Energy efficiency upgrades breathe new life into 106-year-old historic St. Helens building

Last year, Columbia County in partnered with Columbia River People's Utility District to renovate a historic landmark in St. Helens, Oregon: the John Gumm building. Originally built in 1919 as a schoolhouse, the refreshed facility now serves as a local community hub. Supported by the Bonneville Power Administration's Commercial Energy Efficiency program, Columbia County and CRPUD successfully identified and implemented numerous energy efficiency upgrades throughout the building.

“By partnering with the Bonneville Power Administration during the design stage of this project, we were able to utilize their expertise to help guide the building renovation team down an energy-efficient path," said CRPUD Distribution Engineer Mike Arend.

BPA's Energy Efficiency and Engineering Services workgroups help regional utilities like CRPUD identify cost-effective energy savings to maximize the value of the Federal Columbia River Power System. With custom projects, energy savings can come from upgrades to central heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, refrigeration, wastewater and more.

Utilities that achieve verifiable energy savings through qualifying projects are eligible to receive an BPA Energy Efficiency Incentive reimbursement. BPA helps utilities plan and implement projects with its Energy Efficiency Implementation Manual as a guideline.

BPA Mechanical Engineer Craig Volz worked with the project team and CRPUD to identify potential energy saving measures that could be implemented during the John Gumm building's renovations. Upgrades to the building included high-performance windows, insulation, heat recovery, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning system upgrades.

“For projects with a single identifiable upgrade, we can use a spreadsheet and compare the performance of the existing baseline system to a proposed system," Volz said. For projects with multiple upgrades, BPA creates an energy simulation model to account for interactive effects between individual energy efficiency measures. “As you start to reduce heat loss in the building, it reduces the heating and cooling load, which could lead to potential savings," he said. “However, it's going to reduce potential savings from HVAC upgrades."

Additionally, a proposed upgrade's lifespan factors into the calculated energy savings. Typically, measures with an extended life may result in a utility receiving a higher incentive payment from BPA. “Building insulation and windows may have about a 40-year measure life. The incentive rate might be 38 to 40 cents a kilowatt hour," Volz said. “However, an HVAC measure has about a 15-year measure life and will have a lower incentive payment."

Volz developed a 3D energy simulation model to create a baseline of the John Gumm building to calculate the total energy usage of the building prior to any proposed upgrades. “You input the geometry of the building, the dimensions, number of floors and insulation values to create a baseline," he said. “Then we take that model, make a copy of it, add proposed upgrades and run the model to calculate energy savings."

When combined, the upgrades made to the building save nearly 291,000 kWh annually, while improving the building's ability to accommodate workflow. For implemented energy savings, BPA awarded CRPUD a $96,410 incentive payment.

“Historic buildings have many obstacles when it comes to renovation and energy efficiency," Arend said. “These types of projects are often viewed as extras and commonly get cut due to funding. The Bonneville Power Administration's energy modeling helped by calculating the estimated incentive and savings on future electric bills. It was a successful project all around and will impact the community for years to come."