Outdoor/Site Maintenance

Opportunities for implementing sustainability tactics move beyond the interiors and shell of the store. When it comes to site management, the retail facilities management professional is positioned to have influence over everything from storm water quantity control and heat island reduction efforts to pest management, erosion control and parking lot maintenance, among others.

While these areas are often overshadowed by energy efficiency and water conservation, site management tactics that improve and protect local habitat, waste infrastructure and the water table are becoming increasingly important sustainability topics.  

To help you with these emerging trends, PRSM is cataloging best practices and emerging codes around sustainable sites and providing resources to explore strategies that will help vendors align their services to and retailers understand areas of, sustainable leadership. 

Is it time to use my roof space to produce energy with solar photovoltaics (pv)?

What to consider:

Roof Condition
What is the condition of my roof?

  • Is it water tight?
  • How long will it last? (Want at least a 10 plus life expectancy)

Other Energy Efficient Options On The Roof
Have I evaluated/implemented energy efficient options on this roof?

  • Insulation on the roof - consider when doing overlay or re-roofing
  • Coatings or overlays that turn the roof white - a white roof will reflect the sun light and reduce the heat transfer into building. This will reduce the need for cooling the space thus reducing the amount of energy needed for the HVAC system.

Space 
Is there enough unshaded space on the roof? The amount of space necessary depends upon how much energy you want to produce the load

Positioning Of The Building
Is the building positioned with the proper orientation - unobstructed space facing south?

Energy Use And Price
What is the amount of energy use in the building and what are you paying?

  • Electricity - all
  • Hot Water - energy being used to heat water

Financial Incentives
What rebates are available, federal, state and local, for renewables, given building location?

Payback Requirements/Actuals
What is the payback period necessary for my company to consider this a wise investment?
Example: Does this project need to payback in the same amount of time as any other capital projects in my company - usually 3-5 years; or is there a desire to implement renewables to help the environment from a marketing perspective so a longer payback is acceptable?

Financing Options
What financing options are available and interesting to my company - this will affect the payback analysis:

  • Third party financing (power purchase agreement - PPA)
  • Utility will rent roof space and use energy from the system to feed into the grid
  • Lease option
  • Direct purchase option