November 2010

Top Story

USGBC Founder Invites

Cypress Envirosystems to Join U.S. Regenerative Network

Cypress Envirosystems was invited to join the U.S. Regenerative Network by its CEO David Gottfried, who is also the founder of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  Together, the Network members offer a comprehensive portfolio of cutting-edge sustainable solutions…More

Greenbuild Events this Week in Chicago:

Visit Cypress Envirosystems at Greenbuild in booth 2691 and the following events:

Press conference, room 473 at 11am on Tuesday

Harry Sim speaks with David Gottfried on Discovering Disruptive Clean Technologies, room 196C at 12:30pm on Thursday

Harry Sim speaks on Teaching Existing Buildings New Tricks, room W180 at 4pm on Thursday

USGBC Founder Invites Cypress Envirosystems to Join U.S. Regenerative Network

Architype Interviews Harry Sim

Retrofits Must Be Painless

USGBC Founder Invites Cypress Envirosystems to Join U.S. Regenerative Network

The U.S. Regenerative Network Fosters the Adoption of Cutting-Edge Sustainable Building Solutions

Cypress Envirosystems was invited to join the U.S. Regenerative Network by its CEO David Gottfried, who is also the founder of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).  Together, the Network members offer a comprehensive portfolio of cutting-edge sustainable solutions for building and retrofitting new and existing buildings—Cypress Envirosystems’ solutions help complete the portfolio for retrofitting existing buildings.

“Our objective is to identify and foster leading companies that are bringing the most innovative sustainable solutions to market,” said Gottfried. “Cypress Envirosystems was invited to join the Network because they make retrofitting HVAC controls affordable.  They are an example of how innovative companies can radically transform established markets and make it financially compelling for the mass market to adopt green technologies.”

The U.S. Regenerative Network brings members that offer sustainable solutions together with affiliates that are seeking the best options in the market for greening facilities.  Members include Autodesk, Armstrong, Carrier, Scientific Conservation, Sloan, SunPower, and other innovative firms.  Affiliates include AECOM, Hines, Google, Walmart, and other progressive designer, construction and real estate portfolio organizations.  In addition to facilitating the introduction of advanced technologies to specifiers and buyers, the Network counsels members on measuring and continuously improving their companies to drive market change towards sustainability.  “As we continue to grow, the knowledge we gain from the Network will help us to keep developing innovative solutions and ensure that we become a leading company in terms of environmental impact,” said David Roberts, Director of Marketing for Cypress Envirosystems.  More See the U.S. Regenerative Network here.

Back to top

Architype Interviews Harry Sim

Insights on Architectural Challenges for Existing Buildings

What is the role of your materials and products in the development of today’s leading architectural ideas?

Cypress Envirosystems specializes in non-invasive retrofit solutions for existing buildings. By developing solutions that eliminate the need to open walls, cut pipe or run wire, our innovations generally reduce installed costs by 70-80% compared to existing solutions on the market. Due to the significant reduction in cost and the fact that retrofits can be done without disturbing tenants, our approach makes it possible for the mass market to adopt advanced energy saving technologies.

How can vendors and material developers push the boundaries of what is possible in advancing innovative design and architecture?

When it comes to existing buildings, ‘pushing the boundaries’ really means getting beyond the top 10-20% of the market that can always afford to adopt the latest technologies.  Since every building is unique, it is very challenging to develop a solution that can be adopted by the mass market.  Building a new building that is energy efficient is straight forward—with existing buildings it is anything but.  To have a real impact on the energy use of the existing building stock, vendors must develop technologies that can be readily adopted.  To be adopted by the mass market, these solutions must minimize payback period and disruption to existing building tenants. More

Back to top

Retrofits Must Be Painless

Technologies Must Be ‘No Brainers’ to Achieve Widespread Adoption in Existing Buildings

At least 60 billion square feet, or 70%, of commercial facilities in the United States do not have communicating, programmable thermostats for HVAC zone control. Without digital controls to optimize energy use at the zone level, these buildings waste significant energy and incur unnecessary maintenance expense on an ongoing basis. The total cost of lost energy and labor can range between $0.25-$0.70/ft2 per year, or $15 billion-$42 billion per year for the entire country. Direct digital control (DDC) retrofit solutions for thermostats have been on the market for over 15 years and can avoid these losses if deployed. So why do building owners and managers continue to let so much money be wasted?

The reason these buildings have not been retrofitted is because traditional DDC retrofit solutions have too many barriers to make adoption feasible for most facilities. They are costly, invasive and disruptive. A DDC project can cost up to $3,000 per thermostat, require the cutting open of walls, projects can last months, and tenants have to be moved around. For a retrofit technology to achieve widespread adoption, the choice must be a “no brainer” for the decision maker. Every excuse not to move forward with a project must be understood and overcome.

Core to our company’s strategy is to only develop retrofit solutions that are non-invasive, install in minutes and pay back in 18 months. For HVAC zone control, we developed the Wireless Pneumatic Thermostat (WPT), which can be installed in 20 minutes without disturbing tenants, and costs 80% less than traditional DDC solutions. By developing a solution with these attributes, we have made it possible for the majority of buildings to have intelligence at the zone level for the first time. More

Back to top