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DTMB-managed buildings celebrated at 2023 Michigan Energy Summit for energy reduction
April 28, 2023
During the 2023 Michigan Energy Summit held April 18, the State of Michigan’s Jerome T. Hart Building in Saginaw and the South Grand Building in Lansing were awarded 2022 Biggest Loser honors for their energy conservation achievements.
The Jerome T. Hart Building was named the 2022 Biggest Loser in the Water Category for an overall reduction of 66.27%. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB) facilities team made upgrades and improvements to the outside irritation system by changing the time clock and automatic functions of the system from a scheduled run-time basis to running it on a more as-needed basis. The staff also evaluated the cooling tower water functions and adjusted the auto leveling settings, along with chemical feed rates, decreasing the number of turnover cycles needed to operate the chillers and cooling tower safely and efficiently. By storing hundreds of gallons of water onsite, DTMB achieved significant savings on the cooling tower water.
DTMB staff accepts 2022 Biggest Loser award in the water category. Pictured from left to right: Executive Director of the U.S. Green Building Council of West Michigan, Cheri Holman, and DTMB State Facilities Administration employees, Sarah Goodrich, Edward Wright, Mike Noonan, Bethanie Jensen, and Brian Walts.
The South Grand Building was named the 2022 Biggest Loser in the Office Category with a 19.61% energy reduction. Beginning late in 2021, DTMB converted 100% of the lighting in the building to CREE SmartCast LED fixtures. The electricians placed amp probes on the old fluorescent fixtures and compared them to the new LED. They estimated they could save at least 30% on lighting alone, as well as thermal load. Each fixture has integrated sensors, electronics, and software that interact with each other to provide optimal lighting in a space. They have a daylight harvesting feature and continuously detect room occupancy. This intelligent lighting system delivers a comfortable, cost-effective lighting experience. For the HVAC modifications, they adjusted HVAC system schedules so start times are closer to actual tenant occupancy. Additionally, they staggered start-ups of the HVAC and other building equipment to avoid large draws. The projects have a payback of less than eight years. Overall, the LED replacement project was a great success. In addition to the huge energy savings, they received an abundance of compliments about the “crisp new look” of the LED fixtures from customers.
DTMB staff accepts 2022 Biggest Loser award in the office category. Pictured from left to right: DTMB State Facilities Administration employees, Sarah Goodrich, Doug Church, Neal Droste, Tom Smith, Mike Thompson, and Executive Director of the U.S. Green Building Council of West Michigan, Cheri Holman.
About Michigan Battle of the Buildings
The Michigan Battle of the Buildings has been a program of the U.S. Green Building Council of West Michigan since 2014. It is the only statewide biggest loser styled energy competition in the country. For more information on the program, please visit MichiganBattleOfTheBuildings.org.