At DMA Engineering, we firmly believe that energy modeling supports successful outcomes. To that end, we work with building owners to determine how and why buildings are struggling to maintain energy efficiency so the right adjustments can be made.
Every building tells a story. Some buildings are more vocal and interesting than others, but all buildings play a role in society. Just like people, buildings should be good citizens.
What story is your building telling? Is it a sad story where the building deteriorates over time and causes the community harm? Or is it a happy tale where a once-strong building is revitalized and becomes the hero again?
We’ve helped more than 100 buildings meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. We guide building owners through the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) process and provide insights while bringing buildings up to code.
We’ll dive into the value of energy modeling certification as you work toward improving a building to meet LEED requirements.
What are the Benefits of Energy Modeling?
There are several advantages to energy modeling. These include:
- Verifies Code Compliance — you can easily ensure you’ve checked all the necessary boxes while creating a successful path to energy efficiency.
- Building Optimization — cost control, occupant comfort, ongoing performance, and regulatory conformity are ensured.
- Develop detailed predictions — building owners will better understand what they can expect from new features and systems. It takes extensive expertise to develop realistic energy models to predict building performance accurately.
Modeling operates on the concept that there are trade-offs for decisions you make while building or remodeling a structure. Every decision about a building’s design, including the systems you select, has an interconnected impact on its overall performance.
For example, if you expand a building’s square footage without upgrading its HVAC system to match, it will struggle under the strain of the new space. Energy modeling could easily predict that you’ll need a much better HVAC setup.
What is LEED Certification?
The LEED rating system is the world’s most widely used building rating system for energy efficiency and sustainability. A LEED-certified building joins an elite tier of environmentally friendly structures. Buildings gain LEED certification while people gain LEED accreditation.
Buildings
LEED building certification involves achieving credits on multiple fronts. These primarily involve energy use, water use, waste, carbon, transportation, building materials, and indoor air quality.
People/Organizations
Individuals can achieve LEED accreditation by taking exams to demonstrate their knowledge. If a company or organization says it is LEED accredited, it means one or more staff members accomplished official LEED accreditation status.
How Does Energy Modeling Work?
The first step in creating an energy model is examining the building load through a load analysis. This analyzes the impact of the building’s design and systems on its ability to function without failure.
A building is vulnerable to every change in code requirements, construction techniques, lighting upgrades, ventilation requirements, and more. The rules that governed a building’s past may not remain the same.
Energy modeling analyzes the space to determine what the owner can do to make appropriate improvements. DMA Engineering uses tools like DesignBuilder and a psychrometric chart to conduct load analysis and make recommendations for better performance.
Examples of Successful Energy Modeling Projects
DMA Engineering worked with a general contractor on a high-end residential project in Vail for better building cooling due to ever-increasing ambient summer temperatures. We ran an energy model of the building at different points throughout the day to determine the operative temperature of the space.
With these data points, we advised changes to the windows and skylights that would reduce the overall heat gain of the building while reducing the temperature of the space. We also informed the owner about the days out of the comfort range and potential adjustments.
On another project, we worked with Health Trust of America on a pair of buildings in Highlands Ranch. The organization added these buildings to its portfolio and went to work raising the buildings to its standards. We performed a full retro-commissioning of the buildings including energy modeling to evaluate advanced control sequences for greater savings and comfort.
To read more case studies showing our success in building effective energy models for our clients, please click the links below.
Case Study: MH Nation
Case Study: First Universalist Church
Case Study: White Hawk Ranch
Case Study: Eagle’s Nest Early Learning Center
DMA Engineering: Expert Energy Modeling Certification
Energy modeling is a highly effective tool to tell your building’s story. DMA Engineering gives context to the story, helping you run “What if?” scenarios and conduct a lifecycle analysis to reach the best possible outcome.
When you partner with us, you can rest assured that you’re partnering with industry-leading experts in LEED standards and code compliance. DMA Engineering energy modeling certification means we have the expertise to help your building achieve a new level of efficiency.
Please contact DMA Engineering today to discuss a partnership to ensure your project fulfills LEED requirements.
Contact DMA Engineering today to discuss how we can help ensure your project fulfills LEED requirements.