| Moab, Utah |
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The Moab City Government had outgrown their small downtown offices and needed more space to better serve this vibrant town. Located just a couple blocks off a very active Main Street, was the old Middle School. This old school, full of memories for the local residents and full of historical significance, was sadly rundown and dilapidated. The City Planners saw the potential to not only renovate the old school into city offices, but envisioned possibilities for creating space for a new police station and other government and community offices. The City Planners were not interested in a typical, conventional building. They wanted energy efficient systems, respectful of the environment and in harmony with the rugged yet fragile desert environment that makes this area of Utah so intriguing.
VBFA was charged with creating an HVAC system that could blend into the historic nature of the building and still meet the desires of the City Planners for a |
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highly energy efficient, low maintenance system. Water conservation measures, including storm water recharge and reuse for landscaping watering needs, were also facets of interest in this desert climate. For a first step, VBFA generated detailed computer energy models of the building and explored various mechanical system applications in search of the most cost effective and energy efficient mechanical system solution. |
In a unique approach to historic renovation, VBFA proposed a state-of-the-art ground coupled geothermal heat pump system. The geothermal system utilizes energy efficient heat pumps to provide heating and cooling. The geothermal system uses the ground as both the heat source and the heat sink. Pipes circulating water are sunk hundreds of feet into the earth to take advantage of the huge heat sink that the subterranean regions provide. VBFA's computer analysis was able to show that the geothermal heat pump system would achieve a 50% savings in cooling energy and a 20% savings in heating energy when compared to a conventional gas fired/DX cooled system.
The City Planners also had goals of obtaining LEED Certification and for meeting the electrical utility requirements for energy efficiency incentive funding. VBFA provided an important role in meeting both of these goals as the project achieved Silver LEED status. |
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