Improving the efficiency of large institutional buildings has been a core part of Salas O'Brien's work and history since its founding in 1975. While others worked for the good of the environment in a variety of ways, we knew that we could have a dramatic impact through the quiet, behind-the-scenes work of making buildings operate more efficiently and reliably.

One recent project was our work on the Cantor Art Center and Green West Library at Stanford University, a school where we have a history of energy audits dating back to 1982. Although the recent audits were comprehensive in scope, we quickly drilled down to focus on the electric humidification, steam-to-steam humidification, and direct digital controls—including wireless zone sensing, economizers, and variable frequency drives on fans and pumps.

Our reviews uncovered the need for a variety of projects that would preserve the sensitive conents of the buildings while saving both energy and utility costs. As we completed these projects, we also commissioned, measured, and verified the results, resulting in incentives of more than $300,000 from the utility company and total verified savings of $520,000.

The end result was that Salas O'Brien's recommended projects paid for themselves in less than three years—a striking achievement that Stanford has come to expect from the Salas O'Brien team.

Want to learn more about our clean energy work?

Salas O'Brien is a leader in the field of clean energy design, and we'd love to share our expertise with you. Here's a quick summary of our approach and partnerships around the country.