Sears Distribution Center. Quasar Prismatic Acrylic Curb Mounted Unit Skylights

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1 2009 Sears Distribution Center Stockton, CA, U.S.A. Sears Distribution Center Quasar Prismatic Acrylic Curb Mounted Unit Skylights

2 Sears Build LEED Silver Distribution Center With Integrated Daylighting System Sears has been a US mainstay for decades and has, over that time, amassed 3,900+ stores throughout the United States and Canada. In order to keep current and efficient, a year long study was conducted looking at the efficiencies of their distribution centers. As such, in 2007, a 780,400 sq. ft. LEED Certified facility was requested to ProLogis, a leading global provider of distribution facilities. The location of this distribution center would be in Stockton, CA where the building would house mostly larger items such as washers, dryers and refrigerators. A reliable, low-maintenance and energy-efficient building was requested by Sears where Brian Willemot, Project Manager, Logistics Engineering for Sears stated their requirements was to provide the Sears direct delivery distribution network with major operating cost savings, substantially increase productivity levels, and move our market-leading merchandise close to its customers. ProLogis engaged nationwide architectural firm Ware Malcomb who then utilized unique architectural elements, including a suspended trellis canopy, bold entry articulation and consistent architectural treatment - paint, panel massing, clerestory windows - across the entire façade to bring a level of quality not typically seen in a large distribution center. When completed, it would be larger than 13 football fields so making sure the light was evenly spread and consistent throughout the racked building was going to be a task. A tailored layout of nearly 450 skylights was needed as well as an integrated lighting system in order to meet a minimum maintained lighting requirement of 30-footcandle all the while meeting California s Title 24 Energy Code.

3 Sears Wanted a State-of-the-Art Distribution Center With sunlight gone for the day, the occupants still needed to have maintained light levels of 30-footcandles, so Exposure Illumination Architects, Inc. were hired to design a lighting system which would help the distribution center become one of the most energy-efficient in the country. California s Title 24 Energy Code allows for a lighting power density of 0.6 W/ft2 inside commercial and industrial storage buildings and yet this lighting system works with an effective lighting power density of just 0.18 W/ft2. Exposure Illumination Architects favored highbay fluorescent lighting along with Kingspan Light + Air double domed skylights for maximum diffused light during the day and high energy savings during the dark hours. A skylight layout covering just 2% of the roof (which equates to roughly one skylight every 40 feet) is more than enough to meet the target light levels without requiring any electric lighting during the peak hours of operation. This skylight layout allows daylight to cover approximately 90% of the building s footprint. Jim Terry, Director, Commercial for Ware Malcomb, was cognizant of previous projects at Ware Malcomb and of the extensive daylighting designs which they had used which showed there was a low employee turnover and increased productivity. As had been noticed before through multiple studies showing the benefits of daylighting Jim notes, daylighting creates employee connection to the outside environment.

4 Low Employee Turnover and Increased Productivity. Brian concurs. Working in the Sears Stockton Distribution Center during the daytime hours is like working outside, he says. Light levels throughout the building are 40 fc or higher. In the non-daylight hours, the fluorescent lighting provides 30 fc with consistent light levels across all areas of the building. Each 40 foot section of electric lighting is controlled by its own integral occupancy sensor, so as the natural daylight levels begin to fall the control system detects this and restores power to the lighting circuits. Because of the integrated occupancy sensors the lights would remain off unless there was occupancy detected within the workspace. Because of this efficient daylight and lighting system, Sears is able to enjoy projected energy savings of 2.75 million kwh/year. This converted to an annual cost savings of about $399,000. Annual energy costs are projected at $0.21/ ft2 and the next highest energy-performing building in all of Sears warehouses is $0.34/ft2 per year the worst is $0.58/ft2 per year, so the return on investment for installing an effective daylight system with lighting controls paid dividends early into the building s lifespan. Daniel Spiro, President of Exposure Illumination Architects, Inc. summarized the project simply saying, more costs less.

5 2009 Contact For more information on the products used in this project, please