GO GREEN

The following LEED (EBOM) Case Study will briefly discuss the LEED pre-requisites and credits 100 North Tampa is attempting to submit to the USGBC.  The LEED case study will be broken down into the 6 LEED categories.  Currently we are at the end of our performance period tying up loose ends before application submission.  The LEED (EBOM) process has been a huge success and saving the building money.

Sustainable Sites (SS)

SS Credit 2:  Bldg. Exterior & Hardscape Management Plan - All exterior products used at 100 North Tampa are considered environmentally friendly.  This benefits the environment and reduces harmful chemicals brought on site.

SS Credit 3:  Integrated Pest Management, Erosion Control & Landscape Management – No chemicals are used in pest control and landscaping products.  All products are environmentally friendly benefiting the outdoor environment and reduces harmful chemicals brought on site.

SS Credit 7:  Heat Island Reduction – Non-Roof -100 North Tampa has 14 floors of parking garage space within the buildings site totaling 1.2 spaces per 1,000 square feet.

Water Efficiency (WE)

WE pre-requisite 1:  Minimum Indoor Plumbing Fixture & Fitting Efficiency – 100 North Tampa retrofit toilets, faucets and shower heads with high-efficiency, low-flow products creating an estimated water savings of 1.5Million Gallons per Year saving $12,000/year in water costs!

WE Credit 1.1:  Whole Building Metering – 100 North Tampa has 3 meters which total the entire water usage allowing Management to track water usage patterns. Go Green!

WE Credit 1.2:  Water Performance Measurement – 100 North Tampa has 5 submeters to hone in on how much water each end use is using allowing to develop strategies on ways to reduce the water usage.  1 of our meters tracks the amount of condensate water we capture in our cooling tower that is re-used back into the cooling tower saving an estimate 1.6 Million Gallons/Year!

WE Credits 2.1-2.3:  Indoor Plumbing Fixture & Fitting Efficiency- 10-30% Reduction – 100 North Tampa saves 38% of water compared to the LEED (EBOM) Baseline!  The plumbing fixture & fitting retrofit is how we did this. Go Green.

WE Credits 3.1-3.3:  Water Efficient Landscape – 50-100% Reduction – 100 North Tampa shut down our irrigation system because our landscape consists of native and adaptive plants which are well establish.

WE Credit 4.1:  Cooling Tower Water Management - 100 North Tampa collects condensate water (saving estimate of 1.6 Million Gallons/Year), uses water softener (saving an estimated 1.3 Million Gallons/year) and a TRASAR 3D system to monitor the water’s conductivity for optimal conditions.

Go Green!  Let me help you LEED Certify your building.  Bryan Lauer, LEED AP.  813.349.8550

Other categories to Come…

Watch the Video

Example - Use for yourself and Download the spreadsheet here: http://www.productdose.com/article.php?article_id=1142

                                                      Incandescent               CFL               LED

life span (in hours)  …………. 1500      ………….   10,000   ….. 60,000

Watts                                                60                                14                   6

Cost                ………….             $1.345      ………..    $2.98   …..   $54.95

KWh used over 60K hrs       3600                    840                360

Electricity Cost    ………..      $821.72   …….   $191.73  …..  $82.17

         Savings                                  0                         $629.99        $739.55

Bulbs for 60k hours usage ………  40          ……….        6       ……     1         

Equivalent bulb expense            $53.80                 $17.88            $54.95

60k hr. lighting spend  ……… $875.52    ……   $209.61  …..  $137.12

In my opinion, LED lights are #1, CFL #2, Incandescent = Out of business.

Go Green and Save Money by switching to LED bulbs and benefiting financially from improved technology.  There are so many benefits from switching it’s a blessing.  Go Green!

LED (Light -Emitting Diode) is a light source discovered in the early 20th century by way of semiconducter materials.  There are many advantages using LED lights, such as:   Longer Life, Slow Failure, Energy Efficient (uses less energy), Toxicity, Size, Cool Light, Cycling, Shock Resistant, Color, Off/On Time,  and much more.  

Facts/Advantages

• LED lights can save anywhere from 30-50% in electricity usage.
• LEDs have an estimated 35,000-50,000 hours of useful, longer life, whereas fluorescent light bulbs have a useful life less than half of that!
• LED lights slowly burn out opposed to a sudden burn-out.
• LED bulbs emit more light per watt compared to incandescent lights.
• There is NO mercury in LED lights!
• LED lights can come in many sizes because they are made from circuit board.
• LED bulbs produce less heat compared to standard bulbs in most cases.
• Because of such a long life, LED lights are perfect for frequent on/off cycles, whereas fluorescent bulbs burn out much more frequently.
• As mentioned, LED bulbs are solid and therefore industrial and challenging to break, whereas LEDs competition is frail and simple to destroy.
• LEDs can change color easily and do not need other harmful substances like their competitiors do.
• LED lights can light up in microseconds.
• LED bulbs can be dimmed very easily.
• White LED lamps are beginning to make its way into cars.

LED lights are used for many different reasons such as:  

• Light bulbs;
• Large video display (like in Times Square, NYC);
• Grow lights;
• Strobe lights;
• Street lights;
• Exit signs;
• Traffic lights;
• Automobiles;
• Sterilization;
• and the most economical, Machine Vision Systems (i.e., barcode scanners)

There are, however, a few disadvantages with LED lights, such as:  Price, Temperature Dependency, Light Quality, Blue Hazard and Blue Pollution potential.

Facts/Disadvantages

• Currently LED lights are more expensive because of the low lumen output, power supplies and drive circuits required, HOWEVER, they last so much longer and save so much power and cost LED bulbs more than pays for themself.  An Example is in the post Go Green = Save Money Tip #4.
• High ambient temperatures could potentially lead to overheating the LED unit, which potentially causes device failure.
• Older White and Blue LED lights could potentially differ people’s perception of colors in objects.
• White and Blue lights are capable of surpassing the safety limits of lights.
• It is best NOT to purchase white and blue LED lights but BUY other LED lights or state of the art white and blue LED lights.

The majority of this information came from Wikepedia.  To learn more, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LED#Advantages_of_using_LEDs

Source Reduction, one of the best ways to Go Green & Save Money simultaneously.

Source Reduction= Not Buying the item.

Source reduction is the “method of reducing the amount of unnecessary material brought into a building.  Examples include purchasing products with less packaging and sustainable design.” (USGBC)

You can utilize Source Reduction for anything you consider purchasing.

Example 1- How many Starbucks junkies are there? Many people get their fix from Starbucks daily, spending anywhere from $3-7/day, for their special drink.  Stop going to Starbucks, or at least lessen your visits, you can save anywhere from $500 to $2,500 a year!  Other bi-products of this action are:  reducing your Carbon Footprint (reducing Global Warming), create less trash and leave those un-needed calories back at the coffee shop.

Example 2- Many people purchase 24 packs of water from the grocery store, let’s say once a month at $6.00/case.  Buying this item  is an expense to you, creates waste (packaging + empty bottles) and increases your carbon footprint.

You do not NEED water bottles, you can fill up a glass of water from your sink.  Water from your sink is safe and drinkable.

If you did not purchase this item you would save money, reduce waste (because you will not have any) and reduce your carbon footprint.  You can save $72/year if you stop purchasing water bottles.

Think of how much you can save by not purchasing items you don’t NEED.

How does one go green and save money at the same time?

Most don’t care about going green, however, if you can save money by going green then most will care (unless you are dumb and against saving the world).  

The following tips/strategies will help each individual save money and go green simultaneously!  

Tip #1-Only drive when absolutely necessary.

-Doing this will help you keep fuel in your car, reduce gas station visits, save massive amounts of money (over the long term) and help Go Green by reducing your carbon footprint (greenhouse gas)/Global Warming.

Example- If you bring your lunch to work opposed to driving somewhere for lunch, you may save 6 miles worth of driving.  Do this 4 times a week you save 24 miles. In 52 weeks you save 1,248 miles.  It may cost 0.40 cents per mile, that equals savings of $500/year! (that’s just lunch time).

Now think of other ways you can be more efficient with your driving. 

try to work from home (telecommute) at least 1 day/week, carpool with a neighbor or colleague, use public transportation, have your kids ride the bus, ride your bike to work (if safe), Go Green!!!

Hypermiling is the Green word of the year.  Hypermiling is “attempting to maximize gas mileage by making fuel-conserving adjustments to one’s car and one’s driving technique”, according to Wayne Gerdes, the person who coined the phrase. How do you receive the best milesage?  turn off your a/c and radio, do not accelerate fast, do not stop too quick, shut down at long lights, practice being conservative, anything you feel will help you save gas(money) and go green.

Tip #2- Turn your home A/C off (or at least down) during the day.

-Doing this will help you save, immensely, on your electricity bill, use less of the city’s power, and reduce your carbon footprint/greenhouse gases, which reduces Global Warming and helps you Go Green!

Example- If you turn your A/C off during the day (6 hours) you may save 200 watts of power per day.  If you pay $0.01/watt you will save $2.00/day.  If you do this 300 days/year you will save $600/year!

If you follow Tips 1 & 2 alone, you will save $1,100/year! so Go Green!