Sustainability upgrades makes City-County building one of most energy-efficient government offices

Mayor Greg Ballard detailed upgrades to the City-County Building (CCB) Monday that are reducing the city’s environmental footprint and resulting in guaranteed energy savings of $750,000 annually for the next 15 years. The sustainability measures – including heating, cooling and ventilation system improvements and installation of a geothermal heat recovery chiller system – are transforming the CCB and making it a model for green building in Indianapolis. As a result, the 50-year-old building is becoming one of the most energy-efficient government office buildings in the nation.

“The changes we are making to the City-County Building and City-owned buildings across the system – and the savings involved – are a perfect example of how the city can become more sustainable while being economical,” said Mayor Ballard. “Making Indianapolis one of the most sustainable cities in the Midwest improves quality of life for our residents by being smarter about taxpayer dollars and creating a cleaner environment. Our actions are driving green building technology usage by both the private and public sectors.”

The retrofit upgrades will decrease electricity consumption by 39 percent and steam consumption by 93 percent. The innovative improvements within the CCB include:

• Heating, cooling and ventilation system improvements

• Expanded building controls

• Lighting occupancy sensors

• Installation of renewable energy with a geothermal heat-recovery chiller system and solar thermal and solar PV systems

• Solar and wind powered LED plaza lights

These water conservation measures were implemented at the CCB as part of the Building Authority’s regularly scheduled maintenance and capital projects and will reduce water consumption by 40 percent:

• Low-flow plumbing fixtures in every public restroom

• 1.6 gallon per-flush commodes and efficient urinals

• Turbine-driven, touchless restroom faucets powered by the incoming water stream

The upgrades were funded primarily through a guaranteed energy savings contract, with supplemental funding provided from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. The upgrades are part of the Sustainable Facilities Initiative, an $18 million investment in energy-efficiency and water conservation measures in 61 city facilities implemented by the Office of Sustainability under the direction of Mayor Ballard. This major investment will result in a total guaranteed energy and water savings for the City of Indianapolis of $1.7 million annually for the next 15 years and a 25 percent reduction in energy use across the target building portfolio utilized by five city departments.

Through the Sustainable Facilities Initiative led by the Office of Sustainability, which Mayor Ballard created in 2008, Indianapolis is becoming one of the most sustainable cities in the Midwest. To learn more about the Greening the City-County Building project and to view a documentary about the project and live building dashboard, visit www.indy.gov/SustainIndy.