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It's Not Easy, Being Green
When the Environmental Protection Agency decided that their new Region 7 Headquarters
should be a green building, they knew they had to find a contractor with the
training necessary to complete this cutting-edge project. In the end, they
selected Commercial Mechanical, Inc. of Kansas City. MO.
It’s not easy, being green. Green buildings require a high degree of training
and research, but CMI has made the commitment, with outstanding results. “We
belong to the Kansas City Chapter of the Mechanical Contractors Association of
America (MCAA),” said Tiffany Patrick, Marketing Director for CMI, “and
we credit our association with the MCAA as our primary resource for information
on cutting-edge technology in our field. Our workforce is the best trained
in the nation. More than $1 million is spent annually on training through the
United
Association.”
Green buildings are models of efficiency in the usage of both resources and
energy. They are made from materials that include recycled, renewable, and
reused resources.
From the design stage through construction and commissioning, the top concerns
are to make these innovative structures comfortable, healthy for occupants,
compatible with the environment, and less expensive to own and operate.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), green building reduces
the impact of natural resource consumption, and improves the bottom line for
business. To help define, facilitate and promote the green building process,
the USGBC has developed the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental
Design) rating system. The LEED system provides a standard of measurement for
green endeavors,
recognizes leaders and stimulates consumer awareness.
Green building was just beginning to gain prominence when the EPA decided
to build their Region 7 Headquarters in the mid-1990s, and many contractors
lacked
the knowledge to understand the complexities of such a project. After much
consideration, the EPA chose the highly experienced CMI staff to provide design
build services
for the mechanical systems, making them friendly to the environment.
The Region 7 Headquarters featured many award-winning design elements, including
a four-story, naturally lit atrium that provided lighting for most of the office
space. Recycled materials, a vital part of any green building endeavor, were
used wherever possible. Foundation materials contained fly ash, a coal byproduct,
and almost all the interior finish contained recycled or environmentally friendly
content.
The building opened in June 1999, but work continued to increase the green
factor. In December 2001, a ‘pony chiller’ was installed to reduce
energy use. This smaller chiller could serve 24-hour-a-day- loads such as the
computer
room, allowing the two large main chillers to shut down at night, on weekends,
and during the winter. The addition of this chiller reduced energy use by at
least 10 percent.
The Headquarters’ design implemented many water-saving measures. The facility
conserves water through the use of low-flow faucets, urinals and toilets. Also,
water-softener installation cut water use by 62 percent, or 831,600 gallons per
year. The softener reduces the water’s hardness before it reaches the
cooling tower, preventing the build-up of scale deposits. This in turn reduces
the need
for flushing and draining. During a typical summer day, this reduced cooling
tower water use by 5,700 gallons per day.
CMI also provided the mechanical and laboratory systems for the EPA’s Science
and Technology Center Laboratory, a project that was aggressively pursuing Leadership
Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification. These projects
made Steve Patrick, Vice President of CMI and a member of the MCAA Education
Committee,
recognize the importance of the LEED initiative, and he has since become a
LEED-Accredited Professional, making CMI the first Mechanical Contractor in
the Kansas City area
to have one on staff.
“The MCA of Kansas City awarded us the 2003 Outstanding Mechanical Installation
Award for the Science and Technology Center,” Ms. Patrick said. “The
MCA provides a lot of support to its member contractors by recognizing their
achievements, and the award also gives us a marketing point to help convey
our merits to potential customers.”
On May 9, 2003, the Kansas City Science and Technology Center opened its
doors. The facility received LEED 2.0 Gold certification for such design features
as daylighting, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and wood products from certified
sustainable
sources.
The Center also featured a rooftop rainwater recovery system, installed to
capture that natural source of wate for flushing toilets. This measure reduced
treated
water use by about 50 percent. The recovery system collected more water than
needed for the toilets, so the excess was used to provide additional water
for the building’s cooling towers. The water-use savings from this system
has been estimated at 735,000 gallons per year.
“We have always been strongly involved with the MCAA, and that involvement
has given us a greater overview of the industry,” Ms. Patrick said. “Green
building is one of our main focuses now. Interest in that movement keeps growing,
and I’ve heard that soon, all major federal construction projects in
the nation will need to be green or LEED-accredited. Ultimately, green building
is
more than just a trend. It is a boon to both the community and the environment.
Leading the way in state-of-the-art technology is only one of many promises
that MCA affiliates make regarding their commitment to providing quality
service.
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