In March 2000, two federal agencies, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the DOE (Department of Energy) initiated their Energy Star Label Award Program specifically designed for office buildings.

The program chose "One hundred of the nation's most energy-efficient office buildings" to receive the Energy Star Label (www.epa.gov/region02/epd/brnenerg.htm).

One of those recipients was Northpark Central Office Tower in Dallas, a Class A office facility managed by Jones Lang Lasalle Americas, Inc. Its twenty stories provide 494,878 square feet of rentable office space on a 3.75-acre site conveniently near Dallas' central business district.

According to Paul Neff, Northpark's Assistant Chief Engineer, the facility's air-conditioning system is a major reason for its meriting the Energy Star. That system uses two huge water thermal storage tanks, each with a diaphragm manufactured by Monolithic Airforms, a division of Monolithic Constructors, Inc.

The EPA and DOE encourage the construction of energy-efficient homes and public buildings, since such structures conserve energy, lower energy costs and help keep the environment clean (www.monolithic.com/articles/renewable).

Then too, some lenders and mortgage companies, realizing that energy costs significantly affect budgets, now insist that homes and other structures get an E-Star rating before granting a loan.

CHAFA (Colorado Housing and Finance Authority) insisted that Cheryl Roberts get an E-Star rating on her home in La Junta, Colorado. Not surprisingly, Roberts' 32'-diameter Monolithic Dome scored 87, on EPA's 1-to-100 point scale. And since CHAFA required a minimum score of 80, Roberts received financing as well as a congratulatory letter from ERHC (Energy Rated Homes of Colorado). It said, "...the home did pass with flying colors...which makes you eligible not only to be on our list, but also on the EPA's Energy Star Homes Builder List whose minimum score is 86." (www.monolithic.com/articles/energy/)

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