ENERGY STAR Labeled Building Profile

2 Houston Center
909 Fannin
Houston, TX 77010
Map It!

2 Houston Center, a 40-story, 1.4 million gross square foot building was opened in 1974 as the first building in the Houston Center complex developed by Texas Eastern, designed by William A. Pereira, and engineered by I. A. Namin and Associates. Houston Center was promoted as being a city within the City of Houston, even obtaining a unique zip code for the complex. The building received high praise for its architectural design and innovations. Built when energy was abundant and cheap, no cost was spared in obtaining high quality mechanical systems. Those systems were manufactured with an emphasis on reliability and a lesser regard for overall energy use. At the turn of the century, it was obvious that the owners could no longer justify the building's high energy consumption.

 

When 2 Houston Center first achieved the ENERGY STAR in 2002, it was consuming nearly 25 million kWh per year. Since that first year as an ENERGY STAR qualified building, the staff at 2 Houston Center has reduced electrical consumption by some 3.5 million kWh per year, or a13 percent reduction. The building ownership and management is committed to reducing electricity an additional 2.1 million kWh by 2015 for an overall reduction of 25 percent.

 

To achieve this goal, the building had employed outside consultants and engineers to perform retro commissioning and identify all "no cost / low cost" projects the team could undertake immediately. Strategies included low-tech solutions as simple as operating parameters and lighting changes. Changes to lighting were employed using T-8 technologies, motion sensors, and compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).  All stairwell, garage, restroom, equipment room, and lobby lights have been replaced with either CFLs or T-8 technology. The electrical consumption of public restrooms has been reduced by the installation of motion sensing light switches. 

 

Early dividends have been achieved. Other undertakings such as the installation of variable frequency drives (VFDs) on pumps and cooling tower fans were soon implemented. The most recent show of commitment was the installation of a new high efficiency Trane centrifugal 1,400 ton chiller that uses half the energy of its predecessor.

 

Additional utility saving efforts included the installation of hands-free flush valve assemblies on many of the water closets and the replacement of the water closets. Closets went from 3.5 to 1.6 gallons per flush. Urinals were retrofitted from 3.0 to 1.0 gallons per flush. Along with these efforts, the team replaced manual faucets with hands-free assemblies, using an estimated 60 percent less water.

The goal at 2 Houston Center is to constantly move forward, obtaining continued ENERGY STAR recognition, conserving water and other natural resources, reducing our carbon foot print, and eventually obtaining Silver status under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED EB O&M) rating system.

Communications:

Unavailable

Testimonial:

 

--

---

Please note: Narrative information in this profile has been provided by Crescent HC Investors, LP or a representative of this facility. Other building information was verified and submitted to EPA at the time of application. Building energy performance, operating characteristics, and ownership/management may be subject to change over time.

Building Owner:*
Crescent HC Investors, LP

Property Manager:*
CBRE

Year(s) Labeled (Rating):
2002 (76)
2005 (78)
2006 (79)
2007 (85)
2008 (80)
2009 (84)
2010 (82)
2011 (84)
2012 (81)
2013 (80)
2014 (77)
2015 (79)
2016 (81)

Facility Type: Office

Total Floorspace: 1174210 sf

Year Constructed: 1974

Contract Type: None

Technologies Used:

Stage 1-Recommissioning

Stage 2-Lighting

Stage 3-Load Reductions

Stage 4-Fan Systems

Stage 5-Heating and Cooling Plant

Other Technologies/Strategies