Better Buildings is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designed to improve the lives of the American people by driving leadership in energy innovation. Through Better Buildings, DOE partners with leaders in the public and private sectors to make the nation’s homes, commercial buildings and industrial plants more energy efficient by accelerating investment and sharing of successful best practices. Showcase Project: South Campus Energy Project featuring Siemens VFDs.
BACKGROUND: The South Campus of the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is one of four campuses located throughout Allegheny County. Opened in 1973 with later additions, the one-building campus houses traditional college classrooms and laboratories, as well as a theater for both student and community productions, radio station, gym and fully equipped fitness center, library, media and computer centers, and state-of-the-art nursing and allied health laboratories. The six-story structure is surrounded by open grounds which include parking areas, a nature trail, and a community garden. This facility was the largest single energy user in the entire CCAC system, and the HVAC system was maintenance-intensive.
CCAC pursued a bond-funded guaranteed savings project specifying the following measures:
Firms responding to the RFP were welcome to propose additional measures, and the firm chosen to complete the project proposed some additional lighting retrofits, replacement of a smaller rooftop chiller, and plumbing retrofits to low-flow fixtures. Water savings were enhanced by the reduction in necessary heat rejection of the electric chillers over the absorbers, thus lessening the amount of water that needed to go to the cooling tower.