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,i <br />NC Cooperative Extension <br />Team members have met with Orange County Cooperative Extension <br />Horticultural Agent Mark Danieley, to examine opportunities for landscaping to <br />provide shading of buildings to improve natural cooling. Other landscaping <br />modifications that would result in less annual grounds maintenance are also <br />being examined. These would have the benefit of reduced emissions from <br />gasoline powered equipment and less annual labor time for grounds <br />maintenance. A plan has been developed for the Court Street Annex building, <br />and a draft plan is currently under development for the Richard Whitted Human <br />Services Center with the assistance of the Orange County Master Gardener <br />program. <br />LED Lighting <br />In the wake of an announcement by the City of Raleigh and Cree, Inc. to install <br />exterior LED (light emitting diode) lighting, Team members conducted research into the <br />feasibility and cost effectiveness of LED lighting, especially for outdoor applications. As a small <br />first step to learn about LED lighting, two exterior LED flood lights were installed <br />on the Historic Courthouse. It is hoped that further details will be available within <br />the next few weeks. <br />NC Sustainable Energy Conference <br />A representative from the Conservation Team attended the 3rd and 4th annual NC Sustainable <br />Energy Conferences that present educational sessions and opportunities to <br />meet with vendors involved in energy conservation. <br />GreenNC Tradeshow <br />A team member attended the 3rd annual GreenNC tradeshow for the North <br />Carolina commercial building industry in August 2007. Information was obtained <br />regarding a number of green building and energy options. Team members have been in <br />communication with representatives from Advanced Green Technologies about <br />their thin film solar collection panels and will be meeting with representatives from <br />the Wilmington area in coming weeks to learn more about opportunities and <br />feasibility for County buildings. <br />Green Design Workshop <br />A team member also attended "Principles of Building Science" workshop - <br />October 2007 at NC State regarding green design. <br />NC GreenPower <br />The Board of County Commissioners has expressed interest in learning more <br />about NC GreenPower. <br />Infrastructure <br />Technical Assistance <br />A team member conducted research and provided input for the bid specifications <br />for the replacement windows at the Central Recreation building in order to ensure <br />that a suitable product was obtained for this facility. <br />Energy Use Calculations <br />The team has developed a tool for calculating energy use and costs for electrical <br />office products, both during normal operating hours and after hours. Use and <br />costs during normal business hours assist in calculating savings resulting from <br />product replacement (i.e., replacing T-12 fluorescent light tubes (34 watts per <br />tube) with T-8 tubes (32 watts per tube). Use and costs after hours are used to <br />