1 post tagged “cisco”
How green is your school, office, or home?
Sponsored by One Million Acts of Green brought to you by Cisco.
Dude my building is so green. I work in the Cal/EPA building in Sacramento so we kind of have to be green as an example. Don't get me wrong - I love this building, but some of the green features are a bit wonky.
Here is what the website says (my notes in red).
"Green" Elements at the Cal/EPA Building
Cal/EPA Wins Award
In December 1999, California Construction Link magazine awarded the new Cal/EPA building "Best of 1999 Awards--Outstanding Engineering" for "innovation in air handling, window placement, and recycling, resulting in a 25-story office tower with significant energy savings over California’s stringent energy codes."
Cal/EPA's new home has many environmentally sensitive features. A few are listed below:
- Building design that maximizes daylight penetration through the optimal placement of windows, and by minimizing the number of hard wall offices close to the windows. (AKA - NO ONE GETS A GOOD WINDOW SEAT)
- Dual pane "Low E" exterior glass for energy conservation.
- Super high efficiency/low mercury lighting tubes, and perimeter light sensors that automatically dim the lights when the sun shines in brightly.
- Solar energy generation of up to 55,180 KWH by the 736 photovoltaic panels mounted on the low rise roof.
- Low-flow toilets. (THESE DO NOT FLUSH NUMBER 2 SO WELL...)
- Each floor has at least two mechanical rooms, which also function as "fan rooms" that serve only that floor, and can flush that floor with outside air, on command.
- Use of environmentally sensitive and resource efficient materials throughout.
- Provision of 25 electric vehicle charging stations on the roof of the city's Lot I parking garage (Cal/EPA is also pursuing solar panels for electrical generation in connection with these stations).
- Siting for the future placement of a 250 KW natural gas powered fuel cell.
- Use of zero-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints throughout the interior.
- Use of 52 percent recycled-content carpet tiles, with a "sticky-back" feature that does not require wet glue, and therefore significantly reduces the introduction of VOCs into the work place. (YEAH THESE ARE UGLY AS HECK)
- Special design of the dock area recycling center and recycling collection points on each floor to maximize recycling activities. (WE RECYCLE SO MUCH I DON'T EVEN HAVE A GARBAGE CAN)