In collaboration with a real estate developer, Popli Design Group (PDG) is currently designing for a major expansion/renovation project for a corporate office building. Built during the 1970s, the facility is a single-story office building of approximately 10,000 square feet, and is in need of an expansion due to limited office spaces. 

​

Three design options with different sustainability goals are being evaluated concurrently, including vertical expansion of a second floor towards a net zero energy building, horizontal expansion to the back of the building towards a LEED Silver equivalent, and existing building renovation with optimized space configuration towards a LEED certified equivalent. 

​

For design Option 1 and Option 2, energy modeling in accordance with LEED v4 is being performed with the design teams in an integrated design process. Currently, the system performance for multiple HVAC alternatives – based on the schematic design – are being assessed in the energy models in eQUEST. The proposed HVAC system alternatives for Option 1 are geothermal heat pump, air-source heat pump, and combined heat and power (i.e. micro-turbines) systems. The proposed HVAC system alternatives for Option 2 are water-source heat pump, geothermal heat pump, rooftop units with variable air volume (VAV) terminals, and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems. Once the HVAC systems are identified, whole building energy simulation per LEED EA Credit (Optimize Energy Performance) will be developed with both design teams.

​

In addition to energy modeling, benchmarking utility bills, setting energy use intensity targets, analyzing design and construction considerations, and estimating itemized project costs have also been conducted by the energy team to optimize the building performance.