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| The Round |
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With a bold new vision of urban development and energy services, The Round at Beaverton Central encompasses an entire community being built around a light rail urban transit station in the greater Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. The project includes condominiums, restaurants, retail, hotel, office buildings, and an entertainment center. The design motif is distinctly European, with an expansive public plaza as the focal point. |
The architect and developer's concerns about visual and acoustical issues associated with compressors and outside heat exchangers of typical unitary systems led them to solicit new ideas for the site's HVAC systems. Working with our client, an unregulated division of an electric and gas utility, we proposed a high-performance district heating/cooling plant that is based on the Hartman Loop™ technologies. The superior performance of this solution made it cost effective with the unitary alternates without the noise and clutter. It also entitled the developer to a substantial State energy efficiency tax credit.
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The agreement between our client and the developer is one of the most exciting aspects of this remarkable project. Our client is the owner and operator of the central plant, and responsible for operating and maintaining all the energy conversion systems in the entire complex. But there will be no sales of chilled or heating water, nor maintenance services. Instead the agreement calls for our client to sell guaranteed comfort throughout the facility. This radically new approach has been labeled "Integrated Energy Services" or IES, and it offers the opportunity for a new type of relationship between Owner and energy services provider wherein both parties benefit by reducing energy requirements. |