(NZ01) The Road to Net Zero: How do we make buildings perform how we hoped they would

The building industry has increased its focus on what can be done in design to achieve high-level sustainability goals, whether it be projects pursuing Net Zero, on-site renewables, or high energy efficiency practices. There are many projects with goals of achieving Net Zero but the uncertainty of how that manifests in daily operations can be a challenge, and contextualizing what is actually achieved throughout post-occupancy is a complex answer. You can develop a robust design and set goals for Net Zero but what happens when you actually go into operations? Is it actually achieved on day one? The answer is complicated but in short, it is a process that requires buy-in from the entire team. In this session, we aim to delineate the ongoing process of pursuing these sustainability goals and how to set a project up to achieve the Net Zero targets throughout post-occupancy.

This session showcases the Net Zero Energy design of the CoLab facility, an R&D facility for HITT Contracting, located in Falls Church, VA, by diving into the post-occupancy process and expanding on some operational analyses used to track the building’s performance. The building’s function is a research facility but through the ongoing energy analysis, the facility operations are being used as a research opportunity to analyze the pursuit of Net Zero Energy goals. With a 75,000 kWh PV rooftop solar array (over 2,800 sf), the project is set up to maximize the on-site renewable energy potential. The project was designed at 54% energy cost savings but it is currently still getting 22% of its energy from the grid. The lessons learned tell us that the handoff from design and construction into occupancy should be a more fluid process that involves a detailed transition plan. This transition into occupancy needs to constantly be analyzed through ongoing energy consumption and generation data to determine how the building is actually operating compared to how it was initially designed. It is likely that some expectations are not going to be achieved as easily in operations as they were thought to be in design. This process requires ample data measuring different end uses with additional energy submetering so the big picture can be broken into smaller parts that can then be analyzed and improved upon. By reviewing this data and making alterations to operational protocols, teams can develop a detailed plan on how best to achieve the project's sustainability goals.

Session participants will examine a Net Zero Energy design through a real-world example of the post-occupancy process and explore the ongoing building performance analysis. This session will not only showcase the successes of this project but will also illustrate the challenges that the team encountered with actually achieving a Net Zero Energy building in the post-occupancy phase. Participants can expect to come away with an understanding of how best to transition into occupancy in a way to set up the operations of a building to achieve the Net Zero Energy goals that were set out in design.