Commercial Green Building Services provides technical assistance on environmentally-sustainable building and community design, building science, energy efficiency and renewable energy. Our clients include the private sector, government agencies, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and utilities. As a 501(c)3 private, non-profit education, research and technical assistance organization. Southface does not directly provide design or construction services, but rather serves as a consultant to the owner or design team.

Commercial Green Building Services promotes the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™) program of the US Green Building Council. LEED addresses site, energy, water, materials, and indoor environmental quality. Southface has expertise in all of these areas, and is skilled at assisting design teams in using a wholistic approach to creating high performance buildings. The Southface team of LEED accredited professionals, engineers and building scientists provide the following technical services:

• Training and consulting on environmentally responsible building design and construction
• Eco-charrette facilitation
• Design reviews and in-field training and diagnostics
• LEED process guidance and administration, including scheduling, task management, documentation, and submittal preparation
• Environmental materials research and recommendations
• Development of specifications to support the LEED process
• Equipment and system life cycle analysis and costing
• Energy performance modeling and building optimization
• Commercial and residential energy code training and compliance documentation
• Lighting, daylighting, renewable energy and passive solar consultations
• Case study development and promotion
• Development of educational and outreach materials
• Event planning and program development for sustainable conferences, workshops and special events
  

Eco Charrettes and Facilitation

Achieving an environmentally responsible building requires an integrated approach, that involves the building owner, design team, construction professionals, financial community, and building officials. Southface is skilled in facilitating this charrette process by providing a bridge from theoretical concepts to practical guidelines. Southface has a comprehensive knowledge of current trends in environmental design and an extensive network of local and national experts, manufacturers and vendors.

Related topics | Southface Online Training |

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LEED Administration

• Register your LEED project with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
• Help your team establish environmental goals and identify LEED credits to target
• Track the project’s progress toward goals and keep the team on course
• Train your team in how to use LEED Online and how to prepare submittals
• Facilitate integrated design meetings on specific topics such as energy or water efficiency and suggest credit synergies and strategies
• Research specific questions, materials or strategies to determine viable options for LEED credit compliance
• Manage timelines, gather documentation and review the team’s work for completeness before sending in the final submission to the USGBC
• Assist in the selection of a commissioning agent
• Train general contractors and sub-contractors on compliance with LEED credit requirements
• Write and submit any needed Credit Interpretation Requests to the USGBC to answer specific project questions
• Educate your team about how to take advantage of tax incentives
• Coordinate the team to answer any USGBC audit questions and any follow up on credits that are appealed

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Training and Publication

Southface has conducted over 150 workshops on high performance commercial buildings, the ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1 energy code, and other standards. Southface has authored many design and technical publications and CD-ROMs, including Sustainable Design, Construction and Land Development: Guidelines for the Southeast, Walkable Community Design Guidelines, and a series of fact sheets on sustainable operations and practices for commercial facilities.

Related topics | Publications | Toolkits |

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Design Review and Building Evaluation

Southface has conducted over 250 reviews of building designs to ensure that energy and environmental features are considered. Our services include the calculation of heating and cooling loads, energy simulation modeling, and economic analyses of efficiency and renewable energy measures.

Energy Audit Services

Southface has conducted over 600 energy audits on single-family, multi-family and commercial buildings. These audits often feature use of diagnostic equipment including blower doors, duct testers, moisture meters, and combustion analysis equipment. The audit service provides recommendations for improving the quality of the structure, maximizing the efficiency of existing equipment, and other means for reducing energy, water and resource use and enhancing indoor environmental quality.

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Energy Modeling

Southface Commercial Green Building Services staff can provide energy modeling of your planned or existing commercial building. We use DOE-2 based computer software that does an hour by hour simulation to model the building envelope, HVAC equipment, lighting, and building schedules. Using this information we can:

• Predict energy savings resulting from design alternatives that may include day lighting, building orientation, window or shading improvements, more efficient lighting or HVAC equipment.
• Analyze energy upgrades to your building to help predict energy savings.
• Provide the documentation needed to qualify for the energy credits when seeking LEED certification.
• Provide design and upgrade alternatives to achieve energy savings needed to qualify for the Federal commercial energy tax deduction.
• Help you predict whether your building design will meet Energy Star standards.

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Commercial Energy Star

Top performing ENERGY STAR labeled schools cost forty cents per square foot less to operate than the average performers. Many school districts are taking note of the ENERGY STAR program due to increasing fuel and electricity costs as well as reduced operating budgets. Southface has been awarded a grant from the Department of Energy to work with school districts in Georgia to learn about the ENERGY STAR program so that they may start saving energy in their schools.

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Energy Research

Southface conducts field research of renewable energy systems and building performance. Southface has contracted with government agencies, utilities and private clients to perform research on a variety of topics ranging from low-cost solar thermal systems to air leakage pathways in buildings.

The Commercial Green Building Services Team

The Southface staff of 35+ includes senior staff with expertise in mechanical engineering, building science, building commissioning, sustainable design, project management, and technical writing and graphic design. In addition, administrative staff, Research Fellows, and Research Interns are available as needed.

The following senior staff provide Commercial Green Building Services:

Mike Barcik LEED, a senior research engineer and is the director of Southface Technical Services energy performance modeling, design reviews, and building diagnostics. He has undergraduate and masters degrees in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and has conducted research in high performance mechanical systems. He manages the Commercial Buildings Energy Code initiative and has conducted over 100 workshops and charrettes on high performance commercial buildings.  He is a LEED certified professional and is available to assist with charrettes, training, and energy modeling.

Frank Burdette is a Project Manager with Green Building Services at Southface Energy Institute. He works with commercial and institutional owners / developers, architects, engineers, and builders to facilitate the sustainable construction practices established by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system.

Frank has 15 years experience in residential and commercial construction, with an emphasis on green building and historic preservation projects. As a LEED-Accredited Professional, he managed the general contractor’s responsibilities for the first LEED-registered school campus in Georgia, Woodward Middle School. He also managed Athens’ first mixed-use rehabilitation of a historic landmark with Federal Rehabilitation Tax Credits.

Dennis Creech is a co-founder of Southface and has served as Executive Director for over 20 years. He is a nationally recognized leader in green building design and construction and has served on the board of directors of the Energy and Environmental Building Association, Affordable Comfort, and the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association. He directed the development of the EarthCraft green building program.  Mr. Creech is available to assist with charrettes and training.

Candice Moore Groves is a Project Manager for the Green Building Services. She has 10+ years of Architecture and Planning experience. Candice is a Registered Architect as well as a LEED Accredited Professional. She has worked on a variety of commercial building projects including offices, hotels, churches, educational facilities, civic structures, and medical facilities. She was the project manager for a large adaptive reuse project here in Atlanta – converting an abandoned office building into a semi-custom commercial hotel. Candice has also had experience in land use and park planning as well as mixed-use campus planning.

She has been a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), AIA’s Committee for the Environment, and the US Green Building Council. She has authored environmental newsletters and begun a sustainable building website.

Jeff Tiller, P.E. is a co-founder of Southface and manages the Boone, NC office. He has an undergraduate and masters degree in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, and is a licensed mechanical engineer. He manages several technical assistance projects for Southface and is on the faculty of Appalachian State University where he chairs the Building Technology program. He is available to provide technical assistance and training.

Related topics | Southface staff list and biographies

Southface Contact Information

Southface Energy Institute
241 Pine Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
404/604-3593
www.southface.org
email:sfcgbs [at] southface.org