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Sustainability Team 1 - Recom Word Draft

This version was saved 13 years, 11 months ago View current version     Page history
Saved by Jeffrey
on April 30, 2010 at 11:24:18 pm
 

Ok team, here is the outline of the report. The actual .doc is highly formatted, so rather than posting for all to edit, I created this page and will copy and paste. (It took me a bit of time to figure out formatting and I know from experience that when it gets altered it is almost impossible to fix - you must start over. I will submit this draft in .doc to Dr. Staggers and will post on webcampus.) We do need to start writing, so feel free to pick one and go.

 

Richard - let me know how you want to include your info/findings. If you want, you can post here and I will write around it. Just let me/us know. I know it seems simplified for you at this point, but I think the rest of us are still struggling to understand. Also, how can I help/do the appendices and source info?

 

Also, any comments/thoughts/dissension are welcome...just let me know.


 

Letter of transmittal

 

 


 

 

Cover/Title Page

 

 


 

Executive Summary

 

 

 


 

Table of Contents

 

Introduction................................................................................................................................. 3

Background.................................................................................................................................. 3

Client Description....................................................................................................................... 3

The Problem................................................................................................................................. 3

Recommendation........................................................................................................................ 4

Research........................................................................................................................................ 4

Methodolgy or Methods and Findings                                                                                      4

 


 

Introduction

 

Global Cash Access, a service provider for the gaming industry, has a Las Vegas office composed of two main building sections. Like any office building, its office contains numerous fluorescent bulbs which are operated by only one control for an entire section. Despite the fact that large portions of the building are unoccupied during the evenings and sporadically throughout the day, these lights are very rarely turned off. These circumstances present an obvious problem of waste and inefficiency with Global Cash Access's power consumption.The purpose of this report is to present a series of directives designed to tackle this issue and to provide the client (Global Cash Access) with viable options to reduce their overall power consumption

 


  

Background

 

The current office layout, lighting plan, and the timing of employee hours are tremendously inefficient. As such, we have devised a proposal that includes several sustainable directives that aim to decrease daily power consumption. Most of the lighting is very rarely turned off, even though there are portions of the building unoccupied from 5 or 6 PM until roughly 7 to 9 AM on weekdays, and unoccupied through the entire weekend. Often, one person working late (say, until midnight) will result in the lights for an entire side of the building being lit. There are only two areas with people working in them 24/7, and one of these (the help desk, where Richard works) already has separate light controls. The other area, the call center, is a fairly large area (occupying about 1/2 to 2/3 of that section of the building). These issues present tremendous opportunities for cost savings that are not only financially enticing but are environmentally conscious.

 


 

Client Description

Global Cash Access (GCA) is the premier provider of cash access products for the gaming industry in the United States and the world. Established in the early 1970s, GCA  provides products and services to over 1,100 gaming establishments worldwide, including all of the largest gaming companies in the United States. GCA's headquaters are located in Las Vegas, NV, a suitable site for the industry that they serve (http://www.globalcashaccess.com/Contact.html). 

 

                                                                      

 


 

The Problem

The current office layout, lighting plan, and the timing of employee hours are tremendously inefficient. As such, we have devised a proposal that includes several sustainable directives that aim to decrease daily power consumption. Most of the lighting is very rarely turned off, even though there are portions of the building unoccupied from 5 or 6 PM until roughly 7 to 9 AM on weekdays, and unoccupied through the entire weekend. Often, one person working late (say, until midnight) will result in the lights for an entire side of the building being lit. There are only two areas with people working in them 24/7, and one of these (the help desk, where Richard works) already has separate light controls. The other area, the call center, is a fairly large area (occupying about 1/2 to 2/3 of that section of the building). These issues present tremendous opportunities for cost savings that are not only financially enticing but are environmentally conscious.

 

I HAVE BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM THE SAME…ARE THEY?

 


 

Recommendations

I think it is best to list in order of our recommendations, which I believe are:

 

1.    Rewiring to:

1.1   Add individual light switches

 

The current wiring arrangement causes all of the lights in one area to be turned on from only 1 switch. To mitigate excessive power consumption, zones have been create to divide up the current circuitry into more manageable areas.  For the North side office in particular, seven equally sized and lit areas would allow for maximum control over individual areas while maintaining sufficient lighting for working conditions. Zones 1 through 5 would each contain 10 lighting fixtures, while zones 6 and 7 would contain 8 lighting fixtures. Each fixture operates at 96 watts. For each of these zones, a switch would be installed in a relevant and accessible area on the wall. 

 

North Office Proposed Zones:

 

South Office Proposed Zones:

 

 

 

1.2    Add motion sensors

 

Motion sensors add an additional level of sensitivity in the efforts to reduce overall power consumption. In addition to the switches that are to be implemented for each of the zones, each of these will also be synchronized with a respective motion sensor. Outside of normal business hours, the motion sensors will take the place of individual initiative by ensuring that an unoccupied zones would remain off until an employee trips its sensor. Motion sensor will only be effective if used in conjunction with manually operated switched along with a company wide memorandum to inform employees of their importance. 


 

Research

Our research consisted of:

 

  • ·      On-site inspections
  • ·      Evaluation of office layout 
  • ·      Evaluation of wiring diagrams
  • ·      Internet searches

 


 

Methods and Findings

 

Hours of Operation

Richard conducted an informal survey to find out when people typically left for the day for each area / department. The survey was conducted by consulting with at least two people in each area and asking who was the earliest in and latest out on a regular basis. If available, those people would then be asked for their typical times in and out. The earliest-in and the latest-out times were used to generate the time frames below. In general, light will be needed in these departments / sections during all weekdays during these times.

 

South Side:

 

  • Call center: 24x7 (there is a large portion of the call center that isn't being used currently, which can essentially be dark 24x7)
  • Facilities: 8:30 AM - 5 PM
  • ATM (section by facilities): 8 AM - 6 PM
  • Compliance: 6 AM - 5 PM
  • HR: 7:30 AM - 6:30 PM
  • Booth OP / Misc: 7 AM - 7 PM
  • Purchasing / Misc: 7:30 AM - 6:30 PM
  • PC Support: 7 AM - 5:30 PM
  • ATM (section by north side; left side in image): 4 AM - 7 PM
  • Field Support Services: 7 AM - 6 PM

 

North Side

 

  • IT Admin: 7 AM - 6 PM
  • Billing: 4 AM - 7 PM
  • Sales / Relationship Mgmt: 8 AM - 6:30 PM
  • Finance: 7 AM - 6:30 PM
  • Legal: 7 AM - 7 PM

 

 

This data was used to determine the savings possible and to help map out the zones we are recommending. 

 

Current Fixtures

Richard obtained the current bulb type from the Facilities Manager. Currently GCA uses Philips 32-watt T8-type bulbs, with 3 tubes per fixture. T8 bulbs are among the most efficient types of fluorescent bulbs available and are recommended by energystar.gov at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=sb_guidebook.sb_guidebook_lighting.

 

Wiring Layout

Richard obtained the wiring blueprints for the lights from the Facilities Manager as well. Jeffrey was able to determine from them that rewiring the lights into zones should be feasible without requiring massive structural rewiring.

 

Current Costs

 

Between the north and south office layouts, there are approximately 168 light fixtures providing immediate lighting to the various departments of GCA, each operating at 96 watts each (3 light bulbs x 32 watts power rating per bulb). Assuming every light is on during normal work hours, that means the office consumes approximately 16,320 watts of power over an 8-hour work day

This is where we should include the cost of leaving the lights on all the time. Jeff put the following in      an email, but it should be spelled out just a bit more (i.e. how many fixtures x lights per fixture x wattage, etc.). I think a total per week would be best because during the weekends the lights are generally on, but under the new scheme they will generally be off except in the call center.

 

 

 

Jeff's numbers:

 

  • if every single light is on for the northside, the building uses 6528 watts. for an 8 hour work day, that's 52,224 Watt-hours (just hours x wattage), or 52.2 kiloWatt-hours.
  • NVEnergy charges 10.53 cents per kWatt hour used in commercial buildings --> in 1 day, it costs $5.49 / day to run the northside (52.2 x 0.1053).

 

 

Potential Savings

This is where we should include the cost of operating after the zones have been rewired -- i.e. how long will the lights be on in each zone, times the number of fixtures x lights per fixture x wattage per light. This should probably include a per-zone breakdown and then a total, then subtract that amount from the current costs. Maybe calculate per weekday and per weekend day, then add together. During weekends only call center lights will be on (we're not including the help desk because there are already separate light controls).

 

 


 

Conclusion

 

 


 

List of Sources

 

 


 

Appendices

 

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