Exploring Sustainability Analysis Tools

 Next Wave?

Agile Energy Modeling

Indeed, sustainability metrics have evolved by leaps and bounds over the past few decades. The earliest were merely absolute metrics of whatever was easiest to measure. Things that were difficult to measure were either ignored or given an arbitrary value. The next development was the conversion of absolute measures into relative measures, such as ratios, which screen out statistical ‘noise’ such as differences in size or output, and focus on relationships. The third generation compared less conventional risk measurements (e.g. environmental risk) with conventional economic risk. This was when the financial benefits of sustainability performance began to show.

Emma Stewart HBR

"To be successful buildings must be approached as whole systems, from water, ventilation and light to the way materials and embodied human energy create healthy, productive and inspirational environments."

Dan Whittet  EnrgResrch

"Not many firms have invested in the training and technology needed to efficiently implement energy modeling on projects. While DOE2 costs nothing to download, designers proficient in both its use and the productive interpretation of its data are rare and expensive to employ. For the vast majority of buildings, owners seldom know how a building will perform and, since electrical engineers design around projected maximum power use, they don’t know how much energy it will consume until the building opens. "

Russell Fortmeyer  ENR