Child Care Center HVAC System and Roof Replacement
Overview
The existing HVAC system at the Cornell Child Care Center (CCCC) is beyond its useful life, not dependable, and causes numerous impacts to childcare operations due to consistent repairs. Cornell Facilities Management is addressing the deficiencies by replacing the HVAC system in its entirety. It was not feasible to replace the HVAC system while the building is occupied with children, therefore a temporary location to relocate the program was needed. After evaluation of several locations the best fit space for the Child Care was the Robert Purcell Community Center (RPCC). Renovations to RPCC are currently ongoing to prepare the space to accommodate the program.
To avoid impacting the childcare center program in the near future, a necessary roof replacement project has been bundled with the HVAC replacement project so it can be executed while the building is unoccupied.
The Center's HVAC System and Roof Replacement project is a complete replacement of the existing gas fired roof top air handling system with a new electric shallow-well geothermal ground source heat pump heating and cooling system. The project will provide dependable, efficient, and comfortable heating/cooling for children and staff, and a better care environment by incorporating a state-of-the-art control system to manage space heating and cooling conditions.
Improving energy efficiency and electrification of HVAC systems are key components of the campus Climate Action Plan. Shallow ground source heat pumps are a great option for decarbonizing standalone buildings like the CCCC which sit too far from the core of the campus to be connected to the district energy system. Meanwhile, district energy will be the key to successfully decarbonize the connected campus. It provides valuable economies of scale and enables cutting edge solutions like Cornell’s exciting Earth Source Heat initiative and Lake Source Cooling.
If you would like to receive updates about this project, please reach out to Tami Norman (tas11@cornell.edu) or Travis Fisher (tf222@cornell.edu).
Project Stakeholders:
- Facilities Management
- Division of Human Resources
- Bright Horizons
- Student and Campus Life
- Sustainable Cornell Council
Project schedule
- Phase 1 Exterior Geothermal Construction: Complete
- Phase 2 – Interior HVAC and Roof Replacement: Aug – December 2024
Project statistics
- 2 Stories
- Gross Area 17,079
- First shallow well geothermal application on Cornell Ithaca campus
- Awarded NYSEG funding for eliminating gas load as part of the Lansing Non-Pipe Alternatives (NPA) initiative
- Pursuing Federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) rebates for the renewable energy upgrades
Project team
Project Management:
- Travis Fisher - FCS Project Director
- Tami Norman - FCS Project Manager
Construction:
- Rob Benjamin – Welliver McGuire Project Manager
Engineering:
- Joelle Taliento - Project Lead, Labella Associates
Cornell Child Care Center managed by Bright Horizons:
- Katie Weber - Director, Cornell Child Care Center
- Amber Stage - Assistant Director, Cornell Child Care Center
- Jamie Skypek - Regional Manager of Operations
- Rosalind Johnson - Director New Center Development
- Dawn Ellis - Senior Director, New Center Development and Integrations
Cornell Human Resources Liaisons to the Cornell Child Care Center
- Ruth Merle-Doyle - Work/Life Program Manager
- Amy Layton - Work/Life Program Coordinator and UFR
- Michelle Artibee - Director, Workforce Wellbeing