Ferreira Construction/Live Data Systems was one of ten companies receiving awards at NJBIA’s 2007 Awards for Excellence Dinner held at the Pines Manor in Edison on October 16.
“It always gives us great pleasure to recognize the outstanding achievements of our member companies. Each of our winners has a wonderful story that deserves to be told,” said NJBIA President Philip Kirschner.
Amidst global concern about future energy shortages, Ferreira Construction offers some hope. Its New Jersey headquarters is the first commercial building in the United States that generates more electricity from a renewable energy source than it consumes, earning them the title of First Net Zero Electric Commercial Building in the U.S.
The Zero Energy Electric Commercial Building concept is something that the National Renewable Energy Lab says might become feasible by 2025. But Ferreira Construction has already successfully employed the techniques at its new 42,000-square-foot headquarters in Branchburg.
The first step the company took was to dramatically lower its energy consumption. Ferreira purchased ultra-efficient heating and cooling systems for its headquarters and maximized its efficiency by inventing and patenting a Web-based, computerized monitoring-and-control system, which it now provides to others as Live Data Systems. The system reduced electricity consumption to about 3,600 kilowatt hours (kwh) per month from the more than 16,000 kwh a building of that size typically would consume.
Next, the company installed a renewable energy source — a 223-kwh photovoltaic system that covers virtually the entire roof with solar panels. It also installed a solar hot water system that produces all of the building’s hot water needs.
The system is so efficient that during last summer’s 100-degree heat wave, Ferreira’s offices enjoyed indoor temperatures of 72 to 74 degrees while still selling surplus power back to the regional electricity grid each day.
Since 1984, NJBIA annually has honored a select group of its members with its Awards for Excellence. The Awards for Excellence winners demonstrate outstanding achievements in one of four categories: Job Creation, Outstanding Employer, Environmental Quality and Public Service. All 23,000 member companies in good standing are eligible to be nominated.
An independent panel of judges, who volunteer their time to conduct the judging, reviewed the nominations. This year’s judging panel included individuals from the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the NJBIA policy committees.
Mercadien P.C. Certified Public Accountants of Princeton verified the information supplied by the winning applicants.
With more than 23,000 members, NJBIA is the nation’s largest State-level employer association.
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