101 University in Palo Alto, CA is a densely occupied 42,000 square foot modern class A office building with a variety of technology, social media, and financial companies.
The tenants have a wide range of energy needs and operating schedules. Stevens Development Company partnered with Carbon Lighthouse to reduce their energy use and generate an attractive financial return while making their building 100% Carbon Neutral and Energy Star Certified.
The project at 101 University resulted in a 12% reduction in energy use, first year utility savings of $13,000, and a lifetime utility savings of $244,000. The building achieved 100 % Carbon Neutral status and Energy Star Certification.
The Carbon Lighthouse team found that the building had advanced lighting and an efficient heat-pump HVAC system. There was also already a building management system to centrally control equipment set points and scheduling for all the spaces. The challenge for the Carbon Lighthouse team was to identify additional cost-effective savings while not compromising the comfort of tenants or any of the sensitive areas, such as server rooms.
Using our unique process for data collection and analysis, our team identified a number of opportunities: 1) condenser water pump was running when the heat pumps were scheduled to be off; 2) the cooling tower fan was cycling rather than on a VFD; 3) the garage fan was operating continuously; and 4) a number of maintenance issues. The cost effective measures that were implemented as a result of these findings included scheduling the circulation pump to turn off when not in use, installing a VDF on the cooling tower fan, demand control ventilation on the garage exhaust fan, minor lighting upgrades, and repairing non-functioning equipment. Additionally, an opportunity for a 10kW solar installation was identified and implemented. These upgrades brought the facility to 100% carbon neutral by saving 340,000 pounds of Carbon per year.