The Victorian Government Property Group (VGPG) provides office accommodation and property services for Victorian Government agencies.

The VGPG owns around 20 office buildings in Melbourne and country Victoria on the government's behalf. It also operates office accommodation leases for client departments and agencies.

New high efficiency boilers

Background

An energy improvement project carried out in the Geelong State Office during 2004 was driven by the government's energy reduction policy and the VGPG’s environmental strategy.

The 'upside-down' pyramid building was built in the mid-1970s and has around 8,500 square metres of net leasable area.

Objectives

All VGPG projects must meet certain environmental criteria to

• improve energy efficiency, comfort and indoor environment conditions
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• reduce water consumption
• ensure all assets are maintained responsibly.

Initial improvements in the Geelong State Office refurbishment were to replace three unserviceable boilers, the cooling tower and pneumatic control system, and to install a web-based energy metering system.

Scope

The 'stretch target' was a 25% cut in energy consumption, a reduction of 400 tonnes per year in greenhouse gas emissions and a recurrent cost saving of $40,000 per annum.

These projects were carried out:

• Installation of electronic expansion valves to the reciprocating chiller
• Replacement of boilers with two unevenly-sized, high efficiency boilers (sized at 75% and 25% - allowing for quick winter start up and mind ambient conditions)
• Replacement of hot water pumps/motors with variable speed/high efficiency pumps
• Replacement of cooling towers with state of the art, low-Legionella risk, low-maintenance closed loop coolers Muller 3C. These coolers use around 400 litres of water per day, as opposed to certain cooling towers that use more than 10,000 litres per day
• Installation of an internet-based metering and monitoring system to record electricity and gas consumption
• Repairs and minor overhaul of the lighting systems within the tenancies and on the base building
• Rebalance of the air handling system
  
• Installation of six solar hot water collectors and two 315 litre storage tanks for domestic hot water.

Muller 3C coolers.

Progress

There was an energy saving of 18.5% as energy consumption dropped from 1,278 MJ/m² in 1999 to 1,041 MJ/m² in 2004.

Greenhouse gas emissions have been reduced by 564 tonnes per year (from 328 kg CO2 /m² to 261 kg CO2 /m²).

Recurrent costs have been reduced by about $23,000.

The unofficial Australian Building Greenhouse Rating currently is 3.5 stars.

The next step is to introduce a waste reduction system for tenants and improve water efficiency.

Contact for more information

Steven Peters
Client Manager

Phone: (03) 9655 3278