PHOENIX—The Phoenix Convention Center, a LEED-Silver certified green building, recently completed several upgrades throughout its campus by converting outdated lighting to energy efficient LED light technology. This past year the Phoenix Convention Center participated in Arizona Public Service’s (APS) Solutions for Business energy rebate program and received more than $175,000 in rebates. The Phoenix Convention Center, a City of Phoenix facility, took full advantage of APS’s rebate program by converting to LED lighting in several areas of the campus including meeting rooms, loading docks, stairwells, food court, garages, production kitchens and its grand Atrium.
“Providing a positive guest experience and maximizing our sustainability efforts are among our top priorities,” said Phoenix Convention Center Director John Chan. “The recent conversion of our lighting fixtures to LED supports our focus on energy efficiency by extending the life cycle of equipment and minimizing the hours spent on maintenance.”
Chan added that the center participates in the City of Phoenix Public Works department’s initiative to increase its waste diversion rate by 40 percent by 2020. In addition to the LED conversion project, the Phoenix Convention Center participates in several other sustainability initiatives including hosting a solar generating power plant on its rooftop, which produces enough energy to power 12 to 14 homes annually.
“We encourage our customers to look at how they use energy and explore the many different options for becoming more energy efficient,” said David Werth, APS’s Manager of Energy Efficiency Programs. “The Phoenix Convention Center has done exactly that and, as a result, they’re saving energy and money. The APS and Phoenix Convention Center partnership is a victory for the local community.”
In 2008, the Phoenix Convention Center completed a $600M expansion, which tripled the size of the facility. The Center consistently ranks as one of the top convention centers in the United States. Since its expansion, the Phoenix Convention Center has welcomed more than 1.7M delegates with a direct spending impact of more than $2.4B. Over the last three years, the Center has successfully hosted fan events for Super Bowl XLIX, College Football Playoffs and the NCAA Final Four.
