy air quality level by staying free of added urea-formaldehyde resins, other building and facility materials, such as phenolic, do not.

HDPE is an environmentally friendly secret weapon that every building should have. Not only is the material customizable for design and durability, but it also features a number of sustainable benefits that facility managers have the opportunity to take advantage of.

Scranton Products features a number of HDPE plastic materials near you that you can add into your building. You can also take a look at our continuing education courses to learn more about the beneficial environmental impact of HDPE.