Energy Independence at the Office and at Home - Building Priorities Briefing (Energy Priorities)

Energy independence comes in many forms. We look at a commercial office example and a residential example that demonstrate how solar helps owners to be self-sufficient in ways that match their values. The California Healthcare Foundation covered the roof of their newly renovated offices with solar panels. Going solar is consistent with their mission to improve the health of Californians. Borrego Solar co-founder Chris Anderson built a new home for himself and went off-grid. He wants to show Northeasterners that a home can be energy independent and comfortable at the same time. Renewable energy isn't the only green-building feature of these two projects. (podcast) (photos)

by Denis Du Bois
March 12, 2008

Podcast

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Music by Alexander Blu

Program notes

Energy independence comes in many sizes and forms. These two examples -- one commercial office, one residential -- exemplify how solar helps owners to be self-sufficient in ways that match their values.

Case study: California Healthcare Foundation, Oakland, CA.

The California Healthcare Foundation moved into their newly renovated offices in Oakland a few months ago, but first they decided to cover the roof of the existing building with solar panels. The renovation included several green-building features, even though CHCF isn't pursuing certification. Financial incentives played a part in making the solar more affordable. Denis Du Bois interviews Kim Galvin, who is responsible for facilities at CHCF, and Mike Hall, president of Borrego Solar.

The rooftop solar array at the California Healthcare Foundation's office building supplies all of their energy needs. (Photo courtesy CHCF)

California HealthCare Foundation web site

Borrego Solar web site

System:

540 Evergreen 190-watt solar modules
12 SMA 7kW inverters mounted on 2 new SMA Sunny towers
Standard calculated size is 102kW DC; PTC is 91.15 kW DC; max output is 87kW AC

One of Borrego's challenges was mounting the panels on a concrete roof covered by 18 inches of "concrete light," a material used to slant the roof for water run off. Even though they had to drill 18 inches down to the solid concrete to securely mount the modules, they still managed to install the 495 panels on the upper roof in just one day.

The remaining 45 modules were installed on a smaller roof that is outside the windows of the conference and board rooms. The owners wanted the panels to be visible.

Transcript
Denis: I’m talking with Kim Galvin who’s responsible for facilities at California Health Care Foundation. Kim, thanks for joining us.

Kim: Thank you.

Denis: Who is the California Health Care Foundation?

Kim: California Health Care Foundation is an independent philanthropy and we’re committed to improving the way health care is delivered and financed in California.

Denis: And tell me a little bit about the building that you just moved in to.

Kim: We occupy a four story building that was originally the Oakland Athletic Club and was later converted to an office building.

Denis: When did you move in, and why did you decide to move?

Kim: We’ve been here since September of last year. We were outgrowing our space, and so we were looking for a building to buy. We found this building at 1438 Webster Street. Most of it was empty, and the fourth floor that we currently occupy was just a shell. So we bought the building and we built out the fourth floor for our foundation offices.

Denis: What are some of the green building features there?

Kim: We have solar panels on our roof that will probably provide enough power for our suite, which is the fourth floor, and hopefully some other additional power for the building.

Denis: That’s a lot of power. As I understand it, you have 100 kilowatts of solar; 540 solar modules on your roof.

Kim: And they’re huge. They’re really big. I’ve not seen solar modules this big. We covered much of the roof as was possible. We would have liked to have done more, but we just didn’t have the real estate on top to put all the panels.

Denis: Wow. So what led you to consider solar power for this building?

Kim: There are really two reasons. One is we think it’s a good investment; we think it increases the value of the building. I think that’s probably 50 percent of the reason. I think the other 50 percent of the reason is we want to be socially responsible. We’re a foundation and we’re trying to, in our own work, be innovative in terms of ensuring Californian’s get the care that they need. We want to be innovative in terms of how we operate as an organization as well.

Denis: Can you see any of the solar panels from the offices?

Kim: I’m looking at the solar panels right now from my desk. The way the building is, is kind of odd. The roof of the building, of course I can’t see; but then there’s the fourth floor is set back a little bit, so it’s almost like a deck that goes around. So the part that faces Webster Street is where the solar panels are. So looking out my window I can see the solar panels lined up there.

Denis: How long do you think it will be before the system pays for itself?

Kim: We’re thinking 10-12 years.

3:57 Denis: So this is an existing building, you put solar panels on the roof. Did you do anything else in the way of green building?

Kim: Yes, we selected our architects because they really promoted sustainable design. We tried to minimize the use of materials that cause emissions of toxic substances. Just in our own day to day process we try to really encourage recycling and reducing waste by installing tap water purifiers instead of using bottled water, for example.

We use a lot of recycled products. We recycle all of the paper, cans and bottles that we use here in the office. We think that the working environment actually makes a more healthy and productive work force; so we have a lot of windows to bring in natural light. We feel that that helps to make our employees healthier and more productive; and that reflects our values as an organization.

We think that by reducing our dependence of fossil fuels by using this solar, many health care related costs related to fossil fuels, such as increases in asthma and other respiratory illnesses, are reduced as well. So in a very small way I think we’re doing our part in that as well.

Denis: Kim Galvin with the California Health Care Foundation, thank you very much for telling us about your building.

Kim: Thank you very much.

Update: International energy conferences

Denis is filing this month's Briefing from the Globe 2008 sustainability conference in Vancouver, BC Canada. He gives a quick update on what's happening on the international energy conference scene, including the WIREC conference last week, plus two upcoming conferences about green building.

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell opens the Globe 2008 Conference on Business and the Environment, in Vancouver. Approximately 10,000 people attended the conference.

Conference web links
Globe Conference on Business and the Environment
Washington International Renewable Energy Conference
ConnectivityWeek 2008
Green Intelligent Buildings

Third half: Chris Anderson's off-grid solar home in Hew Hampshire

Borrego Solar designs sustainable energy systems for its clients. When the company's co-founder Chris Anderson built a new home for himself, he went a lot farther than just installing solar power -- and learned a lot in the process.

Stephen Lacey of Renewable Energy World braved the Hew Hampshire cold to visit Anderson at his newly built off-grid house. Steven is the host of the "Inside Renewable Energy" podcast and a contributor to Energy Priorities.