C A S E S T U D Y History’s KeeperA lone cannon stands in a field at the Gettysburg Battlefield. The new Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center opened in 2008 to provide visitors with an understanding of the scope and magnitude of the sacrifices made at Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War, the Union victory that ended Gen. Robert E. Lee’s second invasion of the North in 1863. It was the war’s bloodiest battle with 51,000 casualties and the setting for President Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.” © Getty Images BY TATYANA SHINE, P.E.; AND ELIZABETH PAUL Museums consume mas- he Gettysburg National conditions required for preserva- Military Park Museum tion and reducing long-term energy sive amounts of energy. and Visitor Center houses costs. Since its opening in 2008, From exhibit lighting to what most Civil War the facilities team has maintained Tenthusiasts consider to be the larg- and improved the original energy- temperature control and est collection of civil war artifacts, efficient design by performing a including a massive historic oil daily walk-through to check build- relative humidity, their painting that depicts the battle. ing systems and look for ways to Storing these pieces of American improve performance. The careful costs are much higher history requires a specific dry-bulb attention to operations demonstrates when compared to a temperature and relative humidity that it doesn’t matter how efficiently level be maintained on a daily basis. a building is designed, it will never similar size traditional The museum and visitor center perform to its full potential without design team selected a geothermal a knowledgeable staff to operate office building. system to maintain the precise the systems. 3 2 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS S ummer 2011 This article was published in High Performing Buildings, Summer 2011. Copyright 2011 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. Posted at www.hpbmagazine.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE. For more information about High Performing Buildings, visit www.hpbmagazine.org. THE GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK MUSEUM AND VISITOR CENTER A Decade of Planning The Civil War and the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg spark lively and sometimes heated conversations. The same can be said of the plan to build a new museum and visitor cen- ter. Everyone wanted to weigh in and offer an opinion, including residents of the Gettysburg area, tourists, Civil War reenactors, historical societies, Photography Dowling Bill by Photo supporters of the existing facilities, This view of the facility features the large Cyclorama building as well as the museum and Congress. Making the Case gallery and Ford Education Center and After more than 10 years of for Geothermal book/gift store. Endangered grasses on the site of the visitor center and museum planning and collaboration, two The project team believed that a were harvested and transplanted during Congressional hearings, and more geothermal system promised the construction. The native vegetation requires than 50 public outreach meetings greatest long-term savings, but no irrigation. to help define a project steeped in knew the benefits needed to be American history and tradition, the proven given the increased upfront BUILDING AT A GLANCE Gettysburg National Military Park costs. The team collected return on Museum and Visitor Center (GMVC) investment data for other projects Name The Gettysburg National Military opened in 2008. that used geothermal systems and Park Museum and Visitor Center The design team worked closely hired a geothermal specialist. Location Gettysburg, Pa. with the owners, a public/private This specialist designed the sys- Owner The Gettysburg Foundation and partnership between the National tem, ran the energy models, and The National Park Service Park Service and The Gettysburg helped convince the owners that Principal Use Museum and visitor center Foundation, and the contractor to the system would meet the stringent Includes Cyclorama building, galleries, deliver a LEED Gold museum that temperature and humidity controls temporary exhibit spaces, lower level storage and archive areas, restrooms, operates one of the largest geother- required to preserve the artifacts, two theaters, full-service restaurant, mal systems on the East coast. and that the future cost savings on catering kitchen, classrooms, gift shop/bookstore, staff offices, and The facility features more than energy bills would be worth the conference room 20,000 ft2 of interpretive exhibit higher upfront costs. Employees/Occupants 65 full-time staff space, two 150-seat state-of-the-art Energy models suggested energy off-season; 105 in season, with more theaters, a full-service restaurant and cost savings of 40%. A life-cycle than 1 million visitors annually separate catering kitchen, museum cost assessment compared two Gross Square Footage 140,000 and bookstore, visitor center, and systems, a geothermal heat pump Net Conditioned Space 122,440 ft2 park and foundation administrative system and a conventional four-pipe Total Cost $29.4 million offices. It also houses the historic (hot water and chilled water) system Cost Per Square Foot $210 Gettysburg Cyclorama, which depicts with water-cooled chillers, cooling Substantial Completion/Occupancy the battle. Exhibited for the first time towers and gas-fired boilers. Both May 2008 in December 1884 and painted by systems were selected to comply Occupancy 100% Paul Dominique Philippoteaux, the with the International Mechanical painting was carefully restored and Code and International Energy Distinctions/Awards LEED Gold is now at its original size, 377 ft long Code standards. and 42 ft high. S u m m e r 2 0 1 1 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS 3 3 controls at maximum capacity for temperature. The heat recovery 24 hours a day, seven days a week, chillers operate on cooling mode Photo courtesy of LSC Design, Inc. Design, LSC of courtesy Photo 365 days a year. Based on the types year round and generate the chilled of artifacts in this collection, it and hot water simultaneously. The assessment data suggested was determined that a temperature Hot water is generated by the con- that the geothermal system’s energy of 75°F (±3°) and a 50% relative denser. During summer operation it savings would pay for the upfront humidity (±3%) was necessary to is used for the reheat coils (leaving costs in seven years. The results preserve the collection. condenser hot water temperature at helped the owners understand that a The prepackaged cooling and 90°F). During winter operation the great investment at the beginning of heating plant includes 10 50-ton hot water is used for the hot water the project could result in years of each heat recovery chiller modules, coils (leaving condenser hot water future savings. 14 pumps, four plate heat exchang- temperature at 130°F). ers, hydronic specialties such as air The heat exchangers are installed Geothermal Operation separators, expansion tanks, valves, between the return hot water loop and The geothermal system contains sensors, etc., and the plant digital 168 wells, drilled to an average controller. Above The museum and visitor center is depth of 550 ft. The closed loop The heat recovery chillers are designed to blend into the rural Pennsylvania countryside. It is adjacent to the battlefield, hybrid system uses multiple chill- equipped with 20 scroll compres- but sited at a low point in the terrain so it is ers and is designed to maintain the sors that sequence on and off to not visible from the major interpretive points. specific temperature and humidity maintain a 42°F chilled water Below The facility uses more than 30 types of wall materials, including insulated metal panels, textured masonry, and stone veneer. Photo courtesy of LSC Design, Inc. Design, LSC of courtesy Photo 3 4 HIGH PERFORMING BUILDINGS S ummer 2011 KEY SUSTAINABLE FEATURES Water Conservation Native landscaping eliminates irrigation, underground storage system for collecting storm water to eliminate runoff, under- ground storage system for fire suppres- sion system, low-flow toilets and sinks Recycled Materials Exterior wood timbers harvested from a local barn built more than 100 years ago; landfill impact reduced 75% by diverting metal, cardboard, and wood construction waste to a recycling center Photo by Tim Schoon Photography, courtesy of LSC Design, Inc. Design, LSC of courtesy Photography, Schoon Tim by Photo The porch of the bookstore and gift store and Ford Education Center features timbers BUILDING ENVELOPE adequate hot water temperature. The harvested from a local barn that was more than 100 years old. Roof two-way control valve at the evapora- Type Preweathered standing seam metal roof panels with structural insu- tor heat exchanger modulates open, lated panel system allowing heat from the geothermal pumps were used in this system. The Overall R-value R-31.12 water into the return chilled water condensing gas-fired boilers, working Reflectivity 25.37 flow and then into the condenser hot on 98% efficiency, were installed as a Walls Type More than 30 wall types are used water loop. The chillers’ energy effi- backup system in case of emergency. on this facility, including insulated ciency ratio (EER) is 30 and the heat- Twelve air-handling units (AHUs) metal panels, textured masonry, and stone veneer ing coefficient of performance COP( ) supply hot or cooled and dehumidi- Overall R-value R-31.1 (average of all is 5.5. These are the nominal cooling fied air into 12 zones throughout wall types) Glazing percentage 10% and heating efficiencies, which vary the facility. Each zone is controlled Basement/Foundation with the building loads and the geo- by its own AHU to maintain the Basement wall insulation R-value R-3.39 thermal water temperatures.