by Shane Henson — February 8, 2012—San Diego business owners seeking ways to make their companies more sustainable can cease their Google searches and head to San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) new Energy Innovation Center, a showcase facility where both businesses and residential customers throughout southern California can learn about energy efficiency, alternative fuel transportation, the Smart Grid, and clean generation.
The Energy Innovation Center offers an array of seminars on energy efficiency; classes in the food service demonstration kitchen; tours of the Smart Home full of energy-saving technology; information in the resource library, and guided tours of the water-wise walkway, which showcases drought-tolerant plants that save water and energy.
In December 2010, SDG&E began construction on an existing 27,000-square-foot building and focused on designing and constructing a facility that is designed to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s Platinum-level Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certificate, the USGBC’s highest level of certification for energy-efficient buildings. In order to meet the LEED Platinum certification, SDG&E was required to incorporate the latest sustainable design elements in the Center’s design.
Some of the sustainable elements of the Center, which business owners planning new construction can emulate, include:
- 85 percent of the original building’s materials were reused or recycled.
- The roof will have a rain water collection unit that stores water used for the Center’s irrigation system.
- The state-of-the-art heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system has sensors that shut off the A/C when the windows are open.
- The solar panels heat the Center’s water and help offset the building’s energy use by 34 percent.
- Most of the items seen in the Center are made from recycled materials, including the carpet, which is made from recycled tires.
- The roof will have a rain water collection unit that stores water used for the Center’s irrigation system.
