The Commerce Bank Center for Science Education, home of the EarthWays Center staff and offices, has once again earned the ENERGY STAR rating from the Environmental Protection Agency. This is the fifth year the Missouri Botanical Garden has received the award, which ranks the building within the top 10 percent of energy efficiency for comparable building types.
When the Commerce Bank Center for Science Education (CBEC), located at the corner of Shaw Ave. and Kingshighway was designed and constructed in 2002, strategic decisions were made to spend extra money to install energy-efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting systems and water saving plumbing. These investments paid off. CBEC is one of the least expensive buildings for the Garden to operate and maintain.
In 2010, the efficiency of the building was increased with the installation of a 25 Kilowatt photovoltaic solar panel system. The energy efficiency of CBEC also contributed to earning Silver level certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings: Operations + Maintenance a few years ago.
CBEC has been showcased as a great example of why and how it benefits building owners to make early investments in energy efficient systems so that in the long term, the institution pays less each year for utilities, supplies and labor associated with maintenance and operations.
Join us in celebrating the success we achieved with our building! And we encourage other building owners and planners to look into this great program to “Save energy. Save money. Fight climate change.” Click here to learn more.