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not being used. Very functional solution is to use energy-efficient fluorescent fixtures
like LED lamps with these occupancy sensors. Because of the instantaneous restrike
time of LED lamps, they can be turned on and off providing lighting on demand.
In contrast, a high pressure sodium lamp needs about 10 minutes to warm up to full
illumination and must cool for about 15 minutes before they will restrike, making it not
suitable for intermittent operation.
3. Recycling
Be it in the planning phase, construction phase or in day-to-day operations,
the trends of “recycling, reusing and repurposing” remain one of the most popular
in sustainable design. Even before construction, professionals see opportunities
for sustainability and significant costs savings in land use – or reuse. Instead of new
facilities, vacant buildings that are currently in abundance as a result of the difficult
economy should be redeveloped. Better yet is developing on land that has previously
been developed and/or contaminated. If building a new DC, reduce construction costs
by using precast concrete and steel with high-recycled content.
Once the DC is operational, recycling is now fairly common practice for today’s
DCs. Why not take it a step further? Use returnable plastic containers (RPCs) in internal
captive pools designed specifically for a particular operation, or external shared pools
with standardised designs that enable supply chain-wide efficiencies. RPC pools have
minimised operating costs with greater than 90 percent waste reduction.
4. Going for net-zero
A net-zero building is one that generates as much energy as it uses over a year,
thus “net”-ting zero energy requirements to the local power grid. The design of a net-
zero building as an iterative process where the building’s function and energy footprint
are evaluated to optimise performance. Once optimal building energy performance is
determined, a renewable energy strategy is formulated, adding to how some DCs vast
rooftops make them excellent locations for solar panels. For example, a net-zero facility
was designed for Somerset Tire Service (STS) in Bridgewater, N.J., deploying a roof-
mounted, 1.2 MW photovoltaic array that met the demands of the company’s entire
corporate campus with a less than five-year payback.
5. Smarter buildings
Buildings are not only getting greener; they’re getting smarter. It is now
best practice for new construction to have some form of smart building or energy
management systems that uses “submetering” to give building managers visibility into
equipment energy use and performance.
Submetering involves installing physical measuring devices onto machinery and
equipment to monitor usage of electricity, gas, water and other utilities. This data is
then sent to web-based building management software for analysis and to identify
opportunities for energy and cost savings.
It involves understanding energy loads and where they’re being used. If something
goes wrong with any piece of equipment anywhere in the building, these kinds of
systems will immediately give an alarm. An outside air damper could be stuck open