Why would a parking garage be eligible for LEED certification when the goal is get rid of cars in cities?
It turns out that as much as 30% of the congestion in major cities is caused by cars circling and idling while they search for parking. Cities would have lots less cars driving around if they didn't have to look for spaces, leaving more room for public transport, walking, bicycling and just breathing better air.
The time consuming practice of circling city blocks or driving up and down garage ramps searching for open parking spaces frustrates drivers, wastes gas and contributes to global warming and deteriorating air quality. Parking lots and garages also takes up a lot of space - a Facebook page devoted to parking in Columbus, Ohio points out that 233 acres or 24% of the city's developable land is consumed by parking lots.
One solution is automated parking garages, which VLF Development LLC is about to pioneer in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. Its Green ParkTM Eco Garage will be the first LEED-Gold certified parking facility in the U.S. Its patented automated parking system will double or triple the number of cars that can be parked with a smaller footprint than traditional garages.
Although there's an on-site attendant for customer assistance, a robotic system is in charge of parking the cars. Because it's fully automated, there's no need to heat, cool or light the building interior, except in the welcoming ground level receiving area. Since cars aren't driven into parking spaces, there are no emissions - the automated system uses only 125 amps of electricity with a natural gas backup generator.
The system is monitored by video cameras from a centralized command center. Except for the driver, no human hands touch the car, which prevents vehicle damage, car break-ins and theft. Parking, retrieval and payment are all handled at street level in a secure receiving area. The entire parking and retrieval process takes about two minutes. And unlike metered street parking, drivers can leave their cars in the facility all day.
When it opens next year, VLF plans to introduce an electronic network infrastructure that integrates with smart-phone technology and other enhanced communications tools, enabling drivers to reserve spots ahead of time through their Green ParkTM reservation system.
Beyond greening their core service, the garage is constructed with recycled materials, uses efficient lighting and buys its energy from renewable energy sources. It also has a green roof which collects rainwater and reduces heat in the building.
Although LEED certification is new to parking garages, automation is being used in 40 countries in Europe, China and the US. There are about 400,000 automated parking spaces.
http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.feature/id/1826
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Launch of United States Green Parking Council
The United States Green Parking Council (USGPC), a nonprofit organization encouraging new, alternative parking practices, formally announced its nominated board of directors at a recent event on May 11th, during the International Parking Institute Conference and Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event marked the launch of the nonprofit’s mission to provide leadership and oversight for the green conversion of parking facilities to sustainable, environmentally responsible assets. The USGPC’s nominated board of directors is comprised of executives from a diverse set of businesses and organizations including:
• Kathy Burnett, Simon Property Group
• Laura Longsworth, Brookfield Properties
• Robin Dean, Macerich
• Watson Collins, Northeast Utilities
• Matt Cahill, Towne Park
• Pamela Brown, Standard Parking
• John Schmid, Propark America
• Kevin Shrier, The Parking Spot
• Alan Lazowski, LAZ Parking
• Dr. Greg Norman, Powder River Holdings
• Brendan Fox, The Law Offices of Jay Malcynsky
• Marc Alt, Marc Alt + Partners
• David Allen, University of Maryland College Park
The businesses represented on the USGPC’s Board of Directors share a commitment to raising awareness regarding the significance of green garage practices. “Through its Certified Green Garage rating system, the USGPC will encourage new, alternative parking practices and an imperative industry transformation,” says Marc Alt, a social innovation strategist, and one of USGPC’s newly appointed board nominees. “As an entrepreneur, I have had the opportunity to participate in a number of projects focusing on clean technology and sustainable design. The Certified Green Garage rating system marks the first nationwide effort to encourage parking garage owners to transition their assets into a strategic part of the new clean energy economy. This certification drastically reduces the parking industry’s carbon footprint through energy efficiency measures, green building innovations and retrofits. It also positions parking garages to stay competitive during the global transition to electric vehicles and other alternate forms of mobility.”
Certified Green Garage is a voluntary rating system for developing and retrofitting sustainable parking facilities. The Green Garage Certification process, in conjunction with the USPGC, provides standards for environmentally sustainable parking operations and services. Parking companies and facilities recognized for their utilization level of the rating system are permitted to display and use the organization’s registered service mark, indicating they have passed the accreditation review as determined by the USGPC.
At a USGPC scheduled corporation meeting on June 10th, nominees will be confirmed to serve on the board of directors for a one-year term beginning July 1st, 2010. Agenda items will include a discussion of a key USGPC objective; to extend the existing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to over ten-thousand charging units, in advance of demand. This will provide EV owners with an array of attractive parking destinations and reduce battery range anxiety. The USGPC plans to endorse and encourage free EV charging stations at garage properties nationwide in support of its “Charge Cars, Not People tm” initiative.
“The average consumer is bombarded with dozens of ads, billboards and commercials promoting green initiatives,” says Alt. “It can be difficult, at times, to gauge a company’s level of commitment to the environment. The Green Garage Certification will eliminate uncertainty for commuters seeking an environmentally conscientious parking garage.”
About USGPC:
The United States Green Parking Council (USGPC) is a nonprofit organization providing leadership and oversight for the green conversion of parking facilities to sustainable, environmentally responsible assets. The USGPC is dedicated to expanding green parking practices and environmental services through its Certified Green Garage rating system. The USGPC encourages new, alternative parking practices and exceptional industry transformation through creative thought and ingenuity.
• Kathy Burnett, Simon Property Group
• Laura Longsworth, Brookfield Properties
• Robin Dean, Macerich
• Watson Collins, Northeast Utilities
• Matt Cahill, Towne Park
• Pamela Brown, Standard Parking
• John Schmid, Propark America
• Kevin Shrier, The Parking Spot
• Alan Lazowski, LAZ Parking
• Dr. Greg Norman, Powder River Holdings
• Brendan Fox, The Law Offices of Jay Malcynsky
• Marc Alt, Marc Alt + Partners
• David Allen, University of Maryland College Park
The businesses represented on the USGPC’s Board of Directors share a commitment to raising awareness regarding the significance of green garage practices. “Through its Certified Green Garage rating system, the USGPC will encourage new, alternative parking practices and an imperative industry transformation,” says Marc Alt, a social innovation strategist, and one of USGPC’s newly appointed board nominees. “As an entrepreneur, I have had the opportunity to participate in a number of projects focusing on clean technology and sustainable design. The Certified Green Garage rating system marks the first nationwide effort to encourage parking garage owners to transition their assets into a strategic part of the new clean energy economy. This certification drastically reduces the parking industry’s carbon footprint through energy efficiency measures, green building innovations and retrofits. It also positions parking garages to stay competitive during the global transition to electric vehicles and other alternate forms of mobility.”
Certified Green Garage is a voluntary rating system for developing and retrofitting sustainable parking facilities. The Green Garage Certification process, in conjunction with the USPGC, provides standards for environmentally sustainable parking operations and services. Parking companies and facilities recognized for their utilization level of the rating system are permitted to display and use the organization’s registered service mark, indicating they have passed the accreditation review as determined by the USGPC.
At a USGPC scheduled corporation meeting on June 10th, nominees will be confirmed to serve on the board of directors for a one-year term beginning July 1st, 2010. Agenda items will include a discussion of a key USGPC objective; to extend the existing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to over ten-thousand charging units, in advance of demand. This will provide EV owners with an array of attractive parking destinations and reduce battery range anxiety. The USGPC plans to endorse and encourage free EV charging stations at garage properties nationwide in support of its “Charge Cars, Not People tm” initiative.
“The average consumer is bombarded with dozens of ads, billboards and commercials promoting green initiatives,” says Alt. “It can be difficult, at times, to gauge a company’s level of commitment to the environment. The Green Garage Certification will eliminate uncertainty for commuters seeking an environmentally conscientious parking garage.”
About USGPC:
The United States Green Parking Council (USGPC) is a nonprofit organization providing leadership and oversight for the green conversion of parking facilities to sustainable, environmentally responsible assets. The USGPC is dedicated to expanding green parking practices and environmental services through its Certified Green Garage rating system. The USGPC encourages new, alternative parking practices and exceptional industry transformation through creative thought and ingenuity.
Redbird LED Linear Lighting Products Receive Important ETL Certification
Redbird LED announces that Intertek has tested their products and awarded their LED linear lights the ETL Mark.
Atlanta, Georgia (June 28, 2010) – Redbird LED, an Atlanta, GA. firm that specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of energy efficient LED linear lighting products for industrial and commercial applications announced today that it has received the ETL Listing Mark for their products. The complete family of Cardinal™ brand linear lights, including a variety of lengths, color temperatures, and wattages are now certified to UL standards 1993, 1598, 1598(B), and 8750. These lights have an internal power supply and this listing confirms that the Cardinal™ lights are certified for retrofits of existing fluorescent light tubes. Because Cardinal™ linear lights use the same shape and form factor as fluorescent tubes, old fixtures can updated to LED by simply bypassing the ballast and installing Redbird LED linear lights.
The ETL Mark is an independent certification that Redbird LED products meet all national safety requirements. Moreover, the ETL Mark indicates that Redbird LED’s production facility conforms to tight production standards and will be continually validated with regularly scheduled inspections.
Intertek, the organization that provides the ETL Mark, is an internationally recognized testing laboratory recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to test products to the specifications of applicable product safety standards – such as those from
Underwriters Laboratories (UL™) and other testing organizations. With this ETL listing Redbird LED becomes one of the few U.S. based LED companies with products that are certified to UL standards 1993, 1598, 1598(B), and 8750.
“We are excited that our LED linear lighting products have successfully completed the ETL testing at Intertek,” said Jonathan Eppstein, President of Redbird LED. “Having this certification opens the doors to many new opportunities for our LED linear lighting products and provides an important differentiation between our LED linear products and those of our competitors. This is an important step in our growth to become a leading provider of value priced high performance LED lighting.”
About Redbird LED- Redbird LED Inc. is led by an experienced team of senior executives with strong backgrounds in operations, electrical, optical and mechanical engineering. The Redbird LED team includes licensed Professional Engineers (PEs), LEED accredited professionals, LC certified lighting designers, and an operations team with decades of experience in the design and operation of high volume, automated, electronic device manufacturing. Redbird LED is committed to providing its customers quality LED lighting products and systems for both new construction and retrofits of fluorescents, metal halide and incandescent systems.
In addition to manufacturing and selling LED lights and luminaires, Redbird LED provides lighting design services, lighting cost analysis, and has the ability to produce custom luminaires in their in-house fabrication facilities. For more information please call (678) 733-2473 or visit the website www.redbirdled.com. Redbird LED Inc. is located at 1202 Gail Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30319, in Dekalb County, metropolitan Atlanta.
Media Contact: John Davis, Panorama Press- (678) 391-9134.
Panorama Press is an Atlanta based online marketing communications firm specializing in public relations, web development, search engine optimization and lead generation strategies.
Atlanta, Georgia (June 28, 2010) – Redbird LED, an Atlanta, GA. firm that specializes in the design, manufacturing and distribution of energy efficient LED linear lighting products for industrial and commercial applications announced today that it has received the ETL Listing Mark for their products. The complete family of Cardinal™ brand linear lights, including a variety of lengths, color temperatures, and wattages are now certified to UL standards 1993, 1598, 1598(B), and 8750. These lights have an internal power supply and this listing confirms that the Cardinal™ lights are certified for retrofits of existing fluorescent light tubes. Because Cardinal™ linear lights use the same shape and form factor as fluorescent tubes, old fixtures can updated to LED by simply bypassing the ballast and installing Redbird LED linear lights.
The ETL Mark is an independent certification that Redbird LED products meet all national safety requirements. Moreover, the ETL Mark indicates that Redbird LED’s production facility conforms to tight production standards and will be continually validated with regularly scheduled inspections.
Intertek, the organization that provides the ETL Mark, is an internationally recognized testing laboratory recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to test products to the specifications of applicable product safety standards – such as those from
Underwriters Laboratories (UL™) and other testing organizations. With this ETL listing Redbird LED becomes one of the few U.S. based LED companies with products that are certified to UL standards 1993, 1598, 1598(B), and 8750.
“We are excited that our LED linear lighting products have successfully completed the ETL testing at Intertek,” said Jonathan Eppstein, President of Redbird LED. “Having this certification opens the doors to many new opportunities for our LED linear lighting products and provides an important differentiation between our LED linear products and those of our competitors. This is an important step in our growth to become a leading provider of value priced high performance LED lighting.”
About Redbird LED- Redbird LED Inc. is led by an experienced team of senior executives with strong backgrounds in operations, electrical, optical and mechanical engineering. The Redbird LED team includes licensed Professional Engineers (PEs), LEED accredited professionals, LC certified lighting designers, and an operations team with decades of experience in the design and operation of high volume, automated, electronic device manufacturing. Redbird LED is committed to providing its customers quality LED lighting products and systems for both new construction and retrofits of fluorescents, metal halide and incandescent systems.
In addition to manufacturing and selling LED lights and luminaires, Redbird LED provides lighting design services, lighting cost analysis, and has the ability to produce custom luminaires in their in-house fabrication facilities. For more information please call (678) 733-2473 or visit the website www.redbirdled.com. Redbird LED Inc. is located at 1202 Gail Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30319, in Dekalb County, metropolitan Atlanta.
Media Contact: John Davis, Panorama Press- (678) 391-9134.
Panorama Press is an Atlanta based online marketing communications firm specializing in public relations, web development, search engine optimization and lead generation strategies.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The Labor Department has cut energy consumption in its headquarters parking garage by 75 percent through a pilot project that's testing a state-of-the-art lighting system.
Labor has replaced a portion of its existing high-pressure sodium lighting system with 19 light-emitting diode (LED) lamps manufactured by Philips Wide-Lite of San Marcos, Texas. The LED lamps use 50 percent less energy than the older lights while operating at full power; Labor has achieved additional savings by using motion detectors to dim the lights when the parking garage is empty.
Labor collaborated with the Energy Department on the pilot project, which was scheduled to be unveiled at a news conference June 28.
Labor has replaced a portion of its existing high-pressure sodium lighting system with 19 light-emitting diode (LED) lamps manufactured by Philips Wide-Lite of San Marcos, Texas. The LED lamps use 50 percent less energy than the older lights while operating at full power; Labor has achieved additional savings by using motion detectors to dim the lights when the parking garage is empty.
Labor collaborated with the Energy Department on the pilot project, which was scheduled to be unveiled at a news conference June 28.
announced that it has completed an energy efficiency upgrade at the newly redeveloped Wonderland of the Americas project in San Antonio, Texas. The new energy efficient lighting installation is projected to save $150,000 per year, and will be paid for in 36 months under the Lime Energy Extended Payment Plan where monthly utility bill savings exceed the installment payments. "This project will generate positive cash flow of about $4,000 per month, plus the lower operating expenses, increasing the property value by about $2 million," according to Stanley Rosenberg, whose partnership purchased the property in 2009. The staff at Lime Energy worked closely with CPS Energy in San Antonio to maximize the available rebates to reduce the initial cost, and then utilized the Company's extended payment plan to create a positive cash flow for the owner. "Lime has been all over the rebate situation and has advised us accordingly, and now they are helping us determine our eligibility for a federal tax deduction related to their work," said Mr. Rosenberg.
Lime Energy has designed and installed new lighting for interior common areas and the parking lot, including several applications of the latest LED technology for maximum savings of energy and maintenance costs because of the extended fixture lifetime. Energy savings are projected to be more than 1.2 million kWh per year, which is the equivalent of taking 138 cars permanently off the road. In addition to the projected $150,000 savings annually, this level of energy savings provides the following emissions reductions each year:
Lime Energy has designed and installed new lighting for interior common areas and the parking lot, including several applications of the latest LED technology for maximum savings of energy and maintenance costs because of the extended fixture lifetime. Energy savings are projected to be more than 1.2 million kWh per year, which is the equivalent of taking 138 cars permanently off the road. In addition to the projected $150,000 savings annually, this level of energy savings provides the following emissions reductions each year:
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