Built in 1991, Central Arts Plaza proudly stands in the heart of the growing central arts district in Phoenix, Arizona. As the signature tower on the Phoenix skyline, the 24-story, 500,000-square-foot building is a multi-tenant, Class A office tower, and its 78 suites house more than 900 people. 

In 2012, the electric bill for this building was more than $700,000. The building management firm McCarthy Cook & Co. sought to reduce operational costs and better manage energy use in the facility by replacing obsolete and difficult-to-maintain systems. The energy saving measures they implemented have resulted in more than $200,000 in savings allowing the facility managers to spend more time focusing on customer service.  

Partnership helps identify energy conservation measures

Energy rebates from the local utility company and incentives available from the city of Phoenix through the Energize Phoenix Program meant the timing was right for the upgrade. Ron Lloyd, the operations manager with McCarthy Cook & Co., partnered with the professionals at Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort solutions and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, to determine the right strategy for reducing overhead costs. 

Together, McCarthy Cook & Co. and Trane reviewed budget proposals and identified energy conservation measures (ECMs) that would reduce operational costs. They found the top ECMs that would have the greatest impact were updating the building’s aging energy management system (EMS) and central plant manager control system and adding Trane® Adaptive Frequency™ drives (AFDs) to the central plant chillers.

Real-time data drives efficiency

To help manage energy use, Central Arts Plaza utilizes Trane® Intelligent Services, part of the Trane® Building Advantage™ portfolio. Energy Performance, a cloud-based dashboard with advanced analytics, tracks and optimizes building performance to uncover areas of energy waste and enable informed decisions to trim energy costs. In addition, an Energy Assessment using Energy Analyzer provides the building team with a real-time view of utility use and comparisons of historical consumption data.  Both tools are used in quarterly reviews that Trane conducts with Central Arts Plaza to enhance building performance.

McCarthy Cook & Co. also looked for solutions that would help reduce the building’s peak demand and the need to run multiple chillers. The best solution was to complete a central plant retrofit. As part of the retrofit, the 26-year-old chillers were rebuilt and upgraded with Trane Adaptive Frequency drives. Tracer AdaptiView™ chiller controls were installed and provide detailed reports and graphs that provide the data needed to optimize energy efficiency in the building.

All of the building systems are integrated together with Tracer® ES, a web-based building management solution. A Tracer ES building automation system provides the Central Arts Plaza team with an online view of the whole building, which helps them perform daily operations, such as making setpoint changes and conducting data analysis for better decision-making.

“Our 26-year-old rebuilt chillers are performing like brand-new,” said Ron Lloyd, operations manager at McCarthy Cook & Co. “The Energy Management System is easy to use, the drives hit it out of the park, and the central plant controls marry the two together. Adding capital to our building has definitely increased its value.”

Achieving the desired results

The energy saving measures McCarthy Cook & Co. implemented provides significant reduction in operating costs for Central Arts Plaza. Reductions in electric demand of over 600 kW year over year resulted in a savings of more than $200,000 annually. For the first time in 20 years, Central Arts Plaza is able to run only one chiller in the summertime. There has also been a reduction in hot/cold calls from an average of 25 calls a day to just one, allowing facility managers to spend more time focusing on customer service.