Light
Services
• Predict and evaluate illumination levels and light distribution
• Predict and analyze luminance gradients and glare potential
• Analyze thermal and energy use implications of daylighting design
• Design and evaluate daylighting to exhibition and curatorial performance criteria
• Predict energy savings from daylight harvesting
• Coordinate daylighting and electrical lighting design
• Post-occupancy HDRI analysis of luminance and visual comfort
• Specify luminaires, sources and layouts for electrical lighting
• Provide accurate renderings of lighting for evaluation
• Provide illumination levels for design evaluation as well as code requirements
• Provide lighting controls narrative and diagrams
• Arrange desk-top, lighting lab and/or in-situ mockups as appropriate to the project
• Provide aiming and lighting control observation
• Design custom fixtures
• Provide LEED credit documentation for lighting credits
• Analyze visual performance of glazing alternatives
• Evaluate advanced glazing applications, including light redirecting glass and internal shading systems
• Predict and evaluate thermal performance of curtain wall systems
• Predict occupant comfort conditions for curtain wall alternatives
• Identify and coordinate value engineering tradeoffs for integrated high-performance facades
• Analyze site conditions for solar access and shade potential
• Design sun control and glare control alternatives for local skies and climate conditions
• Evaluate shade alternatives for visual and thermal comfort
• Characterize reflections to understand temporal and spatial patterns
• Use calibrated simulations of solar radiation to quantify intensity and distribution
• Design and evaluate mitigation alternatives
Case Studies
Energy
Services
• Annual hour-by-hour simulations of thermal conditions inside the building without mechanical systems
• Parametric analysis of the role of each building component in providing thermal comfort and autonomy
• Design recommendations for achieving greater thermal comfort and greater energy autonomy
• Simulating annual building energy use at all stages of design process
• Developing early energy use parametrics to identify energy saving opportunities in design alternatives
• Developing suites of energy strategies to reconsider conventional approaches to building energy use
• Comparison of mechanical strategies and HVAC systems in terms of energy use
• Green building certification
• Quantification of energy cost
• Real-time building control and operation
• Future weather energy simulations
• Quantify solar and wind potential
• Identify and size appropriate alternative energy sources including photovoltaic cells, wind turbines, fuel cells
• Coordinate location and installation issues with the design team
• Identify renewable energy that can be sourced through public utilities and renewable energy vendors
• Sensor arrays are selected which provide data points to track energy use, system performance, heat distribution, and variables related to occupant comfort
• System architecture is designed to provide a framework scaled for data collection from multiple buildings.
• Proprietary software to poll sensors, transmit the data over an internet connection, process and log the data at a central database where it is available for future data mining, performance analytics, and controls research
• Data can indicate if systems are operating effectively and efficiently and provide data stream comparisons.
• Results reveal components of comfort by showing, for instance, the surface temperatures as well as air temperatures.
See examples of our Monitoring Projects →
• Strategically identify and locate the path of ventilating air
• Quantify the available wind on site in terms of direction, velocity and patterns of availability
• Size and locate openings for incoming air and exhaust
• Coordinate the mechanical system with natural ventilation as an operating protocol
Case Studies
Environment
Services
• Predicting potential future conditions resulting from abrupt or gradual change
• Simulating and designing for zero-energy as a baseline performance
• Simulating and designing for passive survivability for critical life-support conditions
• Designing renewable energy sources and storage for resilient scenarios
• Providing a manual for phases of disaster response and operation
• Week-long workshops focused on design of zero-energy, zero-carbon for practicing architects
• Teaching half-day or single-day workshops on focused topics such as low-energy lighting design, the use of HDRI in evaluating visual comfort
• Using hands-on sensing devices to understand and internalize the metrics used in zero-energy design
• Using current project form an architect’s practice to develop design alternatives and quantify the performance