Sustainability

RFS brings a decades-long commitment and passion for incorporating sustainable design principles into our projects. We have designed HVAC systems with airside energy recovery since the 1980s, before most air handling unit manufacturers had embraced the potential. RFS has provided engineering and commissioning services for over 100 LEED-certified projects. Independent of any building credentialing, RFS collaborates with our architect partners to identify synergies between building envelope, thermal energy systems, and lighting systems;, and we advocate for creative, practical, cost-efficient, and durable building systems. 

RFS’s High-Performance Building Group (HPBG) joins our engineering teams to participate in sustainability and resiliency planning workshops and provide timely insight toward sustainability goals. Our early design process is data-driven, including design-assist energy modeling and life-cycle cost analysis to guide and inform owner decision-making, and to guide goal setting for energy use intensity (EUI). Throughout design development and construction documents phases, iterative energy modeling informs design in a continuing process to minimize EUI. Expertise includes:

• Energy Modeling – Design-Assist, Code Compliance, LEED, Passive House
• Life-Cycle Cost Analysis
• Zero On-Site Carbon Buildings
• Zero New Energy Buildings
• Campus Energy Generation and Distribution – Thermal and Electric
• Geothermal Wellfields – Modeling and Full System Design
• Photovoltaic Power – Full System Design and PPA Integration
• Energy Audits – Building and Utility Distribution
• Energy Conservation Measures
• Decarbonization Assessment and Planning
• Energy Master Plan Development
• Sustainable Design Including Support for Certifications – LEED, LBC, PHIUS, WELL