Accesso Partners is a full-service commercial real estate investment manager. It was established in 2003 and quickly positioned itself as one of the top office operators in the country (Top 8 and Top 2 privately owned). Currently manages 38 properties across multiple states with a total of 13MM SF with a NAV close to $3 Billion.
Accesso is continually looking for areas of improvements and comfort for its tenants, and together with ONPEAK Energy has designed a strategy to be more sustainable and help with the reduction in emissions by implementing some changes to the assets they manage. For the 1776 Yorktown building, a new HVAC system was needed, but its cost and payback were outside Accesso’s budget.
ONPEAK Energy is a Florida-based Efficiency Consultancy Company that works with building owners to evaluate, install, and help finance investments in energy-saving equipment. For 1776 Yorktown, after understanding the condition of the property and the needs, ONPEAK proposed replacing the two chillers in the with new more efficient ones as well as an upgrade to the existing Building Management System. The building was also needing to replace a very old oversized wooden cooling tower. ONPEAK was able to create a customized turnkey solution that had no negative cash flow impact and allowed Accesso to get this project done without impacting their budget; all the investment is paid back by savings generated with new and more efficient components
ONPEAK selected two new magnetic bearing chillers
From Daikin technology. These Chillers are more efficient than standard centrifugal chillers, besides, its oil-free technology reduces the maintenance expenses and extends the chillers life cycle. The original piping system was designed to operate alternate chillers, therefore a piping proposal was presented that will enable to run the new chiller in parallel, thus allowing a resizing of the chiller plant from 1000 ton to 580 ton, reducing the project cost significantly and forecasting larger energy savings.
By resizing the chiller system, the building could now replace the old cooling tower with a new smaller and more efficient BAC cooling tower.
Also, to enhance the chillers’ performance and achieve further savings, ONPEAK upgraded the building management system (BMS) for the building. The installed system combined with variable frequency drivers for the cooling towers and AHU will allow the property to run on a more efficient way, allowing the building not only to cut energy costs but also improve the temperature and conditions for its tenants. ONPEAK also included an analytics module that will enable the property to run variable sequences depending on weather conditions and occupancy, which will, in the long run, help the property save energy.
To increase the savings necessary for the payback of the project, ONPEAK designed a comprehensive LED lighting retrofit for the parking garage. The LED retrofit included the removal of 245 fluorescent fixtures and the installation of 123 new technology LED Canopies, improving the light levels of the parking 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, allowing Accesso to have a better building for their tenants without impacting their cash flow.
With the newly installed chiller, which includes a five-year part and labor warranty together with the new cooling tower, Accesso Partners assures their tenant’s comfort and achieves $43,568 every year in maintenance and power savings. With the new building management system, the mechanical equipment in the property will be remotely controlled in real time and will generate an additional $68,369 in savings every year in electrical costs. Finally, the parking decks updated with the new LED canopies improved its light levels in 84% and will save $10,231 per year in electrical and maintenance related costs. Additionally, the project qualified and collected a $6,750 rebate from Centerpoint Energy.