Efficient engineering supports community healing and connection
To bring energy efficiency to any community, it is vital to understand the people who live there and their history. We were recently honored to help the 朗多多样表达中心 increase their building energy efficiency and comfort and had the opportunity to learn more about the history of heartache and 毅力 that occurred in our very own city of Saint Paul.
的 朗多多样表达中心 (RCODE) is a dynamic Saint Paul nonprofit with an extensive history. Originally a subset of the organization Rondo Avenue Inc., RCODE总裁马文·安德森 created the nonprofit and spearheaded the creation of the 隆多纪念广场 in 2014, an outdoor community space of healing and history. 朗多社区 started as a thriving community of Black residents and culture throughout the 20th century and acted as the community’s economic, 文化, 公民, 精神中心. 20世纪60年代, it was cut in half by the construction of Interstate-94 between downtown Saint Paul and Minneapolis. This development displaced many community members and deteriorated much of the community wealth that had previously thrived.
RCODE aims to unite the Rondo community through the outdoor 隆多纪念广场, which displays a rich timeline of Rondo history. 的 space hosts a variety of activities and events during warmer months and is the venue for St. 保罗的六月节庆典, an annual ceremony for the installation of commemorative brick pavers and a series of panels displaying the people, 的地方, 历史性的隆多事件. 截至2019年6月, RCODE has occupied the building adjacent to the Plaza and has been renovating the space to host community meetings, 展示艺术和人文, 作为一个小型的隆多博物馆. Using these physical spaces and programs, RCODE seeks to accomplish its mission to use elders’ memories and connect them to youths’ imaginations because, 正如安德森校长所说, “Without the connection and imaginations, the legacies of Rondo will vanish and will die.”
“Without the connection and imaginations, the legacies of Rondo will vanish and will die.”
考虑到明尼苏达冬天的特点, RCODE was on the lookout for indoor space and was elated when the building next to the plaza became available. Marvin got to work improving the building with a recommended update on the HVAC system to a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heating system, an all-electric heat pump system that uses refrigerant to pinpoint heating and cooling throughout multiple zones of a space to save energy. 然而, 在最初的几个月, Marvin noticed the system acted erratically and the building’s utility bills climbed to extremely high rates. 马文向 Xcel能源 who in turn contacted CEE’s engineering team to tackle the problem.
CEE was thrilled to assist a nonprofit with so much local history and vitality. After some building and system analysis, our team concluded that the VRF system, 旨在减少碳排放, had been incorrectly installed so that the thermostat’s manual control of modulated temperature was tricky to facilitate, creating energy waste and contributing to the high energy bills. 我们的团队发现了问题所在, offered temporary solutions to the building operation, and worked to connect Marvin with the original manufacturer for a permanent update. 使用Xcel能源公司提供的数据, our team utilized energy reports from the past year to model future payments once the system is running correctly. “CEE put together a great analysis of how the system should work when operating properly,马文说。. “的y were able to give us a realistic idea of what the cost of operation will be once the system is reestablished and up and running. I don’t think this problem would have been solved without CEE’s expertise and their persistence to find solutions to this system’s problem.”
"I don’t think this problem would have been solved without CEE’s expertise and their persistence to find solutions to this system’s problem."
的 朗多多样表达中心 works to reunite a community that was, 正如马文所说, “埋, 但没有被摧毁.” CEE is proud to support this vision by ensuring a comfortable and energy efficient indoor community space. To keep this community and many like it thriving all winter, our engineering team creates operation guides and our research team studies VRF能源效益 跨越明尼苏达的多个建筑. 我们感谢你们的耐心, 毅力, and work RCODE has applied to mend the Rondo community, with energy efficiency as a part of their journey.