City of Raleigh – Deborah Breisblatt – 2010

Goals

Breisblatt and Jentgen were hired as EDF Climate Corps Public Sector fellows at the City of Raleigh in North Carolina. Raleigh is the first city in the country to host EDF Climate Corps fellows. In 2008, Raleigh opened its Office of Sustainability to fund energy efficiency projects, create a green jobs training program and launch a greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy. The fellows worked with the Parks and Recreation Department to analyze the energy consumption in One Exchange Plaza, a 10-floor office building that could serve as a city model.

Solutions

Breisblatt and Jentgen started with a thorough baseline analysis of the energy usage and operations at One Exchange Plaza. They developed energy efficiency recommendations in lighting, HVAC and vending machine controls. Replacing the lighting in the building with LED lamps could result in energy cost savings of $60,000 per year, and pay for itself in about four years. The fellows also found an opportunity to replace old HVAC supply and return fans with ones that use variable frequency drives and provide efficient air flow.

Potential Impact

In total, if Breisblatt’s and Jentgen’s recommendations are implemented, Raleigh could save about 1.1 million kWh per year, a 40 percent reduction in the building’s energy usage. The annual energy cost savings could be over $81,000. Carbon emissions would be reduced by 624 tons each year.