- overview
Sustainable Design
Sustainable Design has become more than a catch phrase in the construction industry. The principles and strategies for “sustainable design” have, in fact, become de rigueur for all consulting design engineers. At O’Mahony & Myer we have been applying these principles and strategies for years, sharing a commitment with our clients to always minimize energy consumption and reduce overall energy costs. We are recognized as experts at controlling light pollution and light trespass in all installations and most especially in projects with extensive site lighting requirements. Our designs have helped make “good neighbors” of our end-users and building owners for the past three decades. In fact, our 2007 site lighting design for various Yosemite National Park sites has been chosen as the prototypical site lighting design for all the Park’s exterior lighting, and will be implemented throughout the Park over the next ten years.
Sustainable design practices are indeed important, but we believe not an end unto themselves. A balanced approach of energy efficiency, practical functionality, and aesthetics informs our decision making process. At O'Mahony & Myer, we start with the right solution for our clients and end-users based on our track record of successful projects. We then scrutinize every component in order to minimize energy usage and strive to reduce the variation in materials and equipment utilized to reduce resource consumption. By staying informed on the latest in industry breakthroughs in energy efficiency and controllability, we design systems that maximize energy savings while still providing safe and invigorating environments. For example, with careful daylighting analysis, our designers can determine the best applications for dimming and switching for electric lighting systems, reducing daytime energy costs - without sacrificing nighttime visual performance.
PV System Design
Over the past few years we have become expert in the design of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems for any size project. We have designed PV systems as small as 15KW up to solar field arrays of 1MW. We have designed systems with interconnecting voltages from 120V/240V up to 12KV medium voltage systems. And we have extensive experience with various roof-mounted flat panel systems as well as field-installed, motorized sun-tracker systems. We can provide full system design, as well as coordinate the equipment interconnection with the utility companies.
LEED® Certification
Our designs can meet and exceed many of the LEED® requirements for energy efficiency, light trespass, and on-site power generation – and contribute significantly to qualifying for official LEED® Certification.
We offer support for achieving the following credits under LEED® for New Construction, version 2.2:
- SS8 Light Pollution Reduction
- EA-PR1 Fundamental Commissioning of the Building Energy Systems
- EA-PR2 Minimum Energy Performance
- EA1 Optimize Energy Performance
- EA2 On-Site Renewable Energy
- EQ6.1 Controllability of Systems – Lighting
We are also well versed in the requirements for the full range of LEED® programs:
- LEED® for Existing Buildings
- LEED® for Commercial Interiors
- LEED® for Core and Shell
- LEED® for Schools
- LEED® for Retail