A time comes so rarely in history (in case of any entity) when the present accomplishment surpasses the earlier ones and creates a new history therefore. The same can be said of the Rachel Carson Building located at 400 Market St. in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania who has been able to bag the exalted Energy Star rating of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. What’s more, through this it has attained the status of the first state-owned building in Pennsylvania to receive the national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection.
It has been learnt that the energy performance of the building has found its position among the top 25 percent of facilities across the United States of America and this reflects the state’s pledge to being a smart energy consumer. Speaking on this James P. Creedon, Department of General Services Secretary, told, “Just as many homeowners are doing, state government is making cost-effective improvements to public facilities as a way to conserve energy and lower our utility bills, while demonstrating our commitment to environmental stewardship.”
What will be the advantages of DGS therefore? According to the estimates of DGS, on account of the energy-saving improvements to the Rachel Carson Building it will save taxpayers nearly $8.6 million in utility and operational savings over the next 15 years.
It has to be said that the achievement is awe-inspiring but DGS has to adopt lots of initiatives to attain the coveted status of Energy Star rating. The first of this happened to be the alteration from incandescent to fluorescent lighting. There was the careful installation of computer software similar to programmable thermostats along with light sensors to monitor room occupancy, and window film to reflect solar heat during the summer while retaining heat during the winter.
On the other hand there was the replacement of steam heat with high-efficiency natural gas hot water boilers and also sealing with caulking of the building’s exterior.
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