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Kit Switch Accelerates Interior Rehabs
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Kit Switch Accelerates Interior Rehabs

By Zarkon Group,

The United Nations estimates that the world will add about 2.6 trillion sqft of new floor area to the global building stock. This equates to adding an entire New York City, every month, for 40 years. A large proportion will be housing. Specifically, housing is needed in already dense urban areas and existing structures. So the way we build and maintain our housing stock needs to change drastically.

  • Renovating existing and functional buildings takes time. Yet the US has 44 million multifamily units. A full  50% were built before 1980.
  • Rehabilitating vacant and obsolete buildings seems cost prohibitive. Yet, the US has 6 billion sqft of commercial real estate sitting vacant.
  • New construction has improved in energy efficiency. But current designs do not sufficiently address the need for easy maintenance and future rehabilitation.

How can these time and cost challenges be solved? By creating standardized, simpler processes.

Simpler means faster

Kit Switch, a California-based, women-owned construction business, offers a simple approach to designing and constructing apartment interiors. Kit Switch replaces fragmented, uncertain, and time-consuming on-site retrofit processes with an end-to-end, design-build solution. These modular systems for apartment interiors streamline existing building rehabilitations and new construction build-outs.

Rehabilitating and retrofitting existing residential buildings will significantly reduce ongoing emissions. This will include replacing inefficient and gas-powered appliances with electric ones and making homes more energy efficient through weatherization and other upgrades. The overall mission of Kit Switch is to help close the housing gap through sustainable building reuse.

The products are kits-of-parts, ready-to-install apartment interiors, such as kitchen and bathroom kits. The company manages a digital library of components. Architects drag-and-drop 3D models to instantly generate layouts and quotes. Local manufacturers produce the modules concurrently with on-site work. Then contractors install and connect products in a few hours instead of weeks of site coordination.

Kit Switch benefits housing, both new construction and rehabs:

  1. streamlines schedules from design through coordination and construction
  2. cuts on costs, especially on prevailing-wage projects
  3. offers a more sustainable and durable alternative to traditional interior builds

With durable materials and low-waste assembly, they expect to reduce embodied carbon by a third, compared to traditional on-site construction.

three panel showing quick kitchen retrofit: before, post-demolition, and after completion including refrigerator, sink, cabinets, induction cooktop, and oven - photos and text reading Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

Kitchens first

Kit-Kitchen is the first product to debut. It comprises three standard products:  Kit-Cook, Kit-Clean, and Kit-Store. This modular system for kitchen installations is assembled on-site in less than 1 day, compared to 4 to 5 days of labor for a traditional install. The innovative design consolidates plug-and-play electrical and plumbing systems inside the kits. This further reduces drywall, plumbing, and electrical work.

And while Kit Switch products are standard, the system is modular. So developers can customize the design needed for each project.

Kit Switch was formed as a public-benefit corporation, with a mission statement around affordability, sustainability, and opportunity. Co-Founders Armelle Coutant and Candice Delamarre envision a future where cities can achieve greater circularity and resiliency. Easily deployable and reconfigurable building interiors better meet the housing needs of communities.

Kit Switch is partnering with affordable housing developers across California to support ground-up and acquisition-rehab projects. Asset managers seek out Kit Switch to meet renovation and maintenance needs. The potential impact for the Los Angeles region was recently recognized with the Trailblazer Award from USGBC-LA.

USGBC-LA Net Zero Accelerator

Kit Switch joined the 2023 cohort of Net Zero Accelerator (NZA) in 2022. Since then, the team has exhibited at the MyGBCE conference, Net Zero Conference, and VERGE, sharing their work with the green building industry and generating leads for pilot projects based in the Los Angeles area.

The NZA, a program of the U.S. Green Building Council–Los Angeles (USGBC-LA), pairs cohort members with expert advisors, promotes their solutions to high value prospects, and places pilot projects. The goal is to help these growing companies better prepare for scaled adoption.

Since its founding in 2018, the accelerator has guided the success of 85 growth-stage companies in the cleantech space across the US and Canada. The accelerator leverages the insights, expertise, and relationships of partners and community members to speed the development and commercialization of sustainable innovations. The program brings thought leadership and broad awareness to high-potential pilot projects. It is the only one of its kind focused on the built environment. Targeting solutions for net zero carbon, energy, water, and waste, the program advances building decarbonization, occupant wellness, sustainable infrastructure, and clean construction.

The author:

Candice Delamarre is the Co-Founder and COO of Kit Switch, a women-owned construction company that has developed a modularized system for apartment interiors. Kit Switch streamlines schedules, cuts costs, and improves durability for multifamily housing developments and rehabilitations. Delamarre has long been passionate about circular and sustainable practices, and equitable access to housing. Before Kit Switch, she worked as a strategy and sustainability consultant to real estate and corporate stakeholders. Delamarre holds a master’s in civil engineering from École Centrale Paris and a master’s in Sustainable Design & Construction from Stanford University.

Our team researches products, companies, studies, and techniques to bring you the best of zero building. Zero Energy Project does not independently verify the accuracy of all claims regarding featured products, manufacturers, or linked articles. Additionally, product and brand mentions on Zero Energy Project do not imply endorsement or sponsorship unless specified otherwise.

Reference

ePAVE Joins the Battle Against Urban Heat Islands
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

ePAVE Joins the Battle Against Urban Heat Islands

By Zarkon Group,

With 45% of urban areas covered by pavement, climate change is pushing cityscape temperatures to record highs. Innovative, sustainable pavement solutions are urgently needed. Whether used with asphalt or conventional concrete, “cool pavement” solutions, such as ePAVE, can decrease the urban heat island effect by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and reducing heat absorption.

While on a vacation in Europe, after being seated for dinner with friends at an outside table at a popular restaurant, we could all feel the intense heat emanating from the asphalt nearby—even though the sun had set hours earlier. This scenario has become all too common and is being repeated in urban centers all over the world.

Across the planet, asphalt contributes to significant greenhouse gas emissions. Asphalt pavement absorbs solar radiation and re-emits the radiation as heat, warming the surrounding air and structures. This results in an escalating use of air conditioning (which further adds to outdoor heat) and drives up energy consumption. Due to high heat retention, darker asphalt surfaces are a major contributor to the urban heat island phenomenon.

During a day with a comfortable “ambient” temperature of 75° F (24° C), asphalt surface temperatures in full sun can rise to 125° F (52° C) or higher! Along with the significant heat emanating from the asphalt, comes an increase in toxic emissions into the environment.

How CoolPAVE works

The CoolPAVE coatings from ePAVE reflect some solar radiation, so the pavement stores and emits less heat. Safe and cost-effective, ePAVE’s cool pavement solution also seals in toxic emissions from underlying surfaces. Further, ePAVE solutions enhance the durability of treated pavement surfaces, extending their lifespan.

ePAVE products work on new and old, asphalt and concrete surfaces. Trained applicators prepare the pavement surface (minimally) and then apply the CoolPAVE product cold. It cures quickly and is ready for foot and vehicle traffic in about an hour, which keeps closures and delays to a minimum.

ePAVE products are tested and proven to lower surface temperatures by 5–20° F. In summary, this non-toxic pavement preservation solution with high solar reflectance impacts three key remits:

  • Human: ePAVE solutions make cityscapes cooler and more hospitable for people and their pets, by making streets and neighborhoods more walkable, livable, and equitable. Mitigation of urban heat islands is expected to reduce the incidence of heat-related illnesses and deaths.
  • Environmental: the ePAVE cool pavement product makes communities cooler, thus lowering toxic emissions and energy consumption. Overall cooler ambient temperatures can reduce heat-related stress on urban habitats.
  • Economic: CoolPAVE can save energy and those associated costs, and may extend the lifespan of treated pavement by up to twice as long as standard pavement treatments, requiring less frequent repairs and reducing maintenance costs.

ePAVE solutions are nontoxic and free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). ePAVE seals asphalt surfaces, preventing outgassing and leaching of harmful chemicals into the environment via stormwater. ePAVE may also contribute to LEED certification. Under Sustainable Sites, up to two points can be earned for impacts on the Heat Island Effect.aerial view of asphalt street; access road running alongside has gray cool-pavement coating to reduce temperatures - photo

 

USGBC-LA Net Zero Accelerator

ePAVE, LLC joined the 2020 cohort of the Net Zero Accelerator (NZA) to benefit from learning from subject matter experts in marketing, business development, and networking. The NZA, a program of the U.S. Green Building Council–Los Angeles (USGBC-LA) focuses on piloting projects in real-world, trackable implementations, to drive measurable adoption of net zero solutions, today.

Since its founding in 2018, the accelerator has guided the success of 85 growth-stage companies in the cleantech and proptech space across the US and Canada. The program bridges the gap between net zero building policy and current technologies in use in both commercial and affordable housing sectors. The NZA builds awareness of viable solutions and market-ready innovations through marketing, media, events, and curated networking. Then shepherds the tech to market through onsite pilots with committed green building leaders, accelerating scaled adoption. The goal? Make net zero carbon, energy, water, and waste a reality for Los Angeles and beyond.

The author:

Klara Moradkhan is Co-Founder and CEO of ePAVE, LLC. She is passionate about building a sustainable and eco-friendly pavement solution that fits the 21st century.

Reference

Occupancy Intelligence for Energy Savings
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Occupancy Intelligence for Energy Savings

By Zarkon Group,

Approximately 28% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions are generated by the operations of buildings. And heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems alone contribute to 40% of the average commercial building’s energy consumption. More and more, high performance buildings are turning to data to curb energy use with cost-effective, easy-to-implement energy conservation measures. Feedback Solutions uses third-party people counting sensors, with a patented software platform, to optimize ventilation rates seamlessly, in real-time, based on actual occupant demand.

Continuously calculating highly accurate occupant counts within each HVAC zone in a building, Feedback Solutions communicates occupancy to the existing building automation system (via BACnet, cloud platform, or DDC controller). Then real-time adjustments can reduce the HVAC-related energy consumption by as much as 40%. This can save money, significantly reduce carbon emissions, and result in less wear and tear on critical HVAC equipment—all while meeting important ASHRAE standards for maintaining occupant health and comfort.

Feedback Solutions has completed multiple successful installations for universities (New York University), commercial landlords (Manulife Financial/John Hancock), and progressive municipalities throughout the US. This technology also attracts significant incentives from a number of utility companies. For example, Con Edison recently approved an incentive application—covering 50% of the project costs—implementing Feedback Solutions in a large New York library building.

Diagram of Feedback Solutions system for HVAC optimization

Retrofit solution

The over-ventilation of campus, municipal, and commercial buildings is both a prevalent and longstanding issue. The results achieved with Feedback Solutions tools produce compelling payback periods and ROIs for organizations seeking immediate greenhouse gas reductions without doing deep retrofits.

A building’s automation system is normally designed to bring in outside air, which it then heats or cools and circulates, based on the number of people in an HVAC zone. In the absence of accurate real-time occupant counts, the building automation system typically brings in the amount of outside air assuming “full” occupancy. This is almost never the case (even before the introduction of new trends like the hybrid back to work model).

As occupancy goes up and down in a zone over the course of a day, Feedback Solutions cues an automatic ventilation response. The significant savings and emissions reduction are produced by both fan energy reduction and thermal conservation. At the same time, Feedback Solutions also provides for a data-driven indoor air quality strategy that prevents under-ventilation.

How Feedback works

  1. Feedback selects the most appropriate and cost-effective people-counting sensors according to site conditions at the building.
  2. Next steps include hardware installation, appropriate zone creation, and assurance of the accuracy of the data. (Feedback is able to produce highly accurate real-time occupant counts, even where there are multiple entrances and exits, via their proprietary intelligent algorithm running on an Intel IoT edge device.)
  3. Zoned, real-time occupant counts are then delivered to the building automation system. Then once the sequence of operations has been defined, the HVAC equipment is optimized automatically, and seamlessly. This patented solution integrates easily with all the major building management systems.

Screenshots of Feedback Solutions dashboard showing occupancy patters as value-added info

Cleantech and proptech converge

The space utilization data that Feedback Solutions creates, can also be used to inform numerous operational decisions. Feedback provides customers with up to 10 customized reports—including analytics such as a comparison of peak occupancy over the course of a day, week, or month—providing visibility to how many people use a given facility and when. Thus, operations, security, marketing, and planning groups within a campus, municipality, or commercial real estate portfolio gain valuable insights custom to their operations.

USGBC-LA Net Zero Accelerator

Feedback Solutions joined the 2023 cohort of the Net Zero Accelerator (NZA), to benefit from learning from subject matter experts in marketing, business development, and networking. The NZA, a program of the U.S. Green Building Council–Los Angeles (USGBC-LA), focuses on piloting projects in real-world, trackable implementations, to drive measurable adoption of net zero solutions, today.

Since its founding in 2018, the accelerator has guided the success of 85 growth-stage companies in the cleantech and proptech space across the US and Canada. The program bridges the gap between net zero building policy and current technologies in use in both commercial and affordable housing sectors. The NZA builds awareness of viable solutions and market-ready innovations through marketing, media, events, and curated networking. Then shepherds the tech to market through onsite pilots with committed green building leaders, accelerating scaled adoption. The goal? Make net zero carbon, energy, water, and waste a reality for Los Angeles and beyond.

The author:

As Chief Marketing Officer of Feedback Solutions, Karen Smith focuses on helping facility operators understand and evaluate Feedback’s hardware-enabled software platform. Smith has extensive experience in the commercial real estate industry, both private and institutional owners, specializing in leasing, marketing, asset management, and capital budgets. She believes that property owners and managers engaging with cleantech initiatives seek easy-to-implement solutions that produce immediate results.

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