FAIR LAWN, N.J. — CALMAC has announced the installation of its IceBank® thermal energy storage tanks at the California State Lottery Headquarters in Sacramento, Calif. The old, inefficient building was replaced by a new building, which now consists of retail, exhibition, and office space plus a net-zero multi-purpose pavilion. It is designed to not only be energy efficient, but also meet the requirements for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.

Sustainable features of this new facility include a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, thermal energy storage, daylight harvesting, radiant floor, and green roof areas. Interface Engineering worked with CALMAC and Trane, a brand of Ingersoll Rand, to upgrade the central utility plant, which produces cold water to feed all the buildings on the campus.

The thermal energy storage system and solar PV panels are also sized to classify the pavilion as a net zero energy building. This means the pavilion uses no more energy than is provided by its on-site renewable energy sources. At night, ice is made using energy from the grid. During the day, the solar panels produce energy, which offsets the night-time energy. Excess energy is utilized to offset energy consumption in the rest of the building. This use of distributed energy storage and solar energy enables the state to rent out the conference spaces in the pavilion to generate revenue while its use of day-time energy costs nothing.