JLL – David Velosa – 2015

Goals

David Velosa spent his summer as an EDF Climate Corps fellow at one of JLL’s most iconic Chicago Buildings, 77 West Wacker. He collaborated with management and engineering to document and develop base building MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) standards and guidelines for all renovation and new construction projects.

Solutions

After successfully reducing base-building energy consumption by more than 35 percent, 77 West Wacker was looking for a way to spur whole-building energy reduction through tenant engagement. Through various meetings with the management and engineering teams, Velosa came to understand that the best time to implement a tenant retrofit project was when there was a renovation or a new construction project. By collaborating with technical experts, Velosa developed a “Base Building Standards and Guidelines” document with the aim of helping tenants understand the environmental and financial implications of an energy-efficient office design. He focused on guidelines for retrofitting tenant’s HVAC systems, implementing lighting control strategies such as daylight harvesting, vacancy sensors and Bi-level Switching and requiring tenants to install smart strips to reduce vampire power consumption.

Potential Impact

The proposed “Base Building Standards and Guidelines” document could serve as a guideline for tenants to engage with the efforts and initiatives implemented in the building focused on energy conservation and energy efficiency. It also could serve as ground rules when designing office spaces and purchasing electronic equipment. Moreover, this document should help 77 West Wacker reach a 9 percent whole-building energy reduction goal and achieve a Retrofit Chicago initiative goal of 20 percent energy reduction by 2018.