Renewable Energy – RMH Group

Home to 11 federal agencies, the Byron G. Rogers Federal Office Building in downtown Denver was targeted by its owner, the U.S. General Services Administration, for an extensive modernization project to significantly improve energy efficiency and deliver advanced updates to this important example of 1960s-era Federal architecture. This design-build project involved comprehensive upgrades to all major building systems housed within the 18-story, 494,000-square-foot office tower and minor improvements to the adjacent courthouse. The upgrades are projected to reduce energy use in the office tower by nearly 70 percent relative to current levels.

In addition to improving building envelope insulation, the most significant energy savings were achieved by implementing a chilled-beam system to replace the building’s inefficient, inflexible mechanical system. A chilled-beam system is an advanced method for distributing heating and cooling throughout the building with minimal energy waste. It primarily uses water at a moderate temperature to condition building spaces. After capturing heat generated by building occupants, computers, lighting, and solar gain, a thermal tank in the basement stores and circulates this heat through the building’s chilled-beam system as needed.

The retrofitted building features additional energy-saving technologies, including 100% LED lighting, enhanced daylighting, and roof-mounted solar thermal collectors that provide all of the building’s domestic hot water. Water-conserving strategies are expected to reduce water use by 40 percent. The comprehensive modernization positions this Federal facility as a model for sustainable government building operations while preserving its architectural significance.

As the project’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineer, RMH provided comprehensive MEP engineering services for this transformative modernization project.

The Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center is a 27,000-square-foot multi-use facility that blends sustainability, education, and hospitality. More than a rest stop, the center houses interpretive museum displays, the Wyoming Office of Tourism, and warehouse space for the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

RMH worked closely with the owner and design team to deliver a highly energy-efficient building powered by renewable resources. Photovoltaic panels installed on the roof and walls generate 27 kW of electricity, while five on-site wind turbines contribute additional zero-emissions power, offsetting over half of the building’s electrical demand.

To maximize HVAC efficiency, RMH designed a ground source heat pump system with more than 11 miles of geo-exchange coils buried beneath the 26.6-acre site. This system leverages the earth’s stable temperature to provide reliable heating and cooling year-round.

Our team engineered thermal displacement ventilation in public and office areas to improve indoor air quality and occupant comfort. This low-energy system introduces air at floor level, allowing it to rise naturally and exit through ceiling vents. Daylight harvesting strategies, supported by the building’s long axis and narrow footprint, reduce reliance on electric lighting. High-efficiency fixtures and controls supplement natural light when needed.

Photo credit: AndersonMasonDale Architects and Sampson Construction

At NREL’s Flatiron Campus, cutting-edge research focuses on testing emerging wind technologies and accelerating their market availability. Researchers conduct a series of tests and accurate transient simulation studies to understand how individual wind turbines handle grid disturbances. Field testing wind turbines can be both expensive and time-consuming.

RMH’s Controllable Grid Interface Row 1 (CGI-1) test system design supports this process by significantly reducing the time and cost of testing wind turbines by enabling controlled laboratory testing. The 9 MW CGI combines hardware and real-time control software, operating with existing 2.5 MW and 5 MW dynamometer facilities (also partially designed by RMH). This setup simulates grid disturbances on wind turbine terminals and estimates the impacts of turbine responses on the grid. The CGI test system project created the first U.S. test facility with fault-simulation capabilities and the only system globally fully integrated with two dynamometers designed to work with four types of wind turbines, including the largest wind turbine drivetrains used in land-based markets. The CGI-2 project enhanced the campus’s capabilities by increasing connected grid power from 9 MW to 19.9 MW, complying with local utility requirements.

RMH also designed the electrical and communications infrastructure to connect dynamometers used for testing wind turbine drivetrain components with the grid and fault simulation areas. This infrastructure features ride-through capability and safely withstands abnormal grid conditions such as faults. RMH configured the CGI system flexibly to connect multiple test objects, including utility-scale wind turbines, other renewable energy generation systems like photovoltaic arrays, and grid-scale energy storage units.