Brown University

Miller, Metcalf, Andrews

''These were our two worst buildings on campus for the systems, especially for the heating systems, and now it's just spectacular.'' - Margaret Klawunn, Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services

Miller, Metcalf and Andrews Halls are the historic buildings that were the center of the old Pembroke Quad. As part of the Brown University master renewal plan, these spaces were renovated in 2012 to improve these dormitories for students as well as to improve energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. The project upgrades were completed in accordance with Brown University's Design and Construction Standards, which require 25% better energy efficiency than base code. The renovated buildings were certified LEED-NC Gold.

Stephen Turner Inc. provided comprehensive services beyond those required for LEED fundamental and enhanced commissioning services. The commissioning scope included new HVAC and energy recovery systems, domestic hot water systems, and lighting controls required to be commissioned by LEED USGBC, as well as new campus utility metering, demand reduction load-shedding, emergency power and standby transfer switches.

Commissioning of the upgraded building systems including the Building Automation System helped to optimize the performance of the energy recovery systems, and to ensure that the Ethernet based metering system was properly implemented to allow supervisory control of load-shedding as part of the campus-wide electrical grids. Through first year commissioning monitoring of operations, issues to improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality were identified and resolved with the project team. These fast paced renovations with complex phasing required a highly collaborative approach to commissioning coordination and execution.