Ferreira Construction Embraces Green Building
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May 21, 2008 • More than 1,200 solar panels sit atop its roof, and 9 miles of radiant-heat tubing run beneath its floors. That, and other energy-efficient design features, has made the 41,500-square-foot Ferreira Construction building in
Looking at building new corporate offices and a shop three years ago, Nelson Ferreira leant an ear to staff design engineers who argued in favor of using renewable energy in the new operations. “That was the easy part,” John Grabowski, Ferreira's public relations specialist said of approaching Ferreira with the idea. Having to admit that it would actually increase construction costs by 35 percent took some explaining.
But, the state was offering rebates, there were federal tax credits to be had, and, the design staff argued, if the company did it right, it could drop energy costs through solar electric and solar thermal power. Not only did the company surpass its 10-year payback goal, it raised expectations to a 5-year payback, and may even be below that by now, according to Grabowski.
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Ferreira Construction's headquarters has actually made the company money with its energy production.
“On weekends or holidays, when we might be closed down, the building is still generating electricity,” he said. “If we're not using that energy, we're pushing it out and other buildings in
Lights out for wasted energy
Ferreira's headquarters is a simple, pre-fab building made special by an ingenious architect. Extra money was set aside for access to the roof and a walkway on it, so that visitors and employees could see the solar panel grid. Designers purposely placed the HVAC system on the northern end of the roof to make sure it would not shade the solar panels. The panels themselves were laid flat to combat wind load.
The building, which houses a five-bay mechanics shop, also sports one of the largest applications of radiant heating beneath the floor. “We said as soon as we can we're going to switch over to a renewable resource,” said Grabowski. “We're now talking about developing deep-bore geothermal technology. We will be the largest application in the entire world of a commercial organization providing heat from radiant flooring • renewable energy.”
Another positive result from going green: It seems the whole staff has taken ownership of the company's efforts to conserve energy. Even Ferreira crew members who aren't in the new building often have embraced the environmental efforts the facility represents. “Here they come in, in a hard hat, work boots, dirty from driving heavy equipment, and they walk through the offices and turn out lights,” Grabowski said.
In the lobby hangs a flat screen monitor that displays in real time how much energy the building is producing and how much it is expending. With the constant monitoring, employees can see the actual spike in consumption when the elevator is in use • and decide to take the stairs instead. “People you would not expect to be on the forefront of social change are there now,” he said.
Conservation in the field
As part of its contract to commission the sustainability plan for the
“Our job is to look at that and say how will it work? How efficient will it be? What happens when it dies?” Once the facility has reached the end of its service life, “How do I now get it out and put in a new one?” Grabowski asks. “We're always thinking ‘What's next?'”
