Chilled Beam Article Reivew and Trip Wrap Up

The article that I chose to review was titled “Chilled Beam Ceiling Systems Promise Energy & Maintenance Savings” and it was written by Alla Katsnelson for a facility maintenance publication. I chose the review this article because we were able to see the chilled beam system in multiple places we visited on our trip and, since I am currently working in the HVAC business, they are something that Is very interesting to me.

The article starts off by stating that chilled beams have been used in the European markets for over a decade but they are just starting to show up in the United States. This was the first question I had about chilled beams when I encountered them because I had never seen this system in a U.S. building. It says that chilled beams can provide energy savings, reduce mechanical noise and improve indoor air quality. All of which are very important factors that are considered by building owners, developers, corporations and facility management professionals.

The chilled beams can be installed during new construction, renovation or during a building retrofit. There are two main types of chilled beam systems: passive and active. The passive chilled beam is simply a casing with a cooling coil inside of it. The water circulated through the coil is kept at a temperature between 59 and 63 degrees Fahrenheit and as the air in the room passes by this coil the heat is absorbed by the coil and then air is in turn cooled off. This resulting cool air is less buoyant than the surrounding warmer air and it is turn flows back down in the space which causes a gentle air circulation throughout the space where the beams are present. The active chilled beam requires a direct air supply in to the beam that is generally supplied by the buildings primary air handling unit. In this system warm air is passed over the cooling coils and then supplied to the space through air diffusers. The main advantage of this system is the humidity control that is achieved through the use of an air handling unit.

According to Alla, chilled beam technology has proven itself to be more energy efficient than conventional HVAC systems and it reduces cost and material required through the elimination of a significant amount of the ductwork system. In addition, the chilled beam systems use warmer water than conventional water cooled HVAC systems and this adds to the energy savings. Neither passive nor active chilled beam systems have moving parts so they typically have long usage times and low maintenance costs. They can be incorporated in most open ceiling layouts or hidden inside of a perforated ceiling system. The only concern or challenge involved with the use of chilled beam systems is the precise humidity control required to avoid condensation. This is especially true in buildings that utilize a large amount of natural ventilation or have to switch back in to an “occupied” mode at the beginning of each work day or after a weekend in which the space was unoccupied. However, this challenge does not have to deter buildings from using chilled beam systems since there are simple ways to achieve humidity control without the use of a large central HVAC system.

The facts all point to chilled beams being a great option to incorporate in to buildings and I am very surprised and somewhat angered that more buildings in the U.S. are not using these systems. From a sustainability standpoint the chilled beam systems are much more sustainable that conventional HVAC systems. They require less material to make, have a longer useful life, are more energy efficient and can allow buildings to use a smaller primary air system which will use less energy to run. In my mind it is a no brainer that we should be using these systems in the states and I plan on doing some research when I return from the trip to figure out why this isn’t the case.



Our trip has come to an end and I will be jumping on a plane in the morning to head back home. I have had an amazing time on the trip and I am very happy that I decided to come on it. I made some great new friends and feel like I am going back home with a great new perspective on international development and how they are approaching and handling the sustainability equation. Overall it seems like New Zealand and Australia are ahead of us in the incorporation of sustainability in their homes and the general acceptance of sustainable practices. However, I do believe that the U.S. commercial market is well situated with the LEED system and we seem to have a bigger push to make our existing buildings operate more efficiently. Hopefully the push to become more sustainable in the commercial market will cause our citizens to try making their homes and daily lives more sustainable but I am not very optimistic about this happening in the near future. Regardless of what happens with our market I know that this trip has opened my eyes up more to sustainability issues and I plan on trying my best to incorporate sustainability in to my personal and professional life in the future.

January 13th, 2011



We started our day off by meeting with Steve Nichols at the “167 Castlereagh” project. Steve is the project developer for Grocon, who is one of Australia’s leading sustainable developers and is also part owner and GC on the 167 Castlereagh project.

The building is a 50 level office tower with a private residence on the top level. The development of the project started in 2000 and the building will be valued at approximately $800,000,000 at its completion. The project design was awarded a Green Star 5-star rating and they were going for a 5-star as-built and NABERS rating as well. The project also included some attached retail buildings and Steve told us that they were going to try to make these buildings the “greenest” in the world. In order to achieve this they were going to incorporate systems that would allow the buildings to make enough energy to run without power from the city grid and they were also going to use a closed loop water system. I think this is a great plan because, if successful, it could prove that commercial buildings could support themselves just like Michael Mobb’s residence and it could serve as an example for other sustainable commercial developments in the future.

ANZ Bank and Freehill Law Firm are the two major tenants in the building and Steve told us that they have been very supportive of the sustainability of the project and care very much about occupying a sustainable space. I think that this private company push to move in to sustainable buildings is fantastic and will really drive the market to build more environmentally efficient product. It is something that you are starting to see with a small number of the US business but I think that if more companies would get on board with this than we could really push green building forward with market forces and stop the government from having to push everyone in that direction.

The building obviously has many sustainable features but I have listed some of the major items that Steve highlighted below. First off, during the demolition of the existing site structure they were able to recycle 95% of the materials. This is a very impressive number and stopped a huge amount of waste from going to a landfill. The building was going to be ventilated with 150% of the fresh air that is required for the building. This means that the air inside the office space is going to be very fresh and it should help improve indoor air quality and the productivity of workers, which both major tenants are very concerned with. The fresh air is going to come in to the building through a large scoop like feature at the top of the building which faces the direction of the prevailing winds. Steve told us that they are also researching the ability to put a wind turbine in this space in order to create energy from the wind collection that could then be used to power the building. I think that this is great and innovative idea that really maximizes the sustainability of the fresh air feature of the building. Steve said they were also researching the placement of solar panels on the roof of the building which would have the same effect at the wind turbines. For power generation and cooling the building was going to utilize a tri-generation plant and high-efficiency chillers that would supply chilled beams in the building. These are two things that we have heard quite a bit about in Australia and I think they could work very well in the US market. The building was also going to use smart lighting controls and sun tracking systems in order to keep the heat load of the building down. As we’ve seen on virtually every project on this trip, the building was also going to harvest its rainwater.

I was very impressed with the project presentation and the project itself. The big thing that I took away from the meeting was that if you connect green motivated tenants with innovative sustainable developers / builders that you can achieve some very great sustainable results in the commercial market. Hopefully this trend will catch on in the states and market forces will keep pushing the green development movement forward.



The second site visit of the day was at the “30 The Bond” building. We were hosted by Matt Williams, who is with the builder / major tenant of the building, Bovis Lend Lease. This building was one of the first green certified buildings in Australia and it has a 5-star design, as-built and NABERS rating. The major feature of the building is also one of the sustainable aspects of the building. This feature is a huge sandstone wall that runs from the bottom floor to level 4. The was was cut by prisoners hundereds of years ago and according to matt it was one of the biggers walls of its kind in the world. It actually acts as a very large thermal mass to suck up a lot of the building heat and the air draft that it creates is used to cool the parking structure under the building. It is a very neat visual building feature and just another example of the multitude of ways that you can use innovative features to create sustainability. The building also contained many more sustainable features including chilled beam cooling, raised floor ventilation, adjusting window louvers, recycled content fixtures, open air office suites and a green roof. It was a very impressive structure that I believe any U.S. or international company would be happy to work in and proves those wrong that believe building sustainable will take away from the appearance of your building.

Matt told us that the real beauty of the building was that it achieved some great sustainable goals without having to incorporate a bunch of exotic building systems and I have to agree with him on this. I think there is a real feeling that in order to do a sustainable project that you have to do a bunch of extra work and incorporate a bunch of systems in your building that you wouldn’t normally use. This feeling is not correct and the 30 Bond project proves again that with some thought and innovation that we can build sustainable buildings without having to jump through hoops or add crazy features to our building. Matt also told us that he feels that being inside of a sustainable office has motivated himself and some of his co-workers to act more sustainably outside of work. This is a great by product of a sustainable building and I believe that this effect will be multiplied as more sustainable buildings are introduced to the public.

January 12th, 2011



Our first visit of the day was to speak with Matthew Hyder with Legacy Property. Matthew was originally from Ft. Worth but had married an Australian and had moved back to Australia to work for the second time. Legacy’s main focus was on the residential market and they had spent the last 18 months performing due diligence consulting for banks with distressed assets.

During Matt’s presentation he highlighted the differences between development in Australia vs. the US. He told us that the majority of property is sold through auctions and that this made the purchases and strategy of up front property development much different than the US private treaty sale process. In accordance with this, Australians are very inclined to own versus rent property and they have to fight hard to purchase their first home through this auction process. He also told us that the approvals process is much slower in Australia because of the multiple levels of government approval needed and the increased focus on the environment. As for the design, he told us that almost all properties in Australia are smaller (apartment SF and total development size) and that the local councils are much more involved in the approval of your overall building design. Finally he told us that the lending process is very similar that the US process right now but the cap rates are much lower because of yield compression and the taxes different with Australians not being able to deduct mortgage interest from their property taxes. While this information didn’t pertain to sustainable development it was very interesting to me because of my background in construction and real estate.

Along with general real estate topics, Matthew also touched on sustainable development in Australia. He explained the “BASIX” system, which is a residential sustainability baseline that all residential projects must meet in order to be constructed. He said it came around in 2005 and has worked out very well for the residential market. He also explained the “NABERS (National Building Environmental Rating System)”, which is a rating system for the energy and water usage of commercial properties. All commercial spaces in Australia must have their buildings rated and in accordance with the “Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act of 2010” they must include these ratings in any property advertisement or listing. I think that this system of rating all commercial spaces and disclosing this information is a great idea for multiple reasons. It obviously causes everyone to figure out exactly how efficient or inefficient their space is and where they can improve. It also informs that market on how efficient a space is and in turn if tenants stop renting space that is rated very inefficient than owners will be forced to make their space more sustainable which is a great result. Lastly, this rating system can give the city planners and developers a map of how sustainable areas of the city are and where there might be an opportunity to gain some efficiency with new development or redevelopment. I wish this system would be introduced in the US so that our market could figure out how inefficiently the majority of our buildings are and then hopefully cause more existing buildings to improve their efficiency.

During the afternoon we met with Robin Mellon, who is the Executive Director of Advocacy and International Relations for the Green Building Council of Australia. Robin was obviously very versed in sustainable development and gave us a great presentation on the green building status in Australia. He told us that, similar to the USGBC, the mission of the GBCA is to rate, educate and advocate sustainable construction and development in Australia and they currently have 900 members and 60 employees. They use a system known as “Green Star” to rate their buildings and it has 9 categories that are very similar to LEED’s system but more defined. Robin told us that, to date, they have 292 certified buildings in Australia and there are 510 projects that have registered or are under construction with certification as a goal. Robin also explained the design certified versus as-built certified process and after hearing his explanation and reasoning behind its use I actually feel quite a bit better about it and feel that the LEED system could possibly benefit from its use. The benefit would come from more buildings being designed with sustainable features and in-turn incorporated in the building. Even if the buildings didn’t incorporate all of the designed sustainable features just using some of them in the building would be better than using none. Robin also told us that they are looking at putting an expiration date on the design certification, which I believe needs to be done so that people can’t just design a sustainable building and have the building get the good will and publicity from this when the building wasn’t actually built as a sustainable structure.

As for the cost of building a certified sustainable building, Robin told us that their current number show that is costs + / - 2% more to construct a 4-star building and + / - 5 % to construct a 5-star building and that they have seen these numbers come down each year. This trend is also being realized in the US right now and I feel that with more experience and thought being applied to building sustainable the cost will continue to drop. This is very important because most people, including myself, believe that you won’t see a huge push to build sustainably until the costs are the same as building conventionally. Robin said that he believes both the government and private market should drive the green development movement and that the feels the Australian government and market have done a good job of doing this. I go back and forth on this topic because while I would love for the market to drive sustainable development I think that the market will not move to sustainable development fast enough and the government is going to have to force the issue some. The US governments are starting to push sustainable development with their policies and I think that if they use the Australian government’s tactics then they can successfully work with the market to spur more sustainable development. To end the visit Robin showed us around their 5-star rated office interior which used lighting controls, fresh air ventilation, worm farms and a blackwater recycling system. I was very impressed with the office features and how seamlessly many of them worked in the office environment. Overall it was a very informative and entertaining visit and I feel like I got a good amount of useful knowledge out of it.

January 11th, 2011



Dr. Forgey had provided our class with a book on the “Sydney Sustainable House” and we had been discussing this house as a class since we were going to be visiting it for a tour with the owner, Michael Mobbs. I was given the chapters on working with contractors / consultants and the costs of the project to read and present to our class.

The chapter on working with contractors and consultants said exactly what I thought it would say and presented very good directions on how to work with these parties during the planning / construction of a sustainable home. Mr. Mobbs stated that the first step in this process is trying to find a contractor that has performed sustainable work before and then visiting these projects to see the results. This is a very good idea because it will give you confirmation that the contractor you are selecting is capable of performing the work to your desired level. Michael also listed a couple major actions that helped him during the construction of his home. These actions were to put your goals in writing in the contract and involve all project parties in the project meetings, regardless if they are completely involved in the main focus of the meeting. He said that it was important to clarify the contract language so that you could understand it and that you should not let someone else force their ideas of sustainability of your project. Michael also stated that you should pay close attention to your consultants advice to make sure they are not shifting responsibility away from themselves and that the bid process is a good way to check your contractors understanding of the project goals and your own understanding of what you want to achieve.

Mr. Mobbs started the project cost chapter with a statement that “costs are the single most important part of a sustainable project.” He said that you should figure out all of the operating costs of the house systems before you construct them so that you can figure out your payback time and make decisions on what measures are worth the money, time and effort involved to include them in your project. The Sydney Sustainable House renovation cost Michael $48,000 in 1996 and he estimated it would cost him around $25,000 to complete now. He said that the costs to build sustainable is going down but that it was still more expensive than conventional construction and that people would not fully buy in to it until the costs were equal. In this chapter he also spoke about his operating costs and proved that living sustainable can save you a significant amount on your bills and in the end would pay you back for the higher upfront cost involved in building sustainable systems in to your house.

When we showed up at the Mr. Mobbs house I was a bit shocked because the book made it look like a much nicer house than it was in person. That being said, Mr. Mobbs was an incredibly nice host and the house visit was very interesting. Mr. Mobbs told us that the house was completely self sufficient and had not drained or supplied any water to the municipal water system since its renovation 14 years ago. He also told us that the solar panels on his roof supply more energy to the house than it consumes and that he actually supplies energy back in to the power company’s grid during the day. The rainwater was all collected then used to supply the houses potable water and the wastewater is used to supply the houses non-potable water and to water the garden. We got a full tour of the house and Mr. Mobbs did a great job of explaining all of the homes systems and how it was a fight to build sustainable but that the reward for doing so made it well worth the fight. I think the thing about the house that I was most impressed with was the zero impact of the house and how he had maintained this for such a long period of time. It stands as a great example for everyone that you can build sustainably and that the effects can be realized long after the new home or renovation smell has left. I think I would have put a little more effort in to the appearance of the house but Mr. Mobbs seemed to be happy in the space so more power to him.



Following our visit to the Sydney Sustainable House we stopped by a development in the same neighborhood known as “One Central Park.” This was a very cool looking mixed-use development that was designed by some famous architects from different parts of the world. They are currently constructing the first two residential towers of the project and the models they showed us were very impressive. The project was going for a 6-star rating and had a zero net carbon goal. It was incorporating a rainwater harvesting system, a blackwater recycling system, a tri-generation power station, a green roof, a vertical garden façade and a solar panel system that is set up to track the sun. The project is also a redevelopment of an existing run down section of town and is going to incorporate transport, recycling and efficient appliances to achieve a more sustainable function for the development and its tenants. Residential / Multi-family buildings are very difficult to get certified as sustainable structures but this development proved that it can be done in the right market and ownership structure. It was a very impressive looking development that will hopefully get a lot of good press so other developers in the part of the country and beyond can see a great example of a sustainable residential / multi-family project. I think this is very important because in my opinion housing people in sustainable buildings is the easiest way to expose them to sustainable living which can in turn cause them to become more sustainable in their everyday lives.

To end the day we took a trip down to the Bondi Beach area and did the coastal walk around along the cliffs of around 5 parks and beaches. The weather was a little gloomy but the views were great and I was happy that I made it over to Bondi since it is one of the most famous beaches in the world.

January 10th, 2011



Welcome to Sydney mate!

We got in to town on Sunday night and made our way to the hotel by train, which was a pretty neat experience, since I had never ridden on a true underground subway type train before. First thing Monday morning we headed off toward Darling Harbor and went to see the harbor bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The walk down to the harbor was very scenic and both attractions were very cool to see in person but I was a bit surprised by the opera house. It was very dark white and yellowish in color in person and was not that brilliant white color that you see in pictures. That being said, it was still a very cool looking structure and I was excited to get to see it up close since I had seen it in pictures so many times.

Following our sightseeing we had lunch in Chinatown and then took the train to the “Power House Museum” to view the “Ecologic” exhibit. This exhibit was very interesting and featured information and examples of sustainable practices and their impact on the environment. The exhibit had information on all levels of sustainability and presented this topic from a very macro to a very micro level. It featured an energy efficient house model that you could interact with presented a large amount of information on the effect that our daily human living habits have on the environment. I believe these types of exhibits are very important because the general population, including myself, have very little knowledge of how destructive our actions are and can be on the environment. I am definitely not a super environmentally conscious person but the more I see things like the Ecologic exhibit and receive information on these topics the more I think about my own actions and how I can improve them to become a more sustainable person.

The exhibit also featured an interactive model of the “Sydney Sustainable House” that we are going to be visiting on 1/11/11 so it tied in very well with our trip. The model gave a demonstration of the solar energy system that powered the house and the closed loop water system which was very cool to see demonstrated in advance of our visit to the house.

It was tough to leave the green and peacefulness of New Zealand behind for the business of the big city of Sydney but it was really neat to visit the harbor area and I am looking forward to seeing the rest of Sydney and meeting with some more individuals involved in sustainable development.

January 7th - 9th, 2011



We arrived in Queenstown in the early morning and could not check in to our hotels so we had a nice brunch and walked around the city. The city is easily the most scenic place I have ever been to in my entire life and reminds me very much of a Colorado ski resort town.

We did not have any school obligations to attend while we were in Queenstown so it was a complete weekend of sightseeing and leisure activities. We started off these activities by heading up the gondola to the top of the mountain overlooking the town. It provided us with an unbelievable view of the surrounding area and we were also able to ride some mountain louges at the top, which was a blast. On Saturday we started the day off by taking a jet boat ride up the Shotover River. It was probably the nicest river I have ever been on and the boat ride was a real thrill. That afternoon John Martini and I headed outside of town to ride dirt bikes. My dirt bike riding was ended fairly quickly because of a little spill but I was able to hop on a quad and enjoy an incredible ride through the mountains.

We spent Sunday lounging around the town and taking in the beautiful scenery one last time. I had a great time in Queenstown and hope I can make it back there in the near future!

Next up…..Sydney, Australia! Time to put another shrimp on the barbee : )

January 6th, 2011



It was time to head back to Auckland but we had to stop at the University of Waikato on our trip back so Dr. Forgey could give a speech on the UTA Sustainability program to an international group of sustainability professors. While Dr. Forgey spoke our group headed over to the Hamilton Gardens to view their sustainable garden attraction.

The garden was a very impressive development and integrated local tribal features with a very diverse collection of plant and crop species. The garden was all self sustainable and used items such as live composting and rainwater collection to maintain its health. The plant beds were all laid out in a very attractive fashion and each planting area was labeled with placards that provided information on what you were looking at. While the sustainable garden didn’t apply directly to my academic area of interest, it did provide a nice morning activity that proved that sustainability doesn’t have to apply to only real estate of construction. There are sustainable actions that you can take in many areas of your life and many of them are not that difficult to undertake.

 



Upon arriving in Auckland we dropped our bags at the hotel and drove in to the town’s central business district to view the “Britomart” development. At Britomart we met with the development manager for Cooper and Company, Sarah Ballyntyne, and the lead construction supervisor. They explained to us that Britomart is actually a collection of 17 buildings that occupy a two block area of the Auckland CBD. It is a complete mixed-use development that incorporates office, retail, residential and transportation space. The specific buildings that we toured were known as the East 1 and 2 buildings and they were new office space that was on the verge of being completed. These buildings were very nicely done and had achieved 4 and 5 star green design ratings from the NZGBC. Some of the green or sustainable elements that they possessed were a rainwater harvesting system, the use of low VOC materials, public / bike transportation facilities and an extensive recycling facility along with some other sustainable design elements. I was very impressed with the buildings and really liked how they built incorporated the public transport system in to the building so workers have an easy alternative to driving in to the office. However, there was one issue that I have with the NZGBC process that was presented by these buildings. While they were designed to a 4 and 5 star level they did not have to be constructed to this level. I think that this is a bad way to handle the green building certification process and believe that if a developer / architect is going to design a building to these levels than they should be required to build the projects to these levels. That being said, they were at least incorporating some sustainable aspects in to the buildings and overall the development was very well done. Hopefully any of the future buildings that go up in the development will be both designed and built as sustainable structures.

Our time in Auckland has come to an end and it has been a real pleasure. Tomorrow we are headed back to the airport and flying down to Queenstown, New Zealand, which is on the South Island and is known as the “Adventure capital of the world.” It should be a blast and I am definitely looking forward to it!