Heating and cooling upgrades for a preparatory boarding school nestled among the trees in Pottstown, PA, wove together the best of 1950s innovation with today’s energy standards
Last month, the National Institute of Building Sciences Annual Conference and Expo wrapped up with a look at how building information modeling (BIM) is being taught to the next generation of building industry professionals.
How many energy-efficient or certified buildings are not living up to the label? Very, very many, if this Ohio commissioning/auditing firm’s experience is close to typical. They report on common weaknesses in efficiency strategies and on real-life patterns of upgrades gone wrong across an array of equipment types. While flaws in well-intentioned processes remain, a more careful investment of human energy can still yield the desired reduction in building energy.
Follow one firm’s path from committing to BIM to climbing a learning curve in using it to serve clients, and even on to taking an unusual step to fill what it sees as a need in the market.