Tempe Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant one year later Denise Brewer Senior Engineering Associate City of Tempe, Arizona
Overview In the summer of 2009, the City of Tempe was awarded a $930,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) as part of the American Recovery and Investment Act (ARRA). The City identified twenty-three City buildings and facilities for retrofits, including City Hall, police and fire stations, community centers, maintenance facilities and water treatment facilities. The retrofits included interior lighting kits, HVAC system controls and units, exterior light fixtures and chiller optimization software.
Lessons Learned Choosing an experienced and knowledgeable contractor has been instrumental in the success and completion of this project. Their knowledge and experience has been helpful in navigating some of the challenges that came along with installing approximately 14,000 interior lighting retrofits, 2,000 occupancy sensors, 500 thermostats and 1,400 HVAC system controls. Facility staff also contributed to the project’s success by troubleshooting complaints and investigating critical calls from building occupants. Their institutional knowledge of the facilities and diverse experience were crucial in resolving any issues on a timely basis and ultimately keeping the project on schedule. Establishing weekly progress meetings with building occupants helped establish project milestones, 50 APWA Reporter
May 2012
weekly goals, and streamlined response calls for repairs or adjustments needed during and after installation of the retrofits. The meetings expedited the answering of any question or concern the building occupants had prior to work beginning scheduled in their areas. Open communication in partnership with these meetings assisted in coordinating work after hours, during non-critical times, and on the weekends in order to eliminate the disruption of City services and operations. An example of this occurred when we needed to install the new heat exchanger in the loop on the main chiller plant that services City Hall, courthouse, jail, police headquarters, human resources and financial services. The team and representatives from each area accessed the challenges and elected to schedule work after hours starting at 4:30 p.m. and completing the work by 4:30 a.m. Daily site visits and monitoring of the contractor’s progress benefited both the contractor and occupants by providing them with the support and dialogue needed to resolve any challenges occurring from working in areas accessible to the public and employees. Housekeeping, overhead construction, worksite restrictions and limited space were challenges addressed and resolved with the assistance of the contractor and City staff during these daily site visits. The professional relationships established during these activities created a foundation of respect and
understanding. Through teamwork and creative scheduling, we were able to complete a substantial portion of the project ahead of schedule. The placement of exterior lighting fixtures on City facilities and public outdoor spaces is crucial when addressing placement of the fixtures. It is important to assess the architectural elements of a municipal facility at the initiation of the audit and carry through when the audit becomes the project. In conjunction with the architectural element, the project should include the required lighting specifications for exterior areas as well as interior spaces. This will help eliminate any questions about the type of fixture and lighting that is acceptable to your organization. Another important lesson is to communicate with the department in your organization responsible for building safety inspections to determine whether they require inspections on lighting retrofits. Some organizations classify these retrofits as a component of routine maintenance while others require permitting and inspections. If it is addressed prior to project initiation, the schedule can be established to reflect the permitting and inspections assisting with the success of the project. After nine months of working through the City’s designated twenty-three facilities, here are a few
