Going Green -- LEED©

The U. S. Green Building Council is getting more and more support for its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System. The nation’s largest landowner has now officially gone green. The GSA has mandated that all of its new buildings be constructed to meet a minimum LEED certification of Silver.

In order to achieve this level a new project must receive a minimum of 33 LEED points out of a possible 69 points. Many states, counties and cities are following the lead of the federal government.

“LEED certified buildings and sustainable design are not only a good thing for the environment but are good for the work force as well,” said Brad Scott, the GSA’s regional administrator. “The role of the federal government is sometimes to pump-prime a market, and in this instance it has been on the forefront of sustainable design.”

Robotic Parking garages are “green” products. They conserve fuel since no vehicles waste time and energy driving up and down long ramps in search of a parking space. This also significantly reduces emissions of harmful gases into our environment.

A review of LEED-NC Ver 2.2, Green Building Rating System for New Construction & Major Renovations indicates that a Robotic Parking System could receive at least 10 points and as many as 17. The most points for any one item: "Innovation in Design" could earn four points. Other areas with one point each are:

• Lighting
• Thermal Comfort
• Chemical & Pollutant
• Low Emitting Materials
• Air Quality
• Energy Consumption - Gas Saved
• No A/C (in garage, cars parking and leaving parking spaces)
• Optimize Energy Performance
• Atmosphere
• Light Reduction
• Maximize Open Space
• Preferred 5% Parking

• Shared Vehicle Storage
• Bike Storage on Pallets

Robotic Parking Systems ensure an environmentally clean parking facility in which exhaust is eliminated and energy is saved since no automobile engines are used to park – only electric motors. Below is an estimate for a 1,400 space robotic garage:

• An annual savings of 19,828 gallons of gasoline in the parking process
• Likewise, the quantity of toxic emissions eliminated are as follows:
  - 2,885 lbs of Hydrocarbons (HC) per year
  - 1,486 lbs of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) per year
  - 11.149 tons of Carbon Monoxide (CO) per year
  - 198 tons of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) per year

The above estimates are based on the following assumptions:

• Average total distance driven in conventional garage entering and leaving: 1 mile
• Average days garage used per year: 275 per year
• Hydrocarbons per mile: 3.3 gram per mile
• Carbon Monoxide per mile: 0.026 grams per mile
• Nitrogen Oxides: 1.7 grams per mile
• Carbon Dioxide: 1 pound per mile
• Gasoline: 0.05 gallons per mile

In conclusion, Robotic Parking garages, in addition to reducing U. S. energy consumption, have the potential to positively affect the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated to improve our quality of life.

Click here to find out how Robotic Parking Systems can help your next project "go green".

Click here for more information on LEED.

Michael Ruscigno Joins Robotic Parking
as Chief Development Officer

Please welcome Michael Ruscigno who has joined Robotic Parking Systems as our new Chief Development Officer. Mike is responsible for our "New Client Division" which includes sales, feasibility studies, garage tours, trade shows and more.

Mike began his sales career over 20 years ago in the competitive New York City market where he ranked in the top three of his company for six consecutive years.

He has held various management positions including General Manager, National Sales Manager, International Sales Manager and Business Development Manager for North and South America.

Mike has had a knack for building successful sales networks for high-tech start-up comapnies which are all very productive today.