节省能源建筑竞赛

Office buildings can also achieve impressive energy savings. The tenants of a 12-story complex in Arlington, Virginia, managed to cut the building’s energy consumption by 28 percent as part of the EPA competition.

办公楼也能大幅度节省能源。维吉尼亚州阿灵顿一座12层办公楼的租户参加环保署的节能竞赛，把大楼的能源消耗降低了百分之28。

They did it with more efficient office lighting, an upgrade in heating and cooling systems and on-going computerized monitoring that allows building engineer Stan Hunt to know how efficiently energy is being used. "You can monitor all of your temperatures of your areas, as well as all the mechanical systems that support the areas. If somebody calls to say they are cold or they are hot you go in and look at the unit and see that servicing that area and make adjustments if necessary."

他们使用节能灯，更新空调系统，使用电脑监测，随时掌握能源使用效率。

Those measures helped shave $250,000 dollars from the building’s annual energy bills. Mike Williams, regional vice president for Glenborough, the real estate company that owns and leases the building, says updated building systems can only go so far. "The technology that we implemented was one thing, but a significant part of it was just changing the attitudes of people and how they viewed energy."

采取这些措施之后，这幢办公楼一年的电费节省了25万美元。办公楼的房东迈克·威廉姆说，节能的成功也依赖于租户的参与，“我们采用的技术是一面，但一个主要方面是改变人们的态度，改变他们对待能源的态度。”

The Arlington, Virginia office tower is used by government and commercial tenants, a supermarket and three levels of underground parking. The Aluminum Association is one of the companies leasing space in the tower.

阿灵顿这座办公楼的租户是政府和商业机构，以及一家超市和三层地下停车场。铝业协会是租户之一。

Its president Steve Larkin says the EPA’s energy challenge mirrored the way his employees already work and use energy at the office. "That means: turning off lights. That means turning off computers when we’re finished. That means closing the blinds to keep the sun out or opening the blinds on a cold day when we need the sun in."

协会主席史蒂夫·拉金说，环保署的节能竞赛跟他的雇员的节能做法一致，“这就是随手关灯，下班后关闭电脑，太阳直射时放下窗帘，天冷时拉起窗帘让阳光照进来。”

Low-cost solutions

Whether it’s an office building or a department store, a school or church, the EPA energy challenge showed that there’s always room for improvement, says Jennifer Amann with the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. "It really shows that there are always opportunities, lots of un-mined potential in our buildings. It’s not a project that you do once and you forget about. It is something that you do over time and you maintain it as part of your strategy."

美国能源效率经济协会的安曼说，环保署的节能竞赛显示，无论是办公楼还是商店，无论是学校还是教堂，都大有节能的余地。他说：“竞赛显示，总是有很多的机会节省能源。这不是一次性的工程，可以一劳永逸，而是需要反复做，让它称为你节能战略的一部分。”

A building strategy, Amann adds, that makes sense both for the pocket book and the planet.

安曼指出，一所楼房的节能战略既能省钱，也保护环境。