Decarbonization | P2S

Decarbonization

We're decarbonization leaders who can help clients address carbon and energy issues at any stage in the process

What is Building Decarbonization?

Building decarbonization refers to the process of reducing or eliminating carbon emissions associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings. That seems simple enough, but it gets trickier from there. Buildings have operational and embodied greenhouse gas emissions. Operational carbon is the amount of carbon emitted during the operation of a building. This includes both energy and water-related emissions during the use of the building. Embodied carbon is the amount of carbon emitted from the extraction of raw materials for the building to the building’s end of life, including refrigerant emissions. It is everything in the life of the building that is not covered by operational carbon.

Building decarbonization encompasses a building’s life cycle, including building design, construction, operation, occupancy, and end of life. It's a multi-stage process with many factors to consider as building owners work to eliminate all GHG emission sources to decarbonize their buildings. Knowledge and intentionality are key for engineers, architects, owners, and their representatives.

Click below to watch the #Decarb4Good: Demystifying Decarbonization and Building Decarbonization Webinars!

#Decarb4Good Building Decarbonization Webinar

Building the Future
Amidst Inflation

In this episode, we delve into the highly relevant and critical topic of the Inflation Reduction Act and its profound effects on the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry.

Why Decarbonize with P2S?

We're Shaping the Industry

We have internationally recognized experts helping to write the guidelines for building decarbonization, energy efficiency and high-performance sequence of operations for buildings.

We're also decision-makers at organizations like ASHRAE, the AEE and federal task forces. And because of the way we're structured, the foundational knowledge these experts create and attain filters through our company.

Unparalleled Knowledge

Some of our staff have been instrumental in the shift to building decarbonization. Chief Engineer and COO Kent Peterson is on the Federal Green Building Advisory Committee and co-chair of the Federal Building Decarbonization Task Group. He chairs the Task Force for Building Decarbonization at ASHRAE and recently chaired the ASHRAE Building Decarbonization Position Document Committee.

Kent and other decarbonization staff also lead a task force within P2S, which regularly meets to communicate with staff throughout the company. This task force helps us collaborate, present new developments, and share ideas.

Economically Viable Solutions

We don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good and advise our clients to think the same way. Decarbonization isn't a zero-sum, all-or-nothing game; every gradual improvement helps to lower electric demand and decrease GHG emissions from local sources and the grid.

We help all kinds of clients, from larger organizations planning extensive efforts to decarbonize to clients just beginning the journey through energy audits and reduction strategies.

Services and Solutions

Audits, Retro-Cx & Energy Efficiency Design

The good news is that many decarbonization strategies align with more familiar net-zero energy strategies. Our energy and carbon audits, with cost of ownership and life cycle analysis, will guide decisions for future goals. We are experts at deploying measurement and monitoring tools to discover inefficiencies and then use system controls and software to eliminate them. And, of course, we are talented at developing active and passive energy efficiency strategies and optimizing waste energy to lower heating and cooling loads.

Microgrod Analysis, Onsite Zero-Carbon Generation & Battery Storage

We have extensive experience in microgrid studies that analyze using renewable energy and battery storage to achieve resiliency and sustainability goals. We also do planning and programming to increase onsite zero-carbon generation and deliver
battery storage capabilities.

Electrification Analysis

Electrification allows building owners to move away from fossil fuels like natural gas. But electric equipment is still carbon dependent because of the carbon-dependent grid, so owners need to understand their local grid, facility, and the demand before replacing gas equipment with electric sources.

We can provide an analysis that ensures that electrification efforts make sense with the electric grid's current and long-term carbon intensity forecast. Beneficial electrification replaces direct fossil fuels to reduce overall emissions and energy costs. An analysis is critical because it helps clients know how much and what type of electrification is beneficial.

Demand Response Strategies

Buildings will need to be flexible with their electrical loads to adjust to demands in a more electrified grid. We can help clients adjust with integrated demand response strategies that take energy efficiency, local zero-carbon generation, thermal storage, battery-stored energy and smart controls into account for times of day when carbon intensity is high.


Planning for All Factors and Variables

Low-carbon strategies do differ significantly from net-zero, and owners and designers need to consider many more factors beyond what's been typical for building design, construction and operation. Embodied carbon in the structural elements and MEP systems, end-of-life carbon, site carbon sequestration, building materials sourcing and transportation, all these things and more factor into decarbonizing. We can help clients address almost any carbon issue, using carbon metrics and whole carbon life cycle assessments so project teams understand the carbon impacts of design, construction and operational decisions.

Decarbonization Leader

Aravind Batra
Vice President/Principal & University Market Segment Leader

Aravind Batra has helped make P2S into one of the nation’s top 10 higher education design firms. He brings an in-depth knowledge of electrical systems and their requirements, to numerous needs assessments, systems upgrades, renovations and new building projects. Aravind has managed over 400 education projects and designed sustainability master plans, electrical standards and award-winning LEED Certified buildings for the higher education, K-12, municipal, commercial and industrial sectors. He is widely recognized as a leader in the sustainable design and zero net energy (ZNE) building communities, and is a regular presenter at conferences.

Aravind has been instrumental in developing electrical standards for various facilities that promote energy efficient designs and helps clients standardize their systems and equipment to reduce operational and maintenance costs. He is also responsible for the design of numerous high performance buildings, independent reviews of various types of buildings and has provided peer review on various renovations and new building projects for educational, industrial and commercial facilities.

Aravind is a leader in electrical design for universities, where he has upgraded numerous campus medium voltage electrical distribution systems. He has served as Treasurer for the Los Angeles Chapter of the AEE and as the Membership Chair of the Long Beach Branch of USGBC LA.

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