Modernization of the 1960s-era Byron G. Rogers Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Denver is putting new chilled-beam technology to work to help reduce energy use in the building’s office tower by almost 70%.
Work on the 18-story, 494,000-sq-ft building, home to 11 federal agencies, includes upgrades to structural elements and all major building systems, including mechanical, electrical and plumbing. Built in 1965, the tower’s inefficient and inflexible mechanical system will be removed and replaced with a chilled-beam system. Chilled-beam technology has been used extensively in Europe but is just making its way to the U.S., says Bill Green, president of The RMH Group, Lakewood, Colo., the mechanical-electrical engineer.