The Upper Valley Haven, Family Shelter
2ndAward Winner at Better Building by Design – 2006
Excellence in Energy Conscious Building Design
Architect: UK Architects, PC
General Contractor: Shepard Construction
Energy Efficiency Consultant: John B. Unger Murphy
Thermal Envelope Specialist: Murphy's CELL-TECH – John B. Unger Murphy
Payback for Energy Performance Upgrades: Under Two Years
Murphy’s CELL-TECH was responsible for Thermal Insulation &
Air-barrier Integrity. The facility has 11,554 square feet divided between
residential occupancy and business occupancy. The energy performance upgrades
added $15,000 to the Baseline Code Compliance construction costs. The simple $
payback for all energy performance upgrades was initially projected to be 4
Years, based in part on $ 0.85 cost per gallon of Fuel Oil at time of
construction, 2003.
The Haven completed its 1st
full year of occupancy in 2004, and its energy use was lower than initially
projected while cost of fuel went up to $ 0.95 per gallon of Fuel Oil.
“First-year savings over base model was estimated at $ 6,500 with oil prices at
$0.95 per gallon.” The projected payback was adjusted to reflect the actual
energy usage, thereby achieving a projected payback in 2.3 years. Subsequent
Fuel Oil price increases during 2004 & 2005 up to $2.35+ per
gallon resulted in a more rapid payback. In the end the performance upgrades
resulted in a simple payback of less than 2 years.
The Upper Valley Haven is
performing better than projected with its energy performance upgrades. The
Design Load with upgrades for heating this 11,554 square foot facility was
estimated to be 117 kBtu/hr, or 10.1 kBtu/hr per 1000 sq. ft of conditioned
area. The actual fuel for heating and domestic hot water is less than
estimated for heating alone.
This project is related to the Upper Valley Haven Adult Center.
