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Case Study |
Plaza Apartments
Introduction
The Plaza Apartments is a 106-unit affordable
housing apartment complex developed by the San
Francisco Redevelopment Agency’s Public Initiatives
Development Corporation, which was formed as part
of the Green Communities™ initiative. The nine-story
building was designed by Leddy, Maytum, Stacy
Architects and Paulett Taggart. In addition to the
apartments, the building has a reception area, offices,
kitchen, community room, courtyard, and retail
space, as well as on-site support services for residents.
The units were made available to low-income
individuals, most of whom were formerly homeless.
The project was part of Mayor Gavin Newsom’s “10
Year Plan to End Homelessness” implemented by the
San Francisco Department of Public Health, and is the
first San Francisco affordable housing built to the
standards of the Green Communities™ criteria.
Goals
In an effort to qualify for the Green Communities™
designation, the development team decided to incorporate
solar electricity into the building
design. They hoped to invest in a system that would produce
a projected 31 kW of peak power
with an expected pay back of 7-10 years.
Project
Sun Light and Power (SLP) worked closely with the general
contractor as well as with the
electrical and structural engineers and the electrician throughout
the various stages of the
project, especially the design phase. In order to ensure
a smooth installation, SLP provided Gantt
construction timetables and project management services from
the project’s inception to
completion. As part of their job, SLP facilitated all of
the inspection coordination and rebate
paperwork for the client and set up a web-based data acquisition
system (DAS) so that the client
can monitor system performance over the years. SLP’s
installation included:
• The design and engineering of a PV system utilizing
168 Sharp 185 Watt modules
• One TE inverter to convert DC power created by the
system to usable AC power
Results
Plaza Apartments has generated 20,000 kW h of electricity
as of March of 2007. The system provides a significant portion
of its electrical needs and has offset the release of 24,796
lbs of Carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to
the achievement of the client’s green goals.
Sun Light and Power Co.
1035 Folger Avenue, Berkeley, CA
www.sunlightandpower.com
(800) 233-4786
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