[Editor’s note: the Environment + Energy Leader Awards program is now accepting submissions for the 2021 Awards. Submission deadline is February 19. Submit here.]
Nonprofit real estate organization Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) owns Oxford Vista, a 31- acre property in southeast Aurora, Colorado, that serves as the AmeriCorps NCCC Southwest regional headquarters. ULC seeks to ensure that AmeriCorps, their tenant, has a below- market rental rate. The organization formed a partnership with national energy service performance contractor EnergyLink to design and build the energy redevelopment of the campus.
Prior to the project, Oxford Vista was an outdated, inefficient 1960s property. EnergyLink said that a modern variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and cooling system is replacing old, failing HVAC equipment and will connect to a 75-well closed- loop geothermal bore field. This should reduce the energy requirements of running the variable refrigerant volume (VRV) system as well as reduce dependence on natural gas for heat in the winter.
In addition to these facility improvements, plans call for upgraded windows plus adding a white thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) cool roof and a 440-KW ground-mount and carport solar array. Having net-zero electric consumption would be beneficial for Oxford Vista, AmeriCorps NCCC, the community of Aurora, and the utility Xcel Energy, EnergyLink said.
By integrating onsite generation into building control systems that control HVAC systems, the facility can reduce peak electric demand that ordinarily occurs as a result of uncontrolled cooling loads being triggered simultaneously during the heat of the day, according to EnergyLink. By monitoring solar production and building loads in real time, the building controls autonomously juggle cooling loads to limit the instantaneous peak demand, yielding considerably larger economic benefits to the customer than efficiency or generation measures alone, the company added.
EnergyLink said that the project at Oxford Vista Campus should reduce the facility’s natural gas use by approximately 1,900 therms per year. The mechanical system upgrades and the automation system should see a peak electric demand reduction by 50 to 100 KW every month of the year compared to a scenario in which a like-for-like replacement of old equipment was prescribed, according to EnergyLink. The half a megawatt of PV solar should reduce energy dependency on the grid by approximately 1.2 million KWh annually, making total electric consumption roughly net zero. The company said that this takes a huge load off Aurora’s electric grid, helping the city and Oxford Vista’s tenants.
