Lake Country Power
New leed-gold certified service center rewards lake country power with improved efficiency and energy savings
Unlike the Virginia service center, the new building in Mountain Iron, Minnesota houses all operations under one roof including maintenace bays, conference room, control room as well as flexible office space. Further, it is built to use less energy and fewer resources.
To help the Lake Country Power Company make wise building choices, DSGW created payback modeling for energy efficient mechanical items to estimate the return on investment. Before selecting a geothermal system with in-floor heat, for example, DSGW staff prepared a cost-benefit analysis. Other LEED-inspired features include generous window space for har-nessing daylight and providing views for employees, sunshades and light shells for controlling sunlight, occupancy sensors to control electrical light-ing, agrifiber cabinets, and low-flow plumbing fixtures. All finishing materials, such as carpet, vinyl and paint, are VOC-free.
New service center is efficient in both design and energy use. The early, tangible results from Lake Country Power focusing on LEED standards and energy efficiency are impressive. When compared to the old center and its four separate buildings, the new center is using approxi-mately 45% less natural gas and electricity, which saved the cooperative almost $50,000 in the first year of operation.
For their efforts at energy conservation, Lake Country Power was awarded LEED-Gold Certification.
