Nederland Colorado’s old town shop had been declared irreparable, so a new building was needed for continued safe and reliable vehicle maintenance operations. Winter maintenance is key to keeping equipment operating—and keeping icy mountain roads clear. Additionally, the project needed to align with the town requirement that the building be Net Zero and adhere to a strict budget.
Acting as the design lead, JBA Engineering reached out to DMA for the shop’s energy planning and mechanical services design.
Working with the integrated team to create a design meeting those requirements, DMA Engineering presented its recommendations to the town’s Board of Trustees for approval. The design included several innovative approaches:
- Radiant Heating
To keep the building warm while large overhead doors were open to allow movement of equipment, radiant floor heating determined to be the optimal choice to retain the building heat. It was used throughout the building, including in bathrooms, break room, bunk room and garage/maintenance spaces. - Energy Modeling
Through our energy modeling, we recommended an advanced insulation package and heat recovery ventilators (HRVs). - Ground Source Heat Pump (GSHP)
To stay within budget extensive site excavation was needed to allow building function. Since extensive earth moving was already required, it allowed the installation of an extensive GSHP field with minimum additional excavation.
This was a key element of the design - Photovoltaics
Solar PV provided the optimal solution for balancing the day-to-day energy consumption of the building.
Requirements Met
This project proves a heavy-use industrial building that serves a vital function can also be extremely energy efficient—not only meeting programmatic needs, but also fulfilling budgetary requirements while actually enhancing the building’s function.
See more project photos here.
Originally Published on: Dec 15, 2017