The dealerships are placed in a park like setting. This contrasts with almost all auto dealerships which are tightly situated on sites with a minimum of open green space. The difference can be felt even before entering the site.
The customer parking spaces and access lanes are extraordinarily large, making entry and egress comfortable and inviting, especially for those who are intimidated by typical public parking areas.
The landscape is watered by the surface irrigation canal system from our watershed rather than using well water from the aquifer. This also allows the use of a smaller pump thus minimizing electrical consumption.
The exterior lighting is high efficiency LED. This reduces electrical consumption by up to 80% as compared to standard metal halide systems commonly used for outside lighting. The fixtures are designed to minimize light scatter which is often referred to as light pollution.
The exterior lighting is controlled by a sophisticated system which uses an astronomical clock to eliminate the lights being on during daylight hours as the daylight hours change from season to season. This system also allows each individual light to be programmed for the exact amount of light needed at the various times of the night. The flexibility provided by this system keeps electrical consumption to the absolute minimum needed.
The exterior of the buildings is of durable concrete block. This block was specially prepared to eliminate the need for painting.
The building shell has been super-insulated to reduce the need for heating and air conditioning. This greatly minimizes the consumption of our natural gas and electrical resources.
All exterior windows are glazed with high efficiency glass. This glass is designed to minimize heat transfer from the sun to reduce the need for air conditioning in the summer. The glass also retains the interior heat in the winter. Two different types of high efficiency glass were used to maximize efficiency for the different sun exposures of the windows.
Entry vestibules are provided with large walk off surfaces. This helps keep the outside dirt and climate separated from the clean, conditioned interior environment.
The auxiliary detail building is designed to be used by both dealership facilities for all car cleaning functions. This allows for "dry" dealership service shops, thus eliminating tracking of grease and dirt on the shop floors and other parts of the dealerships.
Each of the 3 buildings is equipped with a solar electrical generation system which interconnects with the power company's grid. At 25,000 watts each, these systems provide a significant percentage of our total electrical needs. The buildings are provisioned to expand the generation capacity of the system once the power company increases the limit on the amount of electricity generation they allow to interconnect with their system.
In addition to the generation capability, the buildings are designed to minimize electrical consumption.
The air conditioner units are super high efficiency and are the first of their kind installed by the HVAC contractor.
Lighting is LED and efficient T5 fluorescent. Rooms with intermittent use have occupancy sensors to control lighting.
The air compressors are Kaeser screw type. These are very efficient compared to reciprocating types.
Clerestory windows are provided in the shop areas to provide natural light.
The highly efficient hydronic in-floor heating system allows a lower thermostat setting than traditional forced air types.Â
This is because the occupants have warm feet which makes them building feel warmer.
The use of waste oil for heating was researched, but it was found that the waste oil burners are inefficient and polluting. Therefore, waste oil is recycled and cleaner natural gas is used for heating.
The heating and cooling are in multiple zones which are controlled by a sophisticated system which minimizes electricity and gas consumption.
The restrooms are all equipped with high pressure air dryers which save on paper waste.
The car wash system and pressure washer use recycled water reducing well water consumption by over 90%.
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