Here at Harrah’s Resort SoCal we are always looking for new ways to lower our impact on the environment, which is why we place such a strong emphasis on our CodeGreen program—our efforts for seeking sustainable ways to run our business.
With sustainable technology growing at such a rapid pace, we decided to check in with the energy experts at San Diego Gas and Electric to see all the new ways they help protect our environment. Our CodeGreen team leaders took a trip down to SDG&E’s Energy Innovation Center to check out the latest in energy efficiency, recycling, and water conservation. Man, were we impressed!
The center’s “green” efforts begin in the parking lot and only get better from there. The first thing you notice as you drive in is your nice shady parking spot. But what you might not realize is, that’s no regular tree keeping your car cool—it’s actually a Solar Tree. The six Solar Trees found in the center’s parking lot—their Solar Grove—all move to track the sunlight throughout the day, increasing their energy production by 20 percent over stationary solar panels. And they aren’t selfish either, all the energy produced by the Solar Grove goes straight into San Diego’s power grid.
Once inside the building, you’ll find exceptionally designed educational materials, graphs and charts that cover much of the walls in the lobby. These graphs illustrate environmental and energy related facts like the various ways each state in the nation gets its energy and how California’s energy usage and production has changed throughout the years. Along those same walls you will find SDG&E’s Resource Library. Much like a public library, the community is invited to rent books and tools to help educate them on energy usage, sustainability, recycling and more.
As the Harrah’s Resort SoCal leaders toured the property, they all learned about the various recyclable materials used in the construction of the building, like the recycled tires used to make the carpet-like flooring throughout the building. Our team was informed about the center's water conservation efforts, like using only drought tolerant plants in SDG&E’s Water-Wise Walkway and how rainwater is collected for irrigation.
During the tour our team was also shown the Energy and Innovation Center’s smart home and demonstration kitchen, both of which showed the many ways that technology can help businesses and individuals conserve energy.
Take, for example, the automatic commercial exhaust hoods featured in the demonstration kitchen. Rather than run at full power all day, these hoods have a laser that can sense smoke or steam and turning on only if needed—an ideal feature that helps restaurants and businesses like ours conserve energy!
One of great take-aways from the tour was the many ways to conserve energy, water and resources while still looking beautiful. Take this succulent garden wall from one of SDG&E’s outdoor courtyards. These succulents require very little water, naturally clean pollution from the air and when put on the exterior of building create a natural insulation that looks beautiful.
We can’t wait to take some of these great new ideas and put them to work here at Harrah’s Resort SoCal!
Interested in taking a tour of the SDG&E Energy Innovation Center yourself? You can book a private 50 minute tour HERE!
