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Smart Buildings Center

Energy Efficiency Innovation Center, Tool Library & Data Visualization

Is Cottonwood Seed Clogging Your Air Filters?

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Cottonwood trees are in full bloom in May and June. Their cottony seeds can clog air filters in a few short days. If you live in an area of the country with Cottonwood trees, it’s advisable to check your building’s air filters during this time. Cottonwood seed is a major contributor of cooling equipment fouling. This naturally occurring airborne contaminant (generated by the Poplar Tree) usually affects operations from May thru early August, hence, companies that rely upon process cooling must clean their equipment frequently during this period or risk failure.

Brought to you by BOC® – Building Operator Certification
Energy Efficiency through Operator Training
www.theBOC.info

Want to get more energy savings tips?  Sign up for the BOC blog HERE.

Lamp Replacement Recommendation

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Low-wattage T8s Help Facility Staff Reduce Energy Consumption and Save Money

Lighting represents a significant portion of energy consumption in commercial and industrial buildings. In buildings with linear fluorescent lamps that aren’t yet ready to convert to LEDs, low wattage T8s are an excellent option to decrease building lighting costs.

Low wattage T8 lamps, which are available in 28 and 25 watt versions, offer an immediate, easy and cost-effective way to reduce energy usage for customers without sacrificing light quality.

Here’s an overview of their benefits:

  • Reduced Lifetime Costs: Low wattage T8s are comparably priced to 32 watt T8 lamps, and reduce lifetime costs by up to 23%
  • Significant Energy Savings: Low wattage T8s are up to 20% more efficient than 32 watt T8s
  • Light Quality: Most people are unable to detect any difference in light quality when replacing 32 watt T8 lamps with low wattage versions
  • Easy Installation: Low wattage T8 lamps are often compatible with existing ballasts, making them instant replacement options that can sit side-by-side with 32 watt T8 lamps
  • Longer Life: These energy-efficient lamps now have lifetimes up to 84,000 hours
  • Less Maintenance: Expect up to 50% fewer trips up the ladder for your maintenance staff
Hillsboro School District’s administration services building in Hillsboro, Ore., where staff switched from 32 watt T8 lamps to 28 watt versions to improve light quality and save more than $5,000 in annual operations and maintenance costs.

Many commercial facilities across the region have benefited from replacing their 32 watt T8 lamps with low wattage versions. Renton, Wash. based lighting supplier Capital Lighting has recommended low wattage T8 lamps for its customers since 2011, helping its customers save money and energy when they re-lamp. One Seattle high-rise saved an estimated $24,000 in annual utility costs by replacing 16,000 32 watt T8 lamps with 25 watt versions and low ballast factor electronic ballasts.

To learn more about low wattage T8 lamps and how they can help save energy and money in your building, contact your local electrical distributor or visit http://www.lowwattt8.com/

About the Northwest Lighting Network:

Developed in partnership with regional utilities and their trade ally networks, the Northwest Lighting Network provides a central hub of resources for lighting contractors that helps to streamline and make energy-efficient lighting more accessible.

Summer Educational Sessions at the Lighting Design Lab

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The Summer Session has three modules and will be held in the morning.
Please make sure to register for Morning Only.

Classes are eligible for CEUs through self-reporting.

Summer Session Includes

Breakfast & Networking  8:00 a.m.
Session Runs  8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

1) Lighting Design Considerations
Designing effectively with light is more complicated than picking light fixtures and calculating the amount of light falling onto a desk or work plane. Come and learn some of the key considerations, tips, and tricks that may help to most effectively use light to enhance human visual performance and ensure good outcomes from new construction and retrofits.

2) LED Replacements for T8 and T5 Fluorescent Lamps. Where do you fit?
The LED retrofit opportunities available for tubular fluorescent lamps has never been more diverse. It seems like there are new variations cropping up all of the time. This industry update will assist you in figuring out the differences, and which strategy may be right for your application.

3) Luminaire Level Lighting Controls (LLLC) – Easy Energy Savings (EES)
Lighting controls can range from simple to “rocket science”. This module will discuss control strategies and systems that can take some of the complexities out of the decision-making, while enabling greater energy savings. In many cases, these systems can be easier to install and commission than conventional lighting controls methods.

Classes start June 15th, Register Now!

Job Opportunity with Seattle School District

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Resource Conservation Specialist for Seattle Public Schools

The Seattle School District is hiring a full-time Resource Conservation Specialist to manage the District’s Natural Resources Conservation program, policy, and procedures related to energy, water, and waste conservation. Areas of responsibility include utility cost and usage, internal and public information materials, funding opportunities, and marketing conservation techniques. This position is one of a team of three Resource Conservation Specialists.

Click here for the job listing and to apply.

BOMA Energy Efficiency Program 2.0 (BEEP) – June 1st

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Join BOMA Seattle King County and BetterBricks for an exclusive training series

ABOUT

The BOMA Energy Efficiency Program 2.0 (BEEP) is a refreshed and updated version of the well-known, efficiency training course developed by BOMA and some of the largest commercial real estate owners and managers in the industry.  These course give you the information, strategies, and resources to help reduce energy use and cost, so that you can succeed in today’s market.

BOMA Seattle King County, in collaboration with Betterbricks, will be hosting a half-day in-person BEEP training session that will cover material from two BEEP Courses:

Course 3: From Audits to Action Plans: Finding and Planning Energy Performance Improvements

This course presents basic information on conducting an energy audit, identifying opportunities for upgrades, and planning with financial decision makers to implement upgrades.

Course 4: No and Low Cost Opportunities to Improve Energy Performance

This course will describe opportunities commonly found in commercial office, industrial, and multifamily buildings and offers solutions you can implement immediately to reduce energy consumption and associated costs.

In addition to two BEEP courses, attendees will learn about opportunities to capitalize on technical support and financial incentives to help comply with the City of Seattle’s new Building Tune-Up Requirement – funding that will sunset after 2018.

EARN CREDITS

Attendees will be eligible to receive Real Estate Clock Hours to satisfy continuing education requirements.  Trainings also count toward the renewal of industry designations including RPA, FMA, CPM, ARM, SMA, SMT and CCM, and are approved for GBCI Continuing Education hours for LEED designations.

REGISTER

www.bomaseattle.org/event/BEEPTraining

DATE AND SCHEDULE

Thursday, June 1, 2017: 8 a.m. – Noon

LOCATION

Met Park West 5 Star Center
1100 Olive Way, Suite 101
Seattle, WA 98101

COST

BOMA Members – $49
Non-members – $69

Spark Tool Webinar – June 14, 2017

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JOIN BETTERBRICKS AND THE SMART BUILDINGS CENTER FOR AN EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR

ABOUT

Join us to learn about the building renewal strategy and how to use the Spark Tool to assess if your building is ready for a deep energy retrofit.

The webinar will focus on how to leverage Spark’s integrated technical and financial reports to communicate the business case for building renewal projects. The webinar will include an overview of the building renewal strategy, a live demonstration of the Spark Tool, and a look at the customized integrated measure packages the Tool can create.

SPARK

Spark, a free, interactive online tool, can help you determine if your commercial building is a good candidate for a deep energy retrofit. This early assessment tool produces a report with estimated energy savings and real estate returns, and suggested measures and next steps. Watch this short video to learn how Spark can reposition a building.

BUILDING RENEWAL

Building renewal is a real estate strategy to modernize a building and improve its competitive position by focusing on comprehensive energy efficiency upgrades resulting in 35% or more of a building’s energy use and costs.

EARN BUILDING OPERATOR CERTIFCATION POINTS

This Spark webinar provides 1 maintenance point towards renewal of the BOC® credential.

REGISTER

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7086585918184273666

In preparation for this webinar, we encourage you to create an account on Spark and familiarize yourself with the tool.

DATE AND SCHEDULE

Wednesday, June 14, 2017: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Contact Us

Smart Buildings Center
Pacific Tower
1200 12th Ave. S., Suite 110
Seattle, WA 98144

206-538-0832

[email protected]

Smart Buildings Center is a project collaboration with Building Potential