Nuveen Real Estate: 801 Brickell
Background
Nuveen Real Estate identified a series of low-cost and no-cost strategies to reduce utility consumption at 801 Brickell. Nuveen Real Estate’s decision to further improve the energy performance of 801 Brickell, an already efficient urban office building, reflects its ongoing effort to identify and capture energy savings opportunities across its portfolio of real estate.
Reducing energy use is an important part of Nuveen Real Estate's Global Real Estate Sustainability Initiative, which includes goals of reducing tenant occupancy costs, increasing asset value, and demonstrating environmental and corporate responsibility. Between 2007 and 2014, Nuveen Real Estate reduced its office portfolio energy usage by over 20%.
Solutions
Working with their sustainability consultant, and the property team, Nuveen Real Estate identified no-cost/low-cost and capital measures to enhance building HVAC controls, perform water balancing for the HVAC system, install and adjust VFDs, and implement lighting retrofits. The projects yielded an overall payback period of 2.7 year and an ROI of 37%.
Nuveen Real Estate completed the following energy efficiency measures at 801 Brickell over the course of four years:
- Upgraded the building’s energy management system (EMS) including central plant controls, a central communications network system, and conversion of VAV box controls from pneumatic to direct digital control (DDC)
- Replaced three of four garage exhaust fans with high efficiency fans and removed the fourth fan from operation, reducing garage fan energy use by 25%
- Performed a water balance on chilled and condenser water systems
- Adjusted supply and return fan sequence of operations and variable frequency drives to prevent over-pressurization of return/supply plenum and maintain slightly positive building pressure
- Programmed the new energy management system (EMS) to enable air handling unit (AHU) optimum start/stop, coasting at end of day, condenser and chilled water automatic temperature reset, delayed operation of exhaust fans (to start after building’s pre-cooling period), and calibration of supply and exhaust fan VFD controls
- Adjusted new VAV box DDC controls to decrease tenant space temperature set point by 1°F
- Retrofitted approximately (250) 32-watt T8 lamps in building's two stairwells with 25-watt T8 lamps
- Finished retrofitting approximately 50% of tenant space 32-watt T8 lamps with 28-watt T8 lamps and high-efficiency electronic ballasts
- Replaced 150-watt High Pressure Sodium (HPS) garage lights with new fixtures with 54-watt high-output T5 lamps
- Retrofitted approximately (30) 150-watt HPS trellis lamps with 40-watt induction lamps
Other Benefits
By adhering to a strategic management plan for continuous improvement, the 801 Brickell property team ensures that the asset will maintain its value and competitiveness in the Miami market. Nuveen Real Estate's efforts increased 801 Brickell’s ENERGY STAR score from 76 in 2011 to 90 in 2015.
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801 Brickell
801 Brickell
