Innovative Construction Solutions

Richard Lemus, Executive DirectorFacilities Planning and Operations

Every large construction project includes mobile offi ce trailers parked on the job site for months or even years. Robert A. Bothman Construction’s offi ce trailers feature a creative and money-saving twist: solar panels, combined with a battery storage system, allow them to operate without being connected to any external source of electricity.

The fi rst of Bothman’s solar trailers was created by Richard Lemus, Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Operations at Bothman: “It started out as a fun experiment – to see what we could do with some solar panels left over from one of our projects. But by the time we fi nished, we realized that we really had a very practical result.”

The idea took off and as trailers cycled through Bothman’s equipment yard between jobs, each was retrofi tted with solar panels, a battery storage system and energy effi cient air conditioning and lighting.

BENEFITSThe benefi ts of our solar offi ces extend to our clients, partners and the environment.

■ Operable in remote locations without the need to haul fuel to run a noisy fossil fuel generator.

■ Eliminates the cost of installing temporary electrical service.

■ Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 3.3 tons of carbon dioxide per trailer each year.

■ Complies with your project’s LEED requirements.

■ Lower operating costs.

Our Mobile Construction Offi ce Fleet is Running Clean and Running GREEN

Quality People. Quality Projects.™ www.bothman.com

CO2 SO2 NO2

3.3 TONS

The 12 high-efficiency solar panels mounted on each 8x40 foot trailer provide a generating capacity of 3KW DC which provides approximately 4,400 KW-Hours (KWH) of generated electrical energy per year.

Compared to our current mix of primarily coal and natural gas generating plants, each solar trailer eliminates approximately 3.3 tons of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, with smaller amounts of other gases from being released into our atmosphere each year.

Brian Bothman, Vice President of Business Development points out that since the trailers are primarily being used during daylight hours on sunny days, the solar panels with battery storage provide all the energy needed to operate the trailer’s lights, air-conditioning and computers.”

“Energy conservation, portability, lower operating and maintenance cost and environmental benefits – that’s a win on every front.”

Some of the key features of Bothman’s overall design include making sure the trailers are well insulated, installing double pane windows, installing high efficiency air conditioners and upgrading the lighting system to low energy, low maintenance LED fixtures. A custom-designed roof-top mounting system makes sure that the solar panels stay in place whether the trailer is subjected to a major wind storm or being towed at interstate highway speeds.

Of course not every day is sunny which is why the design of the solar office trailers includes an electricity storage system consisting of six 12-volt lead acid batteries. When the solar panels are supplying more energy than is being consumed, the batteries are being charged. And when the demand for electricity exceeds the output of the solar panels, the batteries fill in the gap.

Lemus has always been a solar proponent. Ten years ago he was the force behind building a 75KW solar electric system atop Bothman’s former office building – one of the largest solar installations in San Jose at the time. As a general engineering and construction contractor, Bothman has worked on many private and public solar installations including being the primary contractor for the recent installation of a 2 MW facility at Fort Hunter-Ligget.

Robert A. Bothman Construction, 2690 Scott Boulevard, Santa Clara CA 95050For more information contact: Brian Bothman, 408.279.2277 | www.bothman.com