Lakewood, Ohio
Federal Social Security Administration Facility
Challenge
Reduce the estimated $8,000 monthly utility costs, differentiate the developer's proposal from the competition by offering a unique product and assist with the projects goal of building built to a LEED® Silver certified level.
Solution
Incorporated high efficiency windows, doors & HVAC systems with SHIELD™ wall and roof system.
Result
The average monthly HVAC bill will be reduced by 81% or $6,511 per month to $1,482 per month average based on Energy Wise® Certification
Why this approach fit
The challenge, solution and result above are the project record. What follows is commentary on why the approach suited the building.
Federal tenants sign long leases, which changes the arithmetic on a building. A developer competing for a federal facility is selling decades of operating cost, not a construction price, so an envelope that cuts the monthly bill is a commercial argument as much as a technical one.
The 81 percent reduction covers the whole package: the panel wall and roof system together with high-efficiency windows, doors and HVAC. It is the reduction projected under Energy Wise® certification, which is the performance the design was built to deliver.
The LEED Silver goal points the same direction. Envelope performance feeds the energy model that most LEED energy points are scored from, so a wall assembly that removes thermal bridging tends to move several credits at once rather than one.
The design lesson generalizes. When a building is going to be held rather than sold, the envelope is the only system in it that never gets serviced, replaced or run at part load. It is the cheapest place to buy performance that lasts the life of the lease.
