Chanin Building - 815 Connecticut
815 Connecticut Avenue
Washington, DC 20006
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Built in 1963, the Chanin Building is a class B+ office building located one block from K Street to the north and one block from the White House to the south, within the Golden Triangle Business District. The building is a mix of office and retail space consisting of 235,172 square feet in total, with 193,972 rentable square feet and two floors of underground parking.
Transwestern Commercial Services assumed management of this building in November 2007 with the knowledge that the building ownership was ready to begin a major re-development of the building. Working with DRI Development Services, Transwestern compiled a design team consisting of an architect, an MEP engineer, and a structural engineer, and then chose a general contractor who was familiar with green and sustainable projects. Various other consultants are also being utilized to meet the building owners' long-term goals, some of which are to have a true class A+ building and create a true "green" building using sustainable practices.
The most pressing issue of the building was the required replacement of the central plant equipment, which had passed its life expectancy, was undersized, and was very inefficient. The first task of the design team was to select new central plant equipment that would have a long service life, provide economic value, and be energy efficient.
A strong desire by the building ownership was expressed that the building should obtain the highest rating possible from the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC's) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. Transwestern Sustainability Services was contracted to oversee the LEED rating process and perform building commissioning of the new equipment. The ability to monitor the power consumption of individual mechanical components was built into the new plant, so that future energy savings could be planned and monitored in real time.
In November 2007, when Transwestern assumed management of the building, its ENERGY STAR energy performance score was a 38. By utilizing minor lighting retrofits, repairing non-functioning time clocks, and installing occupancy sensors where applicable, as well as tuning the existing HVAC system, the score immediately increased to a 48. After the new central plant equipment was installed during the winter of 2008/2009, the energy performance score jumped to over 80.
Previously, the building's HVAC system consisted of four direct expansion, air-cooled units and an air cooled chiller; the five large units had been installed in a space that did not provide adequate airflow, causing inefficiency and increased maintenance to be an issue during the entire time they were in place. An older building automation system (BAS) was also in place, though it was temperamental and not user friendly. The air-cooled chiller was used to supply chilled water to the first-floor retail spaces.
The new system utilizes two 275-ton McQuay "TurboCor" chillers and two new EVAPCO AT series forced-draft cooling towers with variable frequency drives (VFDs). The new chilled water, condenser water, and closed loop pumps are all variable primary and secondary flow using VFDs. All new chilled water coils and all associated piping had to be installed. The new system is controlled by a Tridium BAS designed and installed by HVAC Concepts; it is a web-based, nonproprietary system. MERV 14 rated filters were installed. New dampers with very low leakage rates were installed in the air-to-air economizer section of the building's air handler. McQuay "TurboCor" chillers use frictionless magnetic levitation bearings, are vibration free, and unusually quiet.
Utilizing a custom adaptive start-stop program that determines start and stop times based on present conditions and historical start and stop times, building equipment start up and shut down times are adjusted every day. These adjusted times have provided a significant savings while still ensuring total tenant satisfaction. When conditions are ideal, the Tridium energy management software starts supply fans, fully opens the outside dampers and relief dampers, and flushes the entire building with fresh air. This not only flushes contaminates but pre-cools the building, allowing the chillers to start later and saving energy.
What has been noticed, however, is the reduction in the KWH consumption which is highlighted in decreased energy bills. Building Management was asked by the owners to explain why the electric bill had decreased so far from the budgeted amount!
Future renovations to the building are expected to lower utility costs as well; these include:
-- Removing the uninsulated brick, marble, and precast facade of the building and replacing with a high efficiency glass curtain wall system.
-- Using direct digital control (DDC) lighting and window shade system with daylight sensors.
-- Redistributing the duct work system to include new VAV boxes, and floor and quadrant zone control with DDC thermostats and dampers.
-- Utilizing a newly installed condenser loop with a plate and frame heat exchanger for retail tenants and tenant supplemental HVAC; meters have already been installed to facilitate BTU billing.
-- Making all plumbing fixtures low water consuming devices.
Comparing the first 10 months of 2009 to the first 10 months of 2008, the gross cost per square foot decreased by $0.78, even though the cost per KWH increased.
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Please note: Narrative information in this profile has been provided by Alecta Pensionsforsakring Omsesidigt or a representative of this facility. Other building information was verified and submitted to EPA at the time of application. Building energy performance, operating characteristics, and ownership/management may be subject to change over time.
Building Owner:*
Alecta Pensionsforsakring Omsesidigt
Property Manager:*
Transwestern
Year(s) Labeled (Rating):
2009 (75)
2013 (81)
2014 (79)
2015 (90)
2016 (89)
Facility Type: Office
Total Floorspace: 231784 sf
Year Constructed: 1963
Contract Type: None
Technologies Used:
| Stage 1-Recommissioning |
| Stage 2-Lighting |
| Stage 3-Load Reductions |
| Stage 4-Fan Systems |
| Stage 5-Heating and Cooling Plant |
| Other Technologies/Strategies |