| You don't have to wait until Guinness comes out in September for larger-than-life stats: 360 State Street in New Haven, Conn., a 700k SF, 500-unit apartment complex, recently installed the biggest fuel cell ever to operate in a residential building. |
| The 400 KW fuel cell provides highly efficient, combustion-free, renewable power that will meet nearly 100% of the building's electric needs, as well as providing thermal energy for space, water, and swimming pool heating, Bruce Becker of architect/developer Becker+Becker tells us. The $3M technology will cut energy bills by 80% and can have payback in as little as five years with grants and state support (one from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund covered nearly half the price of 360 State's energy cell). |
| Even though the fuel cell sounds gigantic, it's not all that intrusive— only about the size of a truck, Bruce says (and you can get one half that size). The technology's justifiable if you have more than 200 units in your building, he adds. And the installation will serve as a model for Becker+Becker's other developments. Next month, it plans to put another 400 KW fuel cell in the 500-rental unit Octagon Building on Roosevelt Island, and will explore fuel cell installation for a future project in Journal Square, Jersey City. Fun fact: not only does 360 State get the largest fuel cell credit, but it's the first certified LEED Platinum Plan to be recognized by the USGBC Pilot Neighborhood Development Program for exemplifying the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green design, he says. |
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