Energy Saving Features Of Office Buildings

Listed below are a few of the features that you as a tenant will receive by leasing one of our office buildings.

High-performance reflective dual glazing –

Few buildings in the United States have glazing with the thermal qualities as this one. Both the shading coefficient and U factor are extremely low, reducing energy consumption.
 

High-efficiency lighting with motion detectors –

This building was built with a lighting density of 0.9 watts per square foot even though the code at the time allowed lighting to 1.5 watts per square foot. On July 1, 2000 the code reduced allowable lighting to 1.2 watts per square foot so Plaza del Rio is still more efficient than the current code by 25%. On June 1, 2001 the code finally began requiring motion detectors.
 

Novar building management system –

A system with the capabilities of your Novar controls is still not required by code. It allows remote monitoring of each zone and of the HVAC equipment for fine-tuning adjustments and start/stop times to minimize energy consumption. It also allows logging of data such as room temperatures, runtime hours, etc.
 

After-hours billing –

The Novar system in combination with the E-Mon meters allows very exact after-hours billings to tenants. A system with this sophistication is very rare and as far as we know Park View Plaza, Plaza del Rio, Village Courtyard West, and Village Courtyard East are the only buildings in the Fresno area with this ability. Tenant hours of operation correlate directly with energy consumption. The Novar system allows the tenant to determine how many zones to turn on with the override (as small as 750 square feet of space) so that energy use is minimized.
 

High-Efficiency Rooftop Cooling Units –

The cooling plant for each floor is a high EER cooling unit. The units include oversized condenser sections to increase the EER by approximately ten percent.
 

Economizer Controls –

Motorized return and outside air dampers modulate automatically to allow the use of outside air for free cooling when the temperature outside is cool enough. This feature reduces cooling energy consumption and extends compressor life.
 

Variable speed drives –

The supply and return blower motors in each rooftop cooling unit are premium grade (highest efficiency) and have variable speed drives which dramatically reduce fan energy during the year and makes low after-hours’ costs possible. Our technicians use the Novar system to monitor and adjust the maximum air volume allowed to each zone resulting in a significant reduction in total air volume in the building thus reducing fan energy notably.
 

Fan-Powered VAV boxes –

The installation of this type of variable air volume box (VAV) serving the perimeter zones allows heat from the lights that pass through slots in the light fixtures to be used to heat the perimeter saving considerable energy. In fact, most of the heating hours of the year the lights are the only source of heat.
 

Demand Ventilation –

Each rooftop unit is equipped with CO2 sensors that measure CO2 levels in the return air. The outside air dampers then modulate to reduce unnecessary outside air during periods when occupancy is low.

List of Awards (Energy Star®)

• Plaza del Rio – Awarded Energy Star in 2003
• Village Courtyard West – Awarded Energy Star in 2004