As building owners, operators, and developers adapt to a hybrid work model, creating a welcoming office space is more important than ever. In an article for Propmodo’s Perspectives series, ESD now Stantec Senior Acoustics Project Manager Scott Hamilton shares his views on the evolution of the open office and why acoustics play such a critical role to the health, comfort, and productivity of returning workers. (Learn more about open office design.)
In a recent interview for FacilitiesNet magazine, ESD Practice Leader for High Performance Buildings Andrew Lehrer says decarbonizing buildings means more than just replacing old boilers with new heat pumps.
Lehrer shared his thoughts and expertise in the recent article, “The Future is Building Electrification.” Lehrer says while air-source heat pump technology has rapidly advanced over the past decade, facility managers should keep an eye on other decarbonization strategies gaining viability, including onsite hydrogen generation and geothermal technology.
According to Lehrer, “While historically hampered by capital and space-related challenges, new geothermal solutions utilize proprietary technology to significantly increase the thermal output per deep borewell. Coupled with advances in heat pump technology, which is able to produce hotter process fluid temperatures, geothermal is also becoming a more suitable for retrofit applications.”
Lehrer says building electrification can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing them with clean, renewable electricity produced from solar, wind and other alternative sources.
Andrew Lehrer freely shares his industry experience and ideas through interview like this as part of fulfilling ESD’s mission to improve society through the built environment.
For more information on how our engineers can help with your project, reach out to ESD’s High Performance Buildings Engineering team.
