A variety of new, energy saving technologies have been incorporated into Mountain View Electric Association’s operations center in Falcon. The center, which is partially a new facility and partially an older facility that was updated and remodeled, was needed because the co-op experienced a doubling in members in just over a decade.
Mountain View Electric Association, headquartered in Limon, had seen its membership grow steadily over the past 12 years, resulting in a surge of new meters — 20,000 to 40,000. The increase was a result of the massive housing boom east and north of the Colorado Springs area. MVEA’s board of directors made a decision to construct a larger building.
Plans for the operations center not only included new construction, but also utilizing portions of the existing building into the design, while incorporating some of today’s most energy efficient technologies.
Taking advantage of land it already owned, MVEA constructed the new building on the existing site of its operations center.
“With the steady growth over the past 12 years or so, we had completely outgrown the facility,” said Darryl Edwards, members services manager at MVEA. The previous building was 42,000 square feet. More than doubling in size, the new facility has 86,500 square feet of usable space with an additional 6,000 square feet of shell for future expansion. The structure was built for estimated future growth over the next 20 years and will accommodate approximately 130 employees.
Mountain View Electric’s seven-member board and employees went to great efforts in the planning stages to incorporate energy-efficient features into the design of the new facility. From the heating and cooling system to the ability to allow natural light through the building, they were successful in achieving this goal.
Beyond the striking modern design of the new building, the first thing visitors to the Falcon Operations Center will probably notice is the wind turbine and PV-solar array located on the east side of the facility. At their peak, each contributes 2 kilowatts of power to the co-op’s system. However, their installation was not just for energy production, but rather to demonstrate renewable power technology, interconnection equipment and net metering.
“We’re using the wind turbine and solar panels as a teaching tool for our members, as well as schools and anyone else who is interested in the technology,” said Ray Singmaster, MVEA master electrician. Additionally, the wind turbine and solar array are configured for the renewable systems to be directly connected to the grid to allow MVEA members the opportunity to incorporate distributed generation into the power they receive to their homes.
Currently, 37 of MVEA’s members have installed either wind or solar to their residences and interconnected to the coop’s system. The program, which began in February 2009, has yielded $130,000 in rebates from MVEA and the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office.
The Falcon Operations Center is heated and cooled by a geothermal heat pump system. The system circulates water between an underground water loop, called an earth exchanger, and water-to-air heat pumps within the building extract heat and utilize it for warming in the winter. During the summer months, heat pumps cool the building by extracting heat from the interior air and channeling it into the earth exchanger.
Contractors installed 80 wells, each 400 feet deep, and 14 miles of pipe for the system. At an average efficiency rating of 300 percent, the geothermal heat system is one of the most costeffective systems of its kind. Fifty-four heat pumps located throughout the building control the temperature in individual zones. Each zone is monitored by a temperature sensor connected to a centralized computer control. The computer operates each zone according to a pre-programmed schedule, monitors all equipment for problems and, based on historical data, starts each pump at the optimum time each morning. Beyond its extreme efficiency, the unit also uses far less space than a traditional HVAC system.
The maximum utilization of natural lighting was a centerpiece in the design of the new operations center. Clerestory, an architectural element that involves the building of walls which are pierced with windows, was implemented. In conjunction with the clerestory, light shafts are incorporated in the corridors to direct daylight from the upper floor to the main level. This technique allows natural light to flow into all areas, including workspaces located in the middle of the building. Solar tubes also deliver natural light into the building, which provide yet another method to minimize the need for artificial lighting.
When natural light will not suffice, the building’s energy efficient lighting takes over. A few unique aspects of the lighting include occupancy sensors, LED task lighting and the personal control of workspace lighting via computer.
“If an employee wants to dim or brighten the light above their cubicle, they can do so by using their computer,” said Edwards. “The lights also turn off if there is no movement in the area.”
Even fresh air entering the facility does so with energy efficiency in mind. Energy recovery ventilators, or heat wheels, are utilized to recover energy from the exhaust air and introduce it into the incoming fresh air, rather than reheating or re-cooling it. The three heat pumps pre-condition the outside air before mixing it with the circulating air.
“The system saves a lot of energy that would be used to heat or cool the incoming air,” Edwards said. “This way we’re ventilating the building effectively without losing a lot of energy from the exhausted air.”
The facility’s roof is covered in a white membrane that reflects sunlight, keeping the building cooler in the warmer months. Added touches such as metal strips within the walls that allow the use of magnets to hold up maps and other documents and light shelves on the south side of the building that reflect incoming sunlight to reduce glare, round out the overall features of the building, making it truly innovative.
The Falcon Operations Center was constructed in three phases, two of which were completed by the end of 2009. MVEA anticipates an early 2010 finish date for the third phase, which will complete the additional warehouse space.
—Nicole Carlson, Network Magazine, Tri-State
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