Denver Web Development – Unleaded Group

09.22.2009

Unleaded Software boosts it energy efficiency with a new roof and solar powered hosting

Denver, CO—Energy savings at every level—including the roof—is one of the investments paying off for Unleaded Software Inc. at its headquarters in the Ballpark Neighborhood of Denver. Installed this year by Arapahoe Roofing & Sheet Metal —the same premier roofing company to re-roof Denver’s Civic Center Building, Trinity Methodist Church and the entire expanse of flat roofing at Denver International Airport (DIA)—Unleaded Software is realizing energy savings being passed along to their overall operations and their website hosting clients.

The flat roof (called “built up” in construction terms) of the headquarters for Unleaded Group and its subsidiary, Beanstalk Solar Hosting, had been repaired over the last 50 years, adding layer upon layer until the roof was six layers deep. The mid-century modern building was the original home to KBPI Radio Station and later served as a vending machine company office and construction headquarters while Broadway Plaza Lofts was constructed in 2003. When Unleaded Software bought the building in 2005, a new roof became one of the priorities on a growing list of improvements to restore the building to better than its original condition with all of the modern conveniences and technology a website development company and Internet hosting company required.

The new sustainable roof, a 60 mil Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EDPM) membrane roof over a new surface of DensDeck roof boards increases energy savings, decreases pollution and lasts 20 – 30 years. Insulation added an R-19 value to improve heating and cooling of the two-story building that houses the business’s 20-person team.

R value insulation ratings are used to measure insulations ability to resist heat flow. The higher the R value, the more effective it is. R value performance testing is done in a 70 F environment with no air movement. That means that when these ideal temperatures and conditions are not in play, the resulting R value is actually higher than the effective R value.

The roof replacement at Unleaded Software has shown an immediate reduction in the energy use to cool the facility during summer days. The same savings is projected for heating in the coming winter months, a savings of several hundred dollars a month.

The continuous membrane of EDPM better resists pools of standing water which can cause damage to a building over time. Arapahoe Roofing used an application of bonding for the membrane roof to eliminate all possible water leaks as well as slanting the roof for optimum drainage when snowfall collects.

Beanstalk Solar Hosting uses a solar panel system on the rooftop of the building installed by Adobe Solar. All of the websites hosted by www.beanstalksolarhosting.com operate off of solar energy. In Colorado, where the average sunny days exceed 340 a year, the solar powered system is backed up by traditional power service by Xcel so that there are no outages due to weather conditions. 

Unleaded Software also installed reflective window coverings on its building windows to reduce interior temperatures during the summer months. While the installation of the reflective adhesive to the windows took only hours, the savings in cooling costs was noticeable within the same day. 

In a fourth effort to convert operations to being green, Unleaded Software replaced the light bulbs throughout its facility with low voltage, long-lasting bulbs that cast improved light over the work areas and conserve on energy use.

Unleaded Software and Beanstalk Solar Hosting are located at 2314 Broadway in Denver, CO, 80205. For information, contact President Jarod Clark at 720-221-7126.