Whiterock Buidling won one of only eight awards to be bestowed on member businesses at this year’s 10 for Change Annual Awards held on February 22, 2012!

The award we received, is based on the savings achieved from 2010 to 2011, see the data below.

As part of our 2012 goals, we are striving to make Whiterock Building as environmentally friendly as possibly. Recycling & Composting are important practices toward this goal. I am proud to announce that we are introducing a building-wide composting program, and would like to invite you to help us get the new program off to a good start.

Each unit will receive free composting receptacles to collect materials your office. The custodial staff will collect the materials and put them in the new composting bin located on the west side of the building near the garbage dumpster.

With everyone’s participation, I am confident that we can do our part to help the city’s recycling efforts.

The Challenge
Creating outstanding office space means upgrades are always in order. Before the project started, the indoor lighting was inconsistent. Office spaces were too bright in some locations and too dim in others.

The Solution
Started in June 2011 and completed in two phases over three months, Whiterock Building implemented lighting changes.

• New direct/indirect T8 light fixtures replaced old light fixtures.
• All 65w incandescent, recessed cans were replaced with CREE LR6 LED fixtures
• All 65w incandescent track heads were converted with socket/lock-its and Par 30 CFL Flood bulbs.
• Emergency exit signs were replaced with LED exit signs
• A handful of Halogen flood lamps were replaced with LED flood lamps.
• In total, the building contained approximately 102 light fixtures before the renovations. Improved lighting efficiency resulted in a reduction of fixtures to 80.

The Outcome
The building-wide efficient lighting upgrade has made a big impact on operations at Whiterock Building. The building is brighter overall, giving tenants better visibility while they are operating computers. In addition, the new lights don’t produce as much heat as the older lights, so the cooling system doesn’t have to work overtime to keep temperatures from climbing.

The Savings

• Lighting upgrades resulted in an annual energy savings of 25,815.6 kWh, which is 16.23% of your overall annual energy use and 25.68% of your annual electricity use.
• Total project cost was $14,973
• Rebates for the projects were $6,385
• Resulting in a total out of pocket cost of $8589
• At current energy costs, the annual energy cost savings are estimated at $2452.  This results in a simple project payback of approximately 3.5 years.
• We also saved nearly 50,000 pounds of CO2.

Ron Porter Lifetime Achievement Award: Peter Heinz, of PEH Architects
Rising Star Award: Edwin Zoe, of Zoe Ma Ma
Outstanding Property Owner: Stephen Sparn, of Stephen Sparn Architects
Outstanding Downtown Community Service: Kathy Beeck and Robin Beeck, of the Boulder International Film Festival
Business of the Year: The Camera

Special thanks to our Keynote Speaker: Brad Feld, Co-Founder of the Foundry Group for his talk on How to Build and Sustain an Entrepreneurial Community.