Social Media for Facility Managers

As a Facility Manager, are you using social media in your role personally or for your profession? If not, why not take advantage of the free online medium? Sure it's a matter of time and perhaps a learning curve, but social networking can benefit your position, department or you professionally in the industry. Here's a quick recap on last week's roundtable held at Huntsman Architectural Group in San Francisco.

Facilities management means to effectively manage your facilities, promote employee productivity, comfort and safety while meeting budget goals, preserve corporate assets while adhering to local, state and federal regulations. Social networking is an excellent information forum to consume and communicate information to departmental and company employees. When used as a research tool, promote your department's service, improve internal communications or even find your next career.

Recommended social media platforms for Facility Managers and suggested uses are: 

Blogs - Showcase your expertise in your field. Blog about useful and educational content that other FMs, service providers and partners can relate to. Do's, Don'ts, How To's, Top 10 ____, Trends, Special Events, Announcements or provide a Checklist. For an example of IFMA San Francisco's blog, click here.

Linkedin - Optimize your profile with keywords. Use as a research tool. Join relevant groups, seek out other FMs and connect, share best practices, ideas, information etc. To join IFMA San Francisco's group, click here.

Video - Ranks highly for SEO and engages users/readers more than text. Use video to map out an emergency evacuation route. Take a photo of your company's ER kit location, etc.

Twitter - Another powerful research tool. Research industry events using a hashtag (#) and follow event updates. For example, USGBC's Greenbuild Conference coming to San Francisco in November's hashtag is #Greenbuild. Click here to follow IFMA National or Infuse Marketing.

Honest Buildings - Newcomer to the social media sphere. A hybrid of Yelp and Linkedin. Sound research tool to seek out a building's information on sustainability, walk-ability, building owner, etc. Once an account is established, users that occupy space in a building can review their space. Engage with building owners and operators to ensure that they maintain best practices in cleaning and maintaining their buildings.

Final takeaways for social media for Facility Managers is to listen, monitor online conversations and respond appropriately, provide useful information to consume and be transparent. Should you follow this rule, you will be thought of as an authority in your field!

PR Chair for IFMA SF, Carmina of Infuse Marketing (in red)
presents social media benefits to chapter members.

How have you used social media in your role as a Facility Manager? Let's hear your comments below.

Carmina Bacani

PR/Communications Chair

Owner, Infuse Marketing

www.infusemarketingnow.com

Sustainable Landscaping ROI

Bay-Friendly | Eco-Friendly Landscaping Alternatives Lead to Cost Savings

You can save a considerable amount of building management costs by installing sustainable landscaping. By planting employee gardens, replacing turf with microclimate sustainable ground cover, using Bay-Friendly plant palettes, re-using green waste as compost and using advanced weather-based ET controllers when watering, you can save anywhere from 2.5 – 9% annually. On budgets of $100 million or more, that can represent savings in excess of $9 million a year! When you can show these kinds of cost reductions to your executive team that makes you as a facility or property manager worth your weight in gold.

In this video, ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance partnered with Electronic Arts in Redwood Shores to implement the following GREEN landscaping solutions:

• Irrigation Retrofits
• Sustainable Plant Replacement
• Herb/Vegetable Garden Conversion and Creation
• EA realized the following benefits and cost savings:
• Total annual savings of 1,102,552 gallons of water
• Reduction of 9,450 pounds of green waste per year
• Production of 416 pounds of edible vegetables and herbs per year

http://construction.com/aboutus/2010/1112pr.asp

If you go GREEN, you can expect your organic waste generated from landscaping to drop an average of 5% per year; gas costs based on sustainable tree pruning techniques to drop 2.5% per year on average and water consumption per square foot to go down an average of 9% a year. Depending on how aggressively you pursue green landscaping recommendations, you could enjoy even more resource savings.

http://www.valleycrest.com

Three Steps You Can Take Toward Sustainable Landscaping:

1. Plant landscapes suitable to the micro climate or native to the area for greater sustainability
2. Replace turf and energy-intensive plant materials with San Francisco Bay-Friendly and sustainable plant palettes
3. Plant chef and employee organic gardens on site

Have you integrated a sustainable landscaping solution in your facility or property? Share with us any other methods we may have not covered.

Nada Duda, Sr. Vice-President
ValleyCrest Landscaping Management
www.valleycrest.com

Green, Sustainable, LEED Certified, Energy Efficient, Energy Star, Carbon Neutral = Green Paralysis

Green, Sustainable, LEED Certified, Energy Efficient, Energy Star, Carbon Neutral = Green Paralysis

Green, sustainable, LEED certified, energy efficient, Energy Star rated, carbon neutral, chemical free, and a million other terms have ebbed and flowed through the corporate real estate sector and in many cases have caused “GREEN” paralysis. This is when any “GREEN” idea goes in one ear and out the other, no matter how good it is.

I suggest you take GREEN out of the discussion and focus on how you can run a facility as efficiently as possible. Focus on energy, waste, and water reduction,increasing your efficiency per square foot, having a lower operating expense than your neighbor buildings, and getting your waste bills as low as possible. Then integrate energy star ratings or LEED which have both shown to produce increased rents of up to $11 and increased occupancy of 4% based on research by Co-Star.  

Resource efficiency can absolutely be a win-win without hitting obstacles from the outset because of a personal gut reactions to certain terminology like GREEN. Results are worth a thousand terms so produce results and everything else will fall into place. 

Want to learn more about how Green is the new black?  Some available resources:

Click here for the "Green is the new black article"

Click here for IFMA's article on No cost and low cost energy saving solution

Click here for upcoming classes and events listed from BOMA Silicon Valley on energy and sustainable issues 

What are you doing in your company to contribute maximize/increase efficiency and reduce operating expenses?

Ken Kurtzig, Founder & CEO

iReuse

http://www.ireuse.com/site

Be Smart - Save Money - Be Water Wise

Coming out of a dry winter, water conservation becomes more important than ever.  While landscape water costs are always an issue, lack of precipitation often leads to higher water rates.  In addition, water usage often increases due to the necessity of starting irrigation early.

Short and long term planning becomes essential for managing your water costs.  Develop a monthly ETWU - Estimated Water Use budget to establish actual water requirements and projected costs.  Some things to consider in creating this ETWU budget: size and type of landscape, local weather, soil type, and irrigation set up.  Check with your city/county water district for any possible rebate programs or over limit penalties.

Tammy Key, Business Development Manager

Gachina Landscaping

IFMA SF Programs/Education Chair

Resources:

Irrigation Association www.irrigation.org

CIMIS wwwcimis.water.ca.gov.com or http://wwwcimis.water.ca.gov/cimis/infoIrrBudget.jsp

Waterfluence https://www.waterfluence.com/water-budgets

Managing Plug Load - The Next Challenge for Energy Efficient Buildings

"Plug load? Seriously? With all the things that I need to do in my facilities you want me to worry about managing plug load power use? It can’t be that big a deal."

Studies from many countries consistently show that “miscellaneous” load is a quarter to a third of power consumption in office buildings, and it keeps growing as facilities become “smarter”. When HVAC and lighting get more efficient, plug load can be 50% or more of energy use. Recent research from UC-San Diego shows that IT equipment accounts for more than 70% of electrical base load in “mixed-use” campus buildings that have server rooms. http://www.solaripedia.com/files/753.pdf Managing plug load power use is a big deal, and gets bigger as we put more electronic equipment into every type of building.

Graphic source: http://www.legrand.us/wiremold-pages/wiremold-white-papers/plugload.aspx

"So, what should I do?"

1. Managing plug load is challenging, but essential … baseline measurement and analysis of the plug load.  You have to know what equipment is in a building, who is responsible for it, and what its power consumption characteristics are.

2. Kill the Zombies. In every building there is unused and unnecessary equipment … servers, printers, fax machines, copiers, UPS’s … that are using electricity but not doing anything. Clean house and get rid of unused equipment.

Next, you need a power management plan to turn off or turn down electronic equipment when idle. Desktop PC power management software can produce big returns. Energy Star power down settings need to be turned on and kept on for all equipment. Smart power strips or sensors can turn off peripheral devices and AC/DC converters. Even servers can be managed for variable power use.  If your utility offers it, take advantage of PG&E’s subsidy programs that will fund plug load power management technologies. 

Finally, get smart about what you buy. Work with IT and Purchasing departments to design, specify and buy energy efficient equipment and systems. The EPA now has Energy Star labels for not only office equipment and appliances, PC’s, and monitors, but for UPS’s, servers, and data storage systems as well.  

Energy Star is good as minimum standard, but with a little more effort your facilities can significantly reduce plug load power use, and your energy bills. A well thought-out plan for addressing “miscellaneous” energy use belongs on your to-do list for 2012.

Richard Hodges, www.GreenIT.net

IFMA-SF Sustainability Chair

IFMA San Francisco Holiday Party at a Green Venue

2011 Holiday Party at the Intercontinental San Francisco

I want to thank Tammy Key, Programs and Education Chair of the San Francisco Chapter and the rest of the Board for choosing the InterContinental San Francisco Hotel for 2011’s holiday lunch. We appreciate your business and I enjoyed the opportunity to share our LEED EBOM story with you. 

In 2007, I wrote “Sustainability and The Triple Bottom Line,” a story for the Silicon Valley Chapter of IFMA. This was used as part of their World Workplace effort. It was a fun story to write and helped me focus on several aspects of the adventure of becoming LEED certified.

The reason I mention it in relation to my blog today is that through writing it, I realized how much of a community effort the process was and how all I really needed was willingness and commitment.

I am the beneficiary of the wisdom and enthusiasm I get from IFMA members like you reading this today and the wonderful community of professionals we all work with everyday. Of course I needed money and having support from PG&E, Lodging Savers, InterContinental Hotels and our local owners, Continental Development Corporation were fundamental. What I did was to join USGBC and attend meetings, make friends, go to IFMA meetings, make friends, and the apply those learning’s and relationships to the process that I was guided through by Jubilee Daniels LEED AP.

In the early going we worked with students from San Francisco State to winnow out the credits we could achieve from the ones that were not practical at that time. We established a “Green Team” in the hotel to assess, implement and educate on the various credits we pursued. I became infused with the pragmatism and practicality I found in the USGBC requirements. I was amazed at what I had been told was too expensive and dopey was really a return to many of the harmonies of the universe that had prevailed for so long before we were all enlightened by the industrial age and even the IT revolution. Not only did I get the religion of how sensible most measures were but I found that I could save money and improve profits along the way. The myth of the “Triple bottom line “was no myth at all and even I could realize the dream!

Harry Hobbs facilitating
a tour of the LEED Gold hotel

It is my sincerest hope that you will realize your “Green Dreams” too! 

Harry Hobbs, CFM

Director of Engineering

Intercontinental Hotels of San Francisco

SF IFMA Member

Benchmarking Your Building or Facilities



Competition is fun and what gets measured gets done. So I am a natural advocate for the Energy Star process. Of course this star aligned with our pursuit of LEED certification gave us extra impetus to pursue the threshold score of 69. San Francisco as a city also found enough merit in the program to require it as well with an ordinance implanted this year. So even if you aren’t as excited as we are, it is becoming a fundamental.
 
I found that establishing a baseline carefully gave context to the projects we did in a way that simple ROI or other financial measures were lacking. The database is probably not perfect, but it has been normalized and refined now for about fifteen years and continues to evolve. I had a chat with some non-believers the other day who were arguing its frailties. They had the opinion that the ISO process was more rigorous and better designed, and it may be, but it lacks the name recognition of one of the most widely known logos in the world. For my money I would rather help Energy Star evolve than put effort into a system that is not as widely accepted. By the way our IFMA organization supports it too. http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=buildingcontest.index 
http://www.ifma.org/resources/sustainability/energy-star-challenge.htm

Intercontinental Hotel San Francisco

So, today when I make my business case for energy saving projects I get to justify them with LEED, ROI, and Energy Star. We spent around a half million dollars on our way to 87 on the Energy Star scale and we are cash positive from the effort. Our competitors spend 3.5 to 4.5% of revenues on energy, we spend 1.8%. These are found profits that equal up to seven top line dollars in our business. If energy savings were dollars in this hotel I would have sold five million dollars of business while simply operating the facility more efficiently.

By the way we don’t make you sacrifice any luxury or comfort to achieve this either. Of course we invite you to join our efforts if you choose to but if you don’t that’s ok we do it anyway and have actually improved our guests satisfaction levels. So now we enjoy an 87 rating and are investing in technologies that our eQuest modeling tells us should get us into the low 90’s. These technologies have the longest ROI yet but because we have a track record for proof of savings the funding is there! I nearly forgot to mention that our employees rate our environmental achievements more highly that any other category in our opinion surveys. Is that a “Triple bottom line” or what?

Harry Hobbs, CFM

Harry Hobbs CFM
Director of Engineering
INTERCONTINENTAL HOTELS OF SAN FRANCISCO

IFMA Sustainability | SFP (Sustainable Facilities Professional) Certification Rollout

This year the San Francisco chapter of IFMA launched a major new initiative on Sustainability, including additional skill elements for the CFM certification and a new Sustainable Facilities The San Francisco chapter now has its own initiative for 2012.

Next year's plan includes events, education and outreach to help promote the adoption of sustainable practices in Facilities Management. One element of the plan is the IFMA-SF Sustainability Minute, an opportunity for chapter members to participate in a short video recording at programs on a sustainability subject they know and believe in. The concept is to create an informal, informative and engaging one-minute talk on a specific issue and provide expert tips on what FMs should do to incorporate sustainable practices into their daily work lives. The videos will be promoted nationally through our chapter website and social media campaign. Accompanying the video, the featured speaker will also contribute to our blog. The blog post will expand on the video's subject with links to informational resources accompanied with a short bio.

A chapter Sustainability Committee has been formed to implement the Sustainability 2012 initiative. We welcome the participation of anyone who would like to help out. Our goal is to have IFMA-SF be a national leader in the drive to bring more sustainable practices to the profession of Facilities Management.

Richard Hodges

IFMA-SF Sustainability 2012 Chair

www.GreenIT.net

Thoughts on “Hoteling, Real Estate and the Evolution of Facilities” from an IFMA rookie

I am new to the Bay Area and to the San Francisco chapter of IFMA. Excited to get involved, I've joined the PR/Communications Chair headed up by Carmina Bacani. I attended October's program and assisted with event registration.

The program speakers, Nancy Ludlow of Corporate Real Estate, and David Meckley of Huntsman, gave a dual presentation on “Hoteling, Real Estate and the Evolution of Facilities.” As Nancy pointed out, the workforce is more mobile than ever; mobility is the norm. She used case studies from Pharma, IT and utility companies to illustrate how workplace culture is changing due to the nature of the real estate. The utility company example is especially interesting; being located in a historic building, there is minimal investment in technology and limited dollars in reconfiguration. In addition, most of the employees have to commute to the space, thus affecting work and culture.

David followed this with a presentation on the corporate reaction to mobile staffing. While some companies have no official policy on this issue, others are offering alternative locations, such as satellite suburb offices. Others, however, are completely revamping what the workspace looks like and what it provides. David’s presentation included several pictures of new workspaces, such as the “touchdown zone” (creating a coffee shop/airport lounge atmosphere in the office), the “home base” (having the smallest possible desks located very close together while creating other spaces to spend time), and “free addressing” (employees come in and work wherever they want whenever they want). The implications for facilities, he explained, is that they are now more open and adaptable with a smaller footprint, while the lines between workplace and residence have become blurred.


These presentations hit close to home for me for two reasons in particular. One is that I myself, am a very highly mobile worker; though I live in California, I am working for a professor at Penn State University. My workspace rotates between my bed, the living room couch, and Starbucks (not my favorite coffee perhaps, but the most reliable WiFi!). I have no real option of commuting into work, so the idea of the workplace has really been transformed for me. Additionally, as a human geographer by training, I’ve considered the reasons that particular companies locate in particular places (e.g. tech companies in Silicon Valley) and the implications of this, but have not thought much about how the actual real estate affects culture, productivity, collaboration, etc. I’m seeing a potential future dissertation topic…


Lauren M. Anderson

Sustainability Advocate
Fairfood International

Polk, Popos and Pedestrians: Exploring San Francisco a few blocks at a time.

Crown Zellerbach Paper Company Building, One Bush St. with the Shell Building, 100 Bush St. in its reflection

On Friday Sept 9th, San Francisco IFMA members and guests took a two hour, three block Architectural tour of downtown San Francisco. This walk was led by Architect, and "soon to be published" researcher Rick Evans.

Though we toured a geographically small area of San Francisco's Financial District, members and guests' were educated on the neighborhood's history. That is, if we look up! There is much significance left and imprinted in the building's facade when onlookers look beyond street level.

Mr. Evans lead us through a number of privately owned, public spaces known as POPOS, showing us how easy it is to walk a block above the street, and how this space requirements will be implemented into future City developments.

Also during the tour we were introduced to the architect Willis Polk whose work had many significant works in this area of downtown, most notably the Hallidie and Hobart buildings.

Mr. Evans ended our tour by leading us across Market Street to the soon to be Transbay Terminal. Envisioned as the Grand Central Station of the West, centerpiece to a car free Downtown, terminus for the California High Speed Rail. This station redevelopment project now being looked at by the whole world as the working model of new urban development.

Edward Cooke, LEED AP
Member of IFMA, San Francisco

The Sustainable FM.

Carbon Accounting 101

There it is, in your calendar in that shade of red that shouts ‘important’, a meeting scheduled to allocate tasks for Greenhouse Gas (GHG/C02) reporting! Grab a cup of coffee before the meeting; you’ll need to be well caffeinated going in. If this has already happened in your organization then you’ll know how much data mining this requires, and I’d love to hear about your experience (see begging note at the end).

Why do we need to report GHG (C02) emissions?

There are regulatory (Federal, State & International) reporting requirements, customer requirements, leadership requirements, voluntary reporting as a business efficiency metric and risk management issues (SEC 10K disclosure requirements) to name an important few. Whatever the drivers for reporting carbon emissions, a lot of the work usually falls to the facilities/real estate folks.

If you have not been asked yet, this is a great opportunity to get out in front of this. If you’re currently grappling with this issue I hope you gain something of benefit from this and future blogs.

As of January, 2010 over 3,000 global companies report to the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) which rates companies by industry and sustainability performance and the FTSE4Good (Financial Times Stock Exchange index – UK) that rates companies for corporate responsibility and is used by ethical investors all over the world.

What do we need to report?

Under the GHG Protocol GHG emissions are expressed as tCO\2e.

t = metric tonnes (the metric system is used by the rest of the world, get over it)

CO2e = CO2 equivalent. This is the GWP (Global Warming Potential) as calculated and expressed as CO2 equivalency (e.g. 1 tonne of methane is equivalent to 21 tonnes of C02 (21 times more global warming potential) for an apple to apple comparison of various compounds.

There are six main GHG’s reported:

1. Carbon dioxide (CO2).


2. Methane (CH4).


3. Nitrous Oxide (N2O).


4. Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC)


5. Perfluorocarbons (PFC)


6. Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6)

Baseline Year:

All emission reporting starts from a baseline year. This may be given to you, if you have any input into the base year, pick a year where you have good data. You’ll never have all the data you need easily available. Ask yourself; how much refrigerant did you use in 2006 broken down by chemical type (e.g. Scope 1: R-134A is a Hydrofluorocarbon with a GWP of 5,000)? How much diesel fuel was used in 2004 for testing of your emergency generators (also Scope 1)? You see what I’m getting at?

If you’re lucky your utility will have automated your facility energy use; expressed in Kwh in Excel or a similar format going back 5 or more years. If you have facilities in other parts of the country and internationally, you may face additional challenges in getting the information. After doing this for nearly 5 years, getting accurate data is by far the biggest issue we see. FM departments need to start accumulating this data and archiving it in a format that is easily accessed and as up-dated as necessary. GHG reporting is usually done Q1/Q2 every year, and don’t think it’s going away any time soon. We’re seeing a push for much more granularity in the data collected. Is this a chance for you to shine even brighter?

Scope Boundaries:

When reporting voluntarily the organization gets to set the reporting boundaries (However; the standards are expected to increase year on year).

• Scope 1: Direct emissions at owned facilities usually from on-site generation or process (burning fossil fuel and/or emissions of chemicals). These are directly under the control of the organization, as you select the fuel source or chemicals used and you own the process (e.g. fleet vehicles that are owned are scope 1).


• Scope 2: These are usually indirect emissions, and electricity is the most common scope 2 reported. The utility selects the fuel source and as such the emission has to be calculated based on the fuel mix used in that region by that utility. However if you also manage travel as part of your scope of services; business travel is also scope 2 based on miles traveled and mode of transport (mostly jet and vehicle fuel).


• Scope 3: This is everything else. If you take a close look at the FM supply chain there are a great many items that impact your emissions. Scope 3 is the next step as we work towards reducing total emissions. Extra credit: Asking your suppliers for their GHG reports as part of the *procurement process sends a strong signal that you’re serious (sends the right message to your boss too).


• *Wal-Mart did this recently and it sent a strong message to their suppliers and greatly changed the way they used resources. The data so far indicates that there has been no increase in supplier costs or availability of products.

What next?

That’s where you come in. I need you to tell me what you want to hear about; is it carbon accounting 102, abatement strategies or other sustainability issues? I’ll be happy to group the questions into a sort of FAQ section of this blog, but in order to do that I need your FAQ’s. To prime the pump, I’ll incentivize you by offering a Starbucks gift card ($10) for the *best FM sustainability question. You’ll need the extra caffeine once you start down the GHG road.

*I will be the sole arbiter of the best question and my decision is final (unless my wife disagrees, then we’ll go with that).

Extra reading credits:

Carbon Disclosure Project: https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/Pages/HomePage.aspx

Walmart / CDP: http://walmartstores.com/Sustainability/7759.aspx

Greenhouse Gas Initiative Protocol: http://www.ghgprotocol.org/

World Resources Institute GHG: http://www.wri.org/project/ghg-protocol

World Business Council on Sustainable Development: http://www.wbcsd.org/templates/TemplateWBCSD5/layout.asp?type=p&MenuId=MTAxMQ&doOpen=1&ClickMenu=LeftMenu

Bruce Thorpe.

Bruce is a Senior Associate at WSP Sustainability & Energy http://www.wspenvironmental.com/ . He leads WSP’s Sustainable Real Estate and Workplace practice in North America and is based in San Francisco.

New CAL Green Code Requirements

San Francisco led the way for advanced green building codes in 2007 when then Mayor Gavin Newsom signed into law the city’s first green building ordinance for private buildings. Based on input from an industry task force, the ordinance referenced rigorous third-party verified green building rating systems (LEED and GreenPoint Rated) for new large commercial buildings, multifamily and single family residences, and major renovations. The rating systems not only offered robust and tested protocols for improved practices over code, but also provide recognized labels which could be used to market the developments to tenants and buyers.

That same year the California Building Standards Commission adopted the first iteration of the California Green Building Standards Code which became mandatory throughout the State on January 1, 2011. The very first of its kind, California staked out new ground for addressing environmental protection through building codes and raised the floor for the entire state.

All local jurisdictions in California are required to enforce the new Green Building Standards Code, now also known as “CALGreen.” Local jurisdictions are also able to enact more stringent requirements than those contained in the State Code where more stringent requirements are reasonably necessary and supported by “findings.”. While some cities have adopted CALGreen outright, San Francisco responded by adopting the CALGreen (including all mandatory measures), but amended the code to maintain the existing references to the rating systems. In addition to filing our local amendments with the Building Standards Commission, the City filed an application and study with the California Energy Commission to require modeled energy performance above the state’s strict energy code (a prerequisite in the rating systems that further maximize environmental benefits of the original ordinance).

One concern voiced by some in the green building community is that the new code will allow developers to market a development as “green” by building to code instead of the more rigorous rating systems, potentially creating marketplace confusion about the definition of a “green” building. Documenting compliance with both “code” and the “rating systems” may also have unintended consequences on the use of the rating systems. Another question relates to the ability of local building departments to thoroughly enforce the new code, especially as city budgets continue to shrink and time for continuing education, a keystone for all green building endeavors, is ever more difficult to obtain.

During this critical first year of statewide implementation, the City is working with the state, other local governments, nonprofits, and practitioners to monitor the impacts and progress of applying CALGreen, and will work with others to identify best practices as well as key information gaps and recommend other areas for improvement. However complicated things are now, it’s also an exciting time for policy innovations to green the built environment!

Richard Chien
Green Building Coordinator - San Francisco Environment
City and County of San Francisco
www.sfenvironment.org

Lighting Innovation - A Lighting Designer's Perspective

As a lighting designer and participant for February’s IFMA panel discussion entitled "Lighting Innovation - LED's or Fluorescents? I’d like to bring the perspective of a lighting designer to the discussion.

As lighting designers, our goal is to merge the most energy efficient technology with innovation and quality lighting in a space. While doing so, some things to consider are the occupant’s comfort, appropriate light levels, energy code requirements, energy saving goals and any specific client needs. If you are a perspective tenant or building owner, you will most likely work with designers to decide on the lighting for your space. Our panel discussion focused on LEDs and fluorescents and whether it was time to switch. With that in mind, I would like to discuss four things to consider when deciding on your new lighting system:

1. What is your budget?

Understand the budget for lighting in the space. An LED fixture will tend to have a greater upfront cost than compact fluorescent, fluorescent, or halogen sources of equal quality. The payback over a lifetime will frequently make the LED product cheaper in the end due to savings in energy usage and maintenance (cost of lamps & cost of changing the lamps). Use LEDs in areas where they are best suited and save the greatest amount of energy to get the highest return on investment.

2. What is the efficacy of the fixture?

Efficacy refers to lumens per watt.

• Linear fluorescent: 92 – 104 lumens per watt


• Compact fluorescent: 60 – 72 lumens per watt


• LED: 30 – 60 lumens per watt average (varies greatly, can be >100 or <30)


• Halogen: 13 to 18 lumens per watt

The efficacy for traditional lamps refers to the lumens per watt of the lamp only; fixture efficiency is not taken into account. The efficacy of the LED typically refers to the efficacy of the entire fixture. So the list above is not exactly comparing apples to apples.

LEDs bring a substantial energy reduction when replacing halogen and incandescent sources. When replacing linear and compact fluorescent products, you must compare the statistics of the individual products to determine which will save more energy.

3. How will the fixture be used?

LEDs and fluorescents are by nature two very different types of sources. An LED is a point source, while a fluorescent emits light in all directions. This distinction lends LEDs to be better at directing all of their lumens into a single general direction, but not as good at providing a more ambient light effect without proper lensing. Manufacturers have been using this to their advantage creating lenses that put the light exactly where it is needed. As this technology is further developed, it could greatly change the fixtures we see today.

Some common uses for LEDs:

• Downlights
• Wallwashers
• Retrofits for incandescent PAR lamps
• Small cove uplights
• Undercabinet lights
• Small details where a fluorescent or any other source would not fit

At this point, it is still more common to use linear fluorescents for linear office pendants, recessed 2x4s, 2x2s, and 1x4s. These types of fixtures tend to be the main light source in a space, requiring them to provide a high light level. Linear fluorescents tend to be capable of producing more lumens or higher amounts of light than LEDs. As LED manufacturers produce higher wattage LEDs and fixture manufacturers further develop technologies to direct the light, we will be seeing more fixtures ready to complete with the fluorescent fixtures. There are some great ones on the market today, but the selection is limited.

4. See a Sample!

The point I can most stress is that not all LED products are created equal. Whenever considering an LED product, make sure to review a sample first so you know what you are getting.

When reviewing a sample, look for the following qualities:

• Color of the light - is it acceptable? It can vary greatly from product to product.


• Color consistency – do all LEDs in a fixture appear to be the same?


• Color comparison with other fixtures in the space. Are you using multiple fixtures that all have a 3000K color temperature? Does the light look similar between each fixture?

Lighting Designers use both LEDs and fluorescents on a daily basis, and typically end up with a combination of fluorescent and LED lighting in commercial spaces. LEDs have been improving by leaps and bounds and we are continuously seeing new and exciting products that are changing the field of lighting. However, don’t think fluorescents are sitting on the sidelines waiting for LEDs to surpass them. New technologies for distributing and controlling fluorescent light are being further developed creating fixtures that are 90 - 95% efficient; that is hard to beat from an energy standpoint. LEDs are changing the way people think about lighting and they are forcing other aspects of the lighting community to keep developing their technologies as well. It’s an interesting time in the lighting community. I hope the list above helps you make some decisions when developing a new space or deciding to retrofit an old one. I wish you luck on any future ventures!

Lisa Kramer
Senior Lighting Designer
h.e. banks + associates Lighting Design
www.hebanks.com

February 10th, 2011 - Lighting Innovation

I thought I was reasonably knowledgeable about new lighting technology and its role in energy consumption in commercial buildings. The recent chapter program on Lighting Innovation taught me otherwise. What I learned in that session alone justified our annual membership.

Richard Hodges, Principal
GreenIT

New Member Lunch - January 28th, 2011

A special thanks to our Membership Chairwoman, Robyn Isom, for planning such an organized and well executed lunch to welcome our new members to the San Francisco Chapter. The luncheon at the Belden Taverna drew industry associates, board members and Facility Managers representing various industries from software, education, health care to government. Everyone at the table was given the spotlight to introduce themselves along with their affiliated companies. The private venue space was perfect for our 25 attendees which allowed for engaging conversations accompanied by good food and attentive service. We hope to see the continued energy and enthusiasm from all participants at upcoming programs and/or events!

2011 Programs Kickoff - Bowling at Presidio Bowl

What better way to kick off the New Year than with fellow IFMA SF chapter members at our annual bowling event in the Presidio's historic bowling alley! As Hospitality Chair for the board, I was pleased to meet some last minute bowling enthusiasts who joined in on the fun. All 22 bowlers teamed up and wore their IFMA paraphernalia - which included baseball caps and pins - proudly. Plenty of food and sugar from our kick-off cake gave us all energy to consistently strike the pins or gutter the ball. It was a great time to burn off the holiday calories and build camaraderie all around.

Thank you to my fellow Education and Co-Chair committees in organizing this fun filled and well attended event!

Carmina Bacani

IFMA SF Hospitality Chair

More Than Lipstick on a Pig

Yes - the September 9th tour of PG&E's 1920's garage on Folsom Street -- a work in progress as it undergoes a LEED renovation -- was more informative, more interesting, and more fascinating than anyone might have anticipated.

The historic building, its history, and it's trove of antique equipment was amazing!

Thanks for an outstanding tour of the PG&E Garage Facility renovation.

Sybil Meyer
Member, IFMA San Francisco

September 11, 2009 - Tour of the Oakland Cathedral of Christ the Light

Yesterday, IFMA SF members and guests ascended the ramp leading to the entrance of the Cathedral of Christ the Light Cathedral, on Lake Merritt in Oakland, and gathered for a tour. Through the outstanding guidance of our docent guides, we learned of the connection of the building layout, orientation, design, and materials to its spritual mission of “outreach, advocacy and concern for social justice.” Just as light is a defining metaphor of Oakland diocese’s mission, it is also the central design element of the new cathedral. The building is oriented so that the morning sun streams in over the entrance signifying the beginning of life, and the altar, with its multi story image of Christ only visible with daylight, aligns with the setting sun signifying the end of life and time. Every angle and relationship of spaces within the facility is carefully considered with meaning and depth. The combination of wood, glass, concrete and brushed aluminum somehow creates the sensation of serenity and transcendence. The dynamic shape of the walls, which appears at first glance to resemble an inverted wedge on either end of the sanctuary, with the organic form of the faceted panels similar to flower petals, opening wider as they reach the top. The apparent spareness of the materials in the public worship area is contrasted with rich granite, antique stained glass, and translucent marble in the lower level mausoleum. Overall it is a building that is about extraordinary lightness and luminosity. The group was extremely impressed with the results from Architect Craig Hartmanof SOM and contractor Webcor.

On the functional side, we learned that a matrix of friction-pendulum base isolators rests beneath the sanctuary's thick concrete walls and floor slab to allow the building to shift as much as 36 inches in a seismic event. The chief engineer explained that the heat and air is provided through radiant pipes and air supply in the floor, monitored by a state of the art building management system. And a large, separate fan is set to serve the organ, currently containing 1500 pipes, but which is planned to contain 5000 pipes when completed in early 2010.

Following the tour, the group wandered over to Luka's TapRoom for lively conversation, libations, and a tasty assortment of appetizers. The Belgian fries and seafood plates were particularly popular. The night ended a little later than scheduled, but a good time was had by all.

Additional photos of the tour by Ritesh Khanna, LEEP AP - and IFMA Volunteer - are available on http://www.ifmasf.org/xxarchph.html.

Karen D. Cochran, CFM, RPA, FMA

Joint Healthcare Council and R&D Council Spring Conference

The Palace Hotel provided a wonderful backdrop for this year’s Joint Spring Conference held May 10 – 12, 2009.

Even in this challenging economy, when firms are pulling back on their travel and conference expenses, many IFMA members from throughout the country journeyed to San Francisco to participate in IFMA’s Spring Conference – a testament to the value IFMA builds into its conference programs.

The 75 attendees were treated to informative sessions, valuable networking, insightful facility tours, gourmet food and a series of incredibly beautiful sunny San Francisco days.

The move to hold both the Healthcare and R&D conferences together was a smart one, not only for economic reasons but because it gave the facility managers of two separate industries many opportunities to learn from each other.

Laura Ellington, JKL Construction Services

IFMA R&D and Health Care Councils Tour Genentech!

I recently attended the Joint Spring Conference 2009 of the IFMA R&D and Health Care Councils. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues and discover new and sustainable ways to operate, design and build Research and Development facilities. Participants heard and learned from industry leaders and saw new cutting edge buildings on biotech and healthcare campuses including Fibrogen's new Mission Bay Headquarters and Genentech's newest Biotech Laboratories in South San Francisco.

Attendees represented companies that operate research, healthcare, and clinical spaces. Also attending were architects, engineers, construction and other vendor companies that support the Global Healthcare and Research markets.

About IFMA R&D Council

The Research and Development Council is one of the many specialized groups of IFMA. The members are a diverse collection of individuals involved in R&D facility management encompassing a wide variety of industries (basic sciences, biotechnology, chemicals, consumer products, health care, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, telecommunications, technology, etc.). These facility professionals have the responsibility to effectively plan, design, construct, utilize and maintain a variety of buildings and facilities for their owners and clients.

About IFMA Health Care Council

The Health Care Council (HCC) consists of more than 550 hospital facility managers, design and construction professionals, consultants, vendors and students serving community hospitals, academic medical centers, children’s hospitals, retirement facilities, and specialty hospitals and clinics. As a council of IFMA, our goal is to holistically enhance the skills of facility management professionals within the health care industry and to further the profession overall. We host educational sessions and networking events at most of the national health care conferences.

About the Picture Above

Conference participants gather around the bronze statue that depicts the first meeting of Genentech founders Bob Swanson and Herb Boyer at Churchill's bar in San Francisco where they agreed to form Genentech. It has become a Genentech tradition to dress up the statues on special occasions and to drop coins into their cups for good luck.

Thank You San Francisco Chapter Volunteers!

A great deal of planning and coordination went into making this conference a success. Thank you to John Dilges, John Kennedy, Robyn Isom, Vik Bakshi, Albert Cusati, Homa Yazdani and all the others who participated in making this event a success.

Best regards,

Oscar