While offices do not traditionally use huge amounts of water, heating what we do use was looked at as an area for long-term savings when we built our new facilities in Heber City, Utah.  That was discussed in more detail in our blog post about the heating and cooling system.

Other ways we save on water consumption is by using high-tech assistance. For instance, all the faucets in the building are motion-sensored to minimize water wastage, and all of the toilets are low-flow units using just 1.5 gallons per flush.

 

Walls that Help Regulate the Temperature

Our FactorLoads headquarters has one of the most efficient heating and cooling systems available, but no system can work at its optimal levels if the building it not properly insulated.

That’s why our building uses insulated concrete forms (ICFs) for the walls. Basically, the ICFs are eight inches of concrete with an additional two inches of foam on either side of the concrete.

These highly efficient walls hold a temperature for many hours. In warm months, they trap most of the radiant heating from making its way into the building. The heat is retained long into the night, but by morning they have cooled. The walls hold the overnight coolness long into the day.

In winter, the retained heat in the wall helps save from heating the building at night. This simple process evens out temperature swings, thereby lessening the load on heating and cooling units year round.

Because the building features an open ceiling, no Fiberglas insulation could be used. And since the building’s walls are so efficient we had the contractors add more insulation to the roof to insure it would not be a weak link in the chain.  They added 3.5 inches of gravel/tar mix insulation on the roof which holds the warmth in winter and reflects heat away in summer.

Views of Utah’s beautiful Wasatch Mountains were important to our team, as was the use of energy efficient window technology to better enjoy that view. The building employs all highly-efficient double-paned glass that keeps the cold and heat out. The lobby has double sets of doors, helping even out the exchange of air between inside and outside.

 

 

Did you know that the FactorLoads offices are green – as in environmentally friendly?

 

Our headquarters building in Heber City is perhaps one of the most environmentally friendly office buildings in all of Utah. We had the 12,000 square foot space constructed in 2007 east of Provo. Our structure uses the latest technologies for heating and cooling, passive and active solar, motion-controlled lighting, natural materials and environmentally friendly landscaping. In fact, it exceeds what most builders would consider “green.”

 

To achieve our “green” status, we worked with architects from PGA&W and builders from New Star General Contractors. Our goal was to create useful office space that is also practical, cost effective, and comfortable. 

 

See other blog content for more specifics on our green office building.

 

When we set out to build one of the greenest buildings in all of Utah for our Insight Technology/FactorLoads headquarters, we wanted to make sure we would have little impact on our state’s natural resources. That includes our facility’s exterior and grounds, where we incorporated several important green elements.

 

First, we planted a row of Swedish Aspens along the building’s south side.  These attractive trees grow to become a perfect fence line that shades the building in the summer. When the leaves fall off in autumn, the southern exposure allows the heating warmth of the sun to heat the building for the cooler months of the year. They do not get too tall or too wide, which make maintenance easier as well.

 

Second, our facility has very little grass, which typically requires gas-powered motors to cut.  All of the plantings are watered through a drip system when needed. Now that the  lawn and plantings are nearly fully established, we need to use the drip system only rarely.

 

Third, we’ve installed a bike rack to encourage workers to ride to work rather than using gas-powered vehicles.