Among the criteria required for LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification is the demonstration of a commitment to educate the public about environmental sustainability. One-way the center has selected to demonstrate that commitment is through the GreenTouchscreen® kiosk designed by Quality Attributes Software.

This innovative and customized kiosk is located in the main lobby of the center.  Visitors to Parrish Healthcare Center at Port St. John just need to touch the screen and it comes to life.  From the kiosk visitors can learn about the LEED® Green Building Rating System and the credits that were earned in order to achieve Silver certification. A LEED® checklist which explains how each credit was earned along with a Green features map and a list of the benefits of building “green” can all be found with a simple touch of the screen.  The GreenTouchscreen® is also available online at http://parrishmedical.greentouchscreen.com.

Without the GreenTouchscreen® many of the building’s “green features” might otherwise go unnoticed.

“The kiosk is a great way for Parrish Healthcare Center to inform the public about how environmental sustainability is integrated into the healing environment,” said Chris Fox, Parrish Healthcare Center at PSJ Director.  “PMC has long advocated that environments play an integral role in healing.  Building green is just a natural extension of that belief.”

Parrish Healthcare Center at Port St. John is a full-service outpatient center that has earned more procedure-specific accreditations by the American College of Radiology (ACR) than any other Brevard County outpatient center in the areas of Mammography, Breast Ultrasound, Ultrasound, Computed Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).  In addition to radiology services, the center includes physician offices, a sleep disorders center, outpatient rehabilitation, laboratory services, and an array of other testing such as bone density, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), EMG/EKG, stress testing, echo-vascular testing, and Holter Monitoring.

GreenTouchscreen® is a product of Quality Attributes Software, located in the heart of the Silicon Prairie in Ames, Iowa.  For more information, please visit our website at: www.qualityattributes.com.

ATLANTA,GA — Allsteel is making room in its Resource Centers for an innovative and powerful learning tool that promises to help designers, facility planners and other visitors better understand sustainability in true “show-and-tell” fashion.

GreenTouchscreen, an invention of Quality Attributes Software, is a powerful interactive program that guides users through a location’s green features and teaches them about sustainable buildings, LEED, and what LEED credits have been achieved in the space. Individually customized, the first of these GreenTouchscreen kiosks are now accessible at Allsteel’s San Francisco, Chicago and Atlanta Resource Centers, where they provide a virtual walk through, explaining inch-by-inch what qualifies as sustainable and what has yielded LEED credits for Allsteel and its sister company, Gunlocke, which also is represented in the center. The touchscreen system also is programmed to deliver information on Allsteel’s history and its “People, Planet, Profit” approach to sustainability.

GreenTouchscreen is a fitting addition to Allsteel Resource Centers, which are meant to be learning environments and educational hubs for the design community as much as they are product showrooms. Its San Francisco and Chicago locations are especially perfect starting points for GreenTouchscreen because these spaces have earned silver certification in LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI), the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) rating system for high-performance green interiors.

“Allsteel has practiced material and energy conservation for many years,” said Mike Veal, Allsteel’s Vice President of Sustainability and Alliance Partnerships. “The GreenTouchscreen kiosk allows us to share how we have incorporated these practices into everything we build and is an excellent way to underscore our abiding commitment to sustainability.”

According to Veal, Allsteel seeks to attain LEED-CI certification for its new or renovated Resource Centers. “Obtaining certification on our facilities makes Allsteel a more knowledgeable and credible business partner,” he said. Currently, among the company’s nine Resource Centers throughout North America, one gold and three silver certifications have been achieved, and two are awaiting USGBC and CaGBC decisions. GreenTouchscreen kiosks will be added to other LEED certified Allsteel Resource Centers throughout the coming year.

To view the Allsteel Atlanta GreenTouchscreen live over the internet, please visit:  http://atlanta.allsteel.greentouchscreen.com.

Quality Attributes Software, specializing in Cleantech and Green Building software, is located in the heart of the Silicon Prairie in Ames, Iowa.  For more information, visit www.qualityattributes.com.

Allsteel Inc. designs, builds and delivers progressive and relevant workplace furniture solutions.  For more information, visit www.allsteeloffice.com.

For more than 20 years they have been dedicated to reducing waste in Alameda County so it was only fitting when it came time for a new office space that they create a workplace that embodies their mission. The building, located at 1537 Webster Street, went from a dilapidated 80-year old building to a beautiful, environmentally responsible, and healthy workplace. In order to showcase all of the hard work that was put into the renovation of their building, StopWaste.Org called upon Quality Attributes Software to create a customized GreenTouchscreen® kiosk.

The GreenTouchscreen® kiosk will be placed in the building and the content posted on the web to serve as a teaching tool designed to motivate and inspire others to implement green building practices and sustainability. Viewers can learn all about the importance of building green, renewable energy practices and the LEED® rating system along with a LEED® checklist and a green features map, which tells all about the building’s green aspects. The kiosk also monitors and displays the building’s real-time energy consumption with live data gauges and graphs showing the building’s energy use compared to that of a typical building.

“After all the hard work that went into developing a LEED® Platinum office building, we look forward to having the GreenTouchscreen® kiosk help us monitor the building’s energy and water usage so that not only can we show the general public how efficiently our building utilizes natural resources, but also allows us to ensure the systems are working according to specifications.” Meri Soll, Program Manager, Green Building in Alameda County (a program of StopWaste.Org)

StopWaste.Org is the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board operating as one public agency.

Sidney, MI – Montcalm Community College has looked to Quality Attributes Software (QAS), creators of GreenTouchscreen®, to showcase their new “green” life sciences facility.

Since its establishment in 1965, Montcalm Community College (MCC) has focused on bettering the community and improving the quality of life for all who live in west central Michigan. MCC’s life sciences facility, the Stanley P. Ash Building, is a state of the art learning environment that was designed not only to better reflect the real-world environments that students will enter into but also to teach the community about environmental sustainability. To showcase this LEED® accredited “green” building QAS has designed a customized GreenTouchscreen® kiosk for MCC that will be displayed in the building and accessible online.

The GreenTouchscreen® kiosk educates about the overall sustainability of the building and teaches viewers how they can play a role in conservation and sustainability. For example, the kiosk informs users about the LEED® certification process and all of the building’s green features including extensive use of daylight, increased ventilation, outdoor air delivery monitoring, lighting controls, water efficient landscaping, reduced water usage, reduced electrical usage, and recycling of construction water. It also monitors and displays the building’s real-time energy consumption with live data gauges and graphs showing the Ash Building’s energy use and energy savings compared to a typical building.

Other features of the kiosk include a donor recognition page which showcases Stan Ash, the principal donor, and a list of donors who have made a commitment to the Stanley P. Ash Building. Information about the college including history, current events, and a campus directory can also be found on the GreenTouchscreen®.
“This touchscreen will not only serve as a way for students and faculty to monitor building performance, it will also help to market Montcalm as a technological leader throughout the region and beyond” stated Thomas Wacha, Senior Project Manager at Quality Attributes Software.

San Francisco, CA - Allsteel Inc., a leading contract furniture designer and manufacturer, has teamed up with Quality Attributes Software, creators of GreenTouchscreen®, to create a powerful teaching tool for sustainability at their San Francisco Resource Center.

The customized GreenTouchscreen® kiosk complements the building’s learning environment by highlighting environment and energy conserving systems that might otherwise be missed by visitors, such as the purchase of 100% green energy credits for the center’s power usage. It guides users through the center’s green features, teaches visitors about sustainable buildings and LEED®, and explains the LEED® credits achieved by Allsteel and sister company, Gunlocke.

One of Allsteel’s core values is its commitment to environmental responsibility in all areas of business. The San Francisco Resource Center clearly demonstrates this commitment with its silver certification in LEED® for Commercial Interiors (LEED®-CI), the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) rating system for high-performance green interiors. More than just a showroom, the resource center was designed to be used for education and outreach to the community, so the innovative, interactive GreenTouchscreen® kiosk helps accomplish that goal.

“Allsteel made the commitment in 2004 that its new resource centers would strive for certification in the new LEED® for Commercial Interiors, which had been pilot tested but not yet finalized,” said Brandon Sieben, Allsteel’s Vice President for Marketing. “Since that time, we have one gold and two silver certifications accomplished, two awaiting USGBC and CaGBC decisions, and one more in the works. It’s a natural fit with Allsteel’s proactive environmental policies and the GreenTouchscreens are an excellent way to illustrate our message.”

Allsteel has practiced material and energy conservation for many years and the kiosk allows them to share how they have incorporated these practices into everything they build. The GreenTouchscreen® helps people understand Allsteel’s sustainability practices and how they empower their members to drive change, improving business, community and the environment.

To view the Allsteel San Francisco GreenTouchscreen® live over the internet, please visit: http://sanfrancisco.allsteel.greentouchscreen.com. GreenTouchscreen® is a product of Quality Attributes Software, located in the heart of the Silicon Prairie in Ames, Iowa.

Allsteel Inc. designs, builds and delivers progressive and relevant workplace furniture solutions. Visit their website at www.allsteeloffice.com for more information.

Siemens selected QAS technology so that it could offer its customers a powerful but accessible interface that displays energy consumption data and real-time interactive analysis. By presenting live building energy consumption data on the GreenTouchscreen® kiosk in the foyer of the building, Siemens can reveal “hidden” energy conservation measures to building occupants. As people become aware of the energy they use and better educated as to its environmental impact, they just might change their behavior. Ultimately the information can help people understand the role they can play in saving energy in the spaces where they learn, work or live.

Through sophisticated integration to Siemens APOGEE® building automation system, the GreenTouchscreen® software translates dense building operational data into clear, relevant information that helps even the casual observer understand a variety of energy and sustainability related concepts. Examples of features include showing how much energy a building is currently using, how much a building has saved over time, and what that savings means in carbon kept from the atmosphere, pounds of coal or even hours of playing X-Box. GreenTouchscreen® software is implemented at facilities throughout the nation offering other highly interactive material about what makes a building green, what organizations did for each LEED® credit, and animations of those hidden green systems.

“Most organizations, whether they are public or private, want to provide the stakeholders with better information on their sustainability and green efforts,” said Richard Walker, Senior National Manager – Environmental Solutions. “GreenTouchscreen offers us the ability to not only provide information on energy use and climate implications, but also on a broad variety of internal initiatives.”

Siemens and QAS are currently working together on projects that include a university campus energy efficiency performance contract, a green building research center, and the Siemens Executive Briefing Center at its headquarters.

Quality Attributes Software has also expanded their software applications to include iBPortal™ (Intelligent Building Portal), an enterprise-wide powerful and flexible dashboard tool for executive and operational level reporting and analysis. Siemens is working with QAS to pilot iBPortal for select customers.

About Siemens Building Technologies, Inc.
As a leading provider of energy and environmental solutions, building controls, fire safety and security systems solutions, Siemens Building Technologies, Inc., makes buildings comfortable, safe, secure and less costly to operate. With U.S. headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Siemens Building Technologies employs 7,200 people and provides a full range of services and solutions from more than 100 locations coast-to-coast. Worldwide, the company has 28,000 employees and operates from more than 500 locations in 51 countries.

About Quality Attributes Software, Inc.
Quality Attributes Software develops enterprise intelligent building software solutions. Through its powerful interactive software, QAS monitors, analyzes and presents financial and environmental building energy information in a highly visual and flexibly manner. For more information, please visit their website at www.qualityattributes.com.

Marshalltown, IA - Consumers Energy and Quality Attributes Software (QAS) have teamed up once again to create the fun and entertaining “Power Play” game that teaches users about energy use in their home and measures that they can take to save money on their energy bill.

The original Consumers Energy interactive GreenTouchscreen® kiosk, designed by QAS, was created to help educate members of the cooperative about energy conservation. In addition, the kiosk teaches individuals about various renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and the corresponding benefits of each.

Recently, Consumers Energy decided to take it a step further. In addition to the original kiosk features, QAS has now developed an interactive game that has been added to the Consumers Energy GreenTouchscreen® kiosk that teaches users about peak demand, individual energy use in their homes, and customized measures they can take to reduce their energy usage and energy costs.

Users are greeted by a friendly character named Buster Wattson who directs them through the game and shows them a creative and fun way to save money. Users can view an example house that has average estimates of electric use and cost or they have the option to go through the house and select appliances they own and usage times for each. By changing appliance use from peak to off peak hours, users can see how easy it is to reduce the cost of their next energy bill.

“Consumers Energy continues to explore new and innovative ways to provide good value to its members and customers. We are committed to helping people conserve energy, save money, and protect the environment to ultimately build better lifestyles. The Consumers Energy GreenTouchscreen® kiosk with the new “Power Play” game is proof of our efforts to help members and customers manage their energy,” states David Stineman, Energy Solutions Manager of Consumers Energy.

Consumers Energy is a local, member-owned energy solutions cooperative specializing in energy delivery and energy management. The cooperative serves over 5,000 members and customers in six counties throughout Central Iowa; Marshall, Jasper, Polk, Tama, Story, and Hardin.
To view the Consumers Energy GreenTouchscreen® Power Play Game live over the internet, please visit: http://consumersenergy.greentouchscreen.com and click “Energy Savings”.

Broward County South Regional Library in Pembroke Pines, Florida, is redefining what it means to learn in a library. The newly constructed library selected Quality Attributes Software’s GreenTouchscreen® to educate the community about the building’s high efficient, “green” aspects while portraying the building’s friendly, contemporary atmosphere.The newly constructed library serves students of Broward Community College as well as the communities surrounding the campus. Most prominently displayed are gauges of real-time electricity and water consumption, CO2 levels within the building, and inside air temperature and humidity.

“Broward wanted large live data gauges on every kiosk page displaying the building’s current utility usages and indoor environmental status as a constant reminder for library employees and visitors to practice responsible consumption, thus creating positive behavioral change,” stated Thomas Wacha, QAS Project Manager.

Behavioral change at the library is core to education about the next generation of energy conservation in Florida. While at the same time, South Regional Library receives monetary savings on their utilities.

As the first LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building in Broward County, patrons can interact with a green features map that displays the location of each sustainable aspect at the library and how it is environmentally friendly. Users can then discover how these features were used to earn LEED® credits by exploring the interactive LEED® Checklist.

Broward County’s GreenTouchscreen® also provides a medium to display the library events with an event calendar. This web-based kiosk allows anyone with an internet connection to keep in touch with library events and learn about the facility in the comforts of home. The diverse educational kiosk also reaches out to all types of visitors with the dynamic Spanish translation.

Ames, IA – Quality Attributes Software’s new iBPortal^TM has been selected by the Iowa Energy Center (IEC) to monitor, trend, compare and test two solar/photovoltaic (PV) systems. In accordance with the launch of the IEC’s new website, users are now able to view real-time data gauges and historical data charts of the PV systems with their iBPortal^TM Dashboard.

Focused on the study of renewable energy, the IEC is currently using iBPortal^TM to assess the benefits a Dual Axis Tracking PV system (located at the Biomass Energy Conversion Center (BECON) in Nevada, IA) may or may not have over a Stationary PV system (located at the Gateway Center in Ames, IA).

“Retrieving the performance data every other second with scientific grade accuracy and reliability was one of the main hurdles of this project, and managing such large amounts of data also required new levels of optimization,” said Dwight Stewart, COO of QAS. “However, through this effort we have further refined our products to function within scientific grade applications. This announcement marks the first release of several projects geared toward the research community.”

Under the auspices of the Iowa Energy Center, QAS worked closely with the center’s researchers to develop a highly accurate and appropriate tool for observing PV performance. Researchers and general users can track and compare real-time and historical solar irradiance, power production, energy production, efficiency, and many other variables to aid in their research.

To learn more about the PV study and to view the live and historical data, visit the Iowa Energy Center website.

Bridgewater, Massachusetts - Bridgewater State College (BSC) is one of the forerunners of state schools in Massachusetts for the use of sustainable practices, so it is only fitting that they called upon Quality Attributes Software (QAS), the leaders in the “green” educational kiosk industry, to help showcase their new residence hall. QAS’ innovative GreenTouchscreen® kiosk will be placed in Crimson Hall, the campus’ first sustainable building, to encourage awareness of sustainability and to incorporate sustainable practices into the lives of residents on campus.

The GreenTouchscreen® kiosk has been customized to educate users about the advantages of sustainable building and the unique energy saving systems that BSC has incorporated into Crimson Hall. The kiosk contains real time energy gauges and energy usage graphs that compare Crimson Hall to a typical building. To help users realize the impact of the building’s sustainable systems, energy equivalents have also been added.

“The Green Touchscreen has become an informative and useful tool for explaining Crimson Hall’s sustainable features. The kiosk has become a featured stop on prospective student tours and for other colleges touring the new residential facility. Interestingly, Bridgewater State plans to locate another Touchscreen in an upcoming renovation to sponsor competing energy usage contests between residence halls,” stated Scott Plante, a Boston-based architect with DiMella Shaffer.

Crimson Hall is the first sustainable residence hall in the Massachusetts State College Building Authority’s System and it is clear that BSC has worked hard to integrate sustainability not just into the curriculum but also into the educational experience and living community of the students. Crimson Hall’s customized GreenTouchscreen kiosk® helps BSC provide a unique and interesting way to incorporate sustainable practices into the lives of residents on campus and to those who visit the college.

Port Hueneme, CA - The Navy’s Energy and Sustainable Design Demonstration Facility (also known as building 850), located at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) in Port Hueneme, California has installed a GreenTouchscreen® kiosk to increase awareness of the latest energy efficient technologies it is using.
The innovative GreenTouchscreen® kiosk creatively displays detailed information about the various technologies used in the building, which have earned several awards and certification including the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council.

Along with information about NBVC and energy saving tips, the GreenTouchscreen® kiosk also serves as an educational tool that helps explain all of the hidden aspects of the building that might otherwise go unnoticed. The kiosk includes easy to understand animations, real time data graphs and detailed explanations about the building’s extensive sustainable technologies such as natural daylighting, landscaping and irrigation, and solar energy systems.
The building is one of the U.S. Navy’s two national “Energy Showcase” facilities designed to demonstrate applications of the latest concepts in energy efficient and sustainable facility design, construction and operation. The project serves not only as a functioning green building but also as a living laboratory and educational tool for emerging sustainable design and technologies, which made the need to educate through an interactive tool a must.

“Building 850 will be an environmental classroom promoting energy-efficient and sustainable technologies for the government as well as outside communities, with the hope of influencing future building designs and sustaining our precious natural resources,” stated Richard Spiessl, a member of the NBVC Public Works Department.

Ames, IA – Greenbuild, the world’s largest conference and expo dedicated to green building, will host more than 18,000 building professionals from all over the world November 7-9 for three days of outstanding seminars, renowned speakers, and the biggest exhibit hall in Greenbuild history. Out of all of the exhibits this year, booth 408 is the one you do not want to miss. Quality Attributes Software, Sebesta Blomberg and Beck Technology have teamed up to deliver a No Magic, Pure Profit solution that encompasses the design, construction and post occupancy phases.

Building green can be a huge undertaking, but with Sebesta Blomberg’s expertise in sustainable design, commissioning and LEED^® facilitation services, Beck Technology’s precise project estimating through Macro BIM and integrated energy analysis, and Quality Attributes Software’s proficiency in building decisioning tools and M&V, it might seem like magic how easily these companies can offer your building a pure profit solution. If designing, building, or occupying green buildings is important to you then you’ll want to make sure you talk to one of the representatives at booth 408 to learn how you can expand your profits.

“Partnering with Sebesta and Beck creates an ideal fit of our individual capabilities, therefore we are each able to offer our customers an enhanced solution to meet their commitment to reducing energy costs, increasing profits and protecting the environment,” said Craig Engelbrecht, Principal, and Chief Marketing Officer of Quality Attributes Software.

MEET THE CEO HOUR: Come to booth 408 on Wednesday, November 7^th, at 10:00am to 11:00am to meet the CEO of each company and learn more about this pure profit solution.

Ames, IA - For over 30 years Bertschi School has been committed to teaching children about environmental responsibility and global sustainability. The educators at Bertschi believe it is important to “walk the talk” – to model the values and perspectives that they would like their students to embrace – and that is exactly what they have done by achieving LEED^® Gold Certification from the USGBC (US Green Building Council). In order to showcase their accomplishments and teach others how they can make an impact as well, Bertschi School called upon Quality Attributes Software (QAS) to create a distinctive and innovative GreenTouchscreen® interactive kiosk.

The educational GreenTouchscreen® kiosk is an interactive teaching tool not just for the students, but also for the staff and visitors of all ages. By providing dynamic graphics, animations and text in a friendly and easy to use kiosk, the Bertschi School is able to educate users about the building’s efficient systems and many “green” elements of the building that might otherwise go unnoticed. With a touch of the screen, kiosk users can learn all about LEED^® Certification and the importance of the facility’s 41 LEED^® credits.

The GreenTouchscreen^® kiosk uses interactive and automated graphics and text to demonstrate the facility’s key “green” components such as their use of solar panels to provide energy, natural ventilation to cool the building and the retention of rainwater for reuse. Along with an explanation of these systems, students can use the kiosk to track real time data and compare it with historical data. By providing information and explanations about how these systems work and how individual actions can have an impact on the immediate world, the kiosk becomes an engaging and effective teaching tool for the children.

“The Bertschi Center building serves as a shining example not only of environmentally sustainable design but also as a teaching tool that the students can use to see first hand examples of environmental stewardship and responsibility. QAS is proud to be instrumental in helping the Bertschi School with its continuing effort for behavioral change in energy conservation” stated Thomas Wacha, Senior Project Manager at Quality Attributes Software.

Wen Chang knows the environment needs some help. With people now reacting to global warming, wasteful energy consumption and other green-related topics, Chang, president of Atman Hospitality Group Inc., decided his handful of hotels needed to take the lead on environmental education.

Atman Hospitality Group is deploying kiosks at its San Francisco, Calif., Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa that offer guests an opportunity to be conscious of their energy and water usage. Large electricity, water and carbon-dioxide-usage/emission meters above the kiosk provide status of the building’s efficiency. Historical-use charts compare Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa to typical hotels and equate the resulting savings. Hotel guests can see from their in-room televisions how much electricity, water and carbon dioxide they and the rest of the hotel is using and emitting.

“Many customers are jubilant and feel like they are a part of saving our environment,” Chang said.

The ROI has been strong, Chang said. The hotel has seen a 26-percent drop on energy costs and 45 percent on water costs.

“The kiosks themselves did not save the money, but the guests changing their habits are what saved us money,” he said.

Demand for green

GreenTouchscreen is the touchscreen kiosk division of Quality Attributes Software, an Ames, Iowa, company founded in 2003. GreenTouchscreen provides software for educational kiosks designed to inform schools, hotels, governments and airports about their energy usage, said Craig Engelbrecht, chief marketing officer for Quality Attributes Software/GreenTouchscreen. GreenTouchscreen provided the software for Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa.

Launch Kiosk

GreenTouchscreen’s first deployment occurred at Iowa’s Central College in 2003. The touchscreen kiosk was placed at the school’s Vermeer Science Center. In addition to a building directory, the kiosk displayed information about the building’s renewable energy sources and how the building’s architecture creates an ideal learning area.This deployment led to many more in the higher-education arena. One of the other notable deployments occurred at the University of South Carolina, a leader in environmental education. In 2003, USC received Green Campus recognition from the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Biology. The college campus bus routes are served by biodiesal buses, and electric cars are used by maintenance and grounds staff.USC relays the importance of these environment-friendly policies through its West Quad Residence Hall kiosk. The West Quad residence area contains apartment-style rooms for about 500 students. The rooms are supplied with Energy Star appliances, low flow plumbing and recycled furniture. The kiosk in this area shares data with students about their electricity, steam and water usage and gives them tips on how to improve their living practices.

GreenTouchscreens also deploys similar kiosks in K-12 schools. In addition to energy information, those kiosks can include school building and district information, classroom schedules, a virtual tour of the campus, weather information, a calendar and other school-related features.

Most schools are using the kiosks for environmental awareness, Engelbrecht said. He said, however, the company is working closely with an international building automation controls company to develop a green curriculum to package with its software solutions.

In addition to educational facilities, GreenTouchscreen has deployed kiosks in museums, libraries, hospitals, shopping centers and hotels.

“With the demand out there, we will continue to deploy these kiosks in places where people want to know how they are doing with energy usage,” Engelbrecht said.

Environment friendly?

GreenTouchscreen creates the software for the energy informational kiosks, but the kiosk hardware is produced by other manufacturers. Though the kiosks teach people to conserve energy, it’s ironic that the kiosk hardware itself is not environmentally friendly, Engelbrecht said.

“As we continue to grow, strategic partnerships with sustainable hardware manufacturers will be a high priority,” he said. “The biggest hurdle is waiting for manufacturing companies to catch up to the maturing green market.”

Making technology more friendly to the environment was the subject of a recent Forrester Research study. An executive summary of the report revealed that IT sourcing and operations professionals are unaware of vendors’ efforts to design and market more environmentally responsible products and services. Many are aware, however, of IT’s rising energy consumption and are interested in improving the energy efficiency of their data centers and other computing infrastructure. Tech suppliers will find a receptive audience for more vocal green evangelism, especially as they tune their messages to resonate with a range of attitudes among their enterprise customers.

The report’s author, Christopher Mines, said, “We heard two reasons why green matters: efficiency and corporate responsibility. Most IT decision-makers told us that a green purchase would only happen in the context of cost reduction. These are hard-headed, ROI-driven business decisions.”

Permanent Link: http://www.kioskmarketplace.com/article_na_18365.php

Ames, IA – Quality Attributes Software (QAS) celebrates the sale of their 50th custom developed system.The Orange County Great Park, located in Irvine, CA, purchased a customized GreenTouchscreen^® kiosk to welcome visitors and inform them of the many great features of the park.

Founded in 2003, QAS brought the web-based software and controls integration worlds together to provide the flagship product GreenTouchscreen^®. As demand for more features increased, their software product line has grown to include iBPortal^TM (Intelligent Building Portal), iBDirectory^TM (Intelligent Building Directory), and iBDonor^TM (Intelligent Building Donor), in addition to GreenTouchscreen^®. QAS started as a local company, but in the last 3 years has expanded across the country, coast to coast, in over 15 states and is working with potential partners for international expansion. QAS has also opened branch offices in Laguna Hills, CA and Chicago, IL. Over the past year alone, QAS sales have grown over 400% and their staff has more than tripled.

“I am very excited to be part of QAS’ phenomenal growth over the last year,” said James Matarese, QAS’ Western Region Business Development Manager. “Successful sustainable design does not come without educating your building occupants, visitors, students, etc…about the goals of building green, what role they play in achieving that goal, and providing the end user with the tools necessary to get involved and make a difference. Thank you to the OC Great Park Staff and Board of Directors for their commitment to the environment and leadership in the community.”

Orange County Great Park is currently being designed and constructed by the OC Great Park Corporation. Formerly the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, the park will be over 1,300 acres of public space including a 2.5 mile canyon, a more than 20-acre lake, a cultural terrace, performing arts venue, veterans memorial, sports park, and a much more.

OC Great Park is focused on becoming a sustainable park, striving for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED^®) certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Along with the many other great features of the park, the new GreenTouchscreen^® will educate users about these sustainable features with a Green Features Map, information pages, and two 3D animations of the solar array and reclaimed water system. Also included on the system will be a virtual tour and videos of the park construction.

For more information about the Orange County Great Park visit their website at www.ocgp.org.

Ames, IA - The Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation (WECC), located in Madison, WI, is leading the way in “green” education with their new GreenTouchscreen® kiosk. Developed by Quality Attributes Software, the kiosk educates users about building “green” and the many benefits to the environment and energy costs.

After 25 years of championing innovative energy initiatives, WECC decided to create their own high performance building and implement it into the same practices they teach their customers every day. Their new web-based GreenTouchscreen^® contains steps on how to successfully build your own high-performance building and even goes into detail on their own “green” building experience.

“GreenTouchscreen provides us with an excellent tool for telling the story of ‘green’ high-performance buildings,” said Janet Brandt, Executive Director of WECC. “We love using the kiosk with groups who tour our building, but more importantly, we’re able to reach thousands of our targeted customers and market partners through the easily-accessed website.”

Doing more than just telling users about their savings, the WECC GreenTouchscreen® shows users by displaying real time energy gauges and energy usage graphs that compare their building to a typical (non “green”) building. Energy equivalents also allow users to visualize the impact of the building’s savings.

A 2D system animation educates users about their photovoltaic system by showing the path of solar energy and how it is converted into useable energy. To inform users on how much energy the system produces it displays current and historical output and system capacity.

“The new WECC building has become an example for office buildings everywhere and we are proud to have been able to create a system to help educate their customers and bring to life their hidden systems and energy savings,” said Gregg Thompson, CEO of Quality Attributes Software.

To view the WECC GreenTouchscreen® please visit: http://wecc.greentouchscreen.com

Ames, IA –Today, Quality Attributes Software and Beck Technology announced a partnership that will help extend the reach of ongoing commissioning (monitoring energy costs of mechanical equipment for the lifecycle of a building) to include Macro BIM (building information modeling).

The integration of Quality Attributes iBPortal™ (Intelligent Building Portal) with Beck Technology DProfiler with RSMeans will allow building owners and managers to fully understand lifecycle energy costs as related to planned costs. Energy costs are compared to a baseline, set through DProfiler in the design and building phases of the project, allowing owners and managers to make adjustments and keep costs in line with expectations.

“Our customers want to gain a better understanding of energy costs during the building design phase and ensure that those costs are not exceeded once the building is in use,” said Craig Engelbrecht, Principal, Chief Marketing Officer of Quality Attributes Software. “Quality Attributes partnered with Beck Technology because the integration of iBPortal’s ongoing commissioning of building performance compared with DProfiler’s mechanical equipment baseline energy costs from the conceptual and design phase offers a way to more accurately calculate ROI for our customers.”

iBPortal™ acquires, trends, displays and reports live building performance data pertaining to energy usage and costs. DProfiler with RSMeans is a Macro BIM solution used in the planning and conceptual design phase to produce an accurate cost estimate of a proposed design as well as 3D models, drawings and proforma documents. With the addition of mechanical equipment to DProfiler’s element database, customers can determine a baseline energy cost incurred by this equipment to give the building owner an understanding of costs going forward. The iBPortal™ then provides ongoing monitoring to determine if the mechanical equipment is performing in accordance with the baseline or if adjustments are needed. Mechanical equipment includes air handling units, chillers, boilers, cooling units, hot water units, solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal units.

Benefits to building owners and managers include the ability to determine total return on investment in the building and compare it to original estimates. Having a baseline of realistic energy costs and usage allows building managers to charge tenants accordingly, so tenants don’t get stuck paying unreasonable energy costs because of malfunctioning or inappropriate equipment.

This solution also prepares building owners for possible government regulations on energy usage. Owners will have documented knowledge of how much energy a building is using at any given point. This is the first step in complying with regulations.

“Partnering with Quality Attributes Software allows us to extend the reach of Macro BIM to the lifecycle costs of a building,” said Stewart Carroll, COO of Beck Technology. “The more robust we can make DProfiler with RSMeans, the better the solution will be for helping our customers lower costs and realize a better return on investment.”

About Quality Attributes Software
Quality Attributes Software is an industry leader in Intelligent Building software for the green building, renewable energy and energy monitoring market. Quality Attributes develops web based iBPortal™ applications that acquire, trend, display and report live building performance data pertaining to energy usage and costs. The complexity made simple through Quality Attributes applications helps building owners and managers understand how their hidden systems are behaving and enables them to make better decisions and understand their ROI. Quality Attributes rounds out their software offering to the intelligent building market with their GreenTouchscreen®, iBDirectory™, and iBDonor™ products.

About Beck Technology, LLC
Beck Technology, LLC, a Beck Company, is the leading provider of virtual model based solutions for accurately, quickly and cost effectively defining project scope and budgets. Beck Technology solutions provide real-time cost analysis, with 3D visualization; enabling users to quickly estimate project costs, perform feasibility analysis, and generate building performance and design criteria. As a leader in development and distribution of software and services for the design and construction industry, Beck has revolutionized the industry by allowing owners and developers to explore any number of project options, while increasing the accuracy of the decision-making process. Beck Technology brings with it the expertise of nearly a century in the design and construction industry and is a pioneer in bringing the next generation of truly innovative technologies to the AEC industry.

Atlanta, GA –Quality Attributes Software (QAS), developer of the industry leading GreenTouchscreen® touch screen kiosks, teamed up with the world’s largest home improvement retailer, The Home Depot, to design and publish the micro site website for The Home Depot’s new Eco Options program.

The Home Depot chose the experts at Quality Attributes Software to design this dynamic, revolutionary site due to their status as the leaders in the “green” educational kiosk industry, their expertise in energy efficiency and sustainability, and their proven record of providing cutting edge solutions of the highest quality.

“Quality Attributes Software is extremely excited and proud to have been chosen to partner with Home Depot on this effort,” said Gregg Thompson, CEO of QAS.  “The teamwork and creative process between the two companies has been phenomenal. It is a great example of how major corporations are leading the way to help change the public perception about energy savings and the impact it has on our natural resources.”

The Eco Options program is designed to provide consumers with eco- friendly products for their home improvement projects.  The debut of Eco Options in the U.S. was in correlation with Earth Day, Sunday, April 22, when The Home Depot gave away one million compact fluorescent light bulbs to promote energy efficiency.

Eco Options offers 2,500 environmentally friendly products within its five categories: Sustainable Forestry, Energy Efficiency, Healthy Home, Clean Air, and Water Conservation.  Going beyond just presenting eco-friendly products, the site allows users to calculate savings for nearly every product category.  QAS designed many innovative calculators for computing energy, pollution and money savings relevant to each category.

The Eco Options site is a user-friendly, interactive website that utilizes creative correlations focused towards home owners, contractors, and the home improvement industry.  QAS drew upon its past experiences with graphics and visualizations to help create a system that helps the public connect with The Home Depot’s efforts in a more eco-friendly environment.

“As the world’s largest home improvement retailer, The Home Depot can provide the widest variety of environmentally friendly products at the best value to more people,” said Ron Jarvis, vice president of Environmental

Innovation at The Home Depot.  “The introduction of Eco Options is further testament to The Home Depot’s commitment to sustainability and to help its customers choose ways to have less of an impact on the environment.”

For more information about Eco Options and the new micro site please visit: http://www.homedepot.com/ecooptions

Ames, IA – Iowa State University’s historical Morrill Hall held its rededication ceremony Friday, April 20th. Featured in the newly renovated building is a GreenTouchscreen® kiosk recognizing the donors of the renovation, and educating visitors about its rich history and many environmentally friendly aspects.

Morrill Hall is one of the oldest buildings on campus, built in 1891. Rather than demolishing the building, which closed in 1998 due to deterioration, the university began fundraising for the restoration in 2001. With funding from over 3,000 individuals the restoration was complete just in time for the university’s 2007 VEISHEA celebration.

In order to share the abundant history and many unique features of the building, Morrill Hall displays a GreenTouchscreen® kiosk developed by Quality Attributes Software. Many pages, enriched with historical facts and pictures, renew the culture and spirit of the university. A building directory allows users to easily locate specific rooms and view donor descriptions. Donors can be searched by room, name, or donor classification.

“Morrill Hall is a historical icon because it was named in honor of Vermont Senator Justin Morrill, sponsor of the Morrill Act of 1862 establishing the land-grant college system. QAS is proud that Iowa State selected GreenTouchscreen® to showcase the history, donor recognition and green features,” said Craig Engelbrecht, CMO of QAS who employs many ISU Alumni. “The GreenTouchscreen® kiosk will become a staple of the new Morrill Hall for years to come.”

Morrill Hall is the first example of sustainable building on the Iowa State Campus. This summer Iowa State University will apply for a United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification. Displayed on the GreenTouchscreen® kiosk is an interactive LEED® Checklist presenting information on every credit Morrill Hall will be applying for.

To view the Morrill GreenTouchscreen® live over the internet, please visit: http://morrill.isu.greentouchscreen.com.

American Canyon , CA – The new, cutting-edge eco-operational hotel, Gaia Napa Valley, is now open in American Canyon, California. Gaia Napa Valley is the first eco-operational hotel to be built from the ground up. To exemplify this message, the hotel uses a GreenTouchscreen® to educate visitors about the numerous green aspects of the facility.

Gaia’s GreenTouchscreen® educates and impresses guests by displaying the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) checklist for what will become the highest LEED® certification in the hospitality industry. Historical electricity, water and CO2 graphs compare this efficient facility to an average hotel to educate users of the energy saving benefits, and a system animation demonstrates how the hotel uses a photovoltaic array to help generate electricity. Multiple screens around the lobby and a channel on every hotel room television also display real time gauges monitoring the buildings CO2 emissions, electricity and water use.

This 133-room, four acre facility utilizes their GreenTouchscreen’s building directory to make way finding easy for visitors. Guests can view the floor plans or search for a specific room to find where they need to go. The kiosk’s easy to use navigation and art inspired animations create a user-friendly experience for people of all ages.

The recent grand opening attracted a lot of attention since Gaia Napa Valley is such an eco-friendly hotel. In attendance were over 400 people, including four different chamber of commerce groups and CBS news.

“Everyone was excited about the hotel and GreenTouchscreen® kiosk,” said Yuan-Sing Chang, of Atman Hospitality Group. “It seemed that everyone who walked through the door used the kiosk and were intrigued by the real-time gauges.”

To view the GAIA Napa Valley GreenTouchscreen® live over the internet, please visit: http://napavalley.gaia.greentouchscreen.com.