How Office Owners Can Leverage Amenities to Cut Utility Costs

Water features are rising in popularity at office properties. These features double as a decorative and functional amenity and can actually help employees to distress. However, at a time when owners are looking to scale back on costs, water features are also serving as a way to curb the utility bill.

“Water features can help lower a building’s energy consumption by reducing the relative humidity within the interior space, which in turn reduces HVAC load,” J. Wickham Zimmerman, CEO of OTL, tells GlobeSt.com. “We accomplish this by adding a chiller system to the fountain equipment, allowing moisture from the air to condense onto and into the chilled water within the fountain. This decreases humidity and cools the surrounding area. Another method for dehumidifying a space is the use of liquid desiccant in a water feature, which absorbs moisture from the air and requires little energy to run.”

This technique works for indoor and outdoor fountains and features. “Owners and managers can also connect outdoor fountains to the building’s mechanical system by utilizing the water system as a heatsink for HVAC equipment and reducing the need for air conditioning,” says Zimmerman. “All of these features and processes can go a long way toward lowering utility bills at this critical time for office stakeholders.”

In addition to curbing utility costs, water features can also have environmental benefits. For example, water features us recycled water. “Water features use recycled water aided by the filtration and sanitation systems we use to keep the water clear and safe. These systems potentially reduce or eliminate the use of toxic chemicals,” says Zimmerman. “In fact, some water features utilize chemical-free, biological filtration systems that use natural bacteria to replicate processes that occur in nature. One such system, called “bog filtration,” allows us to create a “wetland” of plants whereby water moving through the roots removes nutrients naturally so that algae doesn’t grow.”

Sustainability, design and amenities have been targeted goals for office owners this cycle, but now with the market change, amenities that also reduce costs will certainly be an added benefit. “It’s clear that there are a multitude of ways that water features enhance an office building’s sustainability, which is important to so many tenants and investors in the office sector,” says Zimmerman.