Page 29 - BusinessWest August 19, 2024

“We’re educating the end user on how to operate systems. That’s something that’s changed in the last 10 years — as part of the design, we build in the training.”
“If you’re going to spend more money on more efficient and bet- ter equipment, how long does it really take to pay for that back, and is it worth it? The other part is maintenance. We’ve had cli- ents that want the most sophis- ticated, the top of the line of everything, but if you don’t have the staff or the crew to maintain it, it’s a headache; it never will operate or be as efficient as it’s supposed to be. So that’s a factor that should always be considered with those systems.”
Bert Gardner, also a vice president with Caolo & Bieniek, agreed.
“Sometimes it causes confu-
sion. So the challenge is, how do
you simplify that for the end user
as much as possible, because a lot of places don’t have the staff to troubleshoot when things go wrong. We’re educating the end user on how to operate systems. That’s something that’s changed in the last 10 years — as part of the design, we build in the training. We talk to the owner about what the systems are going to be and who they’ve got available to be trained on the systems and how long are they going to need to train. We write it right into the specs for the lighting controls — plan for two days for you to get your staff up to speed on how the lights work in the building.”
Tierney said current energy codes are moving the world in a positive direction with respect to reducing energy use and the car- bon impact of buildings, but owners, architects, builders, and code officials are all having to learn very quickly how to meet these new code requirements. At Kuhn Riddle, that has led to a recent empha- sis on passive-house design and certification, which focuses on dra- matic energy-use reduction for space heating and cooling.
This architect’s rendering from Kuhn Riddle shows a mixed- use project centered around the historic Hastings building in Amherst, which will include five stories of residential units, helping meet a need for more housing in town.
“We currently have one certified passive-house consultant and five others training to become passive-house designers,” she told BusinessWest. “We understand the detailing that’s required behind passive-house design and the process you have to get through to get passive-house-certified to meet the energy-code requirements. So that’s an expense that, as designers, we’re taking on in terms of getting our staff certified,
but then there are lay-
ers of construction costs
associated with that as
Roundup
>>
Continued on page 30
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