Who led the charge

Dr. Nana Wilberforce shoots for 30 by 20 at Two PNC Plaza. Those at PNC call him the “Energy Czar,” and with 32 million square feet of property counting on him for leadership on energy use, that nickname might not be too far off for PNC Energy Manager Nana Wilberforce, Ph.D. With a doctorate in Environmental Science and an understanding that the biggest challenges in conserving energy are not always the easiest, Nana has already made a huge impact in the five years he has been with PNC Financial Services. In 2010 was given the Young Energy Professional of the Year Award by the Association of Energy Engineers, and just last year he was awarded the PNC Performance award for plan to achieve energy savings of $15 million over five years, and ultimately to help reduce building consumption by 30% by 2020.

Lighting Retrofit at Two PNC Plaza, Pittsburgh, PA Commercial Office - 648,808 sq. ft.

A five-point approach was taken in attacking energy inefficiency in this 34-story office building, which was built in 1976. These included:

• Installing LED lights with motion sensors in the garage and stairwells;
• Eliminating light fixtures and reducing current to the remaining fixtures by 50% most floors;
• Reducing ambient light levels by half in office spaces; and
• Programming lights to turn off during evening hours.

Nana and his team stressed the importance of combining both technological and operational/behavioral approaches to making this massive undertaking a huge success for PNC.

Cumulative savings from PNC Plaza's lighting retrofit amount to over $700,000! 

"Focus on what will deliver the most value and the rest will fall into place."