For 108 years, Ohio Desk has been a fixture in the Cleveland business community, providing furnishings for offices around the region. In our current headquarters at 1122 Prospect Avenue since 1918, Ohio Desk no longer just sells chairs and desks. We have grown and evolved to be a provider of integrated interiors including flooring, floor to ceiling walls and technology products.
The cost of energy to power the three showrooms and the distribution and service center has gone up significantly over the past century. To manage those costs, we have been actively pursuing updated technology including improved HVAC and LED lighting. The most recent project to manage energy costs is the installation of a new solar energy array at the Van Epps Distribution and Service Center.
Our Van Epps building is an ideal location for solar energy generation, with a large flat roof that has no shading from nearby trees, power lines, or other buildings. The power generated from the 280 individual panels will offset 80% of the usage at the facility and will have a payback time of approximately six years. With an estimated life of 25 to 30 years, Ohio Desk will be receiving seemingly free electricity for years to come.
The installation of solar energy arrays on flat roofs like the distribution center was a success for all parties involved. Bold Alternatives, the installer for this project, not only handled the installation but also organized the permitting and established the connections to the electrical grid. The installation took four days, and the racking system that was used required no penetration of the roof. This system uses ballast to secure everything in place and added less than a pound per square foot to the roof.
There have been a lot of positive changes over the 100-year history of Ohio Desk. Hopefully, we can be a leading example of how business can effectively manage our bottom line through innovation. Ohio Desk is now more independent of non-renewable energy sources as ever and is much less susceptible to the inevitable increases in energy costs over the next thirty years.
A huge thanks to Bold Alternatives for helping us implement solar energy solutions and transform energy consumption into energy production. Check them out at www.boldalternatives.com/