EPA Certifies Tower Companies' 1909 K St, 1828 L St, Tower Building Energy Star Third Year in a Row

ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Tower Companies announced today that 1909 K Street/The Millennium Building, 1828 L Street and Tower Building, have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) ENERGY STAR certification for 2011, for the third year in a row, which signifies that the buildings are performing in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency under strict EPA guidelines.

Some of the steps taken to improve efficiency included:

At The Tower Building, a 265,000 SF green office building completed in 2003 and the first new green building in the Washington, D.C. area, Tower recently replaced all garage lighting, which must be on 24/7, with more efficient lighting.  The owners realized an energy savings of nearly 35%, and the building received a score of 90.

Tower installed the first next generation production version of the Daikin McQuay® Magnitude™ frictionless centrifugal chiller at 1828 L Street, a 313,603 SF commercial office building built in 1968, which received a score of 79. 

1909 K Street, 236,000 SF office building known as The Millennium Building and D.C.'s first green building through a renovation completed in 1999; received a score of 77.

Tower's other improvements included use of comprehensive green leases, working with clients to create more energy efficient build outs, such as lighting and temperature control of spaces, installing more energy efficient motor control devices, allowing heating and cooling systems to run more efficiently, turning off unused equipment and lights; replacing inefficient lighting with Energy Star certified fixtures.

"The Tower Companies has a corporate-wide commitment to achieving energy efficiencies throughout our entire portfolio," said Jeffrey S. Abramson, Partner, "and we will continue to educate all of our stakeholders every year so we not only achieve, but surpass our goals, getting one step further in protecting our precious planet."

As of 2011, Tower has improved its Energy Star baseline of 67 with 8 facilities to 77.  The change from Baseline and Adjusted Percent Energy Use is  -7.8%, 14 facilities included.  

Furthermore, Tower has accepted the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International's 7-Point Challenge for building owners, managers and tenants to decrease energy consumption by 30 percent across portfolios by 2012, employ ENERGY STAR® metrics to benchmark energy performance and water usage, provide education to engineers, owners and operators, perform energy audits to implement low-risk and low-cost strategies, improve operations and building maintenance systems.

The Tower Companies is a closely held, award-winning real estate Development Company founded in 1947. It is EPA certified carbon-neutral and a member of EPA's ENERGY STAR and Green Power Partnership programs and, most recently, The Climate Registry. Tower's portfolio includes 4.5 million square feet of office buildings, office parks, 1,400 apartments, regional malls, eco-progressive residential communities, lifestyle centers, and hotels within the D.C. area. Of this total, 1.3 million square feet are USGBC LEED® certified, three of 11 LEED certified properties are Platinum.  Another three million square feet are under renovation to meet LEED certification. On Earth Day 2011, Tower introduced TowerGreen News, a series of news reports, highlighting Tower's green initiatives, such as their installation of nine Electric Vehicle Charging stations in six of their 11 LEED certified properties.  Over one third  of their employees are LEED Accredited Professionals or Green Associates.

"Improving the energy efficiency of our nation's buildings is critical to protecting our environment," said Jean Lupinacci, Chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial & Industrial Branch. "From the boiler room to the board room, organizations are leading the way by making their buildings more efficient and earning EPA's ENERGY STAR certification."

EPA's ENERGY STAR energy performance scale helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. A building that scores a 75 or higher on EPA's 1-100 scale may be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification. Commercial buildings that can earn the ENERGY STAR include offices, bank branches, data centers, financial centers, retail stores, courthouses, hospitals, hotels, K-12 schools, medical offices, supermarkets, dormitories, houses of worship, and warehouses.

EPA introduced ENERGY STAR in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products as well as new homes and commercial and industrial buildings that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved $18 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 34 million vehicles.

For more information about ENERGY STAR Certification for Commercial Buildings:
www.energystar.gov/labeledbuildings

For more information about The Tower Companies:
http://www.towercompanies.com

*To calculate greenhouse gas emissions, please visit
http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html

Contact:  Elizabeth Oliver-Farrow
[email protected]
Mobile:  202.494.1977/Direct

SOURCE The Tower Companies