Energy Codes Compliance

Tools to Boost Employment Reduce Pollution and Increase Energy Independence

Energy Codes are an affordable and effective mechanism for increasing the long-term efficiency of buildings. The concept entails a minimum level of cost-effective and energy-efficient technologies to reduce utility bills for consumers and businesses.

Definitions building energy codes are managed at the state and local levels and are defined as the minimum energy efficiency requirements for new or renovated buildings. Standards cover building envelope - walls, roofs, windows, lighting, water heating, and space conditioning. They are intended to ensure sound design and construction practices.

Connect with Tema for Energy Water and Waste Solutions

Tema is implementing projects in selected small towns, main streets and historic districts around the United States that focus on tourism, energy efficiency and water conservation in museums, breweries, vineyards/wineries, hotels and other accommodation venues visited by our travel clients.

Participating Local Businesses are provided with a no cost proposal to implement energy savings and water conservation measures.

No Cost Solutions for Your Small Business

Benefits building operations consume 38 percent of total U.S. energy spending. Code applications lead to energy independence and reduced emissions of harmful pollutants. 

Every Dollar Spent Yields $6 in Energy Savings

Compliance most jurisdictions lack the necessary training and enforcement resources to ensure compliance. Full compliance with energy codes would produce significant annual and cumulative energy savings. The average American household spends $2,150 each year on home energy bills. Meeting the energy standards in building codes typically cut costs by 15 percent or more.

Tasks high levels of code compliance can be achieved by:

o   maintaining existing budgets for building departments

o   supporting strict and uniform enforcement of building energy codes

o   applying training tools in building departments and by design professionals

o   communicating the value of codes and standards to the public and to local utilities.

Energy Efficiency in Self-Reliant Communities

Energy Management Open Source Software for Small and Medium-sized Commercial Buildings

Commercial Buildings account for 20% of total energy consumption in the United States. The larger units use management systems or automation systems BAS to improve comfort and reduce energy costs; however, small and medium sized commercial building, which account for half the sector’s energy usage and 95% building stock, lack cost-effective BAS solutions and the resultant savings.

Property Owners are often Unaware of Energy Waste and BAS Savings Opportunities

Load Types there are three major loads in commercial buildings: HVAC, lighting and plug loads. According to the data from EIA published in 2008, electricity use by HVAC equipment accounts for 30% of the total electricity consumption, lighting loads use 38% and plug loads 6%.

Cost and Interoperability BAS systems need to become much more inter-operable, scaleable, and easy to deploy by utilizing open architectures, plug-and-play and providing local or remote monitoring. Most systems currently use proprietary architectures requiring building owners and controls designers to purchase devices and controllers from a single vendor instead of optimal products, controls, and services from different vendors.

A turn-key solution that reduces installation and maintenance costs. In addition, it is a scaleable and broadly inter-operable solution with seamless HVAC, lighting, plug load equipment and controller integration from different manufacturers, hence plug-and-play functionality for the many system configurations found in smaller commercial architectures.

 Tests Demonstrate Energy Savings of 10% for HVAC and 15% for Lighting loads

Benefits the system provides small-sized commercial building owners access to flexible, cost-effective building energy management that streamlines operations and optimizes energy usage. Also, the greater interconnection between building systems and a centralized control structure facilitates demand response, providing additional savings and better integration with the electric power grid. 

Connect for Energy Efficiency Solutions

Architecture Archaeology and Historic Preservation Planning

Growth Management Land Use Planning Green Leases and Water Quality

Your Community Plan for preserving local buildings and sites of archaeological, cultural and historic significance should:

list all archaeological, cultural and historic resources,

identify those potentially threatened by future growth,

recommend actions for safeguarding each, and

explain why the selected actions will achieve long term preservation Read

Green Leases for Properties and Communities. Green Leases promote energy efficiency by creating lease structures which equitably align the costs and benefits of efficiency investments between building owners and tenants Read

Travel Services Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Projects

   

Growth Management and Land Use Planning. Towns Cities and Counties have plans that set forth how an area should grow i.e. shopping centers, new schools, housing projects and commercial, residential, institutional or industrial development. Your Local Area Plan shows how anticipated growth is likely to affect quality of life for current and future residents as well as visitors to the community Read

A Water Quality Plan should list all the waters and their quality condition expressed as: 

Excellent waters are fit for all human uses and can support sensitive fish and other aquatic creatures; Good waters can support a high number of game fish but not highly-sensitive organisms;

Fair waters support few game fish and are not suitable for swimming;

Poor quality waters support only the most pollution-tolerant organisms Read

The Red Wing Minnesota Historic Mall District

Public Buildings Church Steeples Residences Rail Depots Ferry Landings and Parks

The Red Wing Historic Mall District is located at the center of the original town; a piece of land running north and south between the Mississippi River and Seventh Street and along East and West Avenues and Broadway roughly outlines the District. The town's streets were laid out parallel to the river.

The buildings within the district are oriented primarily towards the river and along East and West Avenues and Broadway. As the land slopes gently upward from the river, the Mall widens, creating an impressive rise of parks, public buildings, church steeples, and assorted residences and other buildings. The irregular street formation, the open parklike spaces, the rich vegetation of landscaping around the churches and in the parks, and the concentration of churches and large public and institutional buildings set the mall apart visually and functionally from the commercial part of town to the east and the residential sections to the south and west.

The boundaries of the Red Wing Historic Mall District are determined largely by this unity that sets the Mall apart from its surroundings. Most of the buildings included in the District are located between East and West Avenues and bordering along these streets and Broadway from the river to Seventh Street. These boundaries jog out to include four areas that extend beyond the property immediately adjacent to the major streets defining the area:

Levee Park is included as the entrance to the mall; here are located the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Passenger Depot and the ferry landing.

The Fleischman complex extends west to approximately Dakota Street and serves as an anchor to the northwest portion of the District. The boundaries extend on West Third Street and West Fifth Street to include the C.F.J. Smith House and C.C. Graham House.

Dating to the 1850s, these houses anchor the district on the west side and contribute to the historic and architectural character. Both houses pre-date the buildings located between them and the mall: when they were built they bordered the mall directly.

The southern boundary of the District has been determined by the location of significant buildings which serve to anchor the corners of this part of the District.

Of the 49 buildings comprising the District twenty-two were built by 1890

Public and Institutional buildings of the Mall are the most prominent. Their scale and masonry construction make them stand out from the smaller, more modest residential and commercial buildings around them. The Goodhue County Courthouse occupies a prominent position on Fifth Street between East and West Avenues; Central High School occupies the block to the east of the Courthouse and faces the Mall; The Post Office, Red Wing Public Library, and T.B. Sheldon Memorial Auditorium flank the Mall off of Third Street; the YMCA stands prominently on the northeast corner of Main and Broadway; the Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot is located to the east of Broadway in Levee Park at the river and railway entry to the city. Seven churches are also scattered along the Mall, the most prominent being Christ Church, which faces John H. Rich Park and the river on Third Street.

The three parks located within the District, Central Park, John H. Rich Park, and Levee Park, further set this portion of town apart as a public place. They are integral to the Mall's composition, providing ample open spaces and vegetation to set off the large public buildings. Several residences and commercial buildings and one industrial complex on the waterfront are also located within the District and contribute.to its historic character and active role in the community's history.

The appearance and function of the Historic Mall District has not changed over time

The Mall changed the most during the first decade of the twentieth century when many of the more substantial civic buildings were built and when the John H. Rich Park and Levee Park were established.

The continuity of the mall's design and function makes it distinctive and worthy of recognition and preservation. Additionally, Red Wing's mall is unusual in that civic malls of this size are very rare in Midwestern towns.