Historic Building Turns Green, Energizes Downtown

Cloquet, Minn. is located 15 minutes south of Duluth.  Local entrepreneurs Zachery (Zack) and Stephanie Wehr wanted to bring new life to Cloquet’s historic downtown. In 2005, they purchased a 36,000-square-foot brick edifice built in 1919 for the Weyerhauser Company which later became home to the First National Bank of Cloquet. Structurally sound, the sturdy old structure had been empty since 2001 and had fallen into disrepair. The Wehrs envisioned an upscale professional building for offices and unique specialty boutiques and Zack set to work on a plan to restore the building.

To bring the old structure back to life, one of the first challenges was to replace the building’s entire interior look and ancient HVAC system. The old bank had been cooled and heated by a hydronic hodgepodge of 1950’s era steam boilers, chillers, radiators and window-mounted air conditioning units.

“The interior spaces mirrored the date of the boilers,” Wehr said. “We wanted an ‘outdoor feeling’ interior with old-world European style. We certainly didn’t want the same old ugly duct work running everywhere, nor did we want to build soffits to conceal it. More than anything, we wanted energy efficiency. We searched for a high-tech, easy-to-use HVAC system that would reduce our overhead and serve as a showpiece to Northern Minnesota.”

Mitsubishi Electric VRF: Best for Historic Retrofits
Searching for answers, Wehr learned about the highly advanced, highly intelligent Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) zoning systems from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling and Heating Solutions, Suwanee, Ga., from Don Effhauser, commercial outside sales manager for the G.A. Larson Company in nearby Duluth. Effhauser explained to Wehr that this VRF system would save the architectural integrity of his historic building and provide significant energy savings with the first two-pipe, simultaneous cooling and heating system available in the U.S.

Wehr was immediately impressed by the cutting-edge, energy-saving Mitsubishi Electric INVERTER technology, which varies the speed of the compressor in the outdoor unit to meet the changing load requirements in each of the indoor zones. And there were other benefits such as the low operating sound of the compressors and indoor units; the ease of installation (no ductwork needed); and the lightweight, small footprint of the outdoor units. Steven Jones, G.A. Larson’s mechanical systems designer, engineered the entire installation, made the equipment selection and demonstrated how the system would operate in this historic retrofit.

Wehr soon booked a flight and attended a Mitsubishi Electric VRF zoning training class in Dallas, Texas. “The class confirmed that this technology was exactly what we were looking for in sustainability, reducing energy consumption, keeping overhead costs low and controlling the entire system on a private network. The class was very informative and helped me to better understand the piping and wiring for our electricians, refrigeration and communication line technicians. The entire installation was remarkably less labor intensive. Mitsubishi Electric VRF zoning systems will become the flagship HVAC product for our energy company to showcase,” Wehr said.

Minnesota Power Grant – Investment in Innovation
Effhauser introduced Wehr to a new program from Minnesota Power (MP), Duluth, Minn. MP had been evaluating the potential of VRF systems and it was looking for an opportunity to test the technology to help determine if it made sense in Northeast Minnesota’s often extreme climate. MP provided Wehr with a $32,000 research grant through its PowerGrant program. “Heating commercial buildings is a major expense for companies in our region,” said Craig Kedrowski, regional account manager, MP. “We were pleased that Wehr was eager to partner with us and invest in innovation. This decision could stimulate real interest in this technology and have a dramatic impact on energy conservation.”

VRF Cost Efficiencies and Energy Savings
The VRF zoning system was installed in April 2009. To ensure protection against Cloquet’s frigid winters, the two R2-Series outdoor units were installed in the bank’s former vault with outside air ventilation ducted directly inside. Jared Wehr, Zack’s brother and vice president of HVAC Contractor UF, Inc., Cloquet, Minn., installed the system and was impressed by how easy and cost-efficient the VRF system was to set up. “It reduces the amount of ductwork and materials that we traditionally use in a HVAC system because the refrigerant flows from zone to zone through two finger-sized tubes,” Jared Wehr said. He added that the Mitsubishi Electric system requires less floor space, is extremely quiet, gives the building owner more control of zones and recycles energy that otherwise would go out the window.”

First National Plaza Entirely Leased, Downtown Energized
“True to form, spring 2009 didn’t come softly to Cloquet,” Zack Wehr said. “We had some nights that went down to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit and the Mitsubishi Electric system took it all in stride and everyone was comfortable.” The First National Plaza renovation has already energized and brought new visitors to Cloquet’s historic downtown. First floor tenants include Eclipse Paint, Inc. and Design Studio, Zoe’s Boutique, The Banana Leaf, Strategic Financial, the Patio, Jake & Company, and Underground Aquatics. The second floor is entirely leased to Superior View Assisted Living, Life is a Picnic, Goldleaf Partners and Innovative Living. UF, Inc. also relocated its headquarters and uses the building as a premier showcase.

Mitsubishi Electric VRF System Delivers Large Energy Savings
“Our goal was to reduce our carbon footprint and demonstrate that historic buildings can become green and turned into something beautiful rather than torn down,” Wehr said. “We believe that many older buildings in our region could benefit from the success of our VRF zoning system. When our first energy bill arrived, I was ecstatic! The initial energy savings far exceeded our calculations. We have consistently seen our utility costs drop more than 50 percent from the same periods in prior years. It feels good. Payback started the day we flipped the switch!”