Project Overview

The Sunrise Metro project is an existing multi-family residential building in Salt Lake City, Utah, undergoing a full HVAC system replacement as part of a development grant targeting a 50% or greater reduction in HVAC energy use and a long-term pathway to net zero energy.

A2 Efficiency was engaged by the Giv Group to evaluate replacement HVAC options and quantify anticipated annual energy performance improvements for tenant apartment spaces. The work included energy model development, calibration to two years of operational utility data, and comparative analysis of the existing and proposed systems.

Our Role

• Developed a representative whole-building energy model using IES-VE, calibrated against three years of monthly utility data to establish an accurate baseline.

• Evaluated replacement HVAC options against the project's 50% HVAC energy reduction target, informing final system selection.

• Compared existing once-through exhaust ventilation and aging VRF heat pumps against a proposed balanced HRV system with cold-climate VRF and MERV-13 filtration.

Project Highlights

• 51% reduction in HVAC energy use achieved by the proposed system, meeting the project's grant-defined performance target.

• Heat recovery ventilation (HRV) with 66% sensible effectiveness captures exhaust heat to pre-condition incoming outdoor air, dramatically cutting heating demand.

• Upgraded VRF heat pumps improve cooling COP from 3.25 to 4.29 and heating COP47 from 3.54 to 3.94, with cold-climate configuration extending efficient operation in Salt Lake City winters.

• New double-pane vinyl-frame windows (U-0.25) replace existing aluminum frames (U-0.90), reducing envelope heat loss significantly.