The sustainable strategies used in HOK’s design of a new 30,000-square-foot forensics laboratory for San Mateo County in California include the incorporation of photovoltaic panels into the building design to generate electricity.

HOK's engineers designed the electrical system to include 22,000 square feet of rooftop mounted photovoltaic panels. The predicted annual output is 349,000 kWh of power, or roughly 15.8 kWh per square foot of photovoltaic panel. The peak output of the system is 170 kW (7.7 w/SF), which is nearly equivalent to the peak load of 202 kW. Overall, the system provides enough power to accommodate all the building's non-HVAC electrical requirements.

With energy cost savings estimated at $66,000 per year, the installation has a simple payback period of about 10 years. Rebates and incentives will offset 30-40% of the initial costs required to build the system, greatly improving the payback.