Delta Electronics' Americas Headquarters Becomes the First LEED Zero Energy-Certified Green Building in Fremont, CA

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Delta, a global provider of IoT-based smart green solutions, announced its Americas regional headquarters (HQs) has become the first green building in Fremont, CA, and second in the Silicon Valley Bay Area, to achieve the LEED Zero Energy certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The accolade, granted to green buildings that generate as much electricity as they consume, has been attained thanks to the further implementation of Delta's own solutions on this originally LEED Platinum facility. A new solar PV carport, supported by a 330kWh Delta energy storage system, now helps to increase the building's annual green electricity generation to over 1.4 million kWh. With 32 green buildings(1) enabled worldwide, Delta's solutions are nurturing sustainable cities.    

"Just as Fremont leads the way in clean technology, Delta Electronics continues to set the industry standard for building performance. The company's built-to-suit Americas HQ in Fremont previously laid claim to being one of the earliest private sector LEED Platinum facilities in California. Today, Delta Electronics sets another milestone as only the second facility in the entire Bay Area to achieve LEED Zero-Energy.", said Lily Mei, Mayor of Fremont. She added, "As one of the greenest cities in the nation, we're proud that Delta Electronics continues to showcase sustainability through thoughtful application of technology, including using its Fremont facility as a proving grounds for many of its own products while working through pandemic disruptions to invest even further in our community."

Kelvin Huang, President of Delta Electronics (Americas), said, "Fremont has been Delta's home in the Americas for over 30 years, so it is an honor for us to contribute to our community with the environmental and social benefits of the city's very first LEED Zero Energy green building. With its net-zero energy capabilities, our Americas HQs green building will contribute even further to Delta's RE100 initiative, which is a promise to power our worldwide operations with renewable electricity by 2030. By developing smart energy-saving solutions capable of fostering green buildings and sustainable cities, Delta demonstrates that its ESG-embedded business model can bolster mankind's environmental goals."

Aided with an energy conscious design that utilizes geographical advantages unique to Fremont while considering the productivity and needs of its operations, the Delta Americas HQs building is an example of what a total integrated solution can look like. The most recent upgrades made possible with Delta's own IoT-based Smart Green Solutions are:

The facility generates over 1.4 million kWh of renewable electricity through a 616kW rooftop solar PV system and a recently constructed 504kW bi-facial PV carport system, both supported by Delta's high-efficiency PV inverters.  That green energy output covers 100% of its consumption needs over a full calendar year.

The recent addition of a 330 kWh Delta energy storage system helps to optimize energy management in the facility.

A recent enhancement of Delta's data center cooling solution, featuring a dedicated economizer supported by our own DC brushless electronically commutated (EC) fans and variable frequency drives for HVAC applications, have contributed significantly in lowering the annual power usage effectiveness (PUE) of the building's data center from 1.5 originally to as low as 1.25.

Optimized energy management is also attained by the implementation of Delta's next-generation SCADA system and building control platform. The former is VTScada, the industry's most powerful SCADA system, developed by Canadian-based Trihedral, a Delta Group Company; the latter is the enteliWEB building control platform, developed by Canadian-based Delta Controls, also a Delta Group Company. These platforms integrate seamlessly with the existing building sub-systems, such as HVAC, LED lighting and other energy-intensive applications, to create set points, collect data and track trends, create reports, and manage alarms, remotely. With unlimited scalability, this solution grows with the facility as new solutions are integrated to ensure lower energy consumption.

(1)  Delta has created 32 green buildings worldwide since 2006 to promote the environmental, social and health benefits of green buildings. Several of these green buildings have been donated to academic institutions to inspire next generations to foster sustainable development.

Here are some of the original integrated solutions that made Delta Americas' HQs a LEED Platinum green building back in 2018, and that have certainly contributed to the new LEED Zero Energy certification:

HVAC

Host to one of the largest geothermal systems in Silicon Valley, Delta's unique location in the Bay Area takes advantage of the natural underground warm springs. With over 20 miles of horizontal piping at 15 and 30 feet depths, a Delta VFD circulates water in a closed-loop system to exchange heat for an HVAC system estimated to be 70% more efficient than a cooling tower.

92 miles of piping is embedded in the facility's floors and ceilings for radiant heating and cooling, providing stable and comfortable temperatures, efficiently. Working in collaboration with CBE Berkeley, this system has been a case study to determine optimal operations and controls for maximum energy efficiency.

Lighting

With LED lighting systems in the parking lot and around the office, Delta's lighting controls integrates with its building management system to ensure smooth operations at all hours. Taking advantage of the floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows, the open floor plan, and low-e windows, zones are created to minimize waste from excessive lighting. Light meters placed around the office ensure sufficient light-levels for safety and productivity.

Additional Green Features:

• (19) Delta Level II EV Chargers, free for employee-use
• Delta elevator regenerative drives
• Bioswale for natural filtration of rainwater and pollutants to the Baylands
• 140,000 gallon rainwater harvesting tank for landscaping and agriculture
• Native, drought-tolerant plants and trees
• 100% fresh air unit, improving IAQ