This is a guide booklet for anyone who has questions about some of the terms that are being thrown around in today\'s design and construction world. Damian Farrell Design Group is responsible for production of this document. I designed the composition of this booklet. Please Enjoy!

1. Produced by Damian Farrell Design Group
Your Best Source for understanding what
all the buzz is about and what it means.
Guide to
Deep Green

2. DEEP GREEN
Table of Contents
Basic 4
Definitions 8
Appendix 22
Works Cited 23
These diagrams are intended to aid a person in understanding the current
ideas and principles of sustainable living. These include but are not limited
to the built environment, LEED certification, personal heath & well-being,
and educational awareness.
Copyright © 2009 Damian Farrell Design Group All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form
or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of Damian Farrell Design Group.

3. What is Sustainability? Sustainable
Construction
Habits
Everyone keeps touting this word around like it answers all the questions to solve
Basic
Basic
our environmental problems. But what are all these people really getting at. The
best way to describe this precarious word is by regeneration. Just as our environ-
ment has a circular path in the ecosystem so should a building or any other system
for that matter.
In design and construction sustainability is an action to create better more efficient
buildings to the point that they no longer require outside resources. Much the same
as a plant only needs the sun, water, and the earth to survive. Although no building
has achieved this level of self-sufficiency this is the underlying goal of sustainability.
Sustainability
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
For other uses of the term “Sustain”, see Sustain (disambiguation).
Blue Marble composite images generated by NASA in 2001 (left) and 2002 (right).
Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the ability to maintain a certain process or state. It is now most frequently used in connection
with biological and human systems. In an ecological context, sustainability can be defined as the ability of an ecosystem to main-
tain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future.[1]
Sustainability has become a complex term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth, particularly the many different
levels of biological organization, such as; wetlands, prairies and forests and is expressed in human organization concepts, such as;
eco-municipalities, sustainable cities, and human activities and disciplines, such as; sustainable agriculture, sustainable architecture
and renewable energy.
For humans to live sustainability, the Earth’s resources must be used at a rate at which they can be replenished. However, there is
now clear scientific evidence that humanity is living unsustainably, and that an unprecedented collective effort is needed to return
human use of natural resources to within sustainable limits.[2][3]
Since the 1980s, the idea of human sustainability has become increasingly associated with the integration of economic, social and
environmental spheres. In 1989, the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission) articulated
what has now become a widely accepted definition of sustainability: “[to meet] the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”[4]
Conventional Construction Habits

4. The History of Sustainability
S ustainability has been fast and furious in its growth within the last five to ten
years. Those outside of the trades dealing directly with this new wave of thought
probably have not had the privilege to see all the nuances that have erupted.
Basic
Basic
For some general background; green design has been around since...... well since
villages started to use water to turn a wheel in a river for grinding flour. It was just
not called sustainable or green design in pre-industrial revolution times. These
simple ways of using our environment to perform daily needs has been modern-
ized through our inventive use of technology. We are really seeing a push to use
regional environments to our advantage as we see the toll we have paid as a society
in the past 100 years. This has come in the form of greenhouse emissions from fossil
fueled automobiles. Our impact on wildlife now referred to as “biodiversity”. And of
coarse the wasteful ways we have been building our homes and work places.
You can see a great example of how sustainability has become main stream by look-
December 2001
ing at any design magazine from before 2001. Just by flipping through the pages in
a comparison you will see adds of all types of products which never had any com-
ment on being green or an advocate of sustainability. By 2005 you couldn’t help but
see some quip about greening you life style or using their product for LEED points.
Now, in 2009 it has become rather overwhelming.
February 2009 April 2000

5. Definitions
Definitions
What do all these technologies really do?
Next lets look at terms that are being used and what they actually mean.
1 Impervious versus Pervious
2 Grey water versus Black Water
3 Water Reclamation
4 Geothermal Energy
5 Solar Power
6 Bioswale
7 Biomass
8 Energy Modeling
9 Energy Audit
10 Building Intelligence
11 Day Lighting
12 Artificial Lighting

6. Pervious Versus Impervious
Pervious and impervious are two fairly simple terms that become switched when
used in conversation about how water is managed. Perviousness is directly linked to
porosity or a surfaces ability to absorb water. So a grass lawn would be pervious and
at the opposite end a typical asphalt parking lot would very impervious.
Is impervious bad?
Not Necessarily. Impervious surfaces are great when you want to keep water out.
Its just not the best way to deal with large surface areas that water can land and
accumulate on. A great example to remember is an open field. When it rains, the
water is not really thought about because it is absorbed. But if that same field is
a parking lot, the water has nowhere to be absorbed. So we have to install a man
made water management infrastructure to put the water somewhere else.
Definitions
Definitions
FYI : In most US cities when a heavy storm occurs all the water that goes into the storm drain cannot
be handled. When this happens the sewer treatment facility becomes overloaded. This is because storm
water and sewer treatment are physically linked. The treatment plant has no choice but to allow the raw
sewage and the storm water to flow untreated into the nearest river or body of water. A great example is
the Mississippi River. It starts in Minnesota perfectly clear... and when it reaches New Orleans; think about
how many river cities have had to “overflow”. And this is where we gather our drinking water!

7. Gray water versus Black water Water Reclamation
This one is pretty easy to understand. First of all we are talking about water that has
changed from treated for drinking to a form that is not. This applies to all plumbing Now what do we do with black and grey water?
fixtures.
We Re-use them!!
Bathroom Tub
Commode
Lavatory
Kitchen sink
Water Fountain
Definitions
Definitions
Rain water
Urinal

8. Geothermal Bioswale
Geothermal is the process of using the earth to regulate the temperature of a build- This is a technical name for a ditch with a very pragmatic purpose. A bioswale cre-
ing. It is not a fuel source, but rather an energy source. Think of a root cellar or a ates a place for water, from run off or overflow, to go and be slowly filtered before
basement. Remember how it would feel cooler in the summer days and warmer on either entering a retention pond or a storm water drain. They act in a similar fashion
winter nights than outside, but always had a moderate temperature? That’s geo- to what nature calls a wetland; only on a smaller scale. There are certain plants that
thermal energy! The only difference between the example and a modern system work best within a swale. They have deep root systems and can be quite aestheti-
is that pipes are set into deep drill holes where the ground temperature is close to cally pleasing when properly maintained.
50 to 60 degrees year round. Then through the pipe another smaller pipe is looped
down. A liquid, either water or glycol, is used to transfer the energy (hot or cold de-
pending on the season) from deep within the Earth and “pumped” into a building.
Once inside the building it is used in the same manner as a conventional heating &
cooling system except without any added gas or electricity to required create the
desired temperature. The piece of equipment that delivers the energy to the build-
ing is called a heat pump.
Vertical Field
Definitions
Definitions
This is one of the best example diagrams of a Bioswale.
It was created by Doug Adamson and Published by the
National Resources Conservation Service.
Bioswale in a Corporate Setting
Horizontal fields can also be used to gain energy
transfer depending on the application, but the idea
is still the same.
Adapted from original illustration by Doug Adamson
Native Landscaping
Deep-rooted native shrubs, forbs, and grasses Strong Deep Roots
build soil structure and allow water to infiltrate
into the ground more easily than nonnatives. Native plants have a tremendous root architecture that
Native plants are low maintenance, adapted builds soil quality and increases organic matter content.
to Montana climate and rainfall patterns, and High organic matter content helps soil hold water like a
resist local pests and disease. sponge making it available for nourishing plants.
Infiltration
Soil Amending Water infiltrated through bioswales helps
Along with native plantings, soils amended recharge groundwater, which supplies rivers
with compost and sand may be needed to and streams with a slow, purified seep rather
facilitate infiltration. A rock trench can be than surges of polluted surface runoff from
installed down the center of the swale. roofs and other impervious areas.
Helping People Help the Land

9. Solar Power
Everyone has heard of solar power.... as a general term. The problem comes when
two techs start to talk shop and then you might as well be in another country. Here
is a little bit of their foreign language.
Solar Thermal Panel:
Photovoltaics: These are also called solar water heaters. They are a series of pipes
that are enclosed in a box, typically black. They are set at a low
The standard solar panel that everyone knows about. It
angle to gather as much heat as possible during the day. The sun
uses the sun’s energy to create low levels of electricity
causes a green house effect within the box and as the water or
which is then pumped through a convertor so that it can
glycol is pumped through, heat is gathered and stored or used for
be stored in a battery (DC power) or is used right away
many different applications. This energy can be used for heating
(AC Power).
water for a building, or can act as a supplemental aid for another
heating system for thermal comfort such as in floor heating.
Definitions
Definitions
Photovoltaic Panels Photovoltaic Roof Shingles
For little-used areas where airflow is low, solar-powered attic venting
can be used. A compact roof-mounted system requiring no wiring,
no electricity, just pure benefit. It’s designed to eliminate the discom-
fort and deterioration of stuffy, hot attics. This unit converts sunlight
to electricity, directly powering its built-in fan to begin venting im-
mediately. The results are permanently increased occupant comfort,
reduced utility bills, plus increased lifespan of roof and building
structure. The solar attic fan operates successfully given even meager
amounts of daylight. In large commercial buildings, panels can readily pre-heat/
pre-treat ‘make up air’, which must be introduced per code to
reduce Carbon Dioxide buildup to acceptable levels in all non-
residential buildings. Without solar or other cost-effective forms
of pre-heating, such make-up air is introduced to the building
freezing cold in winter, and hot/humid/sticky in summer. Solar
panels efficiently pre-heat air all fall, winter and spring. During the
summer cooling season, the panels go into overdrive, their intense
heat used to dehumidify intake air. This lowering of humidity
dramatically lowers air conditioning costs.
Solar thermal panels can also be used to heat pool and spa water directly
using your existing pump. Millions of these are installed worldwide,
including one we installed for Paul McCartneys Montserrat recording
studio, which is honored on this national postage stamp! How does solar
work? Each panel encapsulates a half mile of black tubing. Sunlight, even
Photovoltaic Roof Vent
just daylight, warms this black surface. Your pool pump pushes pool water
thru. The water gets warm. That’s it! By correctly sizing the panel count,
you can get the pool temperature you prefer.

10. Biomass
This is another old technology that has slowly risen back into modern scientific
thought. It is simply the process of converting a waste product into a fuel. The most
common forms of fuel are wood manufacturing wastes, landfills, and agricultural
wastes. There are three different ways to achieve the end resultant fuel without
simply burning the waste to create steam powered electricity.
Thermochemical:
When an indirect heat source is applied and the waste
product is allowed to stew and breakdown. This either
creates off gases such as methane or liquids that can be
refined into alcohol or ethanol.
Biochemical:
Bacteria, yeasts, and enzymes breakdown waste products to
create methane gas and fermented liquids that can be turned
into alcohols.
Definitions
Definitions
Chemical:
The use of waste liquids such as corn oils to make fuels
referred to as bio-diesel.
Great examples of Biomass fuel refining have been
through entrepreneurial advocates such as Willie Nelson
and the Ethanol Refinery Company Poet Energy.

11. Energy Modeling
Energy Modeling is one of the many new ways to understand how a building is us-
ing energy and how to streamline its efficiency. Programs now utilize three dimen-
sional models to look at how the sun actually effects a surface. With knowledge of
who is using a building, how the walls are oriented with respect to the sun, the de-
sign, the regional location, and the general cost of energy in the area, very precise
estimates can be made to what actual costs are for the entire year. This becomes a
valuable tool when looking at new construction and renovations. There are a few
leaders in this software, one such is Integrated Environmental Solutions, IES. With
IES Virtual Environment all the raw data can be used to create an energy audit that
acts not just as a one time tool, but can be used in conjunction with a building ‘s life
to verify that it performs as expected and can educate people about what it means
to use and interact with the inner workings of a building.
Revit model
Definitions
Definitions
IES model
Solar Study Model
Interior Daylight Model
Solar Heat Mapping

12. Energy Auditing Building Intelligence
Energy Auditing is another term that everyone is using in today’s market place. Building intelligence is one of the worlds best energy management systems, also
In essence it is the evaluation of an existing buildings quantitative and qualitative known as a Building Automation System (BAS). This system is the same one selected
ability to exchange energy. As the definition seems this can become very complex by Google to control its World Headquarters complex in Mountain View, CA.
and confusing. But then again the whole reason for reading this guide is to break
It is as it says, intelligence, just as cars have evolved over the past 50 years from a
things down into simpler terms. So lets...
hand crank start ignition to a thumb identifying security ignition start button, so to
are buildings evolving. These systems allow control of lighting, heating/cooling and
all other key building systems with a single graphical language. Both existing older
buildings and future buildings can be equipped with these systems.
Field Audit:
Building intelligence also extends past your building to reaches such as the
The simplest of auditing can be done by sitting down with
electrical power grid and weather forecasting. If the building sensors find that today
energy bills from years past and walking throughout a
is going to be a very hot day it compensates for the up coming energy needs by
building with an experienced eye on the look out for large
using power the night before to cool. Other older building create a high demand on
energy consuming appliances & lighting fixtures. These
a power grid because they do not compensate for overheating. This demand is what
things tell much about both the buildings history and the
the electrical company calls a peak load and when your building meet or exceeds
users of it. Many of the most simple energy reductions can
what a power supply can handle not only do they charge you extreme prices but
be done by changing old habits and being conscious of
also this load can become an over load causing power outages.
when you are using energy.
Thermal Imaging & Blower Testing:
Definitions
Definitions
The next in line is to look with more sophisticated filters
than we can see with the naked eye. A thermal imager
can literally show where energy is being improperly
transferred, such as windows that are not properly sealing
or walls that do not have enough insulation. Blower
testing seals the house and uses a single opening to create
a vacuum inside a building. While the building is under
a vacuum, measuring equipment is used to determine
where incoming air & moisture is in places it shouldn’t be.
Once these areas are addressed in both testing methods
the problems can be quickly addressed leading to better
energy efficiency.
Energy modeling:
As described previously, energy modeling allows you to
take information from tests like these and combine all the
information into software programs that not only lend
you information from one date and time but through the
whole year to comprehensively see and fine tune exactly
the best ways to optimize you building.

13. Daylighting Artificial Lighting
Lighting a building with the sun. Sounds easy, but when you account for the Now that we have bashed on artificial lighting it still has its benefits and when
heat that a building absorbs from direct light it becomes almost a fine art. In the properly used in conjunction with daylighting can be very pleasant. Artificial
60’s through the 80’s many designers and engineers forgot that sitting in a room lighting choices have changed rather quickly throughout this first decade.
without some form of daylight can be very depressing. Studies show day-lighting
Once everything used Thomas Edison’s practical incandescent light bulb, now we
improves attention levels and cognition, eliminating that dulled feeling from
are turning to compact fluorescent bulbs and in the near future many lights will
artificial lamps. Many systems have been built to infiltrate these artificially light
become LED lit or even induction lighting. The terms are really flying aren’t they...
black boxes and have done so without the increase in temperature.
not to worry.
Daylight Tubes:
Daylight Tubes can eliminate daytime electricity require- Compact Fluorescent:
ments in dark corners or hallways. Here’s how they work: A Everyone knows these by their shape. Why are they better?
crystal clear circular rooftop sky dome collects all available They really are not more environmentally friendly than
daylight, directing it through highly reflective tubing to it predecessor. Unlike the tungsten metal filament that
poorly lit areas deep inside your building. Daylight Tubes lit older bulbs these use a toxic gas along with vaporized
install less intrusively than skylights and consistently admit mercury. They are however more efficient. Because the
huge amounts of natural daylight into your sun-starved chemical inside a CFL (compact fluorescent light) does
interior rooms and corridors. not require as much energy to produce the same amount
of light as an incandescent they cost less to operate. They
also last seven times as long. The energy company charges
Definitions
Definitions
you by the watt which has very little to do with the
amount of light produced. A 60 watt incandescent equals
a 13-15 watt CFL
Fluorescent T5:
High output (‘HO’) fluorescent light fixtures using “t5”
type lamps will directly replace inefficient 400 watt metal
halide fixtures-- delivering more light, more reliably, and
using half the wattage. A good comparison is a Prius and
a Hummer. The hummer being a metal halide bulb, which
is premised on the smaller incandescent bulb Patterns of
light delivery also improve as the room moves away from
inefficient dark-spotted halide ‘cone patterns’. For athletic
facilities, impact grilles are standard. Very large utility
rebates make this one of the most attractive investments
going.
Artificially light gymnasium
Induction Lighting
If you have ever watched the movie “The Prestige” then
you have seen an induction light. It is a bulb with no fila-
ment. It works by a conductive electromagnet being in
close proximity to the bulb. It still contains toxic mercury
vapor but extremely less amounts that a CFL or Fluores-
cent.
LED (Light Emitting Diodes)
The promise of super long life, super low watt LED has
arrived for certain classes of light fixtures. One of these is
security “wallpak” lighting. These LEDs last up to 100,000
hours and will produce more light per watt than existing
halides and sodium fixture technology by factors of 4, 6
Warehouse with daylight tubes only and even 8-fold.

14. For Further Questions about this Guide Please
Contact:
undefined. (March 3, 2009). Sustainability. In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Sustainability.
(2000, April). Armstrong. Architectural Record
(2001, December). Armstrong. Architectural Record
Damian Farrell Design Group
(2009, January). Armstrong. Architectural Record
3011 Miller Road
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103
Cohen-Dumani, Daniel. (Artist). (2009). Closed-loop horizontal geothermal field, [Online Image]. Retrieved March10, 2009 from
American Institute of Architects 50to50 Wiki.
734-998-1331 http://wiki.aia.org/Wiki%20Pictures/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=60&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.aia.org%2FWiki%2520Pictures
%2FForms%2FAllItems.aspx&RootFolder=%2FWiki%20Pictures
www.dfdgonline.com
Cohen-Dumani, Daniel. (Artist). (2009). Closed-loop vertical geothermal field, [Online Image]. Retrieved March10, 2009 from
American Institute of Architects 50to50 Wiki.
http://wiki.aia.org/Wiki%20Pictures/Forms/DispForm.aspx?ID=61&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.aia.org%2FWiki%2520Pictures
StarPak Group
%2FForms%2FAllItems.aspx&RootFolder=%2FWiki%20Pictures
3003 Miller Road
StarPak Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103
Cohen-Dumani, Daniel. (Artist). (2009). PV Array wellfleet, [Online Image]. Retrieved March10, 2009 from American Institute of
Architects 50to50 Wiki.
group http://wiki.aia.org/Wiki%20Pictures/PV%20Array%20wellfleet.JPG
734-222-3000
Cohen-Dumani, Daniel. (Artist). (2009). PV shingle, [Online Image]. Retrieved March10, 2009 from American Institute of Architects
www.starpakgroup.com 50to50 Wiki.
http://wiki.aia.org/Wiki%20Pictures/PV%20shingle.JPG
Infrared Energy Analysis Nace Jamie. (Artist). (2009). Solar Collector Diagram, [Online Image]. Retrieved March10, 2009 from American Institute of
Architects 50to50 Wiki.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104 http://wiki.aia.org/Wiki%20Pictures/Solar%20Collector%20Diagram.JPG
734-995-6339 Nace Jamie. (Artist). (2009). Solar Collectors, [Online Image]. Retrieved March10, 2009 from American Institute of Architects
infrared-energy.com 50to50 Wiki.
http://wiki.aia.org/Wiki%20Pictures/Solar%20Collectors.JPG
Adamson, Doug. (Artist). (2007). Bioswale Illustration, [Online Image]. Retrieved October 20, 2006 from United States
Integrated Environmental Solutions Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/ecs/water/lid/
bioswaleill.html
Appendix
43 Kingston Street
Fifth Floor BioWillie Premium BioDesiel— BioWillie [Online Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2009, from loxias.com. http://www.loxias.
com/Training/BioWillie.jpg
Boston, MA 02111-2241
Poet-LFG-Steps — Poet Energy Inspired [Online Image]. (n.d.). March 12, 2009, from poetenergy.com. http://www.poetenergy.
617-426-1890 com/files/release_files/Poet-LFG-Steps.jpg
www.iesve.com Poet-Waste Power — Poet Energy Inspired [Online Image]. (n.d.). March 12, 2009, from poetenergy.com. http://www.poetenergy.
com/images/showImage.asp?i=/files/release_files/Poet-Waste-Powered-Plant.jpg
JRV Management Natural Light Tubular Skylights. (2009). Skylight-Overview. Retrieved July 2009, from Natural Light Energy Systems. Website:
http://www.nltubular.com/pages/skylight-overview.html
13333 Telegraph Rd.
Taylor, MI 48180 Solar Attic Fans.com. (2009). Natural Light Solar Attic Fans. Retrieved July 2009, from HHH Group. Website: http://www.
734-374-5888 solaratticfans.com/
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http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1050700/cisco-unveils-energy-management-software

15. Copyright © 2009 Damian Farrell Design Group All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form
or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of Damian Farrell Design Group.