Architectural ELCCA Questionnaire

Topic: Standard questions to the project architect from the ELCCA analyst to complete the ELCCA workplan and report.

1) In general, State of Washington publicly-funded projects require an ELCCA if the project exceeds 25,000 ft.² or 50% of the total value of the facility.

• Public school projects which exceed 25,000 ft.² but not 50% of the total value the facility are excepted, and may file a PFEC only.
  
• See complete requirements in the 2005 ELCCA Guidelines.

2) WSEC values shown below are from the 2006 Washington State Energy Code
3) ELCCA values shown below are from the 2005 ELCCA Guidelines.
4) Reconcile any changes with the Architectural PFEC Questionnaire post.

ELCCA Workplan:

Note to the Analyst: Upon project initiation, cut-and-paste following questions to the body of an e-mail to the architect. Include copies of the LEED Scorecard and the Environment Design Considerations form as attachments, which you have completed to the best of available knowledge. These forms can be found by searching the index of this blog under 'Templates'.

• Building or project occupancy, number of persons
• Building or project size, square feet.
• Percent of building or project that is new
• Percent of building or project that is remodel
• Building-only cost estimate
• Site cost estimate
• Owner's project manager and telephone or e-mail
• Estimated VE date
• Estimated bid date

Walls

• Are the wall insulation systems between-studs batt, external rigid, or a combination of both?
• For all combination systems, please provide sketch.
  
• Do all of the anticipated wall constructions meet minimum Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) values? For example, are there any uninsulated masonry walls that may need to be compensated for elsewhere?
• Net effective WSEC minimum values in Climate Zone 1 (Western Washington) are approximately R-17 for wood framed wall, R-10 for metal framed wall, and R-7 for masonry wall assemblies.
• Net effective WSEC minimum values in Climate Zone 2 (Eastern Washington) are approximately R-17 for wood framed wall, R-12 for metal framed wall, and R-9 for masonry wall assemblies.
• Will any of the anticipated wall constructions meet or exceed ELCCA prescriptive values?
• Net effective ELCCA prescriptive values are approximately R-12 for framed or 'light' wall, and R-10 for 'mass block' or masonry wall assemblies in both climate zones.
  
• Note that per the WSEC, all metal framed walls in Climate Zone 2 and all wood-framed walls in both climate zones meet and exceed ELCCA prescriptive values, respectively.

Roofs

• Do all of the anticipated roof constructions meet minimum WSEC values?
• WSEC minimum values in Climate Zone 1 are approximately R-22 for most commercial and institutional roofs.
• WSEC minimum values in Climate Zone 2 are approximately R-26 for most commercial and institutional roofs.
• Will any of the anticipated roof constructions meet or exceed ELCCA prescriptive values?
• ELCCA prescriptive values are approximately R-30 for roofs in both climate zones. An exception is listed for batt insulation applied on the underside of the roof deck between roof joists; in this case R-38 is required to compensate for the thermal conductance of the joists.

Glazing

• What are the approximate areas or percentages of vertical and horizontal glazing?
• Is the building anticipated to have greater than 30% glazing?
• Exceptions are listed for buildings with greater than 30% glazing, and those heated exclusively via electric resistance.
• Will all of the anticipated glazing assemblies meet minimum WSEC values?
• In both climate zones, most vertical glazing (windows & doors) are required to have a maximum 0.55 U-value and 0.45 maximum Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC).
• Most horizontal glazing (skylights) are required to have a maximum 0.70 U-value and 0.40 maximum SHGC.

Doors

• Opaque doors are required by the WSEC to have an R-value of approximately 2 (U-0.60 maximum) in both climate zones. Please advise if doors are not anticipated to meet these requirements.

ELCCA Report:

• xx
• xx
• xx
• xx
• xx

Mechanical ELCCA Questionnaire

Topic: Standard questions for the mechanical engineer.

ELCCA Workplan

• Is there any documentation available from the eco-charette?
• Is there a LEED 2.2 checklist available reflecting direction from the eco-charette?
• What 'High-Performance' system would you like to model? Recommend ground-source heat pump, as this system also qualifies as the 'Renewable' system.
• If not ground-source heat pump for High-Performance system, than what system would you like a model as the 'Renewable' energy system? Systems qualifying as 'Renewable' in the past include displacement ventilation, and any system coupled with natural ventilation.
• What other two systems would you like a model? Suggestions include:
• Water source heat pump.
• Displacement ventilation.
  
• Centralized air handler with zone duct coils.
• Two-pipe or four-pipe blower coil with VAV or FPVAV.
  
• Is there a kitchen in this project, and if so is it primarily gas or electric?
• Do you anticipate the domestic hot water system to be gas or electric?

Electrical ELCCA Questionnaire

Topic: Standard questions to the electrical engineer from the ELCCA analyst to complete PFEC form, the ELCCA workplan, and the ELCCA report.

Note 1) WSEC values shown below are for the 2006 Washington State Energy Code
Note 2) ELCCA values shown below are for the 2005 ELCCA Guidelines
Note 3) The functional area list will answer for most schools; edit as required
Note 4) Code maximum power density is less than or equal to ELCCA prescriptive for administrative, multipurpose, cafeterias, gymnasiums, and auditorium areas.

PFEC Form:

Note to the Analyst: The following questions found on the PFEC may be answered by the electrical drawings, or may require the input from the electrical engineer.

• Fixture description including lamp and ballast type for the following functional areas:
• Classrooms
• Administrative
• Multipurpose/gymnasium
• Corridor & commons
• If available, obtain copies the NREC forms and the luminaire schedule from the electrical engineer; these will help to answer quantitatively most of the electrical questions on the PFEC.
  

ELCCA Workplan:

Note to the Analyst: Upon project initiation, cut-and-paste following questions to the body of an e-mail to the electrical engineer. If a timely responses is not received, the workplan may be submitted using prescriptive values. However responses are required to the questions of this section in order to complete the ELCCA report. The workplan should be updated if the electrical engineers responses are at variance with the information submitted.

• Fixture description including lamp and ballast type for the following functional areas:
• Classrooms & learning commons
  
• Administrative
• Multipurpose/gymnasium
• Corridors & restrooms

• What are the design lighting densities in the following functional areas? (WSEC maximums/ELCCA prescriptives shown in parentheses):
• Classrooms (1.2 /1.15 W/sf) :
• Administrative (1.00 /1.10 W/sf) :
• Multipurpose, cafeterias, gymnasiums, and auditoriums (1.0 /1.0 W/sf):
• Corridors and restrooms (0.80 / 0.70 W/sf) :

• Above code minimum, please indicate any of the following energy features or lighting controls anticipated for each of the functional areas:
  


• LED exit signs
  
• Occupancy controls
  
• Active daylighting
  
• Lumen maintenance controls
• Area sweep controls

• If daylighting is provided, will control be zone switched or continuous dimming?

• If the lighting densities in classrooms and corridors exceed ELCCA prescriptives, we must evaluate two lighting alternatives.


• Lighting Alternative #1:
  
• Lighting Alternative #2:

ELCCA Report:

In addition to the information from the preceding section, request the following data from the electrical engineer when available for inclusion in the ELCCA report:

• Lighting layouts
  
• Luminaire schedule
  
• Exterior lighting power, kW
  
• NREC forms, if available
• Emergency generator power, kW
  

Some of the items above may not be available until near the end project, and thus will not be available if the ELCCA is to be submitted near the end of schematic design of during the design development phase.

Trace 700 Input Data

Topic: Suggested standard input to be included in the appendix of the ELCCA report.

In the "Input Data" appendix of the ELCCA, include the following reports as the when using Trace 700 as the analysis software:

• Entered Values, Project Information
• Entered Values, Room Information
  
• Design Weather

The following screen capture showed the reporting module dialog boxes; the first one is accessed from the "View/Entered Values" menu in the main program, and the second from the "File/Print" menu of the Libraries/Templates manager:

Trace 700 Output Data

Topic: Suggested standard output to be included in the appendix of the ELCCA report.

Include the following reports as the "output data" when using Trace 700 as the analysis software:

• Energy Cost Budget, which compares all alternatives

For each alternative, include:

• Energy Consumption Summary
• Equipment Energy Consumption
  
• Monthly Energy Consumption
  
• Monthly Utility Costs

The above output data can be printed from the "Analysis" tab of the report module:

Standard Energy Efficiency Measures

Topic: Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) that may prove cost-effective in the context of typical ELCCA projects.

• Daylighting
• Heat recovery
• Envelope improvements from Code Minimum up to ELCCA Prescriptives
• Roof
• Wall
• Window & door
  
• Demand ventilation
• CO2 zone sensor control for large volumes, or
  
• Lighting occupancy sensor control for offices and classrooms
• If the electrical engineer is providing occupancy sensors for lighting control in the classrooms and possibly office areas, then interlocking the outside air damper operation to close when the lights are commanded off is a relatively simple energy saver.
• Estimating the value of this EEM is variable depending on the school -- obviously high schools and colleges with classrooms that aren't necessarily used all day will have a higher diversity and thus stand to save more energy.
  
• However if electrical is providing the occupancy sensor, then the marginal cost of interlocking for HVAC control should be minimal.
  
• Given actual elementary school schedules for assemblies, lunch hours, recesses, field trips, and early dismissal a potential for savings exists -- but quantifying it is little more difficult.
  
• Improved boiler efficiency
  
• Typically improved from an 80% baseline to 85% or 88%
• Improved lighting utilization per unit area over code specified maximum
  

Using AutoCAD Building Systems for Area Takeoffs

Topic: Using the eSpace/Space feature of ABS to simplify area takeoffs for energy analysis purposes.

• xref all floors of the building background to a new drawing, called say "JOBNUM_Area_Takeoffs.dwg"
• Use 'OT' to set osnap tracking on, 'OM' to add midpoints
  
• Use the 'ES' macro to draw an eSpace element
• Don't use eSpace arcs, will not import into eQuest correctly. Use line segments to approx. arcs.
  
• 'GNP' for general noplot layer for construction lines
• draw spaces to midpoint of walls
• insert 'Area Takeoff' schedule
• attach property set to spaces if required
  

...needs work

Post text on ABS Exchange, link from here.