Interview with Robbie Ferris
Robbie Ferris is the CEO and President of SfL+ a Architects, P.A. and a practicing architect based in Raleigh, North Carolina. SfL+a has designed a number of successful energy positive and high performance building projects. Mr. Ferris is LEED AP certified and is a Recognized Educational Facility Planner (REFP), and member of the American Institute of Architects. Mr. Ferris is also a principal with FirstFloor Energy Positive, LLC which provides turnkey development solutions to educational institutions. Recently, Mr. Ferris participated in the design of Sandy Grove Middle School in Lumber Bridge, North Carolina, the nation’s first energy positive, LEED Gold public school that is projected to save the School District $35M over 40 years with $16M in electrical savings. In South Carolina, SfL+a and First Floor Energy Positive are currently involved in the design and construction of five energy positive schools in Horry County, South Carolina that are scheduled to be completed in 2017. To reach Robbie Ferris, RFerris@sfla.biz.
Questions
What is an energy positive project and how is it different from energy efficient or LEED certified projects?
Energy Positive projects generate more electricity on site than they consume, thus setting a standard that far exceeds the standards for an energy efficient building as defined by traditional definition. Energy positive projects consider most of what is best about LEED and energy efficiency projects with extra emphasis on integrated design, systems integration, and long term building operation and maintenance.
How many energy positive projects have you been involved with?
We have four energy positive projects in operation with an additional five under construction and six in design.
What are common design elements of an energy positive design?
First, energy positive buildings use 50-60% less energy than a standard code compliant building. Then they become energy positive by incorporating a renewable energy source such as solar photovoltaic panels. All of our energy positive projects use geothermal HVAC systems, LED lighting, and rely heavily on thermal building mass to reduce peak power consumption.
How common is it for an energy positive project to sell power to the grid?
The terms of every project vary depending on the rate schedules provided by the electrical service provider. Unless favorable “net metering” is allowed by the utility, the building uses as much renewable energy as possible and any excess power is sold to the electrical service provider. As policies change and the cost of electricity increases, our energy positive buildings will be positioned to avoid costs and take advantage of favorable regulatory changes.
Have you designed any energy positive projects that create a revenue stream for the owner through net metering?
While it is very possible to develop a building as a profit center, due to a variety of regulatory constraints, we have not attempted to generate positive cash flow from electrical sales. We typically try to eliminate electrical cost for our clients so they don’t have a power bill. Still, this may change in the future as energy policies become more favorable to solar PV owners.
Why should a governmental entity consider investing in an energy positive project?
When done correctly, energy positive projects have a premium cost of about 2%. In general the payback on this investment is about 5-7 years. In addition, energy positive projects are generally built to a higher standard of quality which improves comfort, indoor air quality, building life cycle, and reliability while reducing maintenance cost.
Do you anticipate the cost of constructing net positive energy projects to decrease in the future?
The key to reducing the first cost of energy positive projects is finding ways for the building systems to work together so that the HVAC, structure, lighting, technology, etc. become one system. Within the next few years, we believe we will be able to deliver energy positive projects with a lower first cost than a traditional school.
What is the expected life of a net positive energy building?
The life expectancy of an energy positive building is longer than a traditional building because the quality of the systems is generally much higher than the systems in a traditional building. Most of the building infrastructure should last about 40 years with the building envelope easily lasting 60 years, or longer. Of course, we have seen exponential innovation in security, technology systems, and lighting systems in the last decade and expect it to continue. So, these systems should be updated every five to ten years to keep pace with modern society, especially in an educational environment. Our energy positive schools are designed and constructed with those concepts in mind.
In your experience, what type of project delivery best suits the design and construction of energy positive projects?
Design-build-operate or design-build-operate-leaseback arrangements are ideal when delivering an energy positive building. It is critical that the designers and builders be responsible for electrical costs, if any. To guarantee energy positive performance and in most cases that there won’t be any electrical cost, the designer and builders must optimize and maintain the systems for at least the first 3 to 5 years of operations. The traditional design-bid-build method of delivering buildings does not work well if the goal is an energy positive and high performance building.