Introduction

In recent years a series of laws, on both the local and state level, have been based in regards to energy efficiency in newly constructed buildings. These regulations affect CUNY as an institution that is consistently growing. Due to this CUNY needs to become more sustainable and energy efficient. Focusing on Brooklyn college in particular one path to sustainability is clear, sustainable buildings. By ensuring higher energy efficiency in new buildings and increasing energy efficiency in old ones Brooklyn college could drastically reduce its carbon footprint while making it compliant with the new laws.

Methods

The questions we are asking – concerning the necessary qualifications required in assigning energy experts, the jobs they must accomplish and the role they should play in achieving energy efficiency and sustainability – required research into various fields and topics in order to form an understanding that would allow us to answer these questions. We researched building codes, laws, acts and general green infrastructure – including energy usage, loss, efficiency, and sustainability. We also researched topics involved in the qualifications and experience needed in overseeing construction, renovation, and maintenance of buildings. We explored appliances and systems involved in energy usage, in an attempt to better understand what is necessary in achieving sustainability.

These images portray maps of climate zones in the US, used to determine necessary u-factors/r-values (insulation efficiency) and more of products, appliances and systems involved in energy usage.

Materials

Local Laws 97: Local Laws 97 offers extended and detailed guidelines on how to maintain energy efficiency and avoid extreme energy consumption and loss. Through this source we identified what an energy expert must be able to identify and determine, including energy ratings of fenestration products(u-factors and r-values of windows, doors, etc), as well as determine these ratings based off the climate zone of the area, and specifically in our area they must know the proper factors and values for NYC’s climate zone. Experts must be involved in the process of maintaining and determining “building’s thermal envelope” which delineates the “tightness” or “looseness” of the thermal envelope; the ability of the building to maintain heat/cool from the outside, and the buildings energy loss through “heat bridges”-windows, doors, skylights, insulation gaps, wall and ceiling dead spaces, etc. 

IECC Code, Intertek building standards on NFRC 100 & NFRC 102: These sources offer explanations on buildings thermal envelope, as well as procedures in determining insulation effectiveness. This is extremely necessary information on important tests that an energy expert must be able to utilize to procure necessary statistics and details, to acquire the most efficient fenestration products. The NFRC 100 test uses simulation software to find the thermal transmittance (u-factor) of fenestration products. The NFRC 102 test places a fenestration product (window, skylight, etc) in a wall between two warm and cold chambers. The rooms are set to  21ºC and -18ºC respectively and winds of 15 mph are produced between the two rooms.. The loss of heat from the hot room into the cold room is measured to determine the efficiency rating of the product. (Check images below)

Left image portrays a guarded hot box. Right image details interior of said hot box, involved in determining insulation efficiency of a fenestration product placed between the two chambers.

2020 Energy Conservation Code : Chapters 5 & 6: Offer an extremely thorough list of referenced standards and associations in charge of determining operating levels/quality of all appliance, products, procedures and systems involved in building energy usage. Some important examples are: 

• Air Conditioning Contractors of America 2800 Shirlington Road #300 Arlington, VA  22206 : ANSI /ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 183—2007 (RA2014): Peak Cooling and Heating Load Calculations in Buildings, Except Low-rise Residential Buildings
• CSA Group 8501 East Pleasant Valley Road Cleveland, OH 44131-5516 : North American Fenestration Standard/Specification for Windows, Doors and Unit Skylights
• Door & Access Systems Manufacturers Association, International 1300 Sumner Avenue Cleveland, OH 44115-2851 : Test Method for Thermal Transmittance and Air Infiltration of Garage Doors and Rolling Doors
• U.S. Department of Energy c/o Superintendent of Documents 1000 Independence Avenue SW Washington, DC 20585 : Energy Efficiency Program for Certain Commercial and Industrial Equipment: Test Procedures and Efficiency Standards : including but not limited to air conditioner units, plumbing systems, etc 

Top left image is a depiction of heat bridge (window) in effect, deterring the inside heat from leaking outside through the heat bridge. Heat bridges play a vital role in maintaining a building’s thermal envelope. Bottom left image details the breakdown of a wall — including insulations, vapor barrier, etc — involved in maintaining an effective thermal envelope. Both images on the right hand side portray a building’s thermal envelope.

Results

Energy Experts Must Play the Role of Consultation Experts:

Our questions regarding the necessary ability of an energy expert to achieve and maintain energy efficient and sustainable levels, and the roles the expert must play in order to achieve and maintain sustainability, are answered by: 

Energy experts are consultation experts. In being a consultation expert, they must be not only capable but proficient in consulting contractors, builders and building owners, as well as in consulting industry and environmental standards set by associations and organizations (ex: Ch.6  referenced standards of  2020 energy conservation code). Energy experts are not only consultants of people. Energy experts must be adept and capable of consulting industry and environmental standards involved in the definition of energy efficiency ratings of building products and appliances. Experts must also be able to consult and understand laws, codes and acts involved in setting standards and limits for building’s energy use. Buildings must often meet energy standards, and thus the energy expert must be able to understand the goal they are working towards in order to achieve and maintain sustainability. Examples of materials that energy experts must be familiar with or capable of consulting and becoming familiar with are laws like the Local Laws 97 of NYC, the 2020 Energy Conservation Code (which includes an extended list of associations and headquarters majorly involved in determining energy standards), the IECC Code, codes on the NFRC 100 and 102 tests, as well as countless more laws, acts, codes, and collections of qualities and regulations.

Top images portray building energy efficiency ratings. Bottom images depict the efficiency ratings of specific fenestration products (windows in this case), used in determining the overall efficiency of a building.

Conclusion

Having looking at what energy experts do we can state what qualifications an energy expert should have. An energy expert needs to have experience in either Architecture or sustainability. Architecture is important as an energy expert needs to know how a building should be constructed in order to maximize energy efficiency. Sustainability is important as an energy expert needs to know about wider environmental concerns. These show us who should be considered for the positions of Energy expert, people who have degrees in these fields and/or experience in them. Training energy experts is also something that CUNY can do. In the architecture department there are professors who understand the functionalities of buildings and can give classes on subjects such as insolation. By utilizing the college’s pre-existing pool of experts we can train energy experts and make the campus more sustainable.

Next Steps

Now that we’re in 2021; Brooklyn College can start to focus on their long term energy goals. This can be done through Princeton’s sustainability recommendation of staying within the “tiger zone” which means heating to 68 F/20 C in the winter and cooling to 78 F/26 C in the summer. As well as remotely turning off the heating/cooling in many buildings. In practice; this means that rooms should be scheduled for when they’re in use (i.e during an active class) and staff can begin the practice of cancelling if the room is no longer needed. In addition to cultivating the culture of energy saving; it is essential that Brooklyn College utilizes the resources of their experts both in and outside the college, in order to meet the constantly changing building standards from laws, acts, codes, etc. Overall, it is crucial to keep the momentum from the 10 Year Sustainability Plan towards post-2020 especially after going through a pandemic.

References

2020 energy conservation code. 2020 Energy Conservation Code – Buildings. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www1.nyc.gov/site/buildings/codes/2020-energy-conservation-code.page.

ANSI/NFRC 100: Procedure for determining fenestration product u-factors. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.intertek.com/building/standards/ansi-nfrc-100/.

Energy Efficiency Experts: Home Energy Efficiency Silver spring MD. Energy Efficiency Experts | Home Energy Efficiency Silver Spring MD. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://energyefficiencyexperts.com/.

Energy expert jobs | glassdoor. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/energy-expert-jobs-SRCH_KO0,13.htm.

HCaptcha Solve Page. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=Energy%2BSubject%2BMatter%2BExpert&rbl=San%2BFrancisco%2C%2BCA&jlid=6cf5e6d389fd6d6b.

LinkedIn job search: Find us jobs, internships, jobs near me. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.linkedin.com/jobs.

Local law 97. Local Law 97 – Sustainable Buildings. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www1.nyc.gov/site/sustainablebuildings/ll97/local-law-97.page.

NFRC 102: Procedure for measuring the steady-state thermal transmittance of Fenestration Systems. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.intertek.com/building/standards/nfrc-102/.

PDF.js viewer. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/apps/pdf_viewer/viewer.html?file=2020ECC_CHC6.pdf§ion=energy_code_2020.

Sustainability. Brooklyn College. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/initiatives/initiatives/sustainability.php.

What is a building’s thermal envelope? IECC. (2019, September 11). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.ieccode.com/2019/08/22/what-is-a-buildings-thermal-envelope/.