HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 05.b➢ Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program
LAKEVILLE PUBLIC WORKS
Christopher Petree, Director
December 201 1
The fourth quarter of 2011 saw the final payments and closes out Lakeville's
participation in the EECBG program. The EECBG program was a formula grant
program sponsored by the Department of Energy, making use of American
Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding, which focused on state, county,
municipal, and tribal government efforts to reduce energy consumption. Lakeville
applied for and received the grant in 2009. The total award was $474,100. The
grant allowed the City to complete energy efficiency improvements planned as
part of its capital improvement program. These improvements centered on five
projects involving equipment replacement, equipment retrofits, and lighting.
1. Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Improvements for the
Lakeville Area Arts Center.
The HVAC system in the Arts Center was
more than 20 years old and the placement
of the fan unit was such that it did not allow
regular servicing of the heating units. As a
result, the heating units became less energy
efficient and contributed to high carbon
dioxide emissions. As a whole, the system
was operating well above energy efficiency
benchmarks established through Minnesota
B3 Benchmarking. The project replaced the
fan unit, improved maintainability and
eliminated excess carbon dioxide emissions.
It also replaced the air conditioning
condenser with a unit having a significantly
better energy efficiency ratio and two
smaller gas furnaces to improve heating in
the office areas. Since the replacement in
the spring of 2010, the Arts Center overall has improved its energy efficiency
through reductions in energy costs and the amount of gas and electricity used
resulting in a smaller carbon footprint.
2. Addition of Facilities to the City's Energy Management System (EMS).
Over the past several years,
the City has been
incrementally upgrading the
HVAC controls at several
facilities to better control
temperatures when facilities
were both occupied and
unoccupied. The EECBG
program provided the
opportunity to add six
additional facilities to the EMS.
Using the centralized control
provided by the EMS allowed
for the temperature setbacks
when spaces are unoccupied, reducing both heating and cooling needs for
the facilities. This project added the Kenrick and Galaxie liquor stores, Fire
Stations 2, 3, and 4, and the Senior Center. The scope of work encompassed
the replacement of existing thermostats, the installation of digital controls to
regulate both the heating and cooling units, and software upgrades for the
EMS.
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3. Lighting Retrofits for Parking Lots.
Retrofitting exterior building and parking lot
lights at the Central Maintenance Facility,
Water Treatment Facility, and Fire Station 4
focused on reducing energy costs, testing the
feasibility of Light Emitting Diodes (LED) in
outdoor applications, and correcting lighting
design and installation deficiencies at the
CMF. In all, the project replaced 89 parking
lot and exterior building wall packs, changing
out metal halide lamps with LED arrays. The
immediate impact has been an improvement
in downward directed light and parking lot
and perimeter illumination at each of the
facilities. The actual reduction in energy
consumption is still being evaluated since
there is only one electric meter controlling
each facility's electric usage. The fixtures used are dark sky compliant,
meaning that they direct their light downward with no light spill into the night
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sky. The installation was completed in August and their impact on energy
consumption at each of the facilities is not yet known.
4. Equipment Retrofits at the Water Treatment Facility (WTF).
a. Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Retrofit. The City distributes water based
on demand produced by the water towers. When called for, pumps move
water from the WTF to the towers to maintain water levels, using, either
singly or in combination, two 200 hp pumps, one 400 hp pump, and one
600 hp pump. Currently the
600 hp pump uses a VFD to
meet a broad range of
demands, from 3.5 million
gallons per day to 12.5
million gallons per day.
Unfortunately, the low end
of its efficient use curve is too
high to be useful for winter
demand. This project added
a VFD to the 400 hp pump,
allowing it to operate from
approximately 2.2 million
gallons per day to its full
capacity of 8 million gallons per day, achieving a broad response to water
demands from late fall through early spring. Being able to use a smaller
pump with a VFD results in cost savings from reduced electrical demand
charges and extends the life of the motor and its control components. The
installation was completed in January 201 1 and early results show reduced
electricity consumption for the WTF as a whole.
b. Dehumidifier Replacement.
The original dehumidifier
was installed during
construction of the facility in
1997 and it had become less
energy efficient and
increasingly difficult to
maintain. It was responsible
for dehumidification in high
humidity areas of the WTF as
a deterrent to condensation
on the pipes, which, over
time, leads to rusting and
deterioration. The project,
completed in January 2011, replaced
energy efficient unit by the same manufacturer.
the old unit with a newer, more
The effect has been better
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dehumidification and reduced energy consumption within the facility as a
whole.
5. Conversion of Holiday Lighting to LED Lights
Lakeville's downtown area is the heart of the City and center for community
events from its annual summer festival to the fall art festival, weekly farmer's
markets, and holiday activities. During the holiday season, Streets Division staff
hang holiday wreaths on
lampposts along Holyoke
Avenue. Previously, these
wreaths used older C -7
incandescent bulbs that
suffer from poor energy
efficiency and were prone to
breakage. This project,
completed in March 2010,
replaced these older wreaths
with new wreaths using LED
bulbs. This has been the
second season that these
wreaths were in use. They
have proven to be much
easier for staff to install and require less bulb replacement. Their effect on
energy consumption has yet to be determined since the utility provider
calculates their energy use separately from the lampposts.
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