City of Encinitas Civic Center Recognized for Energy Retrofit Project with CALMAC Energy Storage Tanks

Last night, the Civic Center in Encinitas, California received the Association of Energy Engineers’ (AEE) 2009 International Award in the Renewable Energy Project of the Year category. As part of the retrofit project, a hybrid cooling system, which included CALMAC’s IceBank energy storage tanks and Trane’s cool water system, was installed at the Civic Center, and reduced its energy costs by 43 percent.

The hybrid cooling system makes and stores ice at night during off-peak times, when utility rates are far less expensive and when cleaner baseload plants are used. Chillers are rightsized to handle energy demand efficiently and stored energy kicks in when needed. This decreases the civic center’s cooling costs and reduces its effect on the energy grid by shifting energy demands to less expensive rates. Over the next 25 years, the project will save the Civic Center more than $4 million in utility bills alone.

Behind this award-winning retrofit design was engineering firm, PE Consulting, and engineering, construction, and alternative energy provider, Xnergy. “We proposed the retrofit project to the city council with the goal of meeting LEED Silver certification,” said Doug Poffinbarger, CEO of PE Consulting. “CALMAC’s energy storage tanks played a significant role in the design, exceeding our expectations in engineering support. We are very proud that the AEE is recognizing Encinitas’ environmental achievement this evening.”

“After the Encinitas City Council unanimously approved our proposal, we began to examine HVAC products that would properly cool the entire building while putting the least amount of strain on the energy grid and the environment,” said Justin Miller, Director of Business Development for Xnergy. “CALMAC and Trane’s hybrid cooling system was selected, ultimately helping the Encinitas Civic Center to win this award.”

This is not the first award the project has won recognizing its commitment to energy efficiency. The California Center for Sustainable Energy awarded the Civic Center the San Diego Excellence in Energy (SANDEE) due to the success of its innovative retrofit.

“Awards like the AEE and SANDEE help shine a greener light on energy retrofit projects, and I’m pleased that CALMAC had a hand in the retrofit at the Encinitas Civic Center,” said Mark MacCracken, CALMAC CEO and USGBC Board Member. “This project helps to show what is possible for every town in every city, and the fact that it is winning awards is a tremendous honor.”