Philadelphia’s Navy Yard Could Lead The Way In Energy Effeciency
The Philadelphia Navy Yard, built in 1942, is set to become a national model for energy efficiency. The building, which has been unoccupied for nearly two decades, recently became the new headquarters of the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub (EEB Hub). The EEB Hub was established in 2011 by the Department of Energy to develop the means and methods to reduce energy use in commercial buildings by 20 percent by 2020. The 38,000-square-foot Navy Yard Building 661, renamed the Center for Building Energy Science, will be retrofitted into a living laboratory to showcase energy saving technologies. The mission will be to help develop "scalable, repeatable, and cost-effective" systems that can be deployed into the real world. Renovations include: lighting systems, heating systems, and sensors embedded in the walls to monitor the building's energy performance. Three parts of the building will use different mechanical systems, which will be contained behind a single glass wall for visitors to view - sure to become a mecca for building owners and facilities managers.