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McGraw Hill Construction Continuing Education Article December 2010 - This article discusses the energy efficiency and cost competitiveness of the Research Support Facility.

The Research Support Facility is designed to be one of the world's largest net-zero energy buildings. It incorporates new technologies and techniques and draws on centuries-old concepts. Its operable windows allow natural ventilation. It monitors indoor and outdoor temperatures and displays messages on each computer about opening or closing windows.

At the time this Wall Street Journal article was published, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory was midway through construction of a $64 million project to be the greenest office building in the nation. This article explores efforts by architects and engineers who spent hundreds of hours calculating the energy use of every aspect of the building, from the elevator to the exit signs.

The U.S. Department of Energy hopes lessons learned from the Research Support Facility will help guide green-construction practices around the world. Outside experts in efficient construction point out that some of the technology used at NREL is best suited for high-sunlight, low-humidity climates such as Colorado and would not work nearly as well elsewhere. The building also demands a lot from its employees, who must adjust to fluctuating temperatures throughout the day and pop up from their desks to open and shut windows; a workforce less dedicated to energy efficiency might rebel.

This article describes many energy efficiency features of the Research Support Facility and the adjustments employees need to make.

The purpose of the central utility plant (CUP) cooling control guide is to show, through examples of good and bad operations, how CUP cooling can be efficiently controlled including suggested actions.

Re-tuning focuses on a number of commonly occurring operational problems in buildings. These guides, through examples, provide details on how to detect good (normal) and bad (abnormal) operations. The purpose of the central utility plant (CUP) heating control guide is to show, through
examples of good and bad operations, how CUP heating can be efficiently controlled. This guide will focus on hot water boilers and their operations

Re-tuning focuses on a number of commonly occurring operational problems in buildings. These guides, through examples, provide details on how to detect good (normal) and bad (abnormal) operations. The purpose of the air-handling unit (AHU) minimum outdoor-air operation control guide is to show, through examples of good and bad operations, how AHU outdoor-air operations can be efficiently controlled.

Re-tuning focuses on a number of commonly occurring operational problems in buildings. These guides, through examples, provide details on how to detect good (normal) and bad (abnormal) operations. The purpose of the air-handling unit (AHU) heating and cooling control guide is to show, through examples of good and bad operations, how AHU heating and cooling can be efficiently controlled.

Re-tuning focuses on a number of commonly occurring operational problems in buildings. These guides, through examples, provide details on how to detect good (normal) and bad (abnormal) operations. The purpose of the air-side economizer control guide is to show, through use of examples of good and bad operation, how air-side economizers should be utilized and efficiently controlled. An air-side economizer is a duct/damper arrangement in an air-handling unit (AHU) along with automatic controls that allow an AHU to use outdoor-air to reduce or eliminate the need for mechanical cooling.