Buildings
Big Pipes, Small Pumps: Interface, Inc. Factor Ten Engineering Case Study
This story of Interface Inc.’s Shanghai plant illustrates the pitfalls of the conventional design process—and the remarkable gains that are possible by rethinking basic assumptions. This paper describes how the lead designer Jan Schilham created a radical new layout with shorter, fatter pipes and smaller pumps to save nearly 90…
Green Footstep: Calculations and Data Sources
Green Footstep is an online assessment tool for reducing carbon emissions from building construction projects and is publicly available at greenfootstep.org. The Green Footstep tool guides the user through the process of life cycle carbon assessment, and then reveals how users can theoretically reduce the net carbon emissions. Some description…
Deep Energy Retrofit of Commercial Buildings: A Key Pathway Toward Low-Carbon Cities
Energy efficiency of commercial buildings is a fundamental part of the solution for developing low carbon cities worldwide. Existing commercial buildings consume significant energy, as well as presenting great requirements and opportunities for energy-efficient retrofits. This article introduces an approach tocommercial building retrofits that achieve large energy savings with attractive…
Lovins GreenHome 1.0: Factor Ten Engineering Case Study
Amory Lovins’s state-of-the-art green home and indoor growing space at 7,100 feet is remarkably energy efficient, includes several renewable technologies, and has no conventional heating and cooling system. The building demonstrates several principles of factor-ten engineering. This paper provides a detailed case study of the building.
Retrofit Industry Needs Assessment Study
The Retrofit Industry Needs Assessment Study is a part of RMI’s RetroFit Depot. Over the next 3–5 years, the RMI RetroFit team will create and execute new approaches to accelerating deep retrofits in commercial buildings. The project aims to retrofit at least 500 buildings within three years and stimulate far…