Best practices and case studies

Explore presentations to the Interagency Sustainability Working Group on examples of specific practices and projects that agencies have actually employed. One of the best ways to learn and make the case for high-performance building innovations is to point to others’ experience in implementing these innovations — both their successes and lessons learned.

Title	Type	Date	Description
Energy Master Planning for Community Resilience — A. Zhivov [PDF - 6 MB]	Governmentwide	2018-12	Dr. Alexander Zhivov of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers explains how energy master planning can make campuses and communities more resilient to major energy disruptions, with case studies from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Gram, Denmark. For more information, visit the International Energy Agency Energy in Buildings and Communities Program Annex 73 website and view the U.S. Army Corps presentation [PDF - 1 MB] from the 2017 Energy Exchange conference.
Energy Storage at Federal Buildings — D. Kaneda [PDF - 1 MB]	Governmentwide	2022-01	David Kaneda, Principal, IDeAs Consulting and Chair of GSA Green Building Advisory Committee, presented information on the committee recently-posted findings and recommendations on energy storage for federal facilities. For more information, see the November 2021 advice letter, Recommendations for the Adoption of Energy Storage in Federal Buildings [PDF - 1 MB].
Hot Water Temperature Maintenance Efficiency Opportunities — C. Cejudo and A. Davila [PDF - 1 MB]	Governmentwide	2021-04	Carmen Cejudo and Alex Davila of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory describe the goals and approach of the Water Management Program within the U.S. Department of Energy Federal Energy Management Program, or FEMP. One of these goals is to develop maps, tools, and recommendations to help agencies improve water efficiency in their facility operations. In this presentation, the PNNL experts describe various innovative ways to maintain hot water at fixtures to promote a fast, reliable hot water supply, and in the process, save water and energy. To learn more, visit the FEMP Water Efficiency in Federal Buildings and Campuses website.
Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Intelligence Center Solar Project — M. Sandler [PDF - 2 MB]	Agency specific	2020-02	Mike Sandler, Energy Program Manager at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, presents a case study of the 2.47-megawatt direct current solar photovoltaics system at the agency’s El Paso Intelligence Center in Texas. He describes how DEA used an energy savings performance contract, or ESPC, energy sales agreement project structure for the solar array, utilizing funds from a U.S. Department of Energy, FEMP AFFECT Grant. The solar array is expected to generate approximately 80 percent of the center’s electricity. For more information, see the case study on the FEMP website and the full list of 2019 FEMP Energy and Water Management Award Winners.
Denver Federal Center Building 48 modernization — J. Sielcken, M. Bartels, B. Fortune, and M. Swanson [PDF - 9 MB]	Agency specific	2023-03	This case study presentation describes the modernization and electrification of Building 48 at GSA Denver Federal Center in Colorado. Formerly an ammunition manufacturing plant and warehouse, this 1940s-vintage facility is being transformed into a modern, high performance green office building. Compared to new construction, this project will see an 87 percent decrease in embodied carbon simply by reusing materials present in the existing building. Speakers: Jason Sielcken, AIA, GSA Regional Chief Architect; Brandon Fortune, PE, GSA Senior Project Manager; Michelle Swanson, PE, Vice President and Market Leader, RMH Group; and Matt Bartels, AIA, Senior Vice President, CannonDesign. To learn more, see the DFC Building 48 modernization project website.
Evaluation of GSA Total Estimated Cost Impact Metrics and Building Benchmarking — V. Loftness [PDF - 2 MB]	Agency specific	2020-10	Professor Vivian Loftness of Carnegie Mellon University presented her team’s research findings from an analysis of GSA smart buildings program, called GSALink. Installed in a growing list of GSA buildings, GSALink notifies building managers with “sparks,” or real-time alerts about suboptimal operation of major building equipment. For a 60-building portfolio in GSALink, the CMU study estimated annual cost savings of $7 million in energy, $4 million in maintenance, and $6 million in societal benefits. For more information on the research that Prof. Loftness and colleagues are doing, visit the CMU Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics.
FBI Energy and Water Conservation Investment Program — O. Huxley and E. Koprowski [PDF - 462 KB]	Agency specific	2021-04	Federal Bureau of Investigation Energy Program Manager Olwen Huxley and FBI Environmental Program Manager Elizabeth Koprowski describe the FBI Energy and Water Conservation Investment Program. Launched in Fiscal Year 2018, the program allows Bureau facilities to competitively apply for energy efficiency project funds set aside by the FBI Finance and Facilities Division. Energy and water saving projects previously considered lower priority compared to more urgent facility needs can now be funded without using scarce sustainment dollars.
GSA Reagan Building Decarbonization and Electrification Case Study — J. Kliem [PDF - 1 MB]	Agency specific	2023-10	John Kliem of Johnson Controls, provides an overview of GSA Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center National Deep Energy Retrofit ESPC project. John discusses the project details, the various energy conservation measures, and the results, which led to the project goal of electrification and decarbonization. For more information, read the GSA blog post.
NASA Sustainability Highlights — E. Mszar [PDF - 4 MB]	Agency specific	2022-11	Eugene Mszar of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration explains how NASA strategically manages its building portfolio to support the agency’s space exploration mission. To learn more, visit the NASA Office of Strategic Infrastructure homepage.
Net Zero Embassies — D. Shaffer [PDF - 3 MB]	Agency specific	2022-09	David Shaffer of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations describes the agency efforts to transform energy use and resilience at U.S. embassies worldwide, with particular focus on Embassy Koror in the Republic of Palau in the western Pacific. Electricity prices in Koror are among the world’s most expensive. By installing rooftop and carport solar photovoltaics and retrofitting campus lighting with highly efficient LEDs, Embassy Koror is set to become the State Department’s first net zero energy embassy. To learn more, visit the project portfolio website.
Net Zero Labs Pilot — S. Hayter and S. Dixon [PDF - 3 MB]	Agency specific	2023-01	Sheila Hayter of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Sam Dixon of the Idaho National Laboratory share details about the Net Zero Laboratories Pilot Initiative, a four-lab collaboration that launched in May 2022. The pilot involves four national laboratories — NREL, INL, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and National Energy Technology Laboratory — across multiple campuses. The speakers describe the decarbonization technologies and approaches being taken by each of the four pilot partners. To learn more, read the initiative’s launch announcement on the DOE website; and visit NREL and INL net zero labs pages.
NIST Gaithersburg’s Approach to a Solar PV Array Project — J. Bollinger [PDF - 5 MB]	Agency specific	2020-06	In this case study presentation, John Bollinger of the National Institute of Standards and Technology explains how NIST developed an ESPC ENABLE energy sales agreement task order award for a 5-megawatt solar photovoltaics array at its Gaithersburg, Maryland, campus. For more information, see the NIST energy sales agreement case study.
Recent Sustainability Successes for Veterans Affairs — A. Gilani [PDF - 777 KB]	Agency specific	2020-04	Asad Gilani, Portfolio Manager at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Energy Management Program, gives a run-down of sustainability progress at the agency, including significant energy and water savings and renewables growth even as hospital visits have grown.
The Impact of High-Performance Buildings — D. Horn [PDF - 4 MB]	Agency specific	2018-07	Don Horn of GSA Office of Federal High-Performance Buildings summarizes the findings of GSA study of sustainable design in federal facilities, posted June 2018. This report compares FY 2015–2017 data for 100 high-performance federal buildings — those that meet the Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings — to legacy federal building stock for which comparable data were available. It finds that high-performance buildings outperformed legacy stock in energy and water use, building operating expenses, landfilled waste, and overall tenant satisfaction.
ASHRAE HQ Building Case Study — D. Boyce [PDF - 6 MB]	Building specific	2024-06	Darryl K. Boyce, past ASHRAE President from 2019 to 2020, provided a case study on the new ASHRAE headquarters building. The goal of the project was to renovate a 1970s building into a high-performing net-zero-ready facility in a cost-effective method that can be replicated in the industry. Darryl Boyce outlined the strategy and thought process involved in achieving the ambitious goals of the project, as well as the challenges and lessons learned.
Case Studies: Aim for Net Zero Oklahoma — S. Rutledge [PDF - 1 MB]	Building specific	2024-08	Steve Rutledge, Performance Contract Program Manager from GSA, presented an overview of the Federal Emergency Management Agency award-winning net zero Oklahoma project. The project implemented grid-interactive efficient building technologies, achieving near net zero emissions and inspiring similar initiatives. Integrated into the building’s systems, including a photovoltaic array, LED lighting, and battery energy storage system, the project demonstrated the feasibility and positive impact of grid-interactive efficient building technologies on efficiency, resulting in significant cost savings.
GSA Case Study: U.S. Land Port of Entry, Columbus, New Mexico — E. Richter and D. Richter [PDF - 5 MB]	Building specific	2020-12	Elizabeth Chu Richter and David Richter describe how their firm, Richter Architects, designed and delivered an American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment Top Ten award-winning expansion of the U.S. Land Port of Entry in Columbus, New Mexico. Indirect overhead daylighting, rooftop solar photovoltaics, grassland restoration, and water harvesting to reduce irrigation in the desert environment are some of the design features that helped earn the project LEED Platinum certification. For more information, see the AIA COTE Top Ten Showcase page for the Columbus Land Port of Entry project.
Inflation Reduction Act Low Embodied Carbon Glass Procurement — B. Hastings [PDF - 931 KB]	Building specific	2024-10	Ben Hastings, a project manager from GSA, discussed the Powell U.S. Courthouse exterior envelope project and benefits of implementing the project. The project utilized a new low embodied carbon framework for this historic property’s terra cotta roofing and window restoration.
Case Studies: Performance Contracting — M. Mungal [PDF - 1 MB]	Agencywide	2024-08	Michael Mungal, Federal Project Executive, from Oak Ridge National Laboratory discussed performance contracting and highlighted two National Renewable Energy Laboratory case studies. Each NREL showcased challenges and lessons learned in developing an energy performance contract.
Refrigerants are Scope 1 Greenhouse Gases — J. Eberly [PDF - 746 KB]	Agencywide	2024-10	Joe Eberly, Program Manager Climate and Sustainability Division, from GSA provided a case study on the importance of refrigerants and its impact on greenhouse gases. Joe Eberly outlined the strategy and process involved in reducing GSA emissions, as well as the challenges, such as replacing equipment based on refrigerant type, charge, leak rates. Lessons learned from this case study is tracking and reporting as future projects addresses improving asset attributes and reducing standard operations scope-1 emissions.
From Data to Flooring: How Google, Harvard and the FBI are Saving the Planet One Purchase at a Time — T. Conway [PDF - 2 MB]	Industrywide	2024-10	Tim Conway, Vice President of Sustainability from Shaw Industries discussed how Google, Harvard, and the FBI are utilizing healthy materials and low carbon products within their buildings. Tim Conway provided a breakdown of what each entity has done to offset their carbon emissions and highlighted important goals for current projects.
Laboratory Ventilation Management Program — O. Van Geet and T. Smith [PDF - 5 MB]	Industrywide	2019-03	Otto Van Geet of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Tom Smith of 3Flow introduce the concept of a Smart Labs Ventilation Management Program. Labs that optimize ventilation and exhaust systems can create safer, more efficient workplaces, realizing significant energy savings in the process. For more information, visit the DOE Better Buildings Smart Labs Accelerator website.
Liquid in the Rack: Liquid Cooling Your Data Centers — D. Sartor and O. Van Geet [PDF - 2 MB]	Industrywide	2019-03	Dale Sartor of Laurence Berkeley National Laboratory and Otto Van Geet of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory provide an introduction to utilizing liquid cooling technologies to cool data centers, as well as an NREL case study showcasing the results of deploying such technologies at the lab’s Energy Systems Integration Facility in Golden, Colorado. For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Energy Center of Expertise for Energy Efficiency in Data Centers, hosted by LBNL; and visit the ESIF page on the NREL website.
Solar Decathlon 2020 Briefing — H. Carr [PDF - 3 MB]	Industrywide	2019-05	Holly Carr of the U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office provides an update on recent changes to the Solar Decathlon program and previews upcoming events culminating in the next Solar Decathlon National Showcase, to be held in June and July 2020 in Washington, DC. For more information, visit the DOE Solar Decathlon site.
Solar PV in Severe Weather Locations: How Design, Construction and O&M Can Improve Survivability — G. Robinson and A. Walker [PDF - 2 MB]	Industrywide	2018-09	Gerald Robinson of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Andy Walker of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory discuss lessons learned and best practices for mitigating damage to solar photovoltaics systems, both before and after severe weather events. The slide deck provides a number of resources for more information, among them the FEMP fact sheet Solar Photovoltaic Systems in Hurricanes and Other Severe Weather [PDF] and the Rocky Mountain Institute report, Solar Under Storm: Designing Hurricane-Resilient PV Systems.

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