It’s not easy being green, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) discovered when it set out to build a new headquarters.
According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, the SFPUC had to scale back on dreams of making the building generate as much as 40 percent of its own power.
Still, the new $146.5 million building – officially unveiled by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee on Wednesday – offers many impressive eco features including wind turbines.
Along with a solar array, the turbines can generate up to 227,000 kilowatt hours per year or seven percent of the building’s energy needs, the city says.
In addition:
• A state-of-the-art raised flooring system incorporates the building’s data and ventilation infrastructure and reduces heating, cooling and ventilation energy costs by 51%.
• Maximizing daylight harvesting and minimizing artificial lighting saves electricity.
• Lighting and work station equipment shutoff automatically after-hours.
The building will also consume 60 percent less water than “similarly sized” buildings. How?
• One of the first buildings in the nation with treatment of gray and black water.
• An onsite “Living Machine” reclaims and treats all of the building’s wastewater to satisfy 100% of the demand for the building’s low-flow toilets and urinals.
• The Living Machine(r), technology by Living Machine Systems, L3C, treats 5,000 gallons of wastewater per day, and helps reduce per person water consumption from 12 gallons (norm) to 5 gallons.
• The building’s rainwater harvesting system can store up to 250,000 gallons of water per year for use by the exterior irrigations systems.
In addition, the city says, the building used a “green” concrete mixture that releases less carbon gasses.