Cost

Lighting the Way
Michael Nicklas, FAIA
Building Design & Construction, March 2008

Despite studies to the contrary, green buildings are perceived to cost much more than conventional buildings. However, using whole-building, whole-site approaches to both projects, Northern Guilford Middle and Reedy Fork Elementary prove that sustainability does not need to cost more.

Selling Green in the Spec Office Market
Building Design & Construction March 2008

"For example, the additional cost for underfloor air distribution was offset by requiring less mechanical equipment for air distribution and modular electrical distribution, says Christensen." Developer: Gary Christensen, The Christensen Corporation

"For instance, to help cover the additional first costs for the building’s underfloor air distribution system, the team reduced the height of the building by approximately one foot per floor, which 'dramatically lowered our building skin cost,' says Swearingen. 'Integrated design was a major time and money saver.'” Developer: Randy Swearingen, VP of office development with Aardex, Golden, Colorado

Modular Construction: Separating Myth from Realty
Boston Business Journal, September 2007

"Many believe a raised access floor adds a significant upfront cost to a project when used as part of an underfloor air delivery (UFAD) system. When considered as a stand alone-line item, raised flooring does represent an incremental cost to the overall project budget, but it is the offsetting cost-saving opportunities that have proven to make this design strategy a cost-effective approach."

Reduced Life Cycle Cost

The Value of Good Design
Property Owner: Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority
Ashrae, 2010

In the previous Owens Corning World Headquarters, it cost an average of $1000 per person to move or realign individuals and business teams. Since all partitions, office furniture and servies in the new headquarters are a modular "kit of parts", and the services are accessible via a raised floor, today moving costs are negligible.



Visual Tour of a LEED Gold Office Building
CSE, April 2009

"The energy performance of the building has exceeded expectations. The building modeling results estimated electric use at 363,773 kWh and gas at 7,971 therms (see Table 1). However, the building outperformed the modeling estimates by 24% for electric and 46% for natural gas. Overall, the integration of the building shell, daylighting, HVAC system, and other green features provides a 25% annual savings in building operating costs for Bick Group."



47 million Green Regional Bus Facility Opens in Tempe
AZ Central.com, October 2007

"Valley Metro driver John W. Blake gazed around at the comfortable, glistening, spacious drivers' lounge in the brand new East Valley Bus Operations & Maintenance Facility in Tempe and had just one word to say. "Awesome!" Ken J. Anderson, project architect, said evaporative cooling is used throughout the facility to save energy and money, and an under-floor air distribution system reduces energy usage by up to 47 percent."



Circle of Winners: KSBA
Call Center Magazine, March 2004

"The project incorporates many of the advanced systems pioneered by KSBA including raised-access floors........ The results: improved building and occupant performance either at no additional cost or, at modest, additional capital costs with respectable returns that often = more than 300%."



Breath of Fresh Air from Below (subscription necessary)
Globe & Mail, Sept 2003

"For office building developers and owners in a period of high vacancy rates, raised floors can provide a competitive edge....The cost can be up to $4.80 a square foot a year. With a raised-floor system, that can drop to less than $1."

Both First & Life Cycle Cost

Lighting the Way
High Performance Buildings, Winter 2008

"The Guilford County school district is the first in the state to develop its own set of detailed green design specifications, the G3-Guilford Green Guide. The results are now starting to come in and the first two schools....are proving to be among the best examples of sustainable design in the country. Designed to earn the Energy Star Label, it is projected to be among the top 10% in their category nationally." 



Hardware Today: What's On Your Server Wishlist?
Serverwatch.com, October 2006

"Perforated tiles are generally placed in the cold aisles to bring cold air to the heat load. Most people don't give them a second thought. But Tate Access Floors of Jessup, Maryland, has found out with a new slant for this everyday item. Its GrateAir tile is an aluminum grate that has twice the open area of regular tiles. That translates into a 300-percent increase in cubic feet per minute of cold air into the server room."



Underfloor Air Distribution: What Is It?
College Planning & Management, April 2005

"When it comes to comparing first cost to lifecycle cost, initial research shows that underfloor systems provide savings from improved flexibility, thus reducing costs associated with office recon-figuration, or churn."



UFA Distribution & Access Floors
Energy Design Resources, Design Brief

"Taken together as an integrated system, the under-floor air distribution system with an access floor can afford the building owner an overall decrease in life-cycle cost."



Walking On Air
Joseph Halza, July 2003, Today's Facility Manager

"The cost to install an underfloor system is typically less than the installed cost of a traditional overhead system.... While the amount of savings will vary with each application, it can represent significant dollars in both operating and life cycle cost."


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