When the land under the old Orlando Utilities Commission’s (OUC) parking garage was necessary for the Department of Transportation’s expansion of State Road 408, we needed to build a new customer service and administration center. We also saw an opportunity to set the standard for sustainable, environmentally friendly buildings in Orlando. That’s why we made a companywide commitment to putting sustainable building ideas into practice.

While this new home is a major milestone for OUC, it is also a first for Central Florida. Designed to meet or exceed the requirements for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification, this new tower will have earned the title of “The Greenest Building in Downtown Orlando.”

Saving More Than Money

With the help of our design and construction partners, we developed a building plan that integrates dozens of conservation and eco-friendly features. In every stage, from site selection and design to construction and finishing, sustainability was our goal. While sustainability often comes with an initial investment, the green benefits of these features add up and the savings can be significant.

Compared to a similar building built to code, Reliable Plaza uses up to 28-percent less energy and 40-percent less water. Our investment in green features will pay for itself over the expected life of the building -- all while helping to protect our environment.

A Focus on Green

To minimize the impact on local lakes and other environmental concerns, the building site was selected to avoid wetlands, undeveloped lakeside and other LEED-prohibited areas. The building itself is positioned to mitigate the effect of heat gain from the sun.

Major conservation features include a 2,000-square-foot solar photovoltaic array, a solar hot water system, a 30,000-gallon rainwater collection cistern for irrigation, and high-efficiency windows to maximize light gain while eliminating heat.

Inside, the customer and employee spaces are also outfitted with energy- and water-saving elements. Daylight-sensitive lighting and individual lighting controls minimize energy waste; low-flow plumbing fixtures help conserve potable water; a raised flooring system provides better quality heating and cooling; and emission-free materials, such as paint and carpeting, make for a healthier work environment.

Green Education

One of the more innovative offerings at Reliable Plaza is our interactive conservation education center located on the first floor near customer service. With a live link to the building’s conservation systems, the center’s touchscreen gives customers real-time data on how Reliable Plaza uses -- and saves -- energy and water.

Customers will be able to track energy produced by the building’s solar array, water stored in the 30,000-gallon rainwater cistern and more. The center also can give customers information on LEED certification, sustainable building practices and conservation tips they can use at home.

All of this information will also be available through a live Web portal, letting teachers and OUC education experts access the data, animations and tips from any Internet-linked computer. This will serve as one cornerstone of OUC’s educational outreach program.

At the same time, OUC’s other conservation education offerings are growing. Free home energy audits by OUC conservation experts, rebate programs for home improvements, and online conservation tips continue to help customers.

New programs, including instructional and conservation Videos-on-Demand, which are available around the clock through Bright House Networks, and an expanded water-saving education program for area elementary and high schools, are under way.

Keeping Cool Saves Green

Since 1997, OUCooling, OUC’s district cooling solution, has provided developers in Central Florida with lower air-conditioning-related electric charges and fewer capital and operational costs.

With the development of Reliable Plaza, OUC took this one step further. Our cooling experts met with the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED team to promote the sustainability benefits to centralized district cooling systems.

The result? In 2008, the USGBC announced that builders now can earn LEED points by implementing district heating and cooling solutions like OUCooling. It’s just one more way OUC is providing innovative solutions that benefit not only the environment but also the bottom line.

Sidebar: Reliable Plaza: By the Numbers

1 Gold LEED-designed building in downtown Orlando
2 Solar thermal panels
3 Drive-through windows
5 Office levels
8 Cashier stations
17 Months of construction
18 Fuel-efficient parking spots
28 Percent less energy than code
32 kW of power from solar energy
40 Percent less water than code
300 Employees in the new building
12,000 Customers served each month
30,000 Gallons of water in the cistern
110,000 Square feet of space