Can you tell us about the P2S Decarbonization Task Force ? What is its purpose ?
AB : Its purpose is to educate and promote decarbonization design strategies across our various production groups and market segments . Within the group , there are separate groups focused on researching decarbonization technologies and specific tasks .
JDM : Our primary goal is to educate and promote decarbonization design strategies throughout the company . We have representation from all disciplines and offices , which allows us to bring our diverse backgrounds and experiences to the table . The Task Force meets twice a month and discusses current projects , lessons learned , modeling techniques , available technologies , etc . We ’ re currently developing several guidance documents and calculators , as well as developing a repository of projects where these technologies are being implemented . We ’ ll be sharing this information internally via Huddles and placement on our Intranet . We ’ ll also be looking to share this information externally in guidance documents and presentations to our clients .
What are some current or past projects with a decarbonization scope ?
AB : We as a company continue to guide and educate our clients to move towards carbon neutrality , promote electrification and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions at their facilities . We just completed the design on the Advanced Technology and Education Park ( ATEP ) at Saddleback College . Our design promotes electrification by providing heat recovery chillers and source heat pumps for space and domestic water heating . We worked closely with the architect to optimize the envelope by comparing energy models of various combinations and provided photovoltaic panels on the roofs to not only offset overall energy use but also reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions .
Planning their infrastructure wisely is something that all owners can do today , even if they don ’ t have the funding to install these technologies .
JDM : We recently completed the U . C . Riverside Student Success Center , an all-electric building pursuing LEED Platinum certification . This project utilized a designbuild delivery method , and during the pursuit process , we evaluated and proposed some newer technologies for their campus . As part of our pursuit , we identified similar buildings using these newer technologies , with a specific focus on the U . C . system . We also performed advanced energy modeling at this early stage to help assign energy reduction values associated with each energy conservation measure ( ECM ). This process was instrumental in helping us provide a solution that met UCR ’ s sustainability goals . We were ultimately awarded the project , and during the debrief process , the University went out of its way to compliment the effort and thought that went into the MEP design , including its impact on sustainability .
This building will serve as an anchor and focal point on the campus , and we ’ re proud to be part of such an exciting project . This is a marquee project with a wonderful overall design by the architect and our other partners . It was great to hear the owner compliment the MEP team , which often goes unsaid . Our efforts wouldn ’ t have been possible without a willing owner and great partners who all came to the table to work together .
In many instances , clients have limited budgets and are unable to afford or implement these technologies . Our approach in these cases is to provide the required infrastructure to implement these systems in the future . We provide flexible designs to our clients to accommodate decarbonization technologies in the future . For example , if they can ’ t add heat recovery chillers in their project today , we size their system for the low water temperatures to accommodate heat recovery systems in the future .
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Issue 03 / 2021