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Denver Center Events & Operations Facilities
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FACILITIES Clay Courter, Director, Facilities Management Major HVAC work was completed for the Robert and Judi Newman Center for Theatre Education building and the Bonfils Theatre Complex in mid-FY13. In addition, all The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) staff and operations were relocated from the Champa building, and responsibility for the control and management of the building transferred back to the City of Denver. Energy Consumption Update Energy conservation has been a major priority. Prior to 2008, the DCPA was spending an average of $650,000 per year to heat, cool and power the Bonfils and Newman buildings. In contrast, $567,000 was spent for the same services in FY13. Below are some of the ways in which this was accomplished: n In 2009, an energy auditing firm completed a study of DCPA facilities and made recommendations based on its findings; n The DCPA aggressively moved toward implementing these recommendations, making strides in energy efficiency by encouraging conservation and replacing obsolete and inefficient building and computing systems, lighting and switches;
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In FY12, HVAC units in the Bonfils and Newman buildings were replaced—leading to significant reductions in steam and chilled water consumption in the first year of operation.
As a result of these efforts, over the last five years the DCPA has: n Reduced total daily average Bonfils and Newman KWH consumption by 21% from baseline consumption (2004-2008), saving more than 2.3M kilowatt hours; n Reduced steam consumption 14% from baseline and chilled water consumption 24% from baseline in less than 18 months; n Seen reductions in operational savings of more than $273,000 since 2008. These were achieved in an environment in which electrical rates have increased 15%, and steam and chilled water rates have increased 9% and 18%, respectively; n Received more than $100,000 in rebates from Xcel Energy as a result of the upgrades to infrastructure.