SAN DIEGO, CA — The Ridgehaven Green Office Building for the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department is the first building ever to achieve the Energy Star performance designation from the EPA’s Energy Star Building Program. Ridgehaven received the Energy Star Label in February for scoring at the top 10% of energy performance savings in the office building category. The Energy Star Label indicates a mark of excellence in energy performance for this building that saves over 60% in energy consumption compared to the original building prior to renovation upgrades. This translates into about $80,000 in annual energy savings. Most of the energy savings can be attributed to the renovation design, which utilized high efficiency mechanical systems, energy saving lighting, and computerized controls.

In addition to the energy saving systems, the award-winning sustainable and economical renovation of the 73,000-square-foot Ridgehaven Green Office Building showcases environmentally friendly building materials, healthy indoor air quality, resource efficiency through reuse and recycling, and water conservation. Ridgehaven recently represented the United States as a “best practice” green building renovation at the World Green Building Challenge ‘98 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The project team consisted of Platt/Whitelaw Architects, Inc., Architect of Record; Lynn Froeschle, AIA, Architects, Environmental Consulting Architect; McParlane & Associates, Mechanical Engineers; Turpin & Rattan Engineering, Inc., Electrical Engineers; Gottfried Technology, Inc., Energy Efficiency Consultant; Flack + Kurtz Consulting Engineers, Energy Analysis; and Steve Taylor Engineering, Building Commissioning. In addition, the project partners were San Diego Gas & Electric, Project Facilitator; Electric Power Research Institute, Gold Partner; and Public Technology, Inc., Silver Partner.

The EPA noted that Ridgehaven with the Energy Star Building Label will serve as a model to other cities, in part, because the renovation upgrades incorporated off-the-shelf technologies and the City partnered with the local utility, San Diego Gas & Electric. In addition, Ridgehaven was renovated economically within the budgetary constraints of a public project demonstrating that green buildings can be developed cost-effectively and enhance both the built and natural environments.