FACILITIES PLANNING

The goals of green facilities planning are to realize energy savings, reduce construction pollution, and provide a healthy workplace. Effective facility planning takes place in three stages:

• Design energy efficiencies into the facility using best construction practices and high-density, flexible physical layer infrastructure

• Develop policies and programs that optimize energy use, minimize waste generation, and reduce consumption of non-renewable resources

• Maintain the facility by upgrading infrastructure elements and scaling network technologies over time to meet future business requirements and user demands

The PANDUIT Connected Building Solution (click to read white paper or listen to podcast) takes all of these considerations into account to achieve operational efficiencies over the life of the building while enabling greater occupant productivity and comfort. In essence, these solutions enable the convergence of a building’s energy, structural health, and information systems onto a single network for improved communication, control, and “green” performance. These improvements help differentiate buildings from the competition in a business culture where environmental stewardship is increasingly valued.

Next-generation building system infrastructures are converging onto open standard communications platforms for improved green performance.

Also, to put green values into action PANDUIT adheres to the ASHRAE 90.1:2004 standard for all future construction, and is basing our future world headquarters on the PANDUIT Connected Building Solution. PANDUIT will achieve LEED Gold certification this facility, and seeks LEED certification on all new facilities.

See the following videos: Panduit Green Initiative Video, Cisco video on Panduit WHQ Project

FACILITIES PLANNING & OPERATION:

Panduit facilities are designed and maintained with the most current and beneficial energy efficiency and sustainability techniques in mind. To this end, Panduit has adopted both ASHRAE 90.1 and LEED as its design standards for all applicable new construction and remodeling projects. Lighting and HVAC are two of the main areas that the Energy Team focuses on.

Lighting has been continuously upgrade in our facilities as lighting fixtures, lamps, ballasts & controls become more efficient for each application. This strategy can include but is not limited to the following: use of indirect lighting, daylight harvesting, shade control, occupancy sensing, dimmable/personal space control, and the use of whole building lighting management systems (LMS).

Annually, thermal scans of all facilities are performed to locate and eliminate areas of outside air infiltration. All facilities utilize full DDC control (via EMS – Energy Management Systems) of all HVACR equipment and Production Support Systems. Panduit Technicians are capable of modifying and writing their own control logic for these systems, and they interact with the EMS on a continuous basis. For example, Panduit has designed and implemented their own control logic for demand and dew point based ventilation control, and optimized the use of free outside air cooling based on economizer strategies.

Corporate temperature control set-point standards have been developed for all office and manufacturing areas, and these are automatically maintained by the EMS system. In addition, comfort levels and energy savings are enhanced both by the use of under-floor, VAV and VFD air distribution systems where applicable, and by the use of dynamically controlled set-points based on outside conditions (enthalpy) and demand-based occupancy sensing. Whenever possible, both dry and wet side economizers are utilized to obtain free or assisted cooling for these systems.

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For more information call 800-777-3300 or email cs@panduit.com.