Duke Energy Center, Charlotte, N.C., and the Iowa Central Community College, Fort Dodge, Iowa, were named the Grand Prize winners of Siemens Industry's inaugural Smartest Buildings in America Challenge. Runner-up winners are the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Rasmussen Building at Grand View University, Des Moines, Iowa.
The challengers were scored on how innovatively their organizations use Siemens' APOGEE or TALON building automation systems to achieve business, efficiency or sustainability goals. The ranking also considered the innovations, features or capabilities implemented by the building owner, facility manager or consulting-specifying engineer to make the building a Smart Building.
Five industry experts chose the winners from finalists that included a wide range of facilities from across the U.S. Grand prize winners will receive $25,000 in products and services from the Building Technologies Division, or a $25,000 contribution to qualified charities of their choice. Runner-up prize winners will receive $15,000 in products and services or a $15,000 contribution to qualified charities of their choice.
Here are some key features of the four prize winners.
The Duke Energy Center is a LEED Core and Shell 2.0 Platinum certified office tower with 48 stories and 1.5 million square feet. Using the Siemens APOGEE Building Automation System, the facility has improved its operational efficiencies, reducing energy consumption by 22 percent.
The Iowa Central Community College Biotechnology and Health Science Building is a LEED Gold building that uses the Siemens TALON AX system to integrate six mechanical systems and operate equipment such as water-to-air heat pumps, pumping systems, water-to-water heat pumps, and air handling units.
Alaska's Cold Climate Housing Research Center is in the process of receiving LEED Platinum certification, which would make it the furthest north LEED Platinum building in the world. Using the Siemens APOGEE system to handle Alaska's extreme climate, the research center has more than 1,200 sensors that monitor everything from the walls to the roofs, rainwater, foundations, permafrost, and HVAC.
The Rasmussen Building at Grand View University uses the Siemens TALON system to automatically operate VAV boxes for the entire facility, to raise and lower window shades based on time of day and interior room temperatures, and to adjust lighting for the Art Gallery and main conference room.