Sustainability is the capacity to endure through time. It can be defined in biological terms as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future.

Simple Rules to Follow

Create a flexible framework to optimize the potentials for infrastructure, urbanism, architecture, open space, recreation, and real estate values. This flexible framework serves to knit a social whole of the myriad uses and users. Comprehensive, whole system infrastructure planning is integral to planning, design and delivery. This focus on multiple scales:

Approach to the Land - maximizing ecological connections, responsible integration with regional growth patterns, a positive tipping of the jobs/housing balance for the region, and significant deterrent to suburban sprawl. 

Appropriate Development - pattern for the land that reconnects fractured patterns, maximizes walk-ability and positive social interaction among residents, including a mixed-use structure reinforced by a transect model for development at a variety of densities that make transit solutions feasible, and a meaningful integration of human and natural ecologies.

Integrated Systems - that reinforce the development pattern including high performance infrastructure, high performance buildings, an interconnected open space and park network, public transit systems, multi-generational education, employment, residential, retail, health and wellness, and recreational opportunities.

I bought my Wife a Dyson vacuum cleaner for Christmas. About two weeks before Christmas, I saw the Dyson commercial on TV. I had no idea if it worked but it looked so beautiful!  So I got off my comfortable old couch and went to the appliance store to check it out. When I arrived, they had a floor model plugged in, sitting on a separate carpet monogrammed with the Dyson logo. Like NASCAR.. A thing of beauty I could test drive!

So I did. I took this baby through its paces. Nice tracking, quite, conveniently light and compact and did I mention beautiful? After I brought it home, I bragged to a friend about what I bought. After a long silence, he asked me, what was I thinking? Not only was this thing overpriced, NEVER buy your Wife a work related appliance he said. I was told that a vacuum tops the list for "What Not To Give".

I thought to myself, we've had our old one for ten years and my Wife told me how vacuuming is kind of a meditation for her. So despite the protest, I wrapped it up and gave it to her anyway. Christmas came and she loved it. Excited like kids with a new toy, we set it up and tried it out on the area rug where our beloved dog sleeps and lounges on.

Our floors are wood with these large area rugs in each room. The Dyson has a clear container in the front to see when it's full of dirt. When the container is full, just pop it off, empty the dirt and keep going! We (both of us fighting over who got to push it) started in the dog zone. After playfully wrenching the handle away from her, I started going over the rug. Then we noticed the container quickly filling up with dirt? I took a couple more passes and the container was full.

How can that be? Our house is already very clean, our carpets looked clean, and they get vacuumed every week. How did this vacuum find so much more dirt? Now it was my Wife's turn. Determined and a little concerned, she methodically went through her routine. And that container kept filling up over and over again. This crazy purple vacuum ball thing just kept picking up hidden dirt we didn't know existed. It was always there, beneath the clean exterior our old machine could not get to. After she was done, the room seemed different in a way we had never noticed before.

The carpets looked brighter and the room now smelled crisp, like the day we moved in. We used other attachments to clean the couch and got so excited, we ended up putting all the couch pillows and coverings through the wash.

When we finished (she did most of the work), I inhaled the fresh air and pondered how simple it was to improve on something we assume is good enough, and how that action can improve everything around it. I'm still back on same couch, but with a new found appreciation for finding the tools to get the job done right.  

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the Solyndra debacle. If your reading this, I assume you already know the back story to the half a billion dollar funding of a company that had structural problems in the onset.

A couple of other things came to light.

• The administration had re-structured the loan to put private investors in front of the American taxpayer in case of default. 
• White House emails worried about how a default of this magnitude would affect Obama's reelection campaign.  
• This month, the DOE is putting out another 9.3b in loans ahead of the loan program expiring, while House Energy and Commerce committee is asking for the due diligence before rushing money out the door before a deal is ready.  

What have we learned during the last two years of massive government spending on green technologies? Could it be that direct government intervention is counter-productive to private industry?  

Two years ago, the administration unveiled a half billion dollar investment (loan guarantee/tax payer funded) in Solyndra. Space age solar technology, with an expensive beautiful manufacturing plant built by union labor. Cost was not an issue because the return would reap buckets of money. Within 2 years, Solyndra files chapter 11. As a tax payer, this hurts. But moreover, it just doesn't make any sense.  

Any "for profit" business should be subject to Natural Selection. Darwin figured we crawled out of a biosoup and evolved after we managed to eat while not be eaten. Ironically, business moves to reflect this tendency. Be alert, prepared to go hungry, dodge predators and strike the food source at just the right time.. Or die.   

What if our ancestors had meat tossed into their caves until until they laid around fat and slow. Then one day the food stops? How much longer can a government fuel an unrealistic approach to a natural process? Not much..

Primarily due to Chinese manufacturing, solar panel prices have declined almost 70 percent in the last 24 months. Industry pundits are predicting a future crash in the industry..  Are you kidding? This is the best thing that could of happened to our industry. A narrow-minded focus on earnings based on overpriced subsidized manufacturing doesn't work. So where is the upside?  

Cheap Solar Power! Businesses trying to get off the fence to commit major investment balancing connected loads are beginning to pencil out budgets that compete with conventional power. IRR forecast increase when long term utility costs can be levelized.      

Maybe this was the plan all along..Waste a ton of money on unrealistic manufacturing goals, then subsidize the purchase of this overpriced equipment, forcing the Chinese to counter with efficient manufacturing, flooding the market with cheap reliable power producing equipment, increasing the ever growing demand for solar power, ultimately addressing climate change.  

It's Shear Genius! Thanks guys, I could never have figured that out!

Several years ago, we began exploring irrigation water use by studying how plants use water. In California’s hot central valley, plants use transpiration or evaporation for cooling, a function ironically similar to human physiology when we sweat. We concluded that by providing partial shading at a certain height allows normal plant growth, reduces ambient temperatures thus reducing a plant’s water consumption. This original effort to reduce agricultural water use eventually evolved into the urban power plant we call Highwire energy. 

Our design is based on cooling or shading larger areas (primarily parking lots) adjacent buildings with a continuous canopy shade at heights that allow cooler horizontal air flow around buildings. The system mitigates urban heat island, increases building efficiency and combines savings for affordability.   Juxtaposed to standard carport PV designs, Highwire differs notably in height, total area and continuous shade coverage.

Simple and efficient, shade cools surfaces and increases human comfort. These solar panels don’t just provide clean power; they provide dual land use, cool the workplace, cool parking areas and contribute to a buildings energy savings to make this an affordable investment.

It’s too bad construction services aren’t always simple and clear. Services might be offered in various forms with varying contractual obligations. Owners want value and guaranteed price, contractors want protection.  A good CM or construction management relationship can offer open book value, no hidden fees and a stalwart committed to managing the team toward a quick and efficient completion.

CM contracts are not all structured the same, so it’s important to know what to look for when comparing and evaluating. When a contract needs legal translation just to understand the basic nuances you might want to consider why? The CM relationship should be clear, concise and simple to understand or you could face unknowing expense later.

A CM should be the owner’s agent working toward the practical delivery of a design intention. Organizing this information and managing process enabling contractors to complete work on time and budget.  When hiring a CM, consider the following questions:

Is the CM involved from the beginning of the design plan?

Maybe the most critical phase of construction is the initial program management. The owner might wait to bring on the CM until after the design is completed. This is a mistake. The CM should work with the owner and designer to produce a good deliverable work product. A subcontractor needs unambiguous plans, specifications, material availability, schedule, etc. or they price work according to their level of comprehension and comfort. Early involvement to work with design delivery and value gives the CM knowledge and project ownership ultimately saving time, money and minimize missteps.  

What should the CM Fee include and are other costs involved?

A CM should charge a Fee and Reimbursable Expense.  Reimbursable expenses include all necessary costs such as; CM labor, office/trailer, office equipment/supplies, internet, toilets, electricity, etc. The cost is based on a project schedule developed by the CM. Fee includes profit and administrative overhead. Fee is typically based on a percentage of the project’s base dollar value. 

The fee should be fixed regardless of total cost of construction. A fee based on percentage of running cost provides little incentive to keep costs low. So unless the project scope changes dramatically, the fee should not change. Reimbursable expenses are extended according to the project schedule.

Depending on level of complexity and job size, CM services should be split into preconstruction and construction phases. The construction phase shouldn’t necessarily be guaranteed to the CM. This motivates the CM to produce a good work product, and gives the owner a chance to vet out the CM.  The owner can decide to pull the trigger after evaluating the preconstruction work product.

Are Reimbursable Expenses and General Conditions the same?

This often gets mixed up. General conditions include all activities and services necessary to complete construction not necessarily remaining a permanent part of the building. E.g. insurance, permits, access, temp facility, dumpsters, hoisting, construction fencing, trash removal, etc. Reimbursable Expenses represent a small fraction of the overall general conditions. General conditions can be covered separately or included in subcontractor bid packages.  

Can you negotiate the CM Fees?

You bet. This is an open book process so when the CM choice is made, sit down and discuss all fees. Weed out any unnecessary services and let the CM provide then prove the base project schedule in order to determine the total cost of services with fee.

When choosing a CM 

Make sure they have a diverse portfolio of projects. A strong CM can successfully manage the process regardless of building type of if they have done that particular type of project. Your CM should be pragmatic, logical and loyal. With experience in project management that adheres to deadlines, budgets and communication. Then this process becomes a successful adventure.

It’s fair to say energy has become the cornerstone of our society. We plan our lives and economies around it. India and China rely on energy to power to their emerging industries. In the US, energy shapes policy and affects the cost of living. In Europe, energy has a direct affect on political and economic well being. Recent challenges to energy status-quo include; Cost of energy, Climate change, Aging central power grids, Competing interests for gas, oil, coal and the political instability of oil producing nations.  

Globally, there is a consensus for a reasonable mix of energy production, transmission and use. And traditional central power has begun supplementing supply with solar, wind, water, geothermal, biomass, etc. This is promising moving forward but not without limitations.

One example for the traditional power model can be made through primitive irrigation. By opening a flood gate from a central source, water floods the entire field. Used for thousands of years, it is simple and effective. However, with the advent of irrigation pipe and sprinklers, farmers can apply water directly to plants at certain times, maximizing the effect and saving a valuable resource. Central power production acts the same way. Energy is dumped into the grid from a central source and may travel hundreds of miles to meet demand and whatever is left is lost.

An efficient way to maximize the cost and effectiveness of power distribution is to decentralize it. Produce and use energy locally through predominately renewable sources. However, a purely local supply is neither theoretically nor economically suitable. Demand supply requires a constant source. And renewable energy fluctuates, so locally produced energy needs constant energy to balance demand. Fossil fuels cannot be eliminated in our power supply chain in the near future. So a balance between the two needs to be developed.

Improve consumer efficiencies through high performance infrastructure and design. Lower demand supply through decentralized energy sources located closer to the urban center and high demand. Central power can then plan production logically and without reacting to peak conditions. 

We studied providing high output clean energy in the urban setting. Practical space requirements and land cost have rendered high output clean energy located in cities rare. So we used design logic based on cost and implementation. The result is a system that fits within the urban setting, adjacent buildings without accommodation. Power is scalable to over 1MW and reflects heat at heights allowing cooler air to circulate underneath the system and around adjacent buildings reducing direct energy cost.

Innovation is the key to our future.

Project management is an organized effort to complete a project successfully. A project is a one-time effort that produces a specific result, for example, a building or a major new computer system. This is in contrast to a program, which is 1) an ongoing process, such as a quality control program, or 2) an activity to manage a series of multiple projects together. In some countries, the term "program" refers to a software tool and the term "programme" can mean a TV or radio show.

Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining and confirming the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and how goals will be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes managing the implementation of the project plan, along with operating regular 'controls' to ensure that there is accurate and objective information on 'performance' relative to the plan, and the mechanisms to implement recovery actions where necessary.

Projects usually follow major phases or stages (with various titles for these), including feasibility, definition, project planning, implementation, evaluation and support/maintenance.

*Kevin Lonergan

The recession has taught many lessons. Business is paring back and people are learning to do more with less. For the business that does not anticipate staff increases in the near future, then consider your buildings function juxtaposed with personnel and space. The physical space and environment are the most expensive business investment overhead besides people. So an office experiencing a 25% loss in personnel while occupying the same space should consider consolidation planning. Smart planning can net big returns in employee satisfaction and utility savings.

Planning a consolidation can be done simply and the work sequenced around the business with little loss in employee productivity. Increasing energy efficiency can be done quickly and in some cases, passively, depending on location and building type. And the savings in overhead cost and increased productivity can be measured by your people and cash in the bank.

The other day we submitted a construction management proposal. Our package was clean and concise and the owner seemed impressed with our overview and attention to detail. During the follow-up interview, the owner mentioned he appreciated our commercial background coming from a national outfit, but now that we are a small group, why should he work with us, juxtaposed to a large nationally known group for about the same price. I froze. That was very a good question and I never actually thought about it because I have always worked for that “big company” and this was the first time someone asked me to argue against it.

The big company does have advantages over a smaller outfit. Personnel, overhead, relationships, big Christmas parties on a boat! Proposals can list a resume of similar successful projects from offices in different cities, because we all worked under the same moniker. Now, I am faced with explaining the merits of small group based on individual experience, what a nightmare!

In my mind, I began a reconciliation of projects I completed. I remembered that some of my most successful projects began with some form of conflict between team members with strong opinions about costs, design, procedure, etc. In fact, some of my closest professional relationships were formed by productively defining that conflict.       

I explained that his choice should include smart, practical, fair, and provide a leadership that gains respect while enabling the strengths of the team. To represent the owner from an owner’s prospective. Qualities not exclusive to large companies, but the people in them.   

From 2000 to 2005, Worldwide electricity used by data centers doubled. In another year this could double again or have quadrupled in about ten years. The popularity of “cloud” computing, virtual collaboration and exponential growth of the internet, continues to drive what some think is an imminent data center energy crisis. So high performance infrastructure and smart data center design is critical as the energy demand tries to keep pace with our expanding appetite for information.  

On average, data centers operate at about 5 percent to 10 percent efficiency.  The measurement tool for this is Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). Large data centers generally operate with about 2.5 PUE. Or for every 2.5 watts a data center uses, less than 1 watt is used for computing.

Much of that power is used to invert AC to DC voltage and the electronics that regulate voltage. Data centers also rely on redundant systems for power backup. Many data centers were designed and built for economy, not efficiency. And as the equipment generates increased heat with higher performance processing, the environmental cooling becomes problematic.  

The greening of data centers most likely will not come due to pressure from government or environmentalists or even customers, but because it makes good business sense. Sustainable and scalable data center infrastructure can pay itself in less time due to the overall foot print and the inherent higher energy use. Conversely, profits will deteriorate if overhead cost cannot be contained. And where much energy is wasted on environmental systems rather than on profitable computing, the value of providing high performance infrastructure grows even greater.    

Ecobaun provides commercial energy, engineering and construction services. 

The strongest point to advertise alternative energy is cost parity. If the cost for green energy is within parity to normal utility rates without direct subsidy, and with the promise of future free energy, then the decision to buy it becomes a fairly mute point. It’s a simple equation if analyzed right.

Commercial business has problems evolving toward decentralized energy because most sites haven’t planned for the energy equipment, and high energy output needs lots of space that can meet requirements for solar exposure or wind velocity. This all adds up to cost per watt for green power competing against normal utility rates. An owner needs to consider the cost of dedicating adjacent land or usable rooftop space along with, planning and engineering required to retrofit existing space, e.g. structural support, roofing, dedicated land, etc. in addition to equipment cost. This all adds up to the final cost per watt for power. Some businesses will spend the money to fit their business around the energy vs. the energy fitting around the business, most cannot.

Commercial alternative energy systems need to act autonomously on an existing site without dedicating that space for power alone. by separating the system from existing buildings, and allowing dual land use add value and reduce intrinsic cost and associated problems with a retrofit. Our design is dynamic, consolidated and cost effective. Our plant is completely scalable to well over a MW producing commercial power while mitigating the urban heat island adjacent buildings decreasing cooling costs from 10% to 40% depending on system placement and building condition.

Increase the energy systems value by designing energy around existing business, add direct building benefits, dual land use and low production cost will achieve cost parity.

In 1905, a Shell subsidiary, Automobile Gasoline Co., offered drive-through refueling services in St. Louis, Missouri. The station consisted of a pipe from the main storage tank to a 30-gallon, six-foot-high galvanized tank. On that tank, was a glass gauge and a valve with a hose, so gasoline could be pumped directly into vehicles. Until that first station, those few cars would get cans of gasoline in wooden boxes from a general store or a livery stable.

And I bet people sitting on spooked horses probably had an opinion of the loud smoking car driving by. People lived where they worked and based on how far they could travel by horse. As roads and infrastructure were built-up, where we live, work and society in general, changed forever.

The EV
Today, we face the monumental challenge of reversing 100 years of reliance on the combustion engine. Electric vehicles or EV’s are a much simpler technologically than the combustion engine. Ironically, electric and hybrid autos we available and very popular at the same time the first gas station was built. But, with the advent of paved roads allowing long distance travel, inexpensive mass produced cars, cheap gas, even the electric starter replacing the hand crank, killed the era of electric cars. If we only knew, what we know now..

What we do know is infrastructure will advance change. For many years, auto companies have unveiled EV’s, but with no place to plug them in? The combustion engine spread out our society and any replacement needs to offer the same long distance reliability. So as long as there are reliable cheap autos and gas stations, you will not see anybody rushing to buy an EV. Hybrids have helped close the gap, but are still not free from fossil fuel and cost to value for a hybrid doesn’t make much sense until mileage starts typically exceeding 50 mpg.  

When cars and trucks can use a single simple electric motor to travel wherever they need to go, will be the day we walk away from the combustion era and never look back.

One Station at a Time.
The challenge remains to create an infrastructure of fast charge stations that link our highways and roads. Only then, auto companies, battery manufacturers and other innovative startups will invest to define reliable inexpensive vehicles and supporting systems to charge vehicles. 

Several companies are attempting to make this a reality. ECOtality manufactures the “blink” charging station and is currently working with several California Cities and Agencies to locate smart charging stations in the San Diego corridor. Other regions will soon be following suit, because if done correctly, this stations can become commercially viable through private investment.   

Ecobaun has developed an architecturally balanced energy system for these charging stations that produces and can store electricity. Our system will accommodate charging stations such as the blink system. In addition, and in order to create commercial cost parity, we designed several levels of commercial value into our system besides providing power, making these stations not only commercially viable, but profitable.

So just like those first petroleum engineers scratching their heads wondering if a filling station will ever make an impact on the community, so will we work toward commercially viable solutions for carbon free transportation.

A Lawrence Livermore Study states: "Urban areas are growing hotter as a result of gradual surface modifications that include replacing natural vegetation with buildings and roads. “Heat Island Effect” describes this phenomenon. Buildings and pavements absorb solar radiation and become extremely hot warming the surrounding air. As the air temperature rises, so does the demand for air-conditioning (AC). This leads to higher emissions from power plants, as well as increased smog formation as a result of warmer temperatures. In the United States, increase in air temperature is responsible for 5–10% of urban peak electric demand for AC use, and as much as 20% of population-weighted smog concentrations in urban areas.

The simplest way to cool cities is by shading and cooling pavements, concrete and rooftops. Computer simulations done for Los Angeles, CA show that by cooling about two-thirds of the pavements and rooftops and planting three trees per house would reduce air temperatures equivalent to removing the LA basins entire onroad vehicle exhaust load."   

Solving the energy crisis is right in front of us. Commercial alternative energy can achieve cost parity with smart design and dual use of otherwise dedicated land. Our commercial energy systems allow for the commercial dual use of any space they are located and have the mitigating effect of over 200,000 shade trees. In addition, our systems save up to 40% of the buildings cooling use in addition to generating power. 

When we begin decentralizing commercial power loads, we begin to solve the problems we now face regarding new plants and power grid upgrades.

ecobaun