It’s like The Biggest Loser for commercial buildings. The EPA’s first national competition that encourages energy savings is pitting 14 buildings against one another, competing to “work off their waste” through energy-efficiency improvements. The building that sheds the most energy waste (based on a percentage) will be recognized as the winner in October 2010.
The buildings hail from Midtown Manhattan to the Colorado mountains. You can follow them on Twitter (www.twitter.com/EnergyStarBldgs/contestants), meet the contestants online (the buildings and the people who will be helping to make them greener), and watch videos about the competition. The 14 contenders:
1. JCPenney Store 1778, Orange, CA
2. Solon Family Health Center, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland
3. 522 Fifth Avenue, New York City
4. Sears, Glen Burnie, MD
5. Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia Beach, VA
6. Sheraton Austin Hotel, Austin, TX
7. Memorial Arts Building, Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta
8. 1525 Wilson Boulevard Building, Arlington, VA
9. Courtyard by Marriott San Diego Downtown, San Diego
10. Tucker Residence Hall at NC State University, Raleigh, NC
11. Morrison Residence Hall at UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
12. Crystal River Elementary School, Carbondale, CO
13. Maplewood Mall, St. Paul, MN
14. Van Holten Primary School, Bridgewater, NJ
"We’re excited to have been selected as one of only two commercial building contestants in the competition,” said Hines Senior Vice President George Lancaster. "This kind of fun-spirited competition is a great tool to build awareness among our building occupants so that we can partner to drive down energy consumption.”
Nearly 200 buildings applied to participate in the National Building Competition. The energy performance of each building will be judged from Sept. 1, 2009, to Aug. 31, 2010. The energy use of each building is being monitored with the EPA’s Portfolio Manager. Contestants will receive technical assistance from the EPA and energy fitness advice from celebrity trainer Bob Harper. Each building will participate in a mid-point “weigh-in” and post their results on the competition’s website.
