|
|
|
In August 2009 the Chippewa County Commissioners discussed the idea of an energy modeling study for the courthouse to determine whether or not some “green” enhancements are a good idea. The courthouse was built in 1957 and has had few updates since then.
MEP Associates of Eden Prairie was originally approached by Auditor/ Treasurer Jon Clausen after they had done work at the Dawson-Boyd School, however the board agreed their proposed cost to do an energy modeling study, $12,500, was too high.
Clauson then identified applicable vendors in the area and sent out approximately 25 RFPs (requests for proposal), from which he received seven bids.
The board accepted the lowest bid, $7,430, from Engineering Design Initiative, Ltd. (EDI) of Minneapolis. Other bids ranged from $9,400 to $27,250.
The study will include a detailed energy analysis, calculation of existing heating and cooling loads, current utility costs and consumption, energy comparison between conventional/natural gas and geothermal systems, expected maintenance costs and gas emission analysis.
The county will submit a grant application to obtain funding from Xcel energy’s grant program, which should cover from 50 to 75 percent of the cost of the energy study.
A representative from EDI is scheduled to be at the courthouse Thursday (today) to gather information about the site infrastructure.
Since its inception in 2002, EDI has engineered the installation of geothermal systems for commercial facilities and conducted many facility energy assessments where building modeling played a key role.
The firm participated in Green Globes projects and worked with environmental groups, utilities and energy conservation groups to design buildings that exceed the energy code, some by more than 30 percent.
They have four professional staff who are LEED accredited. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a rating system with a set of standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
“We don’t know yet what the outcome will be,” said Clauson. “But the study will tell us whether or not geothermal heating is feasible for the courthouse at a reasonable cost in terms of payback and savings.
“I think its a kind of long term, forward-looking opportunity to see if we can save some money, be more environmentally friendly and ‘go green, if you will.’”
In August 2009 the Chippewa County Commissioners discussed the idea of an energy modeling study for the courthouse to determine whether or not some “green” enhancements are a good idea. The courthouse was built in 1957 and has had few updates since then.
MEP Associates of Eden Prairie was originally approached by Auditor/ Treasurer Jon Clausen after they had done work at the Dawson-Boyd School, however the board agreed their proposed cost to do an energy modeling study, $12,500, was too high.
Clauson then identified applicable vendors in the area and sent out approximately 25 RFPs (requests for proposal), from which he received seven bids.
The board accepted the lowest bid, $7,430, from Engineering Design Initiative, Ltd. (EDI) of Minneapolis. Other bids ranged from $9,400 to $27,250.
The study will include a detailed energy analysis, calculation of existing heating and cooling loads, current utility costs and consumption, energy comparison between conventional/natural gas and geothermal systems, expected maintenance costs and gas emission analysis.
The county will submit a grant application to obtain funding from Xcel energy’s grant program, which should cover from 50 to 75 percent of the cost of the energy study.
A representative from EDI is scheduled to be at the courthouse Thursday (today) to gather information about the site infrastructure.
Since its inception in 2002, EDI has engineered the installation of geothermal systems for commercial facilities and conducted many facility energy assessments where building modeling played a key role.
The firm participated in Green Globes projects and worked with environmental groups, utilities and energy conservation groups to design buildings that exceed the energy code, some by more than 30 percent.
They have four professional staff who are LEED accredited. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a rating system with a set of standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
“We don’t know yet what the outcome will be,” said Clauson. “But the study will tell us whether or not geothermal heating is feasible for the courthouse at a reasonable cost in terms of payback and savings.
“I think its a kind of long term, forward-looking opportunity to see if we can save some money, be more environmentally friendly and ‘go green, if you will.’”
