POWER June 2020 - 33

COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL GENERATION AWARD
1. The geothermal heating and cooling system
at the Delta Electronics (Americas) headquarters
building circulates 12,000 gallons of
water through 92 miles of pipes. Courtesy:
Delta Electronics (Americas)
deliver a building that looks like something
that would fit our mold, " Chao
said. " It was quite a challenge. It took a
joint effort between KSH and J.J. Pan to
come up with the design of the building. "
A Strong Foundation, From the
Ground Up
Mike Gazzano, the marketing manager
for Delta Electronics (Americas), told
POWER, " We literally designed this
building from the ground up, with the
geothermal system being one of the first
things. Getting the foundation done, the
bidirectional system, there are so many
systems and so many different technologies
running through this building. "
The Delta team noted the building
takes advantage of geographical advantages
in Fremont, which support " the
responsible production and consumption
of energy and water, bio-treatment-as
well as occupant awareness/education-
without sacrificing occupancy comfort,
or building resilience. " Some examples
include the natural warm springs, ideal
for a geothermal system, and a sunny and
expansive location, ideal for solar panels.
There also are disadvantages to the
site that have been overcome-limited
rainfall, leading to the rainwater harvesting
system; proximity to protected lands,
in this case adjacent wetlands, that led
to constructing bioswales for water
treatment, and new designs for the geothermal
system; and the location in a
high-risk earthquake area. The building is
built 20% stronger than what the state's
earthquake code requires.
The building also was put on higher
ground, due to its location in a 100-year
flood risk area. Recent additions to the
project include a high-efficiency uninterruptible
power supply (UPS), and a dedicated
air-side economizer, for the data
center; a solar carport; and expanded
sub-metering.
In addition to the designers, architects,
June 2020 |POWER
and general contractor, other companies
involved in the project include ACCO
Engineered Systems (HVAC); Sunbelt
Controls (controls); Morrow Meadows
(electrical); KDS Plumbing (plumbing);
Major Geothermal (geothermal); and
Rodda Electric (rooftop solar).
John Walter, the lead KSH architect
on the project, told POWER the biggest
difference compared to other projects
involving his company was in the building's
design. " There were so many different
mechanical systems that went into
this building, " Walter said. " We had 17,
18, 19 months of weekly meetings with
the engineers. Everyone had to come to
the table to collaborate on this project,
to incorporate all these different systems
going into the building. "
Walter continued: " It was everything
from the sequence of install, and the
way everything works together. It starts
with the geothermal loop, which basically
goes beneath half the site. It was
making sure the installation of the foundations
for the electric vehicle charging
canopy didn't
interfere with the geothermal
loop. There are thousands of
feet of tubing in our structural slab, and
it would be almost impossible to drill
through those slabs later without hitting
your radiant tubing. "
Community Involvement
The Delta campus has become a showcase
for clean energy in Silicon Valley.
Delta opens its facility as an interactive
and educational opportunity for local
high school students, learning about
Delta's energy-efficiency solutions, and
the importance of sustainability. The
company also has offered hands-on
workshops, geared toward those looking
to pursue careers in the environment
and engineering fields.
" Our building is a community impact
project, " Arthur Jen, Delta's project specialist
for Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR), told POWER. " We get the
community involved. We have a lot of
visitors, students from high schools and
universities, we do a lot of showroom
tours. We also have a CSR program,
which started in the U.S. last year. With
our 'Learn It Together, Do It Yourself (LIT
DIY)' program, we give students the opportunity
to learn from professionals,
and these are all free programs. "
Jen noted the building is, in effect, a
working laboratory. " We talk about energy
auditing, about market exposure,
and the Center for the Built Environment
(CBE) at [the University of Califorwww.powermag.com
POWER
POINTS
Winning Attributes
✔ Awareness: The Delta headquarters
utilizes green technologies, and is
designed to showcase them to the
public to bring awareness about
the importance of sustainability.
The building features an oversized
canopy-visibly clad in photovoltaic
panels-to showcase the energyharvesting
elements.
✔ Education: At the center of the
lobby is a large interactive screen,
providing visitors the latest data on
building performance. A pedestrian
path around the project site seeks
to educate through signage that
identifies the rainwater harvesting
tank, on-site bio-treatment, and
native plant species.
✔ Practice: The building's large
product showroom is a live and
walkable display of the company's
many energy-efficiency solutions.
As the Delta team told POWER, " The
project truly talks the talk and walks
the walk. "
nia, Berkeley] is using our building as a
research project [for master's and doctoral
students] to see how efficient it is,
and answer the question: 'How do we
increase occupancy comfort without increasing
energy load?' "
The Delta team said its building receives
visitors from the government,
business, and nonprofit sectors, with the
company's goal to offer the headquarters
as a prototype and model for green buildings
across the globe.
" Green buildings are never-really-
complete, " Chao said. " That is because
they require continuous maintenance
and improvements to ensure resilience.
That being said, construction of the Delta
Americas headquarters required an enormous
amount of dedication from the
project team, who was firmly committed
to meeting and exceeding all of Delta's
sustainability objectives. We hope this
project serves as a beacon of sustainable
design in Silicon Valley, California,
and the broader community, as we all
seek to build a greener future together. " ■
-Darrell Proctor is associate
editor for POWER.
33
http://www.powermag.com
POWER June 2020

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