The Siemens Building Technologies Division’s Beltsville, Md. branch office was recently awarded LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance certification by the USGBC.
The Beltsville facility, which also earned the ENERGY STAR Label for energy performance, implemented a range of energy efficiency, water conservation and sustainable operations measures as part of the certification process. As a result, the building is 27% more energy efficient than similar buildings, uses 21% less water, and produces nearly 600 fewer metric tons of CO2 emissions. The facility is not only more efficient with lower utility expenses, it also meets the rigorous operations and maintenance requirements of LEED—which means that over the life of the facility it will be less costly to operate. BD+C
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BIM school, green school: California's newest high-performance school
Nestled deep in the Napa Valley, the city of American Canyon is one of a number of new communities in Northern California that have experienced tremendous growth in the last five years. Located 42 miles northeast of San Francisco, American Canyon had a population of just over 9,000 in 2000; by 2008, that figure stood at 15,276, with 28% of the population under age 18.
