The Forum

One of the newest acquisitions of Triarch Capital Group (TCG) is the Forum, located in West Palm Beach, FL, close to the Palm Beach International Airport, the West Palm Beach Tri-Rail station and the Brightline station.

The Forum, with a total of 185,089 SF of office space across two buildings, and under new ownership, is poised to become the most attractive business center in the West Palm Beach area.

The Opportunity

Triarch Capital Group (TCG) was looking for areas of improvements and comfort for its tenants. In response, OnPeak Energy designed a strategy to improve comfort and sustainability, helping with the reduction in emissions by implementing some changes to the Forum Buildings.

The Proposal

For The Forum, after understanding the condition of the property and the needs, OnPeak proposed a complete upgrade to the HVAC system, since theirs was already outdated. This upgrade included: replacing two chillers with new and more efficient ones, upgrading the cold water and chilled water loops by replacing pumps valves, and replacing the cooling towers of both buildings.

A new building management system was also installed to improve the performance of tower B and C. In addition, the parking garage was retrofitted with LED lights to improve the quality of the lights and achieving significant electricity savings. OnPeak was able to create a customized turnkey solution, where all the investment is paid back by savings generated with new and more efficient components.

The Solution

OnPeak selected VFD controlled air cooled chillers from Daikin Applied. These chillers are more efficient than standard centrifugal chillers. In addition, the cooling towers for both buildings were replaced because the previous ones were already outdated and with several leaks. OnPeak also upgraded the building management system (BMS) to enhance the chillers’ performance and achieve further savings. The installed system combined with variable frequency drivers for the cooling towers and AHU will allow the property to run in a more efficient way, allowing the building to not only cut energy costs but to also improve the temperature and conditions for its tenants.

To increase the savings, OnPeak designed a comprehensive LED lighting retrofit for the parking garage. The LED retrofit included the removal of 1,200 fluorescents tubes and the installation of 260 new technology LED Canopies and 225 LED Tubes. These updates improved the light levels of the parking garage up to 217% while reducing power consumption.

By bundling the HVAC requirement with other measures, such as the new LED lighting system and the new BMS system, the entire project will be repaid with the savings generated.

 

The Outcome

With the newly installed chiller and cooling towers, which includes a five-year part and labor warranty, and the LED retrofit at the parking garage, The Forum assures their tenant’s comfort and achieves $193,220.97 per year in maintenance and energy savings. With the new building management system, the mechanical equipment in the property will be remotely controlled in real time.

 

Industry

N/A

Technology

HVAC, BMS, LED

Expected
Savings

$193,220

Annual KWH
Reduction

874,180

CO2
Reduction

1,434,282 lbs of CO2

Location

West Palm Beach FL