Commercial Customers Can Earn Money for Making Buildings More Efficient
A Cherry Creek North office building seized the opportunity to update its heating and cooling system on its utility provider’s tab. The Ptarmigan at Cherry Creek, a 400,000-square-foot office complex that soars above the neighborhood skyline, updated its cooling tower system in spring 2008 and is reaping the benefits in 2009. “When Ptarmigan receives their incentive check at the end of the year from Denver Water, I think they will see that it more than pays for the upgrades,” said Jason Millheim, a Denver Water conservation engineer.
Water meters showed the Ptarmigan building, which was not at full occupancy at the time, was using more than 8 million gallons of water each year. Further, 5.8 million gallons was being used by the cooling tower alone. Denver Water saw this as an opportunity to help one of its customers reduce consumption. In March 2008, Denver Water conservation engineers conducted a water-use audit in the Ptarmigan to uncover areas where water was being used inefficiently and find ways to reduce consumption in its heating and air conditioning systems.
During the audit, engineers discovered heavy calcium and dirt deposits blocking the flow of water through the cooling tower, hindering performance and wasting a significant amount of water. At the conclusion of the audit, Denver Water estimated that nearly a half million gallons of water was being wasted per year, costing the Ptarmigan an extra $1,100 annually.
“We went through and cleaned up their entire system. The pipes were full of gunk!” Millheim said.
During the audit, Denver Water conservation engineers discussed the utility’s incentive program offered to commercial and industrial customers. The program, designed to motivate Denver Water customers to update their equipment to be more water efficient, seemed a perfect fit for the changes Ptarmigan was making. The program makes implementing retrofit projects more cost-effective by paying participating customers back for their reduction in water consumption. Denver Water customers receive $21.50 for each thousand gallons of water saved in a year — up to a maximum of $40,000.
In addition to cleansing the tower dirt deposits, facilities managers at Ptarmigan decided to update their system. To reduce water waste through blow-down, they installed an updated digital controller and a new meter to keep track of water use. Doing so allows them to continue using conventional cooling tower chemicals, but gives them tighter control over the number of times the water must be replaced.
“Ptarmigan will probably reach the $40,000 max this year,” Millheim said. “They have reduced overall consumption by five percent despite having a higher occupancy.”
There are more than 500 buildings in the Denver Water service area using cooling towers. Although regular maintenance is generally performed by facilities managers, there are simple mechanisms that can reduce water consumption during servicing. Such changes also do not have to be budget-breakers. Denver Water conservation engineers will work with you to see where your property can utilize the incentive program or other Denver Water rebates.
Contact Cindy Moe at 303-628-6009 or e-mail cindy.moe@denverwater.org for a free water-use audit for your company and determine where you could be saving water and money.