by Rebecca Walker — September 6, 2010—The Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, N.C., and the Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge are the grand prize winners of the Siemens Industry Inc. Smartest Building in America Challenge.
The Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Rasmussen Building at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, were runners-up in the contest.
The challenge recognizes innovative approaches taken by facility managers to achieve energy efficiency at sites that use Siemens APOGEE or TALON building automation systems.
The two-grand prize winners each receive $25,000 in products and services from Siemens’ Building Technologies Division, or a $25,000 contribution to qualified charities of their choice. Runners-up each receive $15,000 in products and services, or a $15,000 contribution to qualified charities of their choice.
Here are brief descriptions of the winning buildings and what their operators did to merit recognition:
The Duke Energy Center is a LEED-Platinum certified structure under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards for core and shell, version 2.0. The 48-story, 1.5 million-square-foot office tower owned by Wells Fargo reduced energy use by 22 percent using the APOGEE system.
The LEED-Gold certified Iowa Central Community College Biotechnology and Health Science Building uses the TALON AX system to integrate six mechanical systems and operate equipment such as water to air heat pumps, pumping systems, water to water heat pumps, and air handling units.
Alaska’s Cold Climate Housing Research Center, which is seeking LEED-Platinum certification, uses the more than 1,200 sensors of its Siemens APOGEE system to withstand Alaska’s extreme climate and manage energy efficiency. The sensors at the center monitor rainwater, foundations, permafrost, HVAC, the building envelope and more.
The 40,000-square-foot Rasmussen Center for Community Advancement Professions at Grand View University was completed in 2008 and houses the departments of art, education, human services, criminal justice, political sciences, psychology and sociology. The building uses the TALON system to automatically operate VAV boxes for the center, raise and lower window shades based on time of day and interior room temperatures, and adjust lighting for the center’s art gallery and main conference room.
