Commercial Building Products - May 2015 - (Page 39)

PROJECT geothermal energy within the new mechanical design at-large, the 23-ton Cli- ty-bill savings was achieved, and savings are estimated to mateMaster heat-pump system provides heating and cool- increase at 3% annually to $165,000/yr. by 2029. Payback ing throughout the building, including the delivery of air on the state's investment in the Colorado capitol complex is conditioning to the House and Senate chambers for the estimated to be 19 yr., with a return-on-investment for the ﬁrst time in the building's history. state capitol building's geothermal system itself calculated at 10 yr. A NETWORK OF PUMPS Beyond serving as an example for achieving notable To complete the system, the network of heat pumps inte- government overhead cost reductions, the project speaks to grate with an open-loop geothermal system that uses the the viability of geothermal energy as a retroﬁt solution in Arapahoe Aquifer located approximately 900 ft. below the landmark and historical buildings, even those located in state capitol building. dense urban settings. The ﬁrst phase of the new mechanical system's installa- According to former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, tion began in the fall of 2010, when 900-ft. supply and re- who is the current director of the Center for the New Ener- turn boreholes were drilled into the aquifer. Water, mov- gy Economy at Colorado State Univ., Boulder, the capitol ing through stainless-steel piping set in the borehole, is project highlighted the "signiﬁcant potential" for making pumped between the building and the aquifer at 350 gpm use of geothermal energy in Colorado. at maximum ﬂow. "By tapping into the steady temperatures below the "The ground side of the geothermal system pumps water drawn from the aquifer, piping it through a heat ex- The basement of the capitol contains part of the geothermal loop system. Heat pumps from ClimateMaster make up part of the system. changer and then returning it to the aquifer," said Lou earth's surface, we were able to heat and cool the capitol building with a reliable and clean source of renewable energy at a reduced cost to the people of Colorado," said Ritter. Grounds, sales engineer for Ace Mechanical Equipment, Golden, CO, which supplied the Added Jeff Holland, owner of Ace Mechanical Equipment, "This project is a terriﬁc heat-pump units for the project. "This results in consistent indoor temperatures of 65 de- example of how ClimateMaster geothermal heat-pump equipment can help engineers and grees through the HVAC system by either heating the source water-which is coming from owners convert a historic, high-proﬁle building with an old, antiquated HVAC system into the building-in the winter, or cooling it in the summer." a modern, high-efﬁciency, comfortably conditioned building-while achieving LEED Once drilling was completed, CES oversaw installation of the high-efﬁciency heat- points in the process." CBP pump units throughout the capitol building. The pumps replaced existing split units and other outdated HVAC equipment. A new pumping system was installed in the building's sub-basement to serve the network of heat pumps. According to Grounds, the ClimateMaster heat-pump units were installed quickly and seamlessly, even considering some of the retroﬁt challenges of the project. "When you're negotiating historic spaces, especially with newer equipment, it's not al- SMPLCTY ways a guarantee that things will go smoothly," Grounds said. "The ClimateMaster units were extremely easy to install and were tested and up and running very quickly." From submittal preparation, review, and approval through installation and startup, the project timeline totaled approximately 12 months, and continued even during the state's legislative sessions. In addition to being one of only a few such structures to incorporate geothermal heating and cooling, the Colorado state capitol building was successful in securing LEED for Existing Buildings certiﬁcation from the USGBC, making it the ﬁrst LEED-certiﬁed state capitol in the country, as well as the ﬁrst facility to receive the LEEDEB certiﬁcation. Total project costs were calculated at $6 million, with $4.6 million coming from a U.S. Department of Energy grant under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. The state funded the remaining $1.4 million through certiﬁcates of participation and a lease-purchase agreement with CES/OpTerra Energy Services. Since coming online in the summer of 2013, the geothermal heat-pump system has generated substantial savings for the state. In the ﬁrst year of operation, $95,000 in utili- Want more information? The resources below are linked in our digital magazine at cbpmagazine.com/digital/may2015. Sometimes moving forward starts with eliminating steps. noraplan® nTx is a revolutionary new selfadhesive flooring advancement that dramatically reduces labor costs and cuts installation time in half. Talk to us at www.nora.com/us/ntx34 Circle 10 on the Reader Service Card. Access information about state and local geothermal incentives. View a video detailing other ClimateMaster installations. nor3047-01nTx-QP-cbpD1.indd 1 CIRCLE 217 41 2/9/15 9:27 AM http://www.nora.com/us/ntx34 http://www.cbpmagazine.com/digital/may2015 http://www.nora.com/us/ntx34 https://www.cdsreportnow.com/bgs/search?CBP0010201505 http://programs.dsireusa.org/system/program https://vimeo.com/110487266 https://www.cdsreportnow.com/bgs/search?CBP0217201505

Commercial Building Products - May 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Building Products - May 2015