SAN DIEGO, Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) introduced its new Energy Innovation Center (the Center), a showcase facility where residential and business customers can learn about energy efficiency, alternative fuel transportation, Smart Grid, and clean generation.

The Energy Innovation Center offers an array of seminars on energy efficiency; classes in the food service demonstration kitchen; tours of the Smart Home full of energy-saving technology; information in the resource library, and guided tours of the water-wise walkway which showcases drought tolerant plants that save water and energy.

"The Energy Innovation Center will be a valuable resource for the community," said Hal D. Snyder, vice president of customer solutions for SDG&E.  "We are committed to helping southern California reach a more sustainable energy future and the Center will provide businesses and residential customers with the tools and resources they need to make smart energy decisions to be more energy efficient, save money, and help the environment."

In December 2010, SDG&E began construction on an existing 27,000-square-foot building and focused on designing and constructing a facility that is designed to meet U.S. Green Building Council's Platinum LEED certificate, the highest level of certification for energy-efficient buildings.  In order to meet the LEED platinum certification, SDG&E was required to incorporate the latest sustainable design elements in the Center's design.  Some of the sustainable elements of the Center include:

• 85 percent of the original building's materials were reused or recycled.
• The roof will have a rain water collection unit that stores water used for the Center's irrigation system.
• The state-of-the-art Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC) system has sensors that shut off the A/C when the windows are open.
• The solar panels heat the Center's water and help offset the building's energy use by 34 percent.
• Most of the items seen in the Center are made from recycled materials, including the carpet which is made from recycled tires.

The Center showcases different examples of highly efficient lighting, HVAC units and leading technologies to demonstrate the choices available for businesses and design professionals to incorporate into their buildings.  Many of the program offerings and design features are the result of a collaborative approach with community-based organizations, local businesses and other key stakeholders and technology sponsors. 

      Key features that customers can experience at the Center include:

• Smart Home experience tours;
• Sustainability tours;
• Interactive kiosks, displays and resource library;
• Solar Trees® in parking areas that provide both shade for your car and power for the region;
• Water-wise walkway with drought-tolerant landscape demonstrations;
• Produce Demonstration Garden;
• Food Service Demonstration Kitchen.

A key component of the Center is the full commercial Food Service Demonstration Kitchen that boosts numerous energy efficient appliances that introduce new features to the food service world that saves energy and saves money for chefs, restaurant owners and facility managers with food service kitchens.  At the Energy Innovation Center, chefs will have the opportunity to utilize the demonstration kitchen to test their recipes on energy efficient equipment to ensure that the updated appliances work well with their dishes.  

"The San Diego County Chapter of the California Restaurant Association commends San Diego Gas & Electric on the opening of their new Energy Innovation Center," Chris Duggan, director of local government affairs for the California Restaurant Association.  "This state-of-the-art facility will provide our industry professionals the opportunity to experience cutting-edge technologies and utilize educational resources that will increase energy efficiency and environmental leadership."

The Energy Innovation Center is located at 4760 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in San Diego and will be open to the public Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.  To sign up for a free seminar at the Energy Innovation Center visit www.sdge.com/eic.

SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.5 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 850,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties.  The utility's area spans 4,100 square miles.  SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help customers save energy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego. 

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SOURCE San Diego Gas & Electric