The Jack Evans Police Headquarters in Dallas, Texas, used 7,631 MWh of electricity and 14,000 therms of gas in 2004. For this 33,000 m² (360,000 ft²) building, this is 240 kWh/m² (76 kBtu/ft²). This is a low energy use building given that it operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, yearround. The peak electricity demand in July 2004 was 1283 kW, this is only 39 W/m² (3.6 W/ft²). The City of Dallas required a simple payback of 10 years, and the average payback for all green building measures was 9 years. With electricity costs doubling in the past three years, cost savings from just the efficient lighting design have gone from $80,000/yr to over $150,000/yr. The city also benefited from the addition of energy recovery to the air handlers, which cut 200 tons off the chiller load and saved over $100,000 in first costs. Low-energy buildings such as this one demonstrate the wisdom behind investing in energy efficiency; with evidence such as this, more are sure to follow.

Units: Dual