Timmons Design Engineers provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, sustainable and photovoltaic system design for the Pillar Point Harbor Facilities in Princeton, Ca. The new building operates 24-hours catering to the berthers who dock at the harbor.   The cutting edge facility integrates sustainable technologies to help reduce the building’s energy consumption through natural ventilation, alternative power generation from PV panels, pre-heating solar thermal panels and sky-lit roof.

The mechanical systems for Pillar Point were based solely on the passive design of the building.  Natural ventilation was employed to provide all the required ventilation in the building. An energy efficient electrical system was designed and includes photocell sensors to regulate the use of energy when the luminaries are not being used and ties directly into a photovoltaic power system to generate on-site renewable energy.

The photovoltaic (PV) panel array designed by TDE is located above the roof trusses and below the transparent roof on the South side of the building.  A total of 36 Sharp NE-170U1 poly-crystalline PV modules are connected to a three-phase Xantrex PV10 inverter providing approximately 5.5kw to the building under ideal solar conditions.  Twelve solar thermal collectors were also integrated under the transparent roof to blend with the architecture and heat water used for the shower and laundry facilities.
Architect: Jensen & Macy