This daylighting strategy is estimated to reduce the building's energy load by 43,000 kilowatt hours annually and improves employee productivity by maximizing access to natural daylight. The building also has exterior and interior sidelights that allow sunlight to enter work spaces. Indirect fluorescent lighting with white ceiling provides greater reflection. Large operable windows eliminate need for artificial lighting on sunny days. The system also includes integrated occupancy and daylight sensors.
Sensors monitor daylight and occupancy to switch lights on and off as needed.
The 22,000 square-foot office portion of the building has no furnace. A continuous, closed loop of piping filled with water and food-grade antifreeze runs through the wells. The ground remains at a fairly constant temperature of about 40 degrees year-round. In the winter, the geo-exchange system extracts heat from the ground and transfers the energy to 18 heat pumps that heat the air up to 100 degrees. In the summer, heat is extracted from the building and sent back into the ground that acts as a heat sink.