Bringing waterside experiences to the District, The Wharf has become one of the hottest spots in town. Bars, restaurants, music venues, hotels, offices, and residences overlooking the water with views of ships cruising by and seagulls in the air have revealed a whole new feature of the nation’s capital.
But what many do not know about The Wharf is that it’s very energy efficient. LED lighting, energy-efficient heating equipment and water coolers, as well as appliances make the buildings and retailers that line the waterfront some of the most energy-efficient buildings in the city.
The $2.5 billion dollar neighborhood on 24 acres of land and 50 acres of water was developed PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette. The DCSEU worked with Sustainable Building Partners, which is an energy efficiency consulting group, to provide technical and financial assistance for the development, and the implementation of energy efficiency measures such as efficient HVAC, LED lighting, heating, water coolers, and appliances. The DCSEU also helped with meeting the LEED certification requirements to attain the LEED Silver certification.
The mammoth neighborhood, which took nearly four years to build, incorporates an investment of $5.4 million in energy efficiency. During the first year, the various energy efficiency measures installed are expected to result in $300,000 of energy cost savings. These are created through saving more than 2,400 MWh of electricity – that’s enough to power up to 240 average American homes for one year – and more than 74,000 therms of gas – every single year. Such a large reduction of The Wharf’s footprint will also benefit the environment: the measures will prevent the emission of almost 2,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year – that’s the equivalent of taking more than 428 passenger vehicles off the road for one year (saving 4.9 million vehicle miles).
In addition to the five major buildings, shops and restaurants at The Wharf also implemented energy efficiency measures, going through the DCSEU’s Business Energy Rebate Program, which offers rebates on various energy efficiency measures.
“The DCSEU is very proud to be able to provide guidance on energy efficiency implementation in support of this landmark project. The Wharf is the centerpiece of the renaissance of the South East Waterfront”, said Ted Trabue, Managing Director of the DCSEU.
Currently, the DCSEU is also assisting with energy efficiency implementation for the second phase of the development which is due to be completed by 2022, and will deliver 1.15 million square feet of retail, condos, apartments, restaurants, hotel, and a marina.
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business, restaurants, cooling, heating, led lighting, success story