Roundtable speaker promotes energy-efficient building for new WHS

By Frank Ruggiero

ruggiero@wataugademocrat.com

Green development was the topic of last Thursday’s Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Roundtable breakfast.

Jeff Tiller is a professor of technology at Appalachian State University, and he also owns Jeff Tiller and Associates, a local heating and cooling system design firm. He spoke of high-performance buildings at the roundtable and, more importantly, why there should be a push for such buildings.

Fuel prices continue to rise, he said, and new power plants are being proposed and with them will come higher rates. Environmental concerns also dictate the need for high performance buildings, and Tiller said there is a growing consensus that climate change is real and the population has to act now.

Indoor air qualities also add to the list, as mold, moisture, radon and other issues are of increasing concern, Tiller said.

There is, however, good news. Technology development is on the rise and state-of-the-art construction is far beyond standard building practices, Tiller said, adding that many technologies are 10 to 15 years old but are just not used.

Existing buildings can also be made more energy-efficient. “There’s always a place in a building that could save 10 to 15 percent off the energy bill,” he said, adding that virtually every existing building is a candidate for cost-effective improvements.

Research on energy-efficient and green buildings has yielded other positives, such as higher productivity and improved student test scores.

Since 1990, residential energy use in North Carolina has increased dramatically, and Tiller said there are 3,523,944 homes in North Carolina and that there could be $1.2 billion a year in savings through efficient energy use.

Tiller said his company helped design an zero-energy home for Hickory’s Habitat for Humanity. Such measures end up paying for themselves, he said, having found there to be a four to five year payback in the home sector. “We can almost flatten out energy use in the state,” Tiller said, adding that this could reduce the state’s need for additional power plants, as well.

For existing commercial buildings, he said there are many simple ways to conserve energy and lower the power bill. “If we adjust that thermostat by five degrees, we could save more than 20 percent,” he said.

Roof insulation can play a big role, as can lighting systems and ventilation controls. As an example, he told how dampers in ventilation could be set to draw fresh air, but they still draw fresh air during the wintertime, wasting heat. Setting the system otherwise could save 30 percent, he said.

“There’s tons of potential there for every building,” he said.

Tiller then discussed the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) program, telling how it requires commissioning, in that an inspector will visit and find all the energy faults in a building project. Tiller said many people are put off by the cost of commissioning, but, “The idea is to spend money up front and get it done so you don’t have to fix it later. It’s a fairly rigorous program but very well-recognized.”

As an example of a green building development, Tiller mentioned daylit buildings, where daylight is used as a building’s primary source of light. Oftentimes, there are control systems that light rooms when clouds obstruct the sun. Daylighting systems are ideal for schools, Tiller said.

“For a school program, I just see a lot of positives from the work we’ve done in that area,” he said, adding that studies show students’ productivity to increase with daylight.

Tiller said students attending daylit schools in North Carolina outperformed students in non-daylit schools by 5 to 14 percent, while daylit schools saved an average of $165,000 a year on energy costs, which is 64 percent less than a typical school.

“When we do efficiency ... we all end up winners,” he said.

Jim Deal, chairman of the Watauga County commissioners asked Tiller if a combination of green strategies would be a wise way to proceed in building a new high school.

Tiller said the first priority is making such a building as efficient as possible. Daylighting, if done correctly, is the second priority. Geothermal energy is a great source, he continued, but can be expensive. He said solar water heating would be a good method to consider, as well.

Deal said he was pretty confident the county would employ water recapturing and daylighting, among other green practices, to the new school.  “If you do it right, you could minimize the need of heating,” Tiller said.

Tiller founded the Southface non-profit organization, which develops sustainable energy programs. In 2005, he was the recipient of the Sustainable Energy Leadership Award from the N.C. State Energy Office. He was also project director for development of the N.C. State Energy Plan.