Building Energy Resilience

Building projects move fast. Design teams are stretched thin, schedules compress, and by the time the first shovel hits the ground, the window for catching issues in the drawings has long closed. What follows (change orders, commissioning surprises, systems that don't quite work together the way they should) is familiar to anyone who has spent time in construction.

Design review is one of the most effective tools available for preventing exactly that. And yet it remains one of the most underutilized services in the pre-construction phase, often left off the budget until it's too late to act on what a review might find.

The U.S. Green Building Council rolled out its latest guidelines for green buildings in April 2025 as LEED v5. While the overall objective of setting a framework for efficient, green buildings remains the same, the methodology, point allocation, and requirements have some substantial differences. For us at Cx Associates, one of the changes that most affects our work is the expanded role of software in monitoring-based commissioning (MBCx).

Temperature and humidity might seem like minor comfort issues, but in operating rooms (ORs), they’re critical to patient safety and infection control. Getting these conditions right is non-negotiable—but it’s not always simple. HVAC systems for surgical suites must walk a fine line between regulatory compliance, system capability, energy efficiency, and the preferences of the surgical team.

Exterior sealant joints are expected to remain intact for 15–20 years while withstanding
building movement, temperature extremes, UV radiation, bulk water exposure, and pressure differentials. One of the most underappreciated components in meeting that standard is the closed-cell foam backer rod. When backer rod is omitted or improperly installed, movement stressors — building settling, thermal cycling, and material temperature differential — become leading contributors to premature adhesive or cohesive sealant failures.

Energy Management Information Systems (EMIS) continuously monitor equipment/system performance, establish normalized baselines for how equipment should operate, track whether corrective actions persist over time, and detect when something begins to drift. Think of it as a fitness tracker for your building - one that learns what "normal" looks like and alerts operators when something changes.

If you’ve ever taken a 101-level business, economics, or information technology course, you may recognize the term “fear, uncertainty, and doubt” and its acronym, FUD. The phrase’s origins date back to the 1920s and was often used as a sales technique where the salesperson would work to create FUD so that their customers would not consider switching to a competitor’s product or service. The term is often linked to IBM in the 1960s which used the practice to keep their clients from switching to other technology companies’ products – there’s that old axiom, “nobody ever got fired for buying IBM equipment.”

Building enclosure field testing is critical to construction project success. These tests verify that control layers perform as designed before they're concealed or made inaccessible. However, our experience shows that project teams are frequently blindsided by testing requirements, ownership questions, and specification details—creating costly surprises and schedule disruptions.

Picture New England in the 1800s: teams of workers carefully cutting massive 500-pound blocks of ice from frozen lakes, hauling them across difficult terrain using horse-drawn sleds and primitive tools. This was the reality of the ice trade that once thrived in Vermont and throughout New England. In those days, refrigeration was a luxury few could afford.

We are in the midst of completing a large number of building energy assessments for buildings across Vermont, and while the specifics can change a bit, the process is pretty similar for all the buildings. In broad strokes there are three steps: initial data collection and review, site visit and interview, and analysis and reporting. These assessments have been a modified version of the ASHRAE Level 2 assessment, and this overview is somewhat specific to that level of analysis.

Insulating behind historic brick poses challenges for architects and preservationists alike. While it promises energy efficiency gains, there are concerns about its impact on the integrity of the brick and the building as a whole. However, with proper testing and expert guidance, it can be navigated successfully.