The SunTrust Center building at 919 E. Main St. is getting greener.
Local contractor ColonialWebb will replace the skyscraper’s outdated boilers with a tankless hot water and heating system called SmartPlate.
The system will cost $200,000 to $400,000 but will reduce natural gas consumption by 30 percent, paying for itself in less than six years, according to Ray Battani, a manager for ColonialWebb.
“Traditionally you would have separate systems for heating the air and providing hot water,” Battani said.
“This is a combination system that is doing both at the same time.”
Unlike the original boilers, the SmartPlate system will heat water on demand.
The 26-story building was built in 1983 and houses the Mid-Atlantic headquarters for SunTrust, along with other office tenants.
Headquartered in Richmond, Colonial Webb is an electrical and mechanical contractor with 1,300 employees with additional offices in the Carolinas and Washington.
Recently the company formed a Green Solutions team to market and sell energy efficient systems.
“With the green movement, we are seeing a lot more customers and people asking about efficient systems and being a lot more concerned about the environment,” Battani said.
Battani said the company’s green team consists of engineers who audit buildings and try to find areas where the owners could benefit from upgrades.
He said the deal with Parameter Realty Partners, the Miami-based firm that owns the building, was a product of that outreach and that they are one of the company’s first customers for the new technology.
Battani said he hears from building owners that are facing pressure from tenants to be environmentally friendly.
“They ask property mangers if we are going green or are we saving things,” Battani said.
He said the demand for more energy efficient systems is also on the rise because federal cap-and-trade legislation is poised to raise utility rates.
“Downtown is loaded with older facilities that have mechanical systems that haven’t been replaced since the ’70s or ’80s,” said Battani of the potential for the new heating system.
The system isn’t the only green improvement made to the downtown building. In addition to other efficiency tweaks being done by Colonial Webb, the previous owners installed an 11,000-square-foot “green roof” to reduce runoff and improve insulation.
Al Harris covers green business for BizSense. Please send news tips to Al@richmondbizsense.com.
