Since our inception in 1953, energy conservation and sustainability have been core components of our design philosophy. As we prioritize these important features in our built environments, learn about some of our top eco-friendly projects:
Emory Musculoskeletal Institute – Brookhaven, Georgia
This specialty medical office building includes a Surgery Center, office space, and a research facility with six operating rooms, four procedure rooms, pre-op/post-op, two MRIs, radiology, physical therapy, 72 exam rooms, a 15,000sf advanced research lab, teaching operative suite, administrative offices for Orthopedics, and a 10,000sf conference center. The project also included a notable dedicated physiatry room within the design.
The new LEED-certified building is a comprehensive, patient and family-centered facility and was created to serve as this service line’s central location and house multiple centers of excellence and programs. Services provided include orthopedic and spine care, physical therapy, and imaging services.
Indiana University, Assembly Hall – Bloomington, Indiana
Ross & Baruzzini designed the mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection systems for a major renovation and addition to the iconic Assembly Hall, home to the Hoosier basketball program and other athletics. The most visible renovations focus on the main lobby entrance, which was completely replaced. The new lobby provides a grand entrance to the facility along with amenities such as a Hall of Champions display area for memorabilia. Suites were added within the arena seating along with meeting and event spaces.
Washington University – St. Louis
Photography via Washington University McKelvey School of Engineering
Ross & Baruzzini provided mechanical, electrical, fire protection, and audio-visual systems engineering services for a new four-level, 75,000sf Computer Science building on the east end of Washington University’s Danforth campus. The facility incorporates large expanses of glass on the north and west sides of the building facing an interior courtyard. The building houses several large open lab areas, tiered and flat pooled classrooms, conference rooms, offices, and collaboration zones.
MUSC Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Women’s Pavilion – Charleston, South Carolina
Photography via Perkins & Will.
This project is the first comprehensive inpatient hospital project in South Carolina with LEED certification at any level. In addition, our firm’s recommendations as Acoustical Consultant earned two LEED points for Healthcare Acoustics, without which, this project would not have reached the point total required for overall LEED Silver Certification.
Engineering Holistic Design
Ross & Baruzzini collaborates with designers, builders, architects, and owners to successfully meet and exceed building requirements. Our related services include:
• Energy Master Planning • Energy Auditing • Advanced Energy Modeling and Analysis • Commissioning/Retro-Commissioning • Facility Condition Assessments • Energy Programs (LEED, Green Globes, Energy Star, WELL Building) • Measurement and Verification • Energy Conservation Funding and Incentives • Renewable Energy Design and Consulting • Life Cycle Cost Analysis • Water Conservation
We are ecstatic to be a sponsor for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Missouri Gateway Chapter as they work toward making every building a green building. This sustainability-driven organization promotes energy efficiency programs and environmentally responsible developments throughout local communities.
The USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter’s vision is to create and restore buildings and communities that will regenerate and sustain health through:
Education: Drive awareness through programs that provide practical knowledge and inspiration, while fostering connections, reaching 1,500 – 2,000 individuals annually.
Green Schools: Providing opportunities for public and private schools within the Chapter’s territory (Missouri and Southern Illinois) to devise and implement, creative, effective, and no- or low-cost sustainable practices for their schools.
Energy Efficiency: Supporting efforts to drive energy efficiency, save money, and protect the environment through the Better Buildings Through Benchmarking campaign and Building Energy Performance Standard.
Green Communities: Helping schools, congregations, local governments, and nonprofits employ green building practices and save money on operations so they can invest more back into their mission.
Why Supporting Organizations like the USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter is Critical
Green buildings are better for people, the environment, and our economy. They steward natural resources and lower our environmental impacts. In addition, healthy buildings can encourage better health for building occupants. Jonathan Penndorf, an architect for Perkins+Will, reports:
The benefits are worth the effort, with numerous studies documenting “healthy building” impacts such as reduced illness and absenteeism among workers, higher worker productivity, higher test scores among students, and greater workplace satisfaction.
Energy Conservation & Sustainability
Energy conservation and sustainability have been core components of Ross & Baruzzini since our inception, and we treat these critical elements as a top priority of every design we produce for our clients’ facilities.
With nearly 40% of our nation’s energy being used by buildings, we are committed to reducing carbon emissions by implementing energy conservation measures that also improve your bottom line. Whether your project is undergoing initial planning or your facility needs efficient upgrades, we are your go-to expert for all things energy. Our goal is to provide you with personalized, cost-effective recommendations that provide returns on your investment.
Ross & Baruzzini is an approved RCx study provider for AES Indiana and Evergy Missouri. This qualification allows us to perform a retro-commissioning study to help you achieve greater energy savings with associated utility incentives for your project.
Retro-commissioning (RCx), or existing building commissioning, is a systematic process developed to evaluate, record, and improve a building’s operations. Our team can assist with:
Creating prescriptive and custom measure applications
Providing required energy calculations
Compiling and submitting the required accompanying documentation on your organization’s behalf.
Our team has an extensive background with utility incentive programs. We will work with you and the utility reviewer to ensure that all possible incentive dollars are obtained.
After collecting introductory information regarding your building, such as mechanical and electrical systems information, utility costs, and future projects, we can help guide you towards a more energy-efficient facility:
AES Indiana
Customers who purchase electricity from AES Indiana – formerly Indianapolis Power and Light – may be eligible to receive financial incentives for investing in energy efficiency. Customers can fill out any of three different types of applications to receive the financial incentives from the utility – along with proof of purchase, installation, and in some cases energy calculations – to receive financial incentives for certain energy efficiency measures. Any customer can receive an incentive for up to $100,000 per project and up to $500,000 per customer per year.
Prescriptive Option
This application is the most simple and straightforward option when it comes to receiving incentive dollars from AES. There are three categories of prescriptive incentives – lighting, HVAC, and kitchen. Lighting incentive may include any retrofits where older lighting technology (incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, etc.) may be replaced with high efficiency equivalents, such as LEDs. This category also includes exit sign replacements, lighting controls, and de-lamping of overlit areas.
Lighting measures are typically a one for one replacement of lamps and fixtures, except in the case of lighting controls. The HVAC category mostly includes items related to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning – electric and some gas equipment are eligible.
Additionally, this category includes motors (pumps and fans), variable frequency drives, demand-controlled ventilation, smart or programmable thermostats, and air compressors.
Finally, the kitchen category encompasses a wide variety of measures. Most kitchen equipment replacements are eligible for incentives, but also included in this category are clothes washers, dryers, water heaters, vending machines, kitchen ventilation, and electronically commutated motors (ECMs).
While prescriptive incentives are the most straightforward, they generally do not pay as well as the custom or RCx incentive options can. To get the largest incentives, customers will have to “think outside the prescriptive box”, and implement measures not included in the prescriptive options.
Custom Option
This option includes all measures not listed in prescriptive or measures where the retrofit is not simply a one for one replacement. To receive incentives under this application category, the customer must also submit energy savings calculations along with the application, to prove that savings will be achieved.
If the implemented EEMs (Energy Efficiency Measures) span multiple different technology categories, one application per technology must be submitted. Custom incentives are paid out at a rate of $0.07 to $0.10 per kWh and will not be paid over 50% of the total material and labor cost for the project.
RCx Option
This final option incentivizes customers who hire an approved retro-commissioning provider (RCx) to find savings opportunities. Approved RCx providers perform an RCx study on a facility – this type of study is geared toward improving facility operations and saving energy. These comprehensive studies look at all building systems – from building envelopes to HVAC – to find the greatest energy saving opportunities.
In addition to the incentives received from any prescriptive or custom measure, an additional $0.04 per kWh of calculated savings will be awarded to the customer for any measures uncovered during the RCx study. This incentive maxes out at 75% of the total cost of the study.
To recap, AES customers have several opportunities to get paid for energy efficiency upgrades.
The simplest option is the prescriptive method, though simple, does not generally result in high incentive amounts. The custom incentives offer a better payout, but also require energy savings calculations to be submitted. RCx studies can be performed to uncover prescriptive and custom incentive opportunities, and these RCx studies are also incentivized by the program.
Additionally, for the remainder of the year, AES is offering bonus incentives for applications turned in before a specific deadline:
For an additional 30% incentive, customers can turn in their applications on or before September 30, 2021.
For an additional 25% incentive, customers can turn in their applications on or before December 31, 2021.
Evergy Missouri
Customers who purchase electricity from Evergy in Missouri may be eligible to receive financial incentives for investing in energy efficiency:
Prescriptive Option
This application is the most simple and straightforward option to receive incentive dollars from Evergy. For prescriptive measures where the incentive amount is less than $10,000, customers only need to submit an application within 90 days after the equipment has been purchased and installed. For any measures reaching an incentive greater than$10,000, pre-approval is required.
While prescriptive incentives are the most straightforward, they generally do not pay as well as the custom or RCx incentive options. To receive the largest incentives, customers will have to “think outside the prescriptive box” and implement measures not included in the prescriptive options.
Custom Option
This option includes all measures not listed in prescriptive, or those measures where the retrofit is not simply a one for one replacement. To receive incentives under this application category, the customer must also submit energy savings calculations along with the application, to prove that savings will be achieved.
Custom incentives are paid depending on which technology the savings are coming from.
On the high end, any cooling EEMs (Energy Efficiency Measures) implemented will achieve a rebate at a rate of $0.23/kWh saved. On the low end, HVAC without peak demand reduction, electric heating, and exterior lighting will be incentivized at a rate of $0.04/kWh saved.
RCx Option
This option incentivizes customers who hire an approved retro-commissioning provider (RCx) to find opportunities for savings. Approved RCx providers perform an RCx study on a facility – this type of study is one that is geared toward improving facility operations and saving energy. These studies are comprehensive and look at all building systems – from building envelope to HVAC – to find the greatest energy saving opportunities.
In addition to the incentives received from any prescriptive or custom measure, additional incentives will be awarded to the customer for any measures that were uncovered during the RCx study. This incentive maxes out at 100% of the total cost of the study.
To be eligible for the RCx incentive, facilities must be over 100,000 square feet (individual building or campus) and there must be an operational energy management system (EMS) installed. Additionally, any measures implemented that were discovered during the RCx study will be incentivized at rates similar to those custom incentives, albeit at a slightly lower rate.
New Construction
The new construction incentive option is intended to promote efficiency and sustainability.
New construction includes the following:
There is not an existing building footprint in place,
gut rehab of an existing building where all mechanical and electrical systems will be replaced,
a “warm shell” construction project where the core elements of the building are included in the project, while future tenants can furnish or expand on the existing building.
Prescriptive and custom incentive options are both available to new construction, but for custom options, the baseline will be decided upon by the building owner and Evergy.
Another option for new construction is whole building performance. Incentives will be awarded based on the savings shown from a whole building energy model. For buildings showing between 10% and 25% savings, incentives will be calculated at $0.03 per kWh saved over baseline – and this amount increases to $0.04 per kWh if savings are over 25%. This incentive maxes out at $50,000 per site.
To recap, Evergy Missouri customers have several opportunities to get paid for energy efficiency upgrades.
The simplest option is the prescriptive method. While prescriptive incentives are the most straightforward, they generally do not pay as well as the custom or RCx incentive options can. To get the largest incentives, customers will have to “think outside the prescriptive box”, so to speak, and implement measures that are not included in the prescriptive options.
RCx studies can be performed to uncover prescriptive and custom incentive opportunities, and these RCx studies are also incentivized by the program. New construction incentives are available for brand new buildings or gut rehabs, and building owners have the option to submit an energy model to obtain an incentive for overall building energy savings over the baseline.
Get to Know Your Experts
Annie Smith, PE, CEM, LEED, BEMP Jonathon Bell CEM, CEA, LEED GA
Jonathon Bell is an experienced Energy Engineer at Ross & Baruzzini with a demonstrated history of working in the energy services industry. He is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Certified Energy Auditor (CEA), and a LEED Green Associate. He earned his Bachelor’s degree focused in Energy Engineering from Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.
Annie Smith is a Director of Energy Services and Mechanical Engineer at Ross & Baruzzini with experience in energy audits and mechanical design. Her project experience includes commercial office buildings, research laboratories, residence halls, athletic and recreation facilities, and healthcare facilities. Annie has expertise in the ASHRAE Procedures for Commercial Energy Audits, lifecycle cost and payback analyses, and Revit and BIM technologies. She is involved in the local St. Louis chapters of ASHRAE, USGBC, and AEE.
Congratulations to Healthcare Vice President and Managing Principal, Mike Swanson, P.E., LEED AP BD+C, for achieving WELL AP Certification! The WELL Accredited Professional credential demonstrates an advanced, holistic approach to health in the built environment addressing behavior, operations, and design.
What is WELL?
The WELL Building Standard is a performance-based system for measuring, certifying, and monitoring features of the built environment that impact human health and wellbeing, through air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind.
WELL is managed and administered by the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), a public benefit corporation whose mission is to improve human health and wellbeing through the built environment.
The Importance of WELL Certification
Traditional sustainability certification programs focus heavily on energy, water, and waste. The WELL Building Standard emphasizes overall health and wellbeing of the building’s users.
Our firm has long focused on energy-conscious designs and sustainability to support these environments, and the WELL Certification is an extension of this philosophy. We are pleased to work with a framework that provides comprehensive, science-based methodologies for designing spaces to enhance the occupant’s health and wellbeing.
“This accreditation builds on Ross & Baruzzini’s design philosophy of providing energy efficient and sustainable building design,” said Swanson. “This represents our commitment to forward thinking design while creating healthier spaces for people to heal, learn, work, and play.”
To learn more about projects and sustainability, visit our portfolio page.
As your responsible partner, we are dedicated to finding the most innovative and appropriate solutions that improve the quality of life and provide exceptional value to teachers, staff, and students. Our experts provide strategic master planning, consulting, design, engineering, systems integration, and commissioning for a wide range of specialty disciplines for public and private institutions.
A Focus on Long-Term Value
We understand that the challenges and vision of each school and campus is unique. Ross & Baruzzini works closely with educators, administrators, members of the community, and our design partners to meet these specific needs and create school environments that are both engaging and enduring. Our experience covers the full gamut of facility types involving renovations, new construction, energy studies and code consultation.
K-12 Education Expertise
We’re proud to serve scores of public school districts and private schools throughout the country, often working in partnership with top-tier design and construction firms. Energy efficiency, flexible space design, adoption of new technologies, and the safety and protection of students, staff, and campus visitors are increasingly critical to the foundations of our education system.
As our experience has grown, so have our capabilities and services, which allow us to consider all of these factors in our designs, providing a full-service approach from design through construction. Our approach to each project represents a collaborative effort, combining client expectations with our knowledge of design, construction, and regulatory issues.
Technology
As student enrollment continues to rise, educational facilities are becoming increasingly competitive in their efforts to attract and retain students, faculty, and staff. Now, more than ever, campuses must be on the leading edge of technology to support new methods of learning, research, and collaboration.
Whether you are integrating new instructional technology in existing spaces, upgrading the campus communications infrastructure, or constructing new facilities, Ross & Baruzzini can help you save time and lower costs on your next project.
Security
Our decades of experience have allowed us to work with campus planners, construction staff, and architects to carefully craft security solutions that balance the needs of public safety, premises liability, and campus vandalism issues. Understanding how various campus facilities interact with each other is key to the success of the security program, and it is common for the governing security principles to change substantially from one use area to the next.
MEP/FP
Whether it’s a library, classroom, assembly auditorium, or science lab, Ross & Baruzzini’s MEP/FP team creates student-centered environments that are energy efficient and sustainable without compromising comfort, indoor air quality, and required temperature and humidity conditions.
Our sustainable and energy-efficient designs start from the inception of the project and continue through the construction and final commissioning of all living systems. Whether large or small, we approach each project with the same commitment to quality design and client satisfaction.
Contact Our Our Team of Experts
Our multidisciplinary team can be a comprehensive partner for any education, laboratory, or leading technology project, bringing value and expertise to every solution.
Webinar 3: Counteracting Energy Impacts of COVID-19 with Retro-Commissioning
On October 27, 2020, Ross & Baruzzini aired part three of their 3-part “Energy Efficient Facilities during COVID-19″ webinar series. In the third episode of the series, host Annie Smith, Ross & Baruzzini Director of Energy Services with guests John Biggs, Ross & Baruzzini Senior Mechanical Engineer / Commissioning Agent, Jonathon Bell, Ross & Baruzzini Energy Engineer, Jeff Crawford, Ross & Baruzzini Managing Principal – Higher Education & Research Market discuss energy-efficient facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing energy efficiency measures to implement now, measures to stay away from, and sourcing of funding and incentives.
Jonathon Bell Energy Engineer Subject Matter Expert T: +1 800.404.7677 C: +1 425.284.6545 E: [email protected]
Jeffrey R. Crawford, PE, LEED AP Senior Vice President Managing Principal-Higher Education & Research Webinar Host T: +1 800.404.7677 C: +1 314.378.9491 E: [email protected]
Webinar 2: Design Impacts
On July 1, 2020, Ross & Baruzzini aired part two of their 3-part “Energy Efficient Facilities during COVID-19″ webinar series. In the second episode of the series, host Jeff Crawford, Ross & Baruzzini Managing Principal – Higher Education & Research Market with guests: John Biggs, Ross & Baruzzini Senior Mechanical Engineer / Commissioning Agent, Michael Steinle, Ross & Baruzzini Senior Resiliency Consultant, and J.R. Simmons, Ross & Baruzzini Principal Technology Division, discuss Building Operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on dilution through ventilation, air filtration, application of UV-C lighting and WiFi bandwidth and coverage.
On June 12, 2020, Ross & Baruzzini aired part one of their 3-part “Energy Efficient Facilities during COVID-19″ webinar series. In the first episode of the series, host Annie Smith, Ross & Baruzzini Director of Energy Services, joined John Biggs, Ross & Baruzzini Senior Mechanical Engineer and Commissioning Agent, for a discussion on lessons learned and best practices for facilities in unoccupied mode, while addressing the possibility of future shutdowns or the need to reduce capacity.
Annie Smith, Ross & Baruzzini’s director of energy services and mechanical engineer, was recently named to Engineered Systems magazine’s list of Top 20 to Watch: Women in HVAC for 2019. Smith was selected from more than 150 nominees to be on the elite list of 20. In an interview, she reflects on her passion for engineering and offers advice to women considering the profession.
Engineered Systemsmagazine is a print and digital publication that promotes energy-efficient solutions for high-performance buildings by offering insights and news for mechanical consulting and facility engineers.
Ross & Baruzzini has been committed to energy-conscious and sustainable building design since our inception in 1953. Our most recent achievement is the LEED Platinum certification earned by our Bluford & Brooks Hall project at the University of Missouri – Columbia. This project is our 3rd LEED Platinum-certified project as a firm and the 15th Platinum-certified building in the state of Missouri.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification system that provides voluntary guidelines for the development of sustainable buildings of all types, including schools, universities, and healthcare facilities. Certification level is awarded based on points in nine categories – integrative process, location and transportation, materials and resources, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, sustainable sites, regional priority, and innovation – with the Platinum level as the highest achievable certification.
Ross & Baruzzini provided mechanical, plumbing, and fire protection (MPFP) engineering consulting services for the Bluford & Brooks Hall project, which included the demolition of the existing Jones Hall and the construction of two new residence halls and a new dining hall. The housing consists of single and double bedrooms, split across living modules suitable for 15-20 residents, each including one community-style bathroom, dedicated study space, and shared social lounge spaces.
The new dining facility provides seating for over 700 guests and includes a private dining room that seats 75 guests. For two of the Ross & Baruzzini team members, Niki Partney, Senior Mechanical Designer, and Randy Diemer, Senior Mechanical Engineer, the dining facility was their favorite part of the design. ”The kitchen design was interesting. It uses a high-performance, energy-saving kitchen ventilation system,” said Diemer.
Sustainable design features of the project include:
Total enthalpy heat recovery for ventilation systems
High-efficiency LED lighting
Daylighting controls
Occupancy setback control of lighting and HVAC systems
Demand-controlled ventilation using CO₂ and occupancy sensors
High-performance building envelope
Low-flow plumbing fixtures
Solar domestic hot water heating system
Variable air volume (VAV) kitchen exhaust and makeup air system
Low friction-loss duct design utilizing static regain (fan energy optimization)
The new buildings are powered, cooled, and heated using energy from the campus power plant, chilled water loop, and central steam system. The campus steam system is fed from a combined heating and power central utility plant that utilizes a biomass boiler for steam production. In addition to producing power through steam turbine generators, steam is also used to produce chilled water through steam turbine chillers. Solar photovoltaic arrays and wind turbines provide power to the University power grid, as well. Accurately incorporating this central plant into the energy model was a critical component to earning all 19 points available under the Optimize Energy Performance Credit (EA Credit 1). Another important factor was the accurate modeling of the true operation of the buildings.
“The biggest challenge for me was the energy model. Mizzou challenged me to fine-tune the model to include very realistic building operation schedules, space loads, and equipment efficiencies, which was a level of detail that I had not done before. In the end, it paid off!” Partney stated.
Speaking on the firm’s most recent achievement, Jeff Crawford, Senior Vice President and Director of Higher Education + Research, said “Achieving LEED Platinum certification for the MU Bluford Brooks project is a rewarding accomplishment for all of the stakeholders on this project, as everyone involved worked hard to make this happen. We were fortunate to have a client in the University of Missouri that is leading edge when it comes to sustainability, as well as great design partners in KWK Architects, Lawrence Group, Antella Engineering, David Mason & Associates, and KPFF. Sustainability is a very important part of our culture at Ross & Baruzzini and we take great pride in providing building system solutions for our clients that minimize energy consumption and offer the best life cycle cost. Utilizing detailed energy modeling to test building system options, whether it be HVAC, lighting, building automation control, renewable energy or envelope options, is the foundation upon which we help our clients make informed decisions to optimize their buildings’ performance. We are proud that we were able to contribute to this project’s success.”
