| Ftom the Top - Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd. |
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| Interviews | |
| Written by Scott Koegler | |
| Monday, 23 March 2009 18:26 | |
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bGreenSmart's interview with Integrated Environmental Solutions' Kevin Settlemyre bGS: What is the current focus of your company's business? KS: Integrated Environmental Solutions’ (IES’) current focus continues to be on expanding our early stage building performance analysis tools for architects and green building consultants, while also increasing accessibility and working to engage designers on why and how to incorporate analysis. A key aim is to be part of raising the bar of overall performance in the built environment. bGS: What products or services do you provide that are 'Green' and in what way do they help the environment or prevent harm? KS: The software tools that IES develops assist owners, design team members and even homeowners to increase the energy efficiency and performance of new and existing buildings and homes. In addition, the IES consulting arm provides breadth and depth to make sustainable strategies on projects a reality. We can facilitate an integrative design process where a rating system might be a component (LEED, BREEAM) and we can analyze the impact of sustainable strategies, such as energy and carbon consumption. bGS: What categories would you say your products or services encompass? KS:
bGS: What scale and development stage are your products at? (i.e., in research, lab evaluation, production) KS: The IES software is available in the market place in a range of different forms that comprise a 3-Tier Structure. It is currently used in more than 100 countries globally, with the strongest user base currently in the UK. The difference in the tiers centers on early stage versus more detailed analysis, and the level of inputs and assumptions that the user needs to bring to the table. It is important to note the same ‘computational horsepower and calculation methodology’ are behind each tier. The simulation calculations are not simplified. The available IES software (the Virtual Environment) forms include:
KS:
bGS: What have been your company's contributions to the field, or how do you help your clients be 'green'? KS: The IES contribution is that we provide the tools to analyze and the services to work with project teams to continually raise the ‘performance bar’ and achieve greater levels of efficiency for the built environment in terms of energy and carbon emissions. IES software has been used on thousands of projects globally, and the IES consulting team has assisted on more than 1,000 projects over the years to ‘go green’ in a range of ways. IES consulting assisted on the Innovate Green Office at Thorpe Park in Leeds, England. This project has obtained one of the highest BREEAM ratings (87.55%) awarded to date (might be highest). In addition this consulting group is also working on projects utilizing the LEED rating system targeting Gold and Platinum levels, and we have staff that have successfully taken projects through to achieve these levels. bGS: Do you have any research papers or internal metrics that measure the environmental impact of your products/services? Can you provide links or copies? KS: Currently we do not, but this is information that we are working to bring together. bGS: What are the biggest challenges in your field? KS: The biggest challenges faced in North America are ‘understanding of building performance analysis’ and ‘reshaping the perception of a software company’. Understanding and the Soundbyte – currently the marketplace is in a phase where architects are gaining interest in performance analysis and reshaping their design process, and engineers are adjusting what core services are offered (traditional scope did not offer calculating yearly energy consumption as a core service). Therefore numerous disciplines are stepping into new areas, and trying to find ways to evaluate different tools. In a lot of cases this comparison gets boiled done to the ‘soundbyte features’ comparison versus a more in-depth understanding of what can be analyzed, how it can be done, and how the results not only address questions, but influence next steps. IES’s strength is in the detail, so we are working to find ways to bring potential users ‘effectively into the detail’, because if they are evaluating at this level, we like our chances. Some of the ways we are doing this are:
KS: The greatest opportunity is the ability to positively influence efforts to curb ‘climate change’! Yes we would prefer if people used our tools and services to reduce the impact of buildings on the environment, but the more important factor is that owners, project team members and home owners start to not only take interest in how their buildings perform, but action to improve. bGS: Are you interested in collaborations with other companies or individuals, and if so in what areas? KS: IES is constantly investigating collaborative opportunities with individuals and firms as it relates both to our software development and our sustainability consulting services. Some of the areas include:
KS: http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s3
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Comments (1)
Way to go Kevin written by San Antonio Real Estate, October 21, 2009
Good article and thanks for including the link where the software can be found. I'll be sure to pass it on.
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| Last Updated on Monday, 23 March 2009 18:34 |
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