WASHINGTON, DC. This morning, President Obama announced a $4 billion push for greater building efficiency through Energy Savings Performance Contracts, with former President Bill Clinton enlisted as partner. But what saves more energy than switching incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent ones? Turning the lights off when they’re not in use. Recognizing the importance of building occupant education and buy-in to realizing resource efficiencies, Washington, DC-based real estate firm, Greenebaum & Rose Associates recently implemented an innovative occupant awareness campaign as part of their LEED Gold Certification process at 888 First Street, NE – the Washington DC headquarters for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
As part of their LEED Certification process for 888 First Street, NE, Greenebaum and Rose brought together a team of small businesses to conduct a comprehensive energy audit, provide real-time energy monitoring capability and offer building occupant training to the tenants. Jacksonville, FL-based SkyeTec, Inc, conducted the energy audit where energy management professionals used diagnostic equipment and historical utility data to pinpoint resource usage patterns and savings opportunities. NJ-based Noveda Technologies installed an energy monitoring system to help stakeholders track their resource savings throughout the building in real time. Crucially, national green education provider CleanEdison was then brought in to conduct the education portion of the program so that building occupants could gain a thorough understanding of green building and retrofitting techniques and become champions of these initiatives both within their building and beyond as they begin to see the marked savings their efforts produce.
