28/Plumbing Engineer January 2022

University on Roosevelt Island (pre-fab Passive House); and the world's biggest, the Passive House office section of Boston's massive 1.8-million-square-foot Winthrop Center (residential, office, retail space) that will also meet LEED Platinum standards. There is only one Lois Arena, and she is a sought-after expert and speaker, teaching best practices to building professionals all over the world. She's also friendly and personable. Portland, Ore.: Ben Sturtz, an early clean energy pioneer, demonstrated the merits of Passive House technology at the 57-unit Orchards at Orenco Seniors Residence and other similar developments. In addition, he proudly acquired a grant to fund a building industry open house to show others what could be done. I think in the age of climate change, it's important on many levels not just for the environmental impact and carbon footprint, but for using energy efficiency to bring down the cost of living, especially for people of modest means," Sturtz notes. San Francisco: Larsh Johnson, chief technology officer for Stem Energy, is a smart grid/artificial intel- ligence trailblazer. Stem is saving a great deal of money for companies all over the United States and around the world, while cutting their greenhouse gas footprints at the same time. Our grid has a problem when the sun sets," Johnson says. "Solar panel production goes down just as power demand ramps up." Many power utilities charge more for power at certain times of the day, which can be a burden on large multilocation firms. His company's battery installations and Athena soft- ware solve the problem, using real-time analytics to store energy when it's inexpensive and discharge it from the battery when grid costs are high. Now clients such as Bed Bath & Beyond, Whole Foods, JC Penney and Extended Stay America are saving hundreds of thou- sands of dollars on electricity. Because it's a 10-year lease with Stem, their up-front investment is zero. Seattle: Speaking of approachable famous people, Dennis Hayes rose to prominence way back in 1970 as the coordinator for the very first Earth Day. He founded the Earth Day Network and expanded it to more than 180 nations. More recently, he operates the International Living Future Institute (ILFA), which administers programs such as the Living Building Challenge, a certification that's even tougher than Passive House. On Earth Day 2013, he opened the Bullitt Center, the ILFI headquarters in Seattle, one of the greenest buildings anywhere. It's particularly notable for rainwater, greywater and black- water systems. In a phone interview a few years ago, Hayes said: "We have a 4- to 6-week supply of drinkable rainwater at any one time. We had to work hard to get local approval and create a compliance path for other buildings. It's sensible. One of the best resources we have is the sea- water that mother nature deposits on our roof. It's also necessary. There are many places like Seattle. It's getting hotter, and we depend on two reservoirs with declining relative capacity. Climate change is real; it presents enormous implications for the future." Toronto, Ontario, Canada: "This wouldn't be hap- pening if it wasn't for Tim's model," said a project man- ager for a large developer in 2018. Since then, dozens of geothermal fields for medium and large condominiums have sprung up in Ontario and beyond. Developers credit one man with inventing a "utility model" to solve the problem. I spent about 10 years trying unsuccessfully to get developers interested in geothermal," Tim Weber says. But they did not understand the technology and did not want to increase their capital budgets." Finally, a Quebec venture capital firm with experience in renewables agreed to partner with Weber to own and operate geothermal systems for condominiums. They reduced or eliminated developer HVAC capex and creat- ed 20-year agreements with condo associations to build, maintain and bill energy services, such as a gas utility. I could keep adding stories all day about great people in the building industry who know what the world needs to know: We have all the proven solutions we need for the climate change challenges we face. And now, with the market opportunities, funding, regulations and public support demonstrated by local governments during the U.S. legislative and COP26 struggles, we seem to have some of the other ingredi- ents needed to ramp up our efforts. It's the beginning of another year, and I'm generally hopeful. I hope you are as well. Happy 2022! l BF Nagy is becoming a renowned climate solutions specialist, author of the critically acclaimed book "The Clean Energy Age," and more than 200 articles on clean energy, clean water technologies, green government pro- grams and energy economics. A podcast host and broad- cast personality, he has traveled all over North America interviewing experts in climate science, government, engineering, architecture, clean transport, renewables and storage. Nagy also is a consultant to governments, corporations, trade organizations and research bodies.

The Future is Now

The Passive House construction of the Orchards at Orenco seniors' residence in Portland, Ore. Photo: BF Nagy