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Plug and process loads (PPLs) in commercial buildings account for almost 5% of U.S. primary energy consumption. Minimizing these loads is a primary challenge in the design and operation of an energy-efficient building. PPLs are not related to general lighting, heating, ventilation, cooling, and water heating, and typically do not provide comfort to the occupants. They use an increasingly large fraction of the building energy use pie because the number and variety of electrical devices have increased along with building system efficiency. Reducing PPLs is difficult because energy efficiency opportunities and the equipment needed to address PPL energy use in office spaces are poorly understood.

The Research Support Facility was designed with energy efficiency and sustainability in mind. Many of its innovative technologies use passive and active processes to provide energy for its operations, such as electricity, heating, and cooling. The goal of this unique office building is to reach net zero energy use by engaging staff in best energy practices.

This checklist packet is a team-focused guide to realizing energy savings in high-performance office buildings through carefully considered lighting and control design. The checklists should be distributed among the integrated project team, including the owner, lighting designer and engineer, commissioning agent, and facility manager, at the beginning of a project and referred to regularly during design meetings and drawing reviews.

This guide provides design teams with best practices for parking structure energy efficiency in the form of goals for each design aspect that affects energy use.

Through a series of new construction projects at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and ongoing collaborations between NREL and industry, the authors have found that high-performance, energy-efficient buildings can be procured within typical construction budgets.