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Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category
« Older EntriesPlanMaryland Draft Open For Comment
Friday, October 21st, 2011
The Maryland Department of Planning is developing a policy document that will “put teeth” into the Smart Growth initiatives that have been in place in our state since before 1997. PlanMaryland is a potentially far-reaching overall State Land Use Plan. The draft plan can be viewed at www.mdp.state.md.us and comments on the plan may be submitted through the website also.
The plan includes an a outline of goals and visions for future growth, protection of environmental resources, and protection of agriculture and natural resource lands. The time horizon of the plan is through 2035. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 contain a summary of the plan, an evaluation of past and projected land use trends and implications, and goals from altering past land use trends by setting Smart Growth targets for directing growth to existing urban and town centers, and for protecting the environment and agriculture. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 provide an outline of coordination with local jurisdictions, implementing the plan, and monitoring progress toward meeting the targets.
Unfortunately there is very little detail in Chapters 4, 5, and 6, as they will be developed over the next few years. The long term benefits, costs, and consequences of this plan will only be understood once these elements are completed.
So far, the plan also does not include any evaluation of the challenges to reaching the established targets. Urban in-fill and revitalization is expensive, time consuming, and fraught with community and regulatory pitfalls, especially in comparison with suburban development. How can these be overcome? This will have to be a part of the conversation, which Frederick Ward Associates plans to join. This plan will also have to be evaluated and dovetailed into other, ongoing planning initiatives such as revision of septic regulations, the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Watershed Improvement Plan and TMDL’s, AG Preservation programs, and environmental regulations.
Remember that you can share your thoughts on Plan Maryland with The Maryland Department of Planning until November 9, 2011. Keep an eye on this – there will be much to discuss moving forward.
CWard
Community, Sustainability
1 Comment »
Frederick Ward Associates and the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011
Many of you may have heard of Baltimore Gas & Electric’s (BGE’s) “Smart Energy Savers Program” (SESP) that has been available the last few years. The SESP program consists of a variety of programs, services and incentives intended to help customers conserve energy, save money and improve the environment.
I attended a Harford County Green Business Network presentation earlier this year which was focused on energy solutions for business and was very intrigued on how we at Frederick Ward Associates could get involved. After contacting BGE, coordinating with ICF International, obtaining the required references, and going through the appropriate training, Frederick Ward Associates became a registered Service Provider for the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program.
Our first project in the program is for Luna’s House Animal Care and Education Center, a registered LEED Silver Core and Shell project that was awarded a US Green Building Council Maryland Chapter award (in the major renovation project category) at the Wintergreen Awards Celebration in January 2011. Our design team, which includes Paragon Engineering Services, has submitted for the Prescriptive Lighting Program and Unitary HVAC Program for Luna’s House. We anticipate that the owners of Luna’s house will benefit substantially from the incentives that each program offers.
We are working on other projects that we hope to apply the SESP program to as well, such as Variable Refrigerant Management systems for new construction, new construction Performance Lighting, and HVAC Chillers. FWA is currently working on several energy-efficiency projects and LEED Projects, and updates will be provided from time to time on the FWA Daily Build and our main Frederick Ward website.
Find out more information on the various Smart Energy Savers programs that BGE Offers. Read more about Luna’s House.
CCooper
Sustainability
BGE, Smart energy savers
No Comments »
Garrity Renewables
Friday, May 13th, 2011
Today’s post is the first in a series we’ll be writing to highlight fellow businesses that value sustainability. At Frederick Ward Associates, all our work, whether it’s surveying or architectural design, focuses on building a more sustainable community. Learn about Veteran Compost, another organization with the same focus and fitting topic the week after International Compost Awareness Week.
From Combat to Compost
When US Army Combat Engineer Officer Justen Garrity returned home to Maryland from Iraq, he didn’t expect he’d find himself unemployed. However, with the economy struggling, veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars have the hightest unemploywment rates. Garrity decided to explore entrepreneurial opportunities that would help other veterans while focusing on his interest in sustainable energy.
Now, Garrity operates Veteran Compost, providing organic waste collection, compost equipment and finished compost while employing our nation’s veterans and their family members. Veteran Compost is the only worm composting operation in Maryland. Their worms take ordinary compost, and over 30 to 60 days, transform it into a high quality vermicompost. For example, they gutted a former horse barn and fitted it with long bins, which hold thousands of composting worms.
The environmental impacts of his composting business are substantial. For every ton of compost Garrity produces, two tons of carbon are kept from our environment in comparing traditional waste disposal methods. In addition, the compost that Veteran Compost produces offset the use of traditional inorganic fertilizers.
Veteran Compost currently markets its compost as bagged products at local Farmers Markets, gardening shops, and the like. Garrity hopes to expand his business into downtown Baltimore, utilizing a warehouse for the composting process and eliminating the need for the majority of his transportation, which is the biggest component of his carbon footprint. Garrity also spends a lot of time in Educational Outreach programs, promoting composting and dispelling myths about the industry.
Veteran Compost partners with businesses and institutions in the Harford and Howard County areas to recycle their waste. Currently in Maryland there are no credits or initiatives for businesses and institutional to utilize renewable methods such as composting, although they exist in other states such as California.
pgessleman
Sustainability
compost, Sustainability
No Comments »
Precycling: Stopping Waste Before It Happens
Friday, February 25th, 2011
By now everyone is familiar with the three “R’s”: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. How about the two “P’s”? Prevent & Precycle? Precycling is the practice of reducing waste by not purchasing items which will generate waste. It may not be quite as easy for the public to embrace as recycling was, though. To precycle, one must make a conscious effort to not accumulate junk mail, heavily packaged goods, use disposable products, water bottles, Styrofoam, and many other items. Precycling stresses an overall reduction of waste by asking people to rethink they way they acquire products as well as the products themselves.
Recycling (or downcycling) may be very popular, but it takes a lot of energy to transport the materials – from when someone purchases them at a store or online, to their home or office, to the curb and ultimately the recycling facility, where more energy is used to break them down into a raw product. Oh yeah, and then more energy is expended making them back into something else again. If something must be purchased and used, why not have it be a durable, long lasting product that has little or no packaging and is not going to end up in a landfill or be melted down?
Examples of using precycled products are easy to find: metal water bottle or thermoses instead of a plastic disposable water bottles or cans, recycled content shopping bags (can be used over and over again instead of paper or plastic and are much sturdier anyway), silverware in lieu of plastic ware, cloth napkins in lieu of paper, bulk and concentrated products (use much less packaging compared to same amount of non-concentrated product), and digital media instead of print media. Also, don’t forget that some items can be “re-purposed” to give them another life. My favorite personal example is the claw foot bathtub my mom repurposed into planter on our back deck when I was growing up in Virginia. It went from potential landfill fodder to the back deck where it lived a long life as a container for many spices and small plants. Young House Love and Terracycle have some great ideas on how to re-purpose things creatively. Some other good information on PreCycling can be found here.
CCooper
Frederick Ward, Sustainability
2 Comments »
Sustainable Maryland
Friday, January 28th, 2011
Maryland has begun the process of creating a rating system for Green initiatives and programs by its 157 municipalities. This is an initiative through the Environmental Finance Center, which has partnered with the Maryland Municipal League on a new initiative called Sustainable Maryland Certified. It is an effort to develop a sustainable certification framework based on a pilot program in New Jersey: www.sustainablejersey.com.
The EFC has organized various Task Forces centered on a specific aspect of sustainability that will determine the framework for certifying municipalities as sustainable in various areas of green building and living. The task forces are as follows:
- Natural Resources
- Community Action
- Social Equity
- Health & Wellness
- Local Economics
- Agriculture
- Planning & Built Environment
This is designed to be a free and voluntary program that will help communities choose a direction for their greening efforts, provide help with program tools and case studies, and be recognized for their accomplishments. A Mayor’s Advisory Council and Executive Committee made up of mayors from eleven cities and towns throughout Maryland including Aberdeen, College Park & Chestertown among others will meet to review the progress of the certification efforts as they proceed through the refinement process during the few months.
This program began in the fall of 2010 with a stakeholders meeting and review of New Jersey’s program and is currently working through the task forces to refine and develop the criteria for the certification system by spring of 2011. Frederick Ward Associates is eager to help Sustainable Maryland get off the ground and make a difference in our community. The ultimate goal is to take registration by the summer of 2011.
KSmall
Sustainability
Environmental Finance Center, Sustainable Maryland
No Comments »
Frederick Ward Associates Use Greenroads Checklist
Monday, January 10th, 2011
Last year, FWA blogged about the introduction of “Greenroads,” a program developed to improve the sustainability and lessen the environmental impact of highway projects. We were eager to see a new rating system developed for building sustainable roadways similar to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED system. The Frederick Ward Associates team of surveyors, planners, architects and engineers can use the Greenroads to measure the sustainability of the roadways we help build.
In September 2010, Civil Engineering magazine ran an article highlighting the big changes that are in store for road design and construction with the implementation of Greenroads. There’s no question highway construction is destructive to the environment. From the construction debris running off and poisoning groundwater, to serious fossil-fuel burning from the heavy machinery, author Laurie Shuster says, “For Mother Nature, it’s a losing battle.”
Greenroads hopes to help Mother Nature win the battle by implementing a scoring system that evaluates sustainability by seven key principles: ecology, economy, extent, expectations, experience and exposure. To satisfy these goals, a Greenroads project must meet 11 requirements and earn up to 108 “points” within 37 different voluntary credit categories as up to 10 points within the category that encompasses customer-designed voluntary credits. Read more about the seven principles and see the table of requirements and voluntary credits in Civil Engineering’s article.
Notably different from the LEED system is that activities that contribute to sustainability are weighed differently based on their potential to lead to greater sustainability. For example, using a pavement with an unusually long service life is weighed more heavily than fueling the construction vehicles with biodiesel. That’s because using biodiesel only has a one-time benefit while the pavement provides long-term benefit.
While Greenroads is still in development, some are already finding it helpful for roadway design. Frederick Ward Associates already implements many of Greenroads’ criteria and uses it as a checklist to evaluate current practices and to see what can be incorporated into future projects.
Learn more about Greenroads at their website.
EVanArsdale
Frederick Ward, Sustainability
Frederick Ward Associates, greenroads
No Comments »
Baltimore City Raises Standards for Green Building
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010
In August 2007, Baltimore City established Green Building standards for new or significantly changed spaces and buildings over 10,000 square feet. As of July 2010, building owners who request permits have to submit documentation proving that their building will earn a LEED silver rating, or an equivalent rating, at minimum. Recently, Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) released the Baltimore City Green Building Standards, or BCGBS, which will act as an equivalent to the LEED Rating System.
Designed by Michael Braverman, Permits & Code Enforcement Division Deputy Commissioner; the Baltimore Office of Sustainability; and consulting firm Terralogos the BCGBS was created to make the green building registration process easier and more affordable to residents and companies in Baltimore. The new rating system features less paperwork, more credits, and no additional costs aside from standard permit fees.
Unlike LEED, a building earns BCGBS certification as a receipt of the Use & Occupancy Permit. The City accomplishes this through a “pledge” credits, meaning that the owner promises to remain green after occupancy by contracting green cleaning, re-commissioning, allowing public access to open space, or providing expanded recycling. The City is aggressive in following up to ensure that owners honor their pledge, and will even issue citations and fines for not keeping up with their promised responsibilities.
While citations and fines may be aggressive, the DHCD will be flexible in enforcing the BCGBS. It has provided credit waivers and alternate compliance paths for unique projects and circumstances. DHCD foresees that some building types may be excluded from complying with green building requirements.
Baltimore has not yet incentivized the law to provide tax breaks or fee waivers for projects reaching three or more Green Stars (or LEED Gold/Platinum) or projects under 10,000 square feet complying with BCGBS or LEED. GSA and federal agencies requiring LEED Silver buildings have hinted that the two Green Stars is an acceptable equivalent; however, the design team must clarify this with the client agency before choosing a compliance path. DHCD has withheld the one Green Star rating for small projects and single-family homes in the future expansion of the requirements. The neatest thing – a net-zero building automatically earns a two Green Star rating under BCGBS.
The City made it a point during a USGBC seminar on October 6th that they are absolutely available to help owners, developers, contractors, and designers navigate the process to ensure a quick and successful turnaround of the permit. They are eager to make the program a success and a benchmark for other cities to build on. The BCGBS program is still in its infancy with inconsistent submission methods, a mostly untested process, and inexperienced inspectors. Baltimore and DHCD view the next year as chance to work out the bugs and better streamline the process.
MGrabenstein
Sustainability
Baltimore City Green Building Standards, Green Design, LEED, Sustainability
1 Comment »
What to Know Before You Commit To A Rooftop Solar Array
Monday, October 25th, 2010
If you’ve been thinking about renewable energy systems and want to take advantage of tax incentives, grants, and current pricing available for rooftop-mounted PV (photovoltaic) systems, there are several factors to consider before you act.
Have a comprehensive strategy that considers the roof membrane, type of Solar panel system, electricity generation, maintenance, and provisions for downtime.
Carefully review existing roof and future maintenance needs. The roof may possibly only last half as long as the PV system you’re about to install. Also, to maintain the PV system efficiently, the roof will be accessed more than a standard roof – it will have different heat patterns, drainage runoff, expansion and contraction, and racking system concerns.
Know your PV Financing agreement. Most require a constant power feed from the PV Panels, and contain penalties if the power is interrupted for maintenance, roof repair or equipment failure. Penalties, lost incentive payments and replacement costs can be extremely high, and need to be factored into the analysis for any rooftop PV system.
Have the right team. It is advisable to hire the right team to work with before, during, and after the PV system installation. Qualified solar professionals, architects familiar with renewable energy systems, and roofing industry professionals are just some of the consultants who could be on a building owner’s team for a large rooftop PV project. There could also be financial and legal professionals involved for many projects.
Keep in mind that some technical factors could affect the PV system’s performance, such as the module orientation, including solar declination and panel tilt angle (which should equal latitude), the site’s solar insolation level, and the potential degrading of the particular PV panels selected.
Make your choices carefully. While it can be a lucrative business decision to place a solar array on an existing empty roof, it is critical to make sure your roof and PV array are compatible for the long term. Getting knowledgeable architects such as those at Frederick Ward Associates and/or roofing professionals involved could be wise considering the nuances involved. Racking system options (including weight on the existing building’s structure), potential roof membrane failure, and roof maintenance and replacement all need to be considered prior to beginning a rooftop solar power generation project.
Frederick Ward Associates is currently working on four photovoltaic projects in Maryland – three rooftop arrays and one ground-mount array.
CCooper
Architecture, Frederick Ward, Sustainability
Frederick Ward Associates, Sustainability
No Comments »
Frederick Ward Associates Focuses on Sustainability at Energy-From-Waste Talk
Monday, October 18th, 2010
A few of us from Frederick Ward Associates attended a recent Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Chesapeake Post meeting September 16th, where Richard Hergenroeder, Director of Environmental Science of Covanta Energy, presented a very interesting talk on “Green Remediation and Energy from Waste”.
Hergenroeder indicated that Energy-from-Waste facilities are “green” because they reduce municipal landfill burdens posed by disposal of non-hazardous waste. Waste-to-energy facilities also provide an alternative to onsite landfill construction, procure a long-term source of renewable energy, and decrease export of waste from communities with little or no landfill capacity to other facilities.
During his presentation, Hergenroder highlighted that the U.S. EPA has stated, “Energy-from-Waste produces electricity with less environmental impact than almost any other source. After seeing a pictorial demonstration on how these facilities operate, it seems that they are a no-brainer and should continue to be the wave of the future as society continues to move towards becoming more greener in technology and practice.”
As an architecture firm that values sustainability, Frederick Ward Associates believes Harford County is very fortunate to have an Energy-from-Waste facility located on Magnolia Road in Joppa. The facility, which began operations in 1988, is owned by the Northeast Maryland Waste Disposal Authority and is operated by the Energy Recovery Operations, Inc. Designed by Consumat Systems LLC and constructed by Tyger Construction, the facility has a capacity of 360 tons per day of unprocessed solid waste. They process an average of 10,000 tons of waster per month which creates an average of 50,000 pounds of stream that is used by Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Learn more about what Frederick Ward Associates values.
jmettee
Frederick Ward, Sustainability
Frederick Ward Associates, Sustainability
No Comments »
Frederick Ward Associates Builds a “Cool Roof” at Local Elementary School
Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010
Last week, Frederick Ward Associates’ President, Craig A. Ward, and several members of the firms Architecture Department participated in a ribbon cutting that highlighted the new energy efficient roof on the Ring Factory Elementary School. The new roof is not only Energy Star rated by the U.S. Department of Energy, but it is also a “cool roof”. The Harford County Government and the Board of Education partnered in funding the new roof, which also received federal grants. The grant was received from the USDOE, funded through The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
‘Cool roofs’ reflect solar radiation, reduce the heat conducted into buildings and directly reduce air-conditioning use. Frederick Ward Associates was the architecture firm selected to design the replacement of the school’s fiberglass asphalt shingled roof with a fully adhered 60 mil PVC roof with decorative PVC extrusions that emulates the look of a a standing seam metal roof.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star website advises that solar reflectance is the most important characteristic of a roof product in terms of yielding the highest energy savings during warmer months. The higher the solar reflectance, the more efficient the product is in reflecting sunlight and heat away from the building and reducing roof temperature. Frederick Ward Associates’ sustainable roof design will contribute to increased energy cost savings at Ring Factory Elementary.
ESteere
Community, Frederick Ward, Sustainability
Community, Frederick Ward Associates, Sustainability
No Comments »
