CASE STUDY
FROM DARKNESS TO
LIGHT
ENGAGING
EMPLOYEES
TO SAVE
BY SCOTT BOWMAN, P.E., MEMBER ASHRAE; AND CAREY NAGLE, AIA
MOVING FROM A CAVE-LIKE WAREHOUSE to an environment filled with daylight represented a
dramatic shift for employees of the Iowa Utilities Board and Office of Consumer Advocate
(IUB/OCA). Employees jumped on board with the energy-efficiency efforts, giving up
comforts such as individual coffee makers, and opening and closing windows as needed to
operate the natural ventilation system. An integrated design that maximizes passive strate-
gies provides significant energy savings, but employee cooperation, especially involving
plug load reduction, has proven key to reaching and maintaining performance goals.
