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110 COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — MAY : JUNE 2016 FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION • SPACED OUT For example, if improvements are projected to save 30 percent on a utility bill, the agency receives a loan for the upgrades and uses the savings to pay it back over time. The operational budget of the agency does not increase, but rather a portion is redirected. So, in addition to being stewards of the environment, it allows public bodies to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Virginia DFS reached out to Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort solutions and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, to determine if the performance contracting option made sense to meet the department's needs. "Laboratories struggle with maintaining energy effciency without a loss in operational effectiveness," says agency director Linda Jackson. "We hoped that this project would allow us to incorporate current effciency and sus- tainability technologies without sacrifcing performance, and without expanding our operational budget." Trane engineers conducted a high-level energy analysis of one DFS building to show the possibility for savings. Based on those results, the department was convinced of the opportunity and put out a request for proposals (RFP) for the project. After Trane was selected in the RFP process, engineers conducted an in-depth energy audit of all four DFS buildings. Based on that detailed information, energy engineers developed a list of possible solutions, along with the associated energy savings and costs to determine the payback and timeline to complete the work. Working through those energy conservation measures (ECMs) together, Trane and DFS determined the priorities for the project. "In evaluating potential partners for this project, we looked for a company that envisioned a team approach," says Henry Caprio, facility manager for the department. "Trane's project team members had just that approach, understanding the need to work with agency staff so that the project could progress with as little disruption to agency operations as possible." The Virginia Department of the Treasury funded the im- provements through a loan from a private lender, with technical " We hoped that this project would allow us to incorporate current effciency and sustainability technologies without sacrifcing performance." – Linda Jackson, Agency Director, Virginia Department of Forensic Science