Planning
At the start of the design phase, the design team should compile a comprehensive list of energy conservation measures (ECMs) and share the findings with all stakeholders. This strategy can be applied to both new constructions and major renovations of existing facilities.
When retrofitting existing facilities, the implementation of these measures should be carefully planned to minimize disruption to the facility’s operation. The design and construction team should develop a detailed procedure to ensure smooth implementation.
Barriers
The primary barrier to implementing Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) is often the associated construction costs. However, conducting a cost-benefit analysis that demonstrates long-term savings can help ensure ECMs are included in the final build. These savings can also support an institution’s Environmental Social Governance (ESG) goals and help navigate evolving city, state, and federal regulations. As many regions are moving towards stricter energy conservation measures and reducing operational carbon emissions, cost savings can act as an incentive, while regulatory consequences can serve as a deterrent to overcome sustainability obstacles.
Another crucial challenge is ensuring collaboration between the design team and facility operators from the project’s outset. This allows operators to understand various ECMs and provide feedback on their advantages and disadvantages. Encouraging open communication and understanding is vital for project success. It’s important to avoid situations where operators bypass certain ECMs because they don’t meet the facility’s needs or there are concerns about maintaining stable conditions within the facility. For instance, reducing the amount of supply and exhaust air to animal holding spaces to a level where operators find the odors unacceptable could be problematic.
Building Green Labs
Separate the office area and the labs. This simplifies the HVAC
Standards
When engaging in a new lab building project, it is important to keep sustainability and health in mind.
There are many Green Building certification frameworks that you can consult for good ideas to incorporate in your new building project. These certifications provide a good basis and goals for a new lab. However, we understand that lab buildings are different from regular buildings, so it can be difficult to fit your project within these, sometimes stringent, guidelines. Unless for funding or promotional reasons, it is not absolutely necessary to attain these certifications. There are many lab buildings that have successfully received one or more of these certifications. However, every lab building has unique needs and sometimes focusing too much on attaining a certification can lead to undesired consequences.
Nevertheless, we suggest reviewing each of the following tools below because they will provide a wealth of information and lots of great sustainable building ideas. Each one has its own strengths, weaknesses, requirements and coverage. We suggest you take the best of each and make a customized list of goals/ideas that make sense for your project to attain.
LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) - This certification program developed by the US Green Building council. It rates buildings against its criteria for building environmentally friendly buildings and efficient resource usage.
ENERGY STAR® - This is a certification system for buildings and products organized by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. You may know this scheme best for their grading of equipment, including lab freezers.
BREEAM® (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) – This is the world’s most established method of assessing, rating and certifying the sustainability of buildings.
Green Globes ™ - This is a questionnaire-based rating tool used in the assessment and certification of buildings developed by the Green Building Initiative. It separates into new construction, existing buildings and existing healthcare buildings modules.
Living Building Challenge – This is a certification program run by the International Living Future Institute. It has a wider coverage of building types than LEED® or BREAM® and includes entire neighbourhoods and communities.
Some lesser known schemes: BPI Rating system – This is a lesser known scheme by the Building Performance Institute, Inc. Rating system, mostly for homes, and BOMA 360 Performance Program for commercial real estate.
As a reminder, as with any other building project, you need to adhere to local building legislations that have been put in place by the government to protect the health and safety of your workers.
Below is a selected list of US building codes, standards and guidelines related to sustainable buildings. Of course, these may change according to your location, so please check your local regulations.
- International Energy Efficiency Code®, International Green Construction Code, and International Code Council® guides
- ASHRAE standards for indoor air quality and refrigeration
- US Dept. of Energy Building Energy Codes and Standards Program
- ICC 700 National Green Building Standard™ by NAHB and ICC
- ANSI and ISO standards
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