California Building Research Articles

Seismic Screening of Public Facilities in Oregon’s Western Counties

The objective of this study was to use rapid visual screening (RVS) methods to identify potential seismic hazards for Oregon's public facilities, including schools, hospitals, fire stations, police stations, and emergency response centers. There were 1,075 buildings screened in nine western Oregon counties. This study is part of a larger effort under the 2005 Oregon Senate Bill 2 to assess the seismic needs and upgrade public facilities in Oregon. RVS methodology generally followed the Federal Emergency Management Agency's FEMA 154 Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings for Potential Hazards: A Handbook. This method identifies structural type and building characteristics that may indicate poor performance under the maximum considered earthquake (MCE). Each building is given a final score related to the probability of collapse under the MCE. Screening was conducted by four individuals over three months. Quality assurance (QA) testing on nine buildings examined consistency between screeners. QA results showed final scores varied between screeners depending on building size, structure type, and architectural cladding. FEMA 154 was developed using California buildings. Differences between Oregon and California construction and the use of FEMA 154 in Oregon are discussed in this paper, reviewing the Uniform Building Code (UBC) and Oregon Structural Specialty Code (OSSC) amendments. The study provided two important conclusions. First, the average final score for buildings screened fell below the FEMA 154 cut-off score of 2.0 Second, the OSSC had an exception to the UBC that allowed the construction of unreinforced masonry buildings two stories or less in height. With this context, screening results can help in assigning priorities for further analysis and seismic retrofits.

Action-oriented Benchmarking: Using the CEUS Database to Benchmark Commercial Buildings in California

The 2006 Commercial End Use Survey (CEUS) database developed by the California Energy Commission is a far richer source of energy end-use data for non-residential buildings than has previously been available and opens the possibility of creating new and more powerful energy benchmarking processes and tools. In this article--Part 2 of a two-part series--we describe the methodology and selected results from an action-oriented benchmarking approach using the new CEUS database. This approach goes beyond whole-building energy benchmarking to more advanced end-use and component-level benchmarking that enables users to identify and prioritize specific energy efficiency opportunities - an improvement on benchmarking tools typically in use today.

Integration of distributed generation systems into generic types of commercial buildings in California

Distributed generation (DG) of combined cooling, heat, and power (CCHP) has been gaining momentum in recent years as an efficient, secure alternative for meeting increasing power demands in the world. One of the most critical and emerging markets for DG-CCHP systems is commercial and institutional buildings. The present study focuses analysis on the main economic, energy-efficiency, and environmental impacts of the integration of three types of advanced DG technologies (high-temperature fuel cells, micro-turbines, and photovoltaic solar panels) into four types of representative generic commercial building templates (small office building, medium office building, hospital, and college/school) in southern California (e.g., mild climate), using eQUEST as energy simulation tool. Detailed load profiles for the four commercial building types during times of peak electric and peak gas consumption were analyzed and complementary strategies to further increase overall building energy efficiencies such as energy efficiency measures (e.g., day lighting, exterior shading, improved HVAC performance) and thermally activated absorption cooling were also investigated. Results show that the high-temperature fuel cell (HTFC) performance is best matched with the hospital energy loads, resulting in a 98% DG capacity factor, 85% DG heat recovery factor, and $860,000 in energy savings (6 years payback). The introduction of thermally driven double-effect absorption cooling (AC) in the college building with HTFC reduces significantly the building electricity-to-thermal load ratio and boosts the heat recovery factor from 37% to 97%.

Neighboring Museums Make Time Travel Easy and Fun

Neighboring Museums Make Time Travel Easy and Fun

Case Studies of Damage to Tall Steel Moment-Frame Buildings in Southern California during Large San Andreas Earthquakes

On 9 January 1857, a large earthquake of magnitude 7.9 occurred on the San Andreas fault, with rupture initiating at Parkfield in central California and propagating in a southeasterly direction over a distance of more than 360 km. Such a unilateral rupture produces significant directivity toward the San Fernando and Los Angeles basins. Indeed, newspaper reports of sloshing observed in the Los Angeles river point to long-duration (1–2 min) and long-period (2–8 sec) shaking. If such an earthquake were to happen today, it could impose significant seismic demand on present-day tall buildings. Using state-of-the-art computational tools in seismology and structural engineering, validated using data from the 17 January 1994, magnitude 6.7 Northridge earthquake, we determine the damage to an existing and a new 18- story steel moment-frame building in southern California due to ground motion from two hypothetical magnitude 7.9 earthquakes on the San Andreas fault. Our study indicates that serious damage occurs in these buildings at many locations in the region in one of the two scenarios. For a north-to-south rupture scenario, the peak velocity is of the order of 1 m•sec^(−1) in the Los Angeles basin, including downtown Los Angeles, and 2 m•sec^(−1) in the San Fernando valley, while the peak displacements are of the order of 1 m and 2 m in the Los Angeles basin and San Fernando valley, respectively. For a south-to-north rupture scenario the peak velocities and displacements are reduced by a factor of roughly 2.

After-hours power status of office equipment in the USA

Office equipment is expected to be the fastest-growing segment of commercial energy use over the next 20 years, yet many aspects of office equipment energy use are poorly understood. User behavior, such as turning off devices at night or enabling power management (PM), influences energy use to a great extent. The computing environment also plays a role both in influencing user behavior and in the success of PM. Information about turn-off rates and PM rates for office equipment was collected through a series of after-hours audits in commercial buildings. Sixteen businesses were recruited, including offices (small, medium and large offices in a variety of industries), schools, and medical buildings in California, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. The types and power states of office equipment found in these buildings were recorded and analyzed. This article presents these data for computers, monitors, printers, copiers, fax machines, scanners and multi-function devices. These data can be used to improve estimates of both energy consumption for these devices and savings from energy conservation efforts.

Overview of noise policy in California

This paper provides a general review of noise policy in California including general plan noise elements, municipal code noise ordinances, and the California Building Code of Regulations Title 24. The challenges that an acoustical consultant faces while trying to meet the requirements or, as is often the case, trying to achieve the intent of such policies, will be discussed. What works or doesn’t work?

Monitoring the energy-use effects of cool roofs on California commercial buildings

Solar-reflective roofs stay cooler in the sun than solar-absorptive roofs. Such “cool” roofs achieve lower surface temperatures that reduce heat conduction into the building and the building's cooling load. We monitored the effects of cool roofs on energy use and environmental parameters in six California buildings at three different sites: a retail store in Sacramento; an elementary school in San Marcos (near San Diego); and a four-building cold storage facility in Reedley (near Fresno). The latter included a cold storage building, a conditioning and fruit-palletizing area, a conditioned packing area, and two unconditioned packing areas. Results showed that installing a cool roof reduced the daily peak roof surface temperature of each building by 33–42 K. In the retail store building in Sacramento, for the monitored period of 8 August–30 September 2002, the estimated savings in average air conditioning energy use was about 72 Wh/m 2/day (52%). On hot days when the afternoon temperature exceeded 38 °C, the measured savings in average peak demand for peak hours (noon–5 p.m.) was about 10 W/m 2 of conditioned area. In the school building in San Marcos, for the monitored period of 8 July–20 August 2002, the estimated savings in average air conditioning energy use was about 42–48 Wh/m 2/day (17–18%). On hot days, when the afternoon temperature exceeded 32 °C, the measured savings in average peak demand for hours 10 a.m.–4 p.m. was about 5 W/m 2 of conditioned area. In the cold storage facility in Reedley, for the monitored period of 11 July–14 September 2002, and 11 July–18 August 2003, the estimated savings in average chiller energy use was about 57–81 Wh/m 2/day (3–4%). On hot days when the afternoon temperature exceeded 38 °C, the measured savings in average peak-period demand (average cooling-power demand during peak demand hours, typically noon–6 p.m.) was about 5–6 W/m 2 of conditioned area. Using the measured data and calibrated simulations, we estimated savings for similar buildings installing cool roofs in retrofit applications for all 16 California climate zones. For similar retail stores in climate zones 2 and 4–16, installing a cool roof can save about 6–15 kWh/m 2/year of conditioned area. In climate zones 2–16, estimates of average peak demand savings for hours noon–5 p.m. range from 2.9 to 5.8 W/m 2. For similar school buildings in climate zones 2–16, installing a cool roof can save from 3 to 6 kWh/m 2/year of conditioned roof area. For all 16 climate zones estimates of average peak demand savings for hours noon–5 p.m. range from 2.6 to 3.8 W/m 2. In similar cold storage buildings in all 16 climate zones, installing a cool roof can save about 4.5–7.4 kWh/m 2/year of conditioned roof area. In all 16 climate zones, estimates of average peak demand savings for hours noon–5 p.m. range from 3.9 to 6.6 W/m 2.

Approximate Floor Acceleration Demands in Multistory Buildings. II: Applications

The accuracy of an approximate method to estimate floor acceleration demands in multistory buildings responding elastically or practically elastic when subjected to earthquake ground motion is investigated. Modal analysis is used in combination with approximate dynamic characteristics computed using a simplified continuous model that is fully defined with only four parameters. The accuracy of the method is first evaluated by comparing the response computed with the approximate method to that computed with response history analyses of complete finite element models of two generic buildings available in the literature. A comparison of exact and approximate dynamic characteristics is presented. Approximate peak floor acceleration demands and its variation along the height of the buildings are compared to exact demands when the buildings are subjected to an ensemble of 20 ground motions. The accuracy of the method is then evaluated by comparing floor acceleration demands computed with the approximate method to those recorded in four instrumented buildings in California. Results show that the approximate method produces good results with a very small computational effort.

A Regional Comparison of Mold Spore Concentrations Outdoors and Inside “Clean” and “Mold Contaminated” Southern California Buildings

A total of 625 buildings and outdoor locations in the San Diego, California, area were monitored using the Allergenco Sampl-Air MK-3 impaction sampler or the Zefon Air-O-Cell slit bioaerosol cassette. Locations were classified by rigid criteria as clean commercial, commercial with mold growth, clean residential, residential with water staining, and residential with mold growth. In addition, coastal and inland outdoor locations were measured. Seven categories (total spores, Ascospores/Basidiospores, Cladosporium, Smut/Myxomyceteslike, Aspergillus/Penicillium (AS/PE), Alternaria, and Unidentified/Other) were detected frequently enough that maximum likelihood estimate techniques could be used to determine distribution parameters and, thus, treat these as continuous variables. For total counts (no nondetectables) an analysis of variance was used to examine differences in location means. For the other categories Land's confidence limits were generated and visually compared for differences among locations. For 12 other categories (Curvularia, Dreschlera, Epicoccum, Fusa-rium, Mildew-like, Pithomyces, Rusts, Stachybotrys, Stemphyllium, Torula, Ulocladium, and Zygomycetes-like), detection generally occurred in less than 10% of samples. These genera were treated as dichotomous (detect/nondetect) data, and Chi-square analyses differentiated between locations. For total counts, values were significantly different on the order of clean < outdoor < moldy. There was a large difference between the moldy and other location classes. For AS/PE, moldy location means were clearly higher than those for clean buildings and outdoors, although the clean and outdoor means could not be differentiated. For all other genera the results tend to indicate little or no ability to discriminate location. For example, there were no differences in the probabilities of detecting Stachybotrys among the various locations. In our study only total counts, usually driven by AS/PE concentrations, had value in determining whether a building is mold contaminated employing our set of rigorous location classification criteria.

1994年ノースリッジ地震の建物被害データと強震記録を用いた地震動の破壊力指標の検討

We investigated the 1994 Northridge, California, earthquake, where we have both strong ground motion records and building damage date, examining correlation between various indices of seismic destructive power and building damage. We used correlation analyses, maximum likelihood method and correlation analyses considering the number of buildings ground strong ground motion observation points, We confirmed that the average elastic velocity response in the period range of 1 to 2 s with a damping factor of 0.05 which one of the authors proposed as an ontimum destructive power index of strong ground motion for predicting building damage can be used in the case of buildings in California, USA The period range is based on the equivalent periods that are calculated for buildings with typical elastic periods considering inelastic elongation.

Inclusion of cool roofs in nonresidential Title 24 prescriptive requirements

Roofs that have high solar reflectance (high ability to reflect sunlight) and high thermal emittance (high ability to radiate heat) tend to stay cool in the sun. The same is true of low-emittance roofs with exceptionally high solar reflectance. Substituting a cool roof for a non-cool roof tends to decrease cooling electricity use, cooling power demand, and cooling-equipment capacity requirements, while slightly increasing heating energy consumption. Cool roofs can also lower citywide ambient air temperature in summer, slowing ozone formation and increasing human comfort. DOE-2.1E building energy simulations indicate that use of a cool roofing material on a prototypical California nonresidential (NR) building with a low-sloped roof yields average annual cooling energy savings of approximately 3.2 kW h/m 2 (300 kW h/1000 ft 2), average annual natural gas deficits of 5.6 MJ/m 2 (4.9 therm/1000 ft 2), average annual source energy savings of 30 MJ/m 2 (2.6 MBTU/1000 ft 2), and average peak power demand savings of 2.1 W/m 2 (0.19 kW/1000 ft 2). The 15-year net present value (NPV) of energy savings averages $4.90/m 2 ($450/1000 ft 2) with time-dependent valuation (TDV), and $4.00/m 2 ($370/1000 ft 2) without TDV. When cost savings from downsizing cooling equipment are included, the average total savings (15-year NPV+equipment savings) rises to $5.90/m 2 ($550/1000 ft 2) with TDV, and to $5.00/m 2 ($470/1000 ft 2) without TDV. Total savings range from 1.90 to 8.30 $/m 2 (0.18–0.77 $/ft 2) with TDV, and from 1.70 to 7.10 $/m 2 (0.16–0.66 $/ft 2) without TDV, across California's 16 climate zones. The typical cost premium for a cool roof is 0.00–2.20 $/m 2 (0.00–0.20 $/ft 2). Cool roofs with premiums up to $2.20/m 2 ($0.20/ft 2) are expected to be cost effective in climate zones 2–16; those with premiums not exceeding $1.90/m 2 ($0.18/ft 2) are expected to be also cost effective in climate zone 1. Hence, this study recommends that the year-2005 California building energy efficiency code (Title 24, Part 6 of the California Code of Regulations) for NR buildings with low-sloped roofs include a cool-roof prescriptive requirement in all California climate zones. Buildings with roofs that do not meet prescriptive requirements may comply with the code via an “overall-envelope” approach (non-metal roofs only), or via a performance approach (all roof types).

Field normalization techniques and practices for determining sound isolation and impact insulation

The International Building Code (IBC) includes minimum acceptable acoustical performance for floor/ceiling assemblies separating dwelling units. Field tests for determining the Normalized Noise Isolation Class (NNIC) and Field Impact Insulation Class (FIIC) of an assembly require the measurement of the decay rate of the receiving room and the normalization of the sound pressure levels, as set forth in ASTM standards E336 and E1007. The normalization is intended to improve comparability of test results by removing the effects of receiving room absorption. Surprisingly, the normalization procedure is substantially different between these two types of tests. The FIIC normalization is based on the laboratory Impact Insulation Class (IIC) test using a standard room absorption of 10 metric sabins. The NNIC normalization is based on a 0.5-s reverberation time, which is assumed normal in a furnished habitable dwelling space. This difference in normalization procedure for the same receiving room potentially yields different results of NNIC and FIIC as compared with their respective non-normalized values. This will be illustrated with examples of actual field tests. The effectiveness and suitability of the normalization procedures in the field setting are compared and evaluated including the use of the California Building Code modification to FIIC.

Public Health and the Built Environment: Historical, Empirical, and Theoretical Foundations for an Expanded Role

In 2000, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Environmental Health issued a report that explored some of the ways in which “sprawl” impacts public health. The report has generated great interest, and state health officials are beginning to discuss the relationship between land use and public health. The CDC report has also produced a backlash. For example, the Southern California Building Industry Association labeled the report “a ludicrous sham” and argued that the CDC should stick to “fighting physical diseases, not defending political ones.”In retrospect, it is probably unfortunate that this report was funded by an organization called “Sprawl Watch.” “Spraw” is a word that has no clear meaning but is applied to a huge range of issues involving suburban development.

Finding Abandoned Sumps, Tanks, And Other Oil Facilities

As oil wells and facilities are abandoned and “cleaned up” in California, commercial and public buildings, recreational facilities, and houses are being constructed on some of those sites. The presence of abandoned wells, former production facilities, sumps, tanks, pipelines, natural seeps, and other oil field artifacts are not always detected during a Phase I environmental survey. Due diligence requires that these oil field remnants be located and a determination made as to whether or not they pose a threat to the public, the environment, or the economic viability of a property. One way to find potential problems is the examination of aerial photographs. The problem with aerials is that they are not always taken at the right time. The records and reports of the California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources are needed to find abandoned wells and the limits of oil fields. U.S. Geological Survey topographic quadrangles sometimes show the locations of sumps, tanks, and oil wells but may not be sufficiently accurate to locate them for environmental testing. Unfortunately, accurate records of the locations of buried sumps and facilities have not always been generated. Anecdotal information usually consists of arm waving, rough pacing, and the lament that after the last merger the old facility maps and diagrams were thrown out. Natural oil and gas seeps, although well documented, can be difficult to locate precisely. The result is that the location of all abandoned facilities is not always possible.

Watershed Management and Consensus Building in California (Ⅰ)

Watershed Management and Consensus Building in California (Ⅰ)

Watershed Management and Consensus Building in California (Ⅱ)

Watershed Management and Consensus Building in California (Ⅱ)

Action Research: From mental hospital reform in Saskatchewan to community building in California.

Abstract. Action Research was used at the Saskatchewan Hospital, Weyburn in the 1950s. The research influenced the hospital and the field of psychology. At the heart of the approach was intense collaboration between the researcher and hospital staff who were the end users of the information. Action Research is contrasted with two other models, the Academic and the Applied. Two applications of action research at Weyburn are described, followed by subsequent usage in California with consumer cooperatives and an organization for families of mental health clients. Collaboration with lay individuals changes the research process and requires trade-offs between rigour and relevance.The Saskatchewan Hospital, Weyburn provided my first opportunity to engage in action research (AR), an approach also known as action science (Argyris, Putnam, & Smith, 1985), participatory action research (Whyte, 1991) and praxis research (Honadle, 1996). There are similarities between AR and Schon's (1983) model of reflective practice, in which a person simultaneously engages in research and practice using theory as a framework while fully respecting the discrete nature of each case. AR emphasizes the practical use and dissemination of research products and builds utilization strategies into the overall research design (Ketterer, Price, & Politser, 1980). My usage can be traced back to Lewin's (1946) conception of AR as requiring the active involvement of the potential users of the information throughout the research. This is not business as usual for the researcher but a different kind of business. According to Parlee (1983), Psychological knowledge would be dramatically changed if it were consistently developed through interaction with its 'subjects' and its intended audiences instead of being developed with professional colleagues in mind and 'given away' (p. 1). AR tends to be value-driven rather than value-neutral and has several related objectives: to improve the lives of the participants (a good test of the success of AR is whether the participants are better off after the research than they were before); to advance knowledge; and to improve the practice of AR through a critical examination of the collaborative process (Sanford, 1970).Prior to coming to the Saskatchewan Hospital, I followed the conventional academic model of research. It took many years before I realized the epistemological breakthroughs made at Weyburn, not so much in content but in approach. I became aware of the assumptions underlying the academic model and how these differed from a collaborative approach. Table 1 shows three research models, the Academic, the Applied, and Action Research, as ideal types. There are hybrids and variants of each model, omitted here in the interests of parsimony.Let us travel back in time over 40 years to Saskatchewan Hospital, Weyburn. In 1957 this was one of the most intellectually exciting places in the mental health landscape. The provincial CCF (now NDP) government encouraged experimentation with new social programs. Cutting edge work was undertaken in community mental health, architectural psychology, psychedelic drugs, operant conditioning, and hospital administration. Psychologists were part of the intellectual ferment and the research done at Weyburn influenced both the hospital and the field of psychology. Ayllon's behaviour modification ward sparked interest in applied behavioural analysis in institutional settings (Ayllon & Michael, 1959) which stimulated the creation of new journals and organizations. The focus on the behavioural effects of architecture gave impetus to a new specialty of environmental psychology.With a vigorous commitment to the value of research-based knowledge, this large Kirkbride-style mental hospital, probably the largest single building between Winnipeg and Vancouver, came very close to being what Campbell (1969) called an experimenting society and Hutchins (1968) described as a questioning community. …

Development of New Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) Exposure Metrics and their Relationship to "Sick Building Syndrome" Symptoms

Abstract Occupants of office buildings are exposed to low concentrations of complex mixtures of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that encompass a number of chemical classes and a broad range of irritancies. “Sick building syndrome” (SBS) is suspected to be related to these exposures. Using data from 22 office areas in 12 California buildings, seven VOC exposure metrics were developed and their ability to predict self-reported SBS irritant symptoms of office workers was tested. The VOC metrics were each evaluated in a multivariate logistic regression analysis model adjusted for other risk factors or confounders. Total VOCs and most of the other metrics were not statistically significant predictors of symptoms in crude or adjusted analyses. Two metrics were developed using principal components (PC) analysis on subsets of the 39 VOCs. The Irritancy/PC metric was the most statistically significant predictor of adjusted irritant symptoms. The irritant potencies of individual compounds, highly correlated nature of indoor VOC mixtures, and probable presence of potent, but unmeasured, VOCs were variously factored into this metric. These results, which for the first time show a link between low level VOC exposures from specific types of indoor sources to SBS symptoms, require confirmation using data sets from other buildings.

A Class of Pleasing Periodic Designs

Federico Fernandez is a retired architect now living in Costa Rica. He studied mathematics at Barcelona University and architecture at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (U.N.A.M.), and he has designed luxury residences and public buildings in Mexico, California, and Spain. The method for generating patterns described in this article grew from his lifelong interest in finding methods for creating esthetically pleasing designs.