The GSA interviewed over 6000 workers to measure the environmental conditions at 624 workstations, 43 workplaces in 22 separate buildings and published their results in March of 2009. When extrapolated across the entire GSA portfolio (354 million square feet in 8600 buildings across 2200 communities nationwide) they found that implementing these strategies would yield a significant 568.2 million KWh per year of energy savings. While the GSA portfolio is larger than most private portfolio’s this report provides a great starting point for all office owners to implement strategies that will yield greater energy efficiency.
The seven are as follows:
- Adjust workplace temperature for the summer months.
- Replace HVAC filters on schedule and with high-performance filters.
- Consolidate and reduce the number of printers and copiers.
- Replace CRT monitors with LCD monitors.
- Upgrade ambient and task lighting in the workplace.
- Improve access to daylight in the workplace.
- Upgrade windows for better energy performance.
These seven examples are relatively simple and straight forward but would provide a start towards sustainable office space in the private and public sectors. A few of these have little upfront costs to gain significant energy savings that would go a long way for work environments to be more comfortable, energy efficient and may lead to greater productivity by employees.
Please read the report at the following link and feel free to contact us with any questions:
http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/pbs/GSA_SevenStrategies_090327screen.pdf
