Sightline Energy Set to Boost Energy Efficiency Design in the Inland Northwest
Sightline Energy launches in the U.S. Northwest region to assist architectural and engineering firms with energy efficiency, life-cycle costing, and sustainability challenges in new construction.
Spokane, WA, May 29, 2014 --(PR.com)-- As energy efficiency requirements and sustainability guidelines becomes an increasingly common requirement for new construction in the Inland Northwest, Sightline Energy has recently opened to assist regional architecture and engineering design firms to step up to the challenge.
As Sightline Energy’s Founder/Owner Ryan Arnold describes, Sightline Energy was created to address shifts in the regional market that were leaving local firms less competitive in a new landscape.
“Since the economic downturn, we’ve seen two new renditions of increasingly stringent energy codes in Washington, and more challenging building standards such as LEED V.4 and the Living Building Challenge take hold. We’ve also seen larger firms from Seattle and Portland who are more equipped and highly skilled in energy efficient design expanding their reach in our region. Sightline Energy was created to assist local firms to be more competitive when it comes to designing 21st century buildings.”
For Arnold and his team, that means helping design firms have a better grasp on how their design affects energy usage by using a technique called energy modeling.
“Energy modeling is the backbone to our suite of services we provide at Sightline Energy,” Arnold explains. “In concept what we’re doing is taking the design of the building and placing it in a computer simulation with economic and weather data. For us, it provides real-time feedback on a design before things are set in stone, and allows us to find cost-effective energy efficiency improvements instead of just guessing what might save energy.”
For Sightline Energy, it seems to be the right time to enter the market- as energy codes and green building standards are increasingly putting more pressure on building design, Arnold believes the region has hit a tipping point where a third-party consulting firm like Sightline Energy makes sense.
“Design teams are built on the idea that complexity eventually requires specialty, and energy efficiency and sustainability requirements have become so complex that they have become a specialty to themselves.” Arnold says. “The last thing you want to do with a highly specialized team is then assign a complex task like energy modeling to someone who doesn’t specialize in it- that’s where mistakes can happen and local firms are getting that.”
Indeed, firms like Sightline Energy are becoming a popular option for design teams. A recent market assessment done in Idaho found that 38% of architectural and engineering design firms surveyed used a third party energy consultant when performing energy modeling. For Arnold, that’s a promising outlook for Sightline Energy, which is the only locally based firm in the Inland Northwest that provides energy efficiency and sustainability consulting exclusively in both the commercial and residential sector.
Beyond energy modeling, Sightline Energy also offers a range of services, including LEED consulting, Energy Life Cycle Costing Analysis (ELCCA), and energy code compliance assistance. Arnold expects that the ELCCA services will be popular among local design teams who do a lot of public building projects, or work with corporate clients who are concerned with long-term operating costs.
“ELCCA’s are required for any large public building in Washington State to make sure taxpayer money is being spent responsibly,” Arnold says. “But these requirements can also turn into 200-400 page compliance reports that can take significant time for a design team. Sightline Energy sees that as a pain point that we can alleviate for our architects and engineers, allowing them to stay focused on their specific specialties.”
For more information, Sightline Energy can be reached at 503-912-4361, on the web at SightlineEnergy.com, or by email at Contact@SightlineEnergy.com. You can also find Sightline Energy on Linkedin and Twitter.
About Sightline Energy
Sightline Energy is a energy efficiency and sustainability consulting firm offering a range of energy and sustainability analysis services that can help architects, engineers, and building owners make design decisions to create buildings that are efficient, low-impact, and on budget.
As Sightline Energy’s Founder/Owner Ryan Arnold describes, Sightline Energy was created to address shifts in the regional market that were leaving local firms less competitive in a new landscape.
“Since the economic downturn, we’ve seen two new renditions of increasingly stringent energy codes in Washington, and more challenging building standards such as LEED V.4 and the Living Building Challenge take hold. We’ve also seen larger firms from Seattle and Portland who are more equipped and highly skilled in energy efficient design expanding their reach in our region. Sightline Energy was created to assist local firms to be more competitive when it comes to designing 21st century buildings.”
For Arnold and his team, that means helping design firms have a better grasp on how their design affects energy usage by using a technique called energy modeling.
“Energy modeling is the backbone to our suite of services we provide at Sightline Energy,” Arnold explains. “In concept what we’re doing is taking the design of the building and placing it in a computer simulation with economic and weather data. For us, it provides real-time feedback on a design before things are set in stone, and allows us to find cost-effective energy efficiency improvements instead of just guessing what might save energy.”
For Sightline Energy, it seems to be the right time to enter the market- as energy codes and green building standards are increasingly putting more pressure on building design, Arnold believes the region has hit a tipping point where a third-party consulting firm like Sightline Energy makes sense.
“Design teams are built on the idea that complexity eventually requires specialty, and energy efficiency and sustainability requirements have become so complex that they have become a specialty to themselves.” Arnold says. “The last thing you want to do with a highly specialized team is then assign a complex task like energy modeling to someone who doesn’t specialize in it- that’s where mistakes can happen and local firms are getting that.”
Indeed, firms like Sightline Energy are becoming a popular option for design teams. A recent market assessment done in Idaho found that 38% of architectural and engineering design firms surveyed used a third party energy consultant when performing energy modeling. For Arnold, that’s a promising outlook for Sightline Energy, which is the only locally based firm in the Inland Northwest that provides energy efficiency and sustainability consulting exclusively in both the commercial and residential sector.
Beyond energy modeling, Sightline Energy also offers a range of services, including LEED consulting, Energy Life Cycle Costing Analysis (ELCCA), and energy code compliance assistance. Arnold expects that the ELCCA services will be popular among local design teams who do a lot of public building projects, or work with corporate clients who are concerned with long-term operating costs.
“ELCCA’s are required for any large public building in Washington State to make sure taxpayer money is being spent responsibly,” Arnold says. “But these requirements can also turn into 200-400 page compliance reports that can take significant time for a design team. Sightline Energy sees that as a pain point that we can alleviate for our architects and engineers, allowing them to stay focused on their specific specialties.”
For more information, Sightline Energy can be reached at 503-912-4361, on the web at SightlineEnergy.com, or by email at Contact@SightlineEnergy.com. You can also find Sightline Energy on Linkedin and Twitter.
About Sightline Energy
Sightline Energy is a energy efficiency and sustainability consulting firm offering a range of energy and sustainability analysis services that can help architects, engineers, and building owners make design decisions to create buildings that are efficient, low-impact, and on budget.
Contact
Sightline Energy
Ryan Arnold
503-912-4361
www.sightlineenergy.com
Ryan Arnold
503-912-4361
www.sightlineenergy.com
Contact
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