As energy costs continue to soar, so is business for environmental engineering firms as businesses seek to make their buildings more energy efficient. In some cases, firms are looking at revamping their own offices to showcase energy efficient and other green designs.
Ken Koornneef, principal of Nobis Engineering in Concord, says the firm is seeing more of a demand for energy efficient and environmentally sound building in the state. Nobis itself is planning to go green with a new mill building that the company recently bought in Massachusetts. The company is also considering solar paneling for the roof of its Concord office, Koornneef adds. One of the driving factors for us is energy cost savings and being an environmental firm, we wanted to walk the walk, he says.
Mike Burke, senior principal at JGI Eastern Inc., a Terracon company located in Manchester, echoes Koornneef's sentiments. We are most definitely going to get more and more involved in the green movement, Burke says. The plan is for the company to change its own internal practices and building systems first so clients will be able to see that we are reducing our own carbon footprint.
While creating more energy efficient buildings for themselves, these firms are also fielding calls from clients wanting the same for their own businesses. Nobis is working with a client on designing a new high performance building in the Concord area, with hopes of achieving LEED Platinum certification. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the U.S. Green Building Council rating system for high performance, sustainable building. The structure will have an energy efficient shell and will use renewable energy sources, such as wood pellets and solar paneling. The company is designing the site to be self-sustaining and is planning not to connect to the public sewer and water grid in their new location, Koornneef adds. Instead, they are planning to use an on-site well, collect storm water for irrigation and flushing toilets, and install low flow fixtures and waterless urinals to help reduce water usage. The business is also exploring ways to use a wood pellet boiler for power generation on the site.
Nobis is also working on housing projects in the state to incorporate green practices into their buildings. I think you have to with oil prices being what they are, Koornneef says. Companies seem to be motivated equally by rising energy costs and wanting to be more environmentally friendly. They are trying to prepare for the long term, Koornneef says, even though it may cost more upfront. The initial investment may be as much as 10 percent more for a platinum green building like the one Nobis is currently working on, according to Koornneef.
While engineering firms have been working on these types of projects for a while, Koornneef says it seems more business owners are now starting to tap into the resource. To meet this increased demand, Nobis had some of its staff obtain LEED accreditation through the U.S. Green Building Council.
JGI's geotechnical engineers have been recommending the reuse of inorganic, paintfree demolition material as engineered fill for more than 20 years to reduce environmental impact and save construction dollars, Burke says, predicting the Northeast will start to see more of a push for green building practices within the next decade. One technology people have been looking at is green roofs, he says, which involve planting vegetation on the roof of a building to keep the building cool and prevent contaminants in rain water from running off of the roof and into ground water or surface water.
Another technology that is gaining momentum is geothermal energy, which uses steam and hot water produced inside the earth to heat buildings and generate electricity. Geothermal energy is used to generate electricity in Hawaii and several western states, says Peter McGlew, principal hydrogeologist at Aries Engineering Inc. in Concord. He says while the firm's main focus is on environmental clean up, it is starting to see work grow into areas involving energy efficiency. Aries Engineering can help companies establish geothermal heating systems and, though it is not routine request at this point, McGlew says people are asking for it more. According to U.S. Geological Survey estimates, if people made use of 1percent of the geothermal energy in the upper five miles of the earth's crust, it would amount to more than 300 times the global oil and gas resources, McGlew says.
As for other alternative energy sources, McGlew says he has not received inquiries for solar paneling, but increasingly companies are eager to start wind power and bioenergy projects in the state. Anyone thinking of constructing a new building should consider energy efficient systems for heating and cooling and try to use as much insulation and energy efficient appliances as they can, he adds. They should look at making their building as energy efficient as they can and combine the many available technologies, McGlew says.
-Business NH Magazine
Current Issue - April 2024