Eco Office Product Donors
A continuing series on the products and services making our project a success
Compiled from interviews with Eco Office donors

For well over a quarter of a century, Southface has delivered its mission through education, research, advocacy and technical assistance. Our staff of building science experts constantly adapts and updates our trainings and resources to benefit the design and construction community, our members and sponsors. We actively seek to share lessons learned, best practices and leading technologies.

The Southface Eco Office has uniquely demonstrated how the integrated design process can work. From our open competition to select the design team to organizing our Eco Office Contractors Consortium, we have strived to share a transparent process for transforming the market toward sustainable design and construction.

The following article, one in a continuing series, will outline the many product and service donors contributing to the Eco Office mechanical systems, and describe the challenges and changing goals they have encountered as the project has progressed. Contributing companies include:

Carrier Complete Systems	Coolerado	Greenheck Fan Corp.
Johnson Controls	Keen Engineering	McKenney’s Engineering Solutions
Mingledorff’s, Inc.	Price Industries

Engineering a plan…

Creating a complex, yet replicable HVAC/mechanical system, the Southface Eco Office will demonstrate the highest standards of energy efficiency. These accomplishments will be made possible through various design features (provided by MEP Engineers Keen, Inc. and McKenney’s, Inc.) and products donated by Carrier, Coolerado, GreenHeck, Johnson Controls and Price.

Knowing that Keen Engineering was a leader in innovative design, Southface was pleased they were interested in participating in the Eco Office project. Keen, being familiar and supportive of Southface’s work and leadership in sustainable building design, was excited to have the opportunity to design an innovative project and educate the building industry on new design techniques for humid climates.

Presented with the challenge of working on the Eco Office, Keen Engineering sees the project as a “green-dream” for design and construction professionals because it allows each participant to take an active role in the market transformation and education that these type of projects emphasize and encourage. The systems design perspective also offers the opportunity to marry design theory and real life application. Pasha Korber of Keen elaborates, saying, “The type of information and feedback that this kind of a project can provide to the industry is priceless. Southface has graciously offered themselves as a living experiment and welcomes on-going measurement and verification.”

Having worked on several LEED® projects, Keen’s philosophy is that green building is the present, not the future. Sustainable building design is the right answer for all building projects and with proper planning and coordination through the design process, sustainable design will not add significantly to the cost of a building.

McKenney’s- Engineering Solutions became involved with the Eco Office as part of the company’s ongoing dedication to local charities and nonprofits, because McKenney’s believes in investing in our local community. They are excited about the unique aspects of the Southface Eco Office that will be a functional showplace for technology and information for protecting the environment, reducing energy use and achieving the goals of LEED®. In addition to the Eco Office, Southeast-based McKenney’s has worked on the Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens, the Arthur M. Blank Family Office- Atlanta, the Center for Disease Control (Building 110 and 21) and the 171 17th Street Building (formerly SouthTrust) at Atlantic Station. All of the Atlanta area projects are aiming for or have received LEED® certification.

When asked about the biggest benefit of being a part of the Eco Office, Mickey Pitts of McKenney’s emphasized the empowerment of the project to expose him and his company to the local construction community, especially the green building sector, which he sees as an important and growing part of the construction industry. McKenney’s strives to provide experience and knowledge to deliver responsive, innovative, value-added and premium construction services for the successful completion of the Eco Office while maintaining LEED® requirements. Related to LEED® and green building objectives, McKenney’s prides itself on its synergistic approach - combining innovative techniques and cutting edge technology while reducing installation, operating and maintenance costs - in a very short delivery time frame. In fact, McKenney’s was brought on board specifically to look at ways to help bring the cost of the Eco Office mechanical system down without compromising energy efficiency. McKenney’s project work includes retail, office, institutional, government, hospitality, healthcare and power authority.

The Products…

Mingledorff’s, Inc. was established in 1939, and continues to strive to be the very best distributor of HVAC equipment. A Grand Partner in Southface’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program, Mingledorff’s is donating virtually all of the major HVAC equipment for the Eco Office, including split system heat pumps, dessicant dehumidifiers, energy recovery ventilator, variable air volume valves, fans and fabric duct. This Carrier Complete System will improve occupant comfort and the building life cycle cost.

Bruce Longino, P.E., Director of Engineering Services at Mingledorff’s, is excited by the opportunity to support the project. “We have proven that if a building is financed using these high efficient HVAC systems, there’s an instant positive cash flow. It can be proven that the utility payments go down more than the mortgage payment goes up.” Longino knows future customers will be drawn to the Eco Office and will be intrigued by the Carrier Complete System. But some of what he’s enjoyed most by being a part of the project is learning about areas outside the HVAC system. “One of the benefits I’ve seen is learning about other products folks will see, like the waterless urinals.”

Coolerado, established in 1999, has already been involved in some uniquely green projects. Coolerado Coolers like those being provided for the Eco Office are being installed on an animal shelter in Las Vegas that is aiming for LEED® platinum certification. Coolerado’s product relates to LEED® objectives by using one-third less power than a traditional air conditioner without chemical refrigerants. Though relying on water for heat transfer, the cooler does not add any humidity to the air entering the building, so this means better indoor air quality as well. Additionally, Coolerado products have recyclable components and have been recognized in publications including R&D Magazine.

Other products integral to the mechanical system include a Greenheck Fan Corp. Energy Recovery Unit, which will provide latent and sensible heat recovery for ventilation air. Interface, Inc. provided a raised access floor system for the upstairs workstation areas. The raised floor system provides enhanced control of air flows to work stations and offers great flexibility for future adaptations in building use. Price Industries will be donating floor diffusers installed with the system, in order to create “comfort zones” for individual employees.

At the controls…

Johnson Controls, Inc. illustrated its longstanding commitment to high performance building by being one of the first companies to commit in-kind resources to the Southface Eco Office. Johnson Controls employs a company philosophy entitled “Knowledge Based Integration (KBI).” A KBI strategy is to “Begin with the End in Mind.” After conversations with Southface staff regarding the educational and technological goals for the Eco Office, the project aligned perfectly with the company’s vision.

The KBI approach utilizes a single Technology Contractor who works with the architect, owner and construction team from the start of design through installation and commissioning of all the building’s technology systems. For the Eco Office, these technologies include HVAC controls, fire alarm, security, closed circuit TV and access control. Each system will contain the latest technological advancements and will be managed from a single operator workstation. While some functionalities remain to be finalized, this “bundled technology” approach ensures that functional integration will be easily accomplished since Johnson Controls has been an integral member of the team from the beginning.

Johnson Controls manages more than 1.2 billion square feet of space and has over $1 billion in performance guarantees in place for customers around the world. Some of the specific benefits of the KBI approach being employed for the Eco Office include 10-20 percent reduction in technology systems construction costs, reduced operating costs and reduced risk, as Johnson Controls accepts a single point of responsibility for the design, installation, commissioning, warranty and service of the system.

The company also has a track record with green buildings. The Controls Group headquarters in Milwaukee was the first building in the U.S. to become re-certified to Gold status under LEED® for Existing Buildings. In March, 2004, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Rebuild America program recognized the company for excellence in promoting energy efficient technologies. That same year JCI also received the World Environment Center Gold Medal for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development.

Bringing it all together…

These are only a few of the exemplary companies making the Eco Office a reality. If you are associated with a company that might want to learn more about the project, or if you are an individual interested in lending personal support, visit us online, in person, or call to learn more. You can become a part of our success by making a pledge to our future. For more information, go online at: www.southface.org, or call 404/872-3549 ext 124