• Posted: September 16, 2020
• Andriy Kovalchuk, better construction, Brian Haug, Continental Electrical Construction Company’s Energy Solutions Group, Countryside Municipal Complex, Hy-Power Electric Company, Jerry Kosteck, Johnathan Tallman

Powering Chicago contractors deliver better construction throughout the City of Chicago and suburban Cook County day in and day out, 365 days per year. Several recent projects and one ongoing one, each of which was possible because of skilled union electricians from IBEW Local 134, were showcased in the September 2020 issue of Electrical Contractor magazine in a story by Susan Casey.

One of the projects featured was the first net-zero government building in Illinois, completed by Hy-Power Electric Company and Continental Electrical Construction Company’s Energy Solutions Group for the City of Countryside. Read on to learn more.

Countryside Municipal Complex

The City of Countryside’s Municipal Complex is a 34,500-square-foot, three-story building that replaces a 1960s-era city hall and police department. It wasn’t initially planned to be the state’s first net-zero government building—a structure designed to produce as much energy annually as it uses—but after comprehensive modeling, the idea became a possibility.

“Architects and engineers focused on the air barrier, the primary air enclosure boundary that separates indoor (conditioned) air and outdoor (unconditioned) air, making the building 400% tighter than the current building code. After the building was completely sealed outside, it was possible to properly regulate airflow and lessen the use of air conditioning or heat, depending on the season,” said Jerry Kosteck, CEO of Hypower Electric, Crestwood, Ill., the EC responsible for the building’s lighting, lighting control, and low-voltage power.

To achieve this goal, the building had to be sealed on the outside, which allowed for airflow regulation so that less heat is used in winter and less air conditioning is used in the summer. Any penetrations to the outside were sealed with a rubber material, preventing airflow in or out of the building, resulting in a building that is 400% tighter than called for by the current building code.

“We had never worked on a net-zero project before,” Kosteck said. “Steps we took to decrease energy use included installation of motion-sensor-activated lights in every room and occupancy sensors on wall receptacles. If an employee left a phone charger or calculator plugged in when they left for the day, the sensor would automatically shut it off.”

The project was Certified LEED Gold.

“Most commercial net-zero energy facilities use a simple box form, incorporating precast wall construction or fully glazed facades,” said Johnathan Tallman, architect of Dewberry. “In contrast, Countryside officials desired a prairie-style-inspired design aesthetic, incorporating a combination of limestone, brick, and glass components, among others.

“We collaborated with the construction manager and the client to develop a strategy to construct four conceptual assemblies,” Tallman said.

“The building was designed and built using the latest energy-efficiency technology, for example, LED motion sensor lighting and programmable power outlets,” said Brian Haug, president, Continental Energy Solutions, Oakbrook, Ill., which handled the solar installation on the Countryside Municipal Complex. “That allows the building’s base loads to be significantly reduced when occupancy decreases in the evenings and on weekends.”

The full solar-power system is composed of the carport structures and the rooftop arrays.

“The architect called for all the inverters to be clustered in one central location, on the second floor of the building, just east of the larger rooftop array, so we accepted the challenge,” said Andriy Kovalchuk, project manager, Continental Energy Solutions.

“The installation was unique in that, historically, we mount inverters on carports, convert DC power to AC power and then make our run to the client’s electrical panel,” Kovalchuk said. “On the Countryside project, with the SolarEdge inverters being mounted on the second floor of the building, we utilized SMA’s DC combiner boxes at the carports and ran DC strings to the inverters.”

The rooftop arrays were made up of 172 345W SunPower modules with 86 P800 SolarEdge optimizers in a two-modules-to-one optimizer configuration. The carport portion of the solar installation had 466 460W SunPower modules in a 1:1 configuration with P730 optimizers. The rooftop and carport systems combined make up a 273.7 kW DC/230.4 kW AC solar generator.

An energy-saving strategy involved a unique 638-panel solar installation with an estimated annual output of 275.2 MWh, enough to produce 100% of the building’s electricity.

The project was completed in two phases. The carport scope was started in winter. The rooftop portion of the solar system wasn’t ready for installation until late summer.

“Building the canopies on-site in midwinter was challenging because the ground was either muddy or frozen,” Haug said.

To read what Electrical Contractor wrote about a new firehouse for the Chicago Fire Department and a variety of work at Navy Pier, click the links to read the blog posts about the projects.