New Presque Isle Community Center Latest Maine Advanced Building Project

The Sargent Family Community Center in Presque Isle is the latest high-performance building project incentivized through Efficiency Maine’s Maine Advanced Buildings (MAB) Program. The lead architectural engineering firm, Harriman, designed the building using a comprehensive approach to new construction aimed at achieving significant savings above code requirements.

The building design features interior and exterior LED lighting with the majority of the lighting load tied to controls. In fact, 45% of the building area is day lit, with a daylight harvesting system allowing for continuous dimming. Bi-level switching was installed in most interior spaces. Harriman also optimized daylighting and solar shading in its design with clerestory windows in the gymnasium and corridor and deep roof overhangs.

Investments were made beyond lighting, including a continuous air barrier incorporating a fluid applied air barrier system between exterior gypsum sheathing and beneath 3" rigid insulation. The building was constructed over an insulated slab on grade with insulated frost walls.

A radiant floor heating system was selected to optimize occupant comfort and energy efficiency; the system circulates low-temperature water, maximizing the efficiency of the three condensing boilers on site. A variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heat recovery system was also installed to meet cooling and supplemental heating needs. In addition, air handling fans are equipped with variable frequency drives (VFDs).

The 27,857 square foot community center is estimated to achieve over 30% electricity savings beyond a current code baseline, or 83,570 kWh/year. The estimated gas savings are approximately 250 MMBtu/year. Efficiency Maine rebates for the high-performance design total more than $48,000.

For more information on the MAB Program, click here. If you have a potential project that you would like to discuss with the program team, please call us at 1-866-376-2463.