Weifield Group Contracting is providing electrical services for modernization of the Wayne N. Aspinall Federal Building in Grand Junction. Upon completion in 2013, the Aspinall building is expected to be the GSA’s first net-zero-energy building on the National Register of Historic Places.

The remodel will transform the 92-year-old structure into a sustainable facility. It is Weifield’s third net-zero project. Weifield plans to match and redesign historical fixtures while pursuing the highest LEED efficiency for the historic GSA project.

The three-story building is named after Wayne Aspinall, who served from 1949-1973 in the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado’s Fourth District. The Aspinall building originally functioned as a post office and courthouse in 1918, and a large extension was added in 1939.

Designed by renowned architect James Wetmore, the professional office building currently houses the U.S. District Courts, with plans to host nine federal agencies after completion. The multi-tenant building will be fully occupied throughout the modernization.

In conjunction with contractor The Beck Group and architecture and engineering firm Westlake Reed Leskosky, the design team is targeting LEED-Platinum certification. Building-physics analysis has been used to study space thermal comfort, natural ventilation and daylighting potential, envelope thermal performance, renewable-energy potential and whole building energy performance.

A 115-kW roof and canopy mounted photovoltaic array, DC micro-grids, geoexchange and variable refrigerant flow systems are proposed. Energy produced beyond the building’s needs will be exported to Grand Junction’s electrical grid. The building will also feature state-of-the-art florescent and LED light fixtures with wireless controls and storm windows with solar-control film to reduce demand on heating and cooling.

The building will also get energy efficiency upgrades for its shell, space conditioning (with variable-refrigerant flow), better ventilation and wireless controls.