New Alternative Energy Practices for Modular Construction

Solar Canopy

Modular construction is generally regarded as a greener and more environmentally friendly way of building, due to its controlled manufacturing process. Companies looking to promote the general welfare of the environment often prefer modular construction due to the reduction of waste and reuse of materials. In order to help promote this way of thinking, Panel Built, Inc. has actively worked to implement greener amenities to allow these companies to take it a step further.

Upgrade to LED Lighting

There are three main ways companies can look to reduce the overall energy cost/consumption of their new and current buildings: lowering the amount of energy consumed overall, producing energy locally, and sharing already produced energy.

Panel Built, Inc.

Recently, Panel Built, Inc. has made a push to exclusively utilize LED in all of our building systems. When comparing LED to conventional light bulbs, LEDs will outperform most of the other commercially available lights. One of the biggest benefits the end customer will see is that LEDs have a much longer life-span than many other bulbs on the market, lasting up to 10 times longer than fluorescent lights. Additionally, they are one of the most efficient lighting types on the market. In large facilities, the energy reduction can be substantial.

Energy Conservation Plan

Even with all of the design and material thought put into a newly constructed modular building, the most a company can do to reduce energy consumption is to lay out a full energy conservation plan. These plans will set rules in place that outline when to turn off lights, accessories, and HVAC. Setting the thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature, turning off lights and heating while the building is unoccupied, etc. these are just some of the things that can be done to lower energy consumptions and costs. If consistently used over a long period of time with employee participation, companies can save a lot of money over the course of a year.

Green Energy

The other way that companies can increase their conservation and energy cost efforts is creating their energy locally. When companies are looking for the green alternative to power their company, they are looking are a couple of well-known options: solar power or wind power. Looking at wind power first, there are a couple of main issues that many companies will run into. First, the wind turbines needed to cover a company’s power consumption will take up a good amount of area, especially for large or quickly growing companies. Also, the company will need to be located in an area that has consistent and decently strong winds. And these turbine systems can sometimes be seen as unsightly and disturbing the landscape, although this aspect is strictly subjective.

So, why is solar often the more popular option?

If compared, the issues of local wind energy to that of local solar, it's visible why solar will often be the more popular choice. First, solar panels can take up a decent amount of area as well. However, unlike wind turbines, solar panels can be placed atop already existing structures in order to not take up any additional space. For instance, in a large manufacturing facility, the facility can take up acres and acres of land, but the roofing of the facility can be retrofitted with these panels. 

Source: Panel Built

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