Hall County Courthouse Annex

Background

The original Hall County Historic Courthouse was built in 1886, but a tornado destroyed the entire downtown square of Gainesville, Georgia in 1936. The Courthouse was rebuilt that year, with an additional facility known as the Courthouse Annex added in 1977. The 1936 Courthouse was remodeled and modernized in 2002. A project proposal for the remodeling and update of the Annex was enacted through the Board of Commissioners largely based on the efforts of the Engineering and Building Maintenance Department (EBM) of Hall County. EBM committed to building on the commissioners’ focus on increased awareness and practice of energy efficiency and sustainability, both internally within the government and externally via outreach to private businesses and citizens.

The judicial functions of Hall County government have steadily expanded over the years. Currently, the Courthouse Annex is undergoing a major renovation to better service the operational functionality of the Judicial Branch of Hall County Georgia. Additionally, the enhancements will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the Court House Complex, which will benefit all Citizens of Hall County. The Annex will house the Clerk of Court – Deed Division, Juvenile Court, and Probate Court.

Solutions

All of the measures in this project were completed using funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG) as instituted by the Hall County Board of Commissioners in September 2009. The grant program began with an initial energy audit conducted by a third party, in conjunction with Hall County’s Engineering, Building Maintenance, and Financial Services Grant departments. The walk-through energy audit assessed multiple options and established plans for potential Energy Conservation Measures by evaluating renewable and alternative energy resources, new equipment and technology, and best practices for select county buildings, systems, and vehicles.

Savings Measure	Costs	Annual Savings Achieved	Notes
Lighting Conversion	$11,444	$8,887	Replacement of T-12/Magnetic ballast to T-8/Electronic ballast fixtures.
Vending Misers - Electric	$1,612	$969	Electrical, non-lighting, vending misers. These occupancy sensors place vending machines into “sleep mode” during unoccupied times.
HVAC Controls - Building Automation System	$111,014	$23,615	Retro Commissioning of controls including programmable thermostats, HVAC scheduling and timeclocks.
Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs)	$6,000	$1,000	ERVs exchange energy from externally released air to pre-treat intake air, thus reducing heating/cooling demand.
Variable Frequency Drives on Chilled Water Pumps	$9,624	$2,262
Total	$137,694 (Actual)	$36,733 (Actual)

The replacement of the air conditioning units in the building represented the greatest energy and cost savings. The County replaced the outdated pneumatic HVAC controls, which are difficult to operate, maintain, and calibrate, with Direct Digital Controls (DDC) that consist of a unitary controller and electronic sensors to troubleshoot any operational deficiencies. The air handling unit was retrofitted with Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) on the supply and return fans, replacing the 60-horsepower supply fan motor so that fan running speed is attenuated to the speed necessary to maintain a comfortable building environment. HVAC installation and continued system maintenance were included in the contract to ensure ongoing savings. The improved ability to control and adjust the building temperature and HVAC system, along with the replacement of older technology and a regularly scheduled maintenance program, greatly increased energy efficiency and decreased the demand and energy waste of the building air handling unit.

Savings Measure

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Annual Savings Achieved

Notes

ANNUAL ENERGY USE

(Source Source EUI)

ANNUAL ENERGY COST

ANNUAL WATER USE

ANNUAL WATER COST

ANNUAL PLANT ELECTRICITY USE

ANNUAL PLANT ELECTRICITY COST

IN BUILDING ENERGY USE

IN BUILDING ENERGY COST

ACROSS NETWORK USE

ACROSS NETWORK COST

ANNUAL EMISSIONS

USE

COST

Hall County Courthouse

Hall County Court Bell relocated from Historic Courthouse

Currently Displayed Construction Plan for next phase of Courthouse construction

Hall County Courthouse Annex

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Hall County Courthouse

Hall County Court Bell relocated from Historic Courthouse

Currently Displayed Construction Plan for next phase of Courthouse construction