Charlotte Firm Uses LED Lighting for LEED Certification

 U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan climbed onto the roof of Optima Engineering on Monday and touted her support for a bill that would make it easier for small businesses to get loans, allowing them to invest more in renewable energy.

The N.C. Democrat toured the company, where engineering officials pointed out LED lighting systems, roof-top solar panels and walls made from recyclable materials to show what a business can do to save energy.

The Charlotte-based company designs sustainable energy systems with a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy, and uses many of the concepts it advocates.

On its roof, in addition to solar panels, the building uses a thin film tube structure - which resembles a huge dish-drying rack - to make electricity. Slender black tubes use energy from direct sunlight and from light reflected off the white roof to generate power for the LED-lighted ceiling below.

Despite the money-saving potential in energy-efficient systems, Optima President Keith Pehl said it's hard to get companies on board because of the solutions' long-term nature - especially in an uncertain economy.

"Generally the products are self-funding," he said. "But people are so absorbed with upfront costs, you have to educate them."

Hagan said federal tax credits and deductions for businesses that use renewable energy could motivate more businesses to invest in energy-efficient measures. She also said that Congress should extend a provision that makes it easier for small businesses to get loans for such work.

Optima Engineering is the first company in Charlotte to earn a LEED Platinum certification for its office interiors, which include bamboo floors, solar-powered water heaters, light sensors and walls made from recycled hay. A flat-screen TV in the lobby shows the company's real-time carbon emissions.

More than two-thirds of the company's employees are LEED certified, which means they are trained and tested for their knowledge of energy-saving concepts.

In 2008, Optima helped Eastern Guilford High School reduce its water usage by 40 percent with a system that uses rainwater to flush the toilets.

The company also made the school's lighting, plumbing and air-conditioning systems more efficient.

The size and age play into how much energy the company can save in a specific building, but vice president Ron Almond said most of Optima's energy-saving systems pay for themselves in three to five years. Owners of old buildings especially can benefit from the money-saving nature of energy-efficiency because most have dated, wasteful lighting and heating systems.

All of Optima's concepts haven't panned out as planned. When the company moved to its 1927 South Tryon St. location, employees had to troubleshoot a few glitches.

"When we moved in, I would come up here on Sunday morning, and all the lights would be on or the air-conditioning wouldn't cut off at 5:30 like it was supposed to," Almond said. "You have to fix all the little things that are wrong."

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/15/1501368/company-touted-for-its-energy.html#ixzz0r2Phf5Kj