School Project Breaks LEED Record

The U.S. Green Building Council has just awarded DC's new Dunbar Senior High School—designed by a joint venture between Perkins Eastman Architects, Setty & SK&A. —an unprecedented 91 LEED credits, breaking the previous LEED for Schools record by 5 credits.  The largest portion of these earned credits came from the LEED category EAC1 (Optimization of Energy Performance), in which the new building's design earned an impressive 18 of 19 possible points, indicating that the School, opened in 2013, is projected to save from 46% to 48% in energy costs with respect to an ASHRAE-established baseline building performance rating.  These savings are being accomplished through an array of energy conservation measures, including a geothermal well field (DC's largest), PPA-acquired solar panels, radiant flooring, an advanced lighting system with dimmable ballasts, and a rainwater harvesting system.

Proving Emerging Chiller Technologies

SETTY, a leader in the field of high performing buildings, was recently chosen by the General Services Administration(GSA) to provide MEP design, controls integration, and commissioning services for an innovative 12-month comparison study of competing chiller technologies.  This effort is part of the GSA's Green Proving Ground (GPG) program, which is evaluating emerging building technologies in real-world settings and providing recommendations for their deployment across GSA's nationwide real estate portfolio.  The study site is the 5 story, 133-year-old Sidney Yates Building, located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

A joint effort between SETTY, Maryn Construction, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, this ongoing study is evaluating the technical performance and cost effectiveness of a variable-speed screw chiller compressor, one of only nine emerging technologies selected in 2014 for GPG evaluation.  The baseline for comparison is being provided by a magneticlevitation (Maglev) chiller compressor, a proven technology that was the subject of a 2013 GPG study.  Two chiller units—one variable-speed screw and one Maglev, both having identical capacity—are being installed side by side in the Yates building, and performance metrics for both units will be carefully monitored for the duration of the study.

Setty's engineers and commissioning experts are leveraging their expertise in high performing building design to ensure that the two competing chillers are installed in a manner that allows for a fair performance comparison and that efficiently serves the cooling needs of the  approximately 200,000 sf Yates building.  From field survey to design of new water pumps, variable frequency drives, a new advanced energy metering system, and a new central plant BAS, our engineers are customizing the installations to allow each chiller to operate at optimal efficiency. 

Once installation is complete, Oak Ridge will monitor and verify the study results.  Due to the variable-speed screw chiller compressor's ability to operate with high efficiency at partial cooling loads, the new technology is expected to outperform current ASHRAE efficiency standards by as much as 44%.  Other anticipated advantages include simplified operations and maintenance, and a short payback period—as low as 3 years according to manufacturer estimates.  The performance of the variable-speed screw chiller is expected to compare favorably with that of the Maglev chiller.  Study results are expected in 2016.

The SETTY Survey Team at NIST

Under our NIST IDIQ, SETTY is developing a full blown design to fix the problems of the Toxic Gas Monitoring System in the Advance Measurement Laboratory at NIST. Pictured in the required lab protection gear, the SETTY survey team has been working on solutions to fix the monitoring system that has been riddled with problems.

Building a Case for Net Zero

Emblematic of Setty's commitment to being on the vanguard of environmentally conscious building practices are two new D.C. area projects involving Net Zero Energy (NZE) buildings—one that is in its final stages, and the other recently awarded. 

First, with Bowie Gridley Architects, Setty has been investigating the feasibility of using an innovative combined heat and power (CHP) plant to serve four D.C. government buildings located in the city's new Southeast Eco-District. CHP plants improve overall power plant efficiency by recovering waste heat from electric power production, thus making NZE more attainable.  Another central tenant of NZE building design—on-site generation of renewable energy—is achieved by using a biomass-powered fuel cell as the CHP's prime mover.  Setty's proposed CHP/fuel cell design not only realizes NZE, but is projected to save the District over $300,000 per year in utility costs. 

Second, Setty was recently awarded the MEP Design and Construction Administration for a NZE demonstration home in Prince George's County, Maryland.  With this Urban Green-led project, our goal is to combine renewables—a photovoltaic array and solar water heating—with intelligent lighting and HVAC controls, thereby showing that NZE is a real option for low-income suburban residents.

In both projects, Setty's energy modelers and engineers are leveraging their expertise in high performing building practices to both serve our clients and put state-of-the-art building technologies on the ground.

SETTY-SETTCON turn-key Mechanical and Controls Design and Installation

Another SETTY-SETTCON turn-key Mechanical and Controls Design and Installation completed.  An annual  energy savings of 35% is anticipated.  Energy usage will be monitored and analyzed post-construction, through SETTY’s Fairfax-based remote Energy Analytics Center. 

Grand Opening of the Monseñor Romero Apartments

Six and a half years ago on March 12, 2008, there was a five alarm fire at this building.  It was the biggest fire in the city in the last 30 years and left nothing more than a brick facade for half of the building with everything behind it destroyed.  The fire displaced many low-income residents of the building who had been fighting against the owner over horrible building conditions and illegal evictions.  The building has been a scar on the neighborhood ever since, draining the commercial corridor of hundreds of needed customers while also forcing the residents out of the neighborhood that was their home for many years.

On Tuesday, November 25th, we are celebrating the preservation and creation of affordable housing with the Grand Opening of the Monseñor Romero Apartments!

SETTY is proud to have been a partner with Wiencek & Associates and the NHT Enterprise Preservation Corporation & National Housing Trust to deliver this project in time to return the residents home just in time for the holidays. 

Congrats to Debbie Gibson!

Congrats to Debbie Gibson on receiving an award for 15 years as the Executive Director of AIA Northern Virginia at the AIA annual awards event.