Michael Kanellos
Green Building – a Test Case Highlights the Pluses and Minuses July 28, 2008 at 11:20 AM
The new home of Other World Computing, a large computer dealer in Woodstock Illinois, is about as green as you can get.
The building, which will ultimately aim for LEED platinum certification, sports a geothermal heating and cooling system, a reflective roof and a system from Sunlight Direct that pumps sunlight from a reflector dish into the building with fiber optic tubes. The sunlight system, which becomes operational by October, will provide about 1/3 of the light for the outfit, with about 2/3s coming from high-end florescent bulbs, said CEO Lawrence O’Connor.
“In the warehouse, reuse of materials occurs where practical,” he wrote in an email after we spoke. “We invested in a commercial bailer which compacts recyclables into pallet sized bails that we are then able to actually get some resale value from. We started this kind of thing at a lower level in our old facility, but are working to pursue a zero waste status as we get worked into our new home.”
There are other nuances too. The ducting system, for conveying hot or cold air, was designed with precision to minimize the number of turns and kinks. The fewer turns, the less heat loss, he explains.
The downside? Building the new facility to platinum standards boosted the construction price by 35 percent. Some building owners have curbed the costs increases by going for lower levels of certification. Still, building green costs more. Overall, it should take about 15 to 17 years to achieve a return on investment when you look at the additional costs in terms of today’s energy prices.
Any regrets? No, says O’Connor, who is a firm believer in conserving resources. Besides, energy prices will likely climb in the next two decades which will shorten the time required for return on investment. There are indirect benefits too.
“I’d have expected a reasonable productivity gain even in a conventional building given the crowded in location we moved from – but there is definitely a clear indication that the natural light and extra environmental details we’ve provided to benefit our team is producing additional benefit back,” he said.
I can back him up on the productivity gains. The quality of light from sunlight systems are distinctly better than the light you get from florescent bulbs.
Maybe Apple, with its somewhat dismal record for sustainability, can learn a thing or two here.
Go back to the front page >>
