THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
The U.S.'s largest landlord is looking for innovative, energy-saving building technologies to test as part of its "Green Proving Ground" Fiscal Year 2014 program.
The General Services Administration has issued a Request for Information to industry, commercial organizations, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations for "technologies that have the potential to improve economic and environmental performance in federal buildings."
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The GSA-owned Stanley J. Roszkowski U.S. Courthouse in Rockford, IL, achieved LEED Gold certification when renovation was completed in 2011. |
The technologies selected would support GSA's Green Proving Ground program, which uses the agency's vast real-estate portfolio as a giant testing bed to evaluate emerging building technologies that promise environmental benefits and cost savings.
Submissions for the 2014 prgoram are due at 5 p.m. ET Dec. 9.
Proving Ground
The program began in FY 2011 and has chosen a wide variety of technologies for what it calls "rigorous real-world measurement and verification" in GSA's thousands of buildings nationwide.
The program serves both the public and private sectors by helping to identify technologies that can reduce the staggering energy drain of the nation's commercial and public buildings.
The first set of results showed "a potential to save $61 million annually if the technology were to be applied across our portfolio by tenant agencies," according to the program's blog.
Energy Drains
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), buildings represent 39 percent of U.S. energy consumption and 38 percent of U.S. CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, lighting consumes close to 35 percent of the electricity used in U.S. commercial buildings.
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The 92-year-old Wayne Aspinall Federal Building and Courthouse in Grand Junction, CO, is expected to be the GSA's first net-zero energy facility on the National Register of Historic Places. The renovation captured two AIA design awards. |
Water usage in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 10 percent of all water used in the U.S., while HVAC systems in those buildings account for 34 percent of the energy used on site, DOE reports.
Meanwhile, the Energy Independent and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 requires federal buildings to slash their energy consumption according to a series of benchmarks.
New technologies that reduce those loads and costs would benefit commercial building owners and taxpayers alike, GSA says.
Trending Now
Technologies tested under the Green Proving Ground program include occupant-responsive lighting systems, non-chemical water treatment, wireless sensor HVAC networks, and smart windows.
Both Technology Assessments and Technology Findings are published on GSA's website.
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Founded in FY2011, the Green Proving Ground Program puts new building energy technologies to the test in GSA's thousands of buildings nationwide.   |
Currently, for example, the program has released preliminary technology assessments on:
Learn More
More information about the Green Proving Ground Program is available here.
Applicants for the 2014 GPG program may review the RFI on FedBizOpps.gov here.
Tagged categories: Building envelope; Energy efficiency; General Services Administration; Good Technical Practice; Government contracts; Green building; Lighting; U.S. Department of Energy
