The RATS Experiment: How we Can achieve AMAZING energy savings by Fostering Sustainable Behavior"

The Rats ExperimentAchieving AMAZING reductions in Energy Use by Fostering

Sustainable Behavior

The Economist reports that “energy efficiency is good for

business”.

In a global survey of 423 senior executives from the buildings

industry, they discovered companies are linking energy

stewardship with financial performance and that clean, green

buildings give them a marketing advantage. [1]

Smarter use of Technology can

help!

BUT we also need to propagate

new norms in how we use our

buildings!

How much more ENERGY can we save by

Fostering Sustainable Behavior?

For our project we wanted to demonstrate to that triple bottom line economics work for

commercial real estate. One area we decided to focus on was fostering sustainable

behavior so that we could minimize energy use and the capital cost of the PV panels

needed to achieve Net 0 energy use.

To determine an acceptable thermal comfort range for our staff, we decided to

conduct a Responsible Adults Temperature Study (RATS)

Dennis Cuku Mosaic Center for Community and Commerce

Canada’s first private commercial Living Building Challenge project

RATS Experiment

We had our staff provide feedback on comfort by hitting the red buttons when

hot or the blue buttons when cold. We discovered that the Males were

comfortable between 16 to 23 ºC and the females between 20 to 27 ºC.

We also determined that relaxing work attire standards based upon the seasons

can positively affect employee satisfaction, comfort and energy costs. According to

Occupational Health and Safety we need to minimize the temperature difference

between indoor and outdoor temperature. Warmer in the summer, cooler in the

winter. A win for the Planet and the Pocket book!

CONCLUSION

Staff working in a office environment would likely not

experience productivity decline or level of comfort

satisfaction for temperature ranges

From 20ºC to 26ºC

The RATS experiment helped to validate

that industry comfort standards are more

stringent than physiologically required or

economically feasible!

In an excellent strategic issues paper by Amory Lovins

of Rocky Mountain Institute we learn:

• Studies show we can still be comfortable at plus

9ºC plus or minus 7ºC

• We can achieve 10% to 30% energy saving without

affecting comfort

• There are 10 factors affecting comfort

• ASHRAE guidelines are too tight at 2.5 to 5.5ºC

[1] Air Conditioning Comfort: Behavior and Cultural Issues

How Much can we SAVE?

In just 2 Weeks

Courtesy of Lucid Technologies

A 55% reduction in Energy Use in a Campus Building Challenge

Cooling Savings of $1000/yr/DGC for a 140,000 sq.ft building

Retro-commissioning Pilot Project achieves

4% Saving with a 1 DGC change in cooling setpoint

• Benchmark energy use and set a 25%

energy reduction target

• Engage with your tenants and sell them on

sustainability

• Educate clients on thermal comfort

• Conduct a Energy Reduction challenge

• Establish seasonal global setpoints higher

in summer lower in winter

• Provide dashboards for direct feedback on

energy use

• Build your next building to Net 0

• Commission your buildings

• Install high performance equipment

Initiatives to Foster Sustainable Behavior

There are solutions that

provide excellent

returns & have a huge

impact.

Please take ACTION.

Thank you!

University of Winnipeg Science Complex

& Richardson College for the Environment

University of Winnipeg Science Complex

& Richardson College for the Environment

Let us know if you need any help with your Action Plan!

Murray Guy (aka @Lean_tobe_Green)

Ph: 306.222.5384

Email: [email protected]

www.i-designs.ca & www.eco-smart.ca

Dispelling the MYTH that High Performance Cost MoreBreaking Down Barriers to High Performance

If you want more information about the Mosaic Center

http://themosaiccentre.ca/

or the BLOG article on “Being Cool with Realistic Comfort

Expectations”

http://www.i-designs.ca/blog/high-performance-design/be-cool-

with-realistic-comfort-expectations!