City of Houston: The Rose Building

Background

The Rose Building is a two story medical office facility built in 1986. The building includes a 20,000 square feet breast cancer diagnostic center, a 7,000 square foot outpatient surgery center and 4,000 square feet of office spaces. When it came time to consider facility upgrades, Rose staff reached out to the City of Houston to learn more about the Energy Efficiency Incentive Program. Using available incentives, The Rose was able to offset 20% of the up-front project costs, including labor and equipment.

The project began in March 2012 and Colliers Property Management Services Houston, LLC served as the project manager for the $325,000 energy-efficient, cost-reducing initiative. Immediately upon approval, The Rose staff established timelines, requested bids and selected contractors. Colliers initiated five individual contracts to implement facility upgrades and equipment replacement efforts: Lime Energy (interior lighting), Brown Electric (exterior lighting), Letsos (air-system upgrades), Oates Industries, Inc. (roof replacement), and Romano Contractors (window film). The first phase of the project started with ballast and interior lighting replacements and installation of high-quality window film throughout the building. Brown Electric replaced exterior lighting and light switches that did not have occupancy sensors. Letsos installed variable speed controls on the water pump chiller and AHU fans, upgraded the control system, repaired outside dampers, sealed leaks in the supply air ducts, and cleaned AHU cooling coils and condenser coils. The final push to replace the roof proved to be a challenge for Oates Industries, Inc., as several days of heavy rain delayed the process and caused ceiling leaks in some offices, which required ceiling tile replacements.

Solutions

The Rose worked with its electric utility, CenterPoint Energy, to conduct energy audits and identify cost effective upgrade opportunities. The CenterPoint audit team came up with a list of 8 capital investment energy efficiency measures and 4 low cost, no cost operational measures that The Rose facility management staff could adopt to improve the building’s energy performance by 23%. These energy-efficiency measures (EEMs) primarily focus on lighting retrofits, HVAC upgrades, and the installation of a direct digital control (DDC) system.

The Rose Building expects to reduce its electricity consumption by 352,000 kWh, an annual savings of approximately $36,000. The following EEMs are the engines that drive the energy savings for this project:

Lighting - Upgrade of interior and exterior lighting to high efficiency T8 linear fluorescent and LED; installation of occupancy sensors in offices and conference rooms to automate the process of turning lights off when not needed (estimated savings of $15,000 annually with an average payback of 2.5 years).
HVAC - Installation of Variable Speed Control on the chilled water pump; addition of variable speed controls on air handler fans; installation of a direct digital control (DDC) system to reduce HVAC hours; sealing leaks in supply air ducts; cleaning the air handler and condenser coils; repair of outside air dampers and fans; and raising of cooling set points to 74 degrees Fahrenheit wherever possible (estimated savings of $19,000 annually with an average payback of 3 years).
Building Envelope - Replacement of the roof with an energy efficient reflective roof; installation of window film on single-pane windows to reduce solar heat gain (estimated savings of $2,000 annually).

Other Benefits

The mission of The Rose is to reduce deaths from breast cancer by providing screening, diagnostics and access to treatment for all women, regardless of their ability to pay. By creating a more energy-efficient workspace, The Rose will significantly improve its energy performance and plans to utilize monetary savings to touch the lives of many more women in the Houston and surrounding areas.

The Rose staff immediately felt the improvement in air temperature and lighting once the window film was installed and the lighting had been replaced, especially in the large conference room where staff and board meetings, trainings, and support groups are held. Without initial funding support from the City of Houston through the Energy Efficiency Incentive Program, these major upgrades and replacements would not have been possible within such a short timeframe. The Rose leadership team is very excited to see the actual energy-cost savings over the next several months and the long-term impact of the project. Cost savings from the project will be used to further support The Rose’s mission to help uninsured women access lifesaving services.

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The Rose Medical Office

Window film reduces solar heat gain

City of Houston: The Rose Building

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The Rose Medical Office

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