The dealership operates a solar plant that generates over 1 million kilo watt hours of electricity annually. A few years ago the dealership replaced all outdoor light fixtures with Metal Halide fixtures which saved 498,000 Kwh annually. Today with the advent of additional savings available through the use of LED technology the dealership has replaced these same fixtures for an additional annual savings of 108,000 Kwh.
In addition to the above, in a recent remodel the dealership replaced all landscape, showroom, service department and exterior building lighting which resulted in reducing electrical use by more than 494,000 kilo watt hours annually.
In total the solar and lighting upgrades reduces this dealerships reliance on the electrical grid by 2,100,000 kilo watt hours annually, obviously a huge relief from the power company’s use of fossil fuels to generate power.
All A/C units have been upgraded to the most efficient ones available, which also saves considerable electricity not included in above totals.
As a point of reference, per SCE the average Palm Springs household uses 779 Kwh per month.
Additionally, the dealership has converted its entire landscape to desert landscape and artificial turf. Obviously the areas covered with artificial turf have a water use reduction of 100%. The areas converted to desert landscape reduce water consumption by over 75%. Thus saving hundreds of thousands of gallons of drinkable water.
Palm Springs Motors provides employees with free charging stations for their plug in hybrid and electrical vehicles and also provides free charging stations to the general public.
The dealership uses plug in hybrids for its service shuttles as well.
That’s not all, all of the glass in the dealership has been upgraded to a heat reflective material significantly reducing the electricity load caused by air conditioners.
As a final touch, the dealership utilizes speed doors in the service department that open and close in approximately 2 seconds when a vehicle approaches. This too reduces the need for the compressors which draw electricity for cooling to run.
Going Green by the Numbers…
Number of annual kilo watt hours reduces with solar and lightning upgrades.
Number of annual kilo watt hours the dealership solar plant generates.
Amount of kilo watt hours saved annually by replacing outdoor light fixtures with Metal Halide fixtures.
The percent of water reduction by converting most of the dealership landscape to artificial turf.
The dealership also utilizes lightning fast speed doors in the service area. These doors remain closed during the hot summer hours until a vehicle approaches. They open in just a couple seconds and close just as fast. This keeps the air conditioned shop cool and minimizes hear loss.
