High-Efficiency Boilers Help Tacoma Art Museum Protect Art and Cut Energy Use
Key Highlights
- 20:1 Turndown: The Crest with Hellcat boilers provide high efficiency in a smaller footprint while accommodating the museum’s complex heating layout
- 96.2% Efficiency: High thermal efficiency helped reduce operating costs and contributed to securing grant funding for the mechanical-room retrofit
- More Than 10% Savings: The new system has reduced energy costs while allowing the museum to operate at a lower approximately 130°F heating-water setpoint
TACOMA, WA — Located about 30 minutes south of Seattle, the Tacoma Art Museum showcases regional artwork alongside collections featuring French Impressionism, American Modernism and other movements. Protecting those works requires precise control of temperature and humidity, making the museum’s heating system a critical part of building operations.
At approximately 80,000 square feet, the facility also presents a significant heating challenge. Multiple expansions have created a complex building layout served by two separate heating systems. To address the museum’s heating requirements, manufacturer’s representative CHC and installing contractor West Coast Mechanical Solutions selected two Lochinvar Crest® Condensing Boilers with Hellcat Combustion Technology.
Boiler Controls Adapt to Changing Operating Conditions
The Crest with Hellcat boilers use an O2 sensor designed specifically for condensing hydronic boilers along with Lochinvar’s SMART TOUCH™ operating control. Together, the features allow the boilers to adapt to changing environmental conditions, including seasonal changes, weather patterns and altitude.
The control platform records optimal operating settings and logs that information. When similar environmental conditions occur, the combustion system can automatically adjust to those conditions.
“The team was impressed by the Crest with Hellcat boiler’s 20:1 turndown ratio, providing a higher efficiency in a smaller footprint than the previously installed units. Plus, having a boiler with additional pressure in the stack allowed for more intricate runs throughout the building’s unique layout,” said Brandon McCann, CHC sales engineer. “Heating systems are mission-critical at an art museum, so we needed to be able to switch them out as quickly as possible, and thanks to the unit’s user-friendly design, it was essentially just a drop-in replacement.”
96.2% Thermal Efficiency Helps Lower Operating Costs
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Tacoma Art Museum looks for opportunities to reduce overhead expenses. The Crest with Hellcat boiler’s 96.2% thermal efficiency helps reduce the energy required to heat the facility, lowering utility costs.
The equipment’s efficiency also played a role in securing outside funding for the mechanical-room retrofit. Working with a local nonprofit, the museum leveraged the efficiency of the new boiler system to secure a Frankenthaler Climate Foundation Grant that significantly reduced the project’s upfront cost.
“We partnered with a local nonprofit to help leverage the efficiency of the Crest with Hellcat equipment in a way that allowed us to successfully fund most of the project through the Frankenthaler Climate Foundation Grant,” said Tacoma Art Museum Director of Operations, Matt Daugherty. “What really made this grant possible for us was CHC’s help in selecting the Hellcat units. Not only did we decrease our upfront investment, but since installing the boilers, we have seen astronomical savings.”
Lower Water Temperatures Support Energy and Carbon Goals
Since installation, the museum has achieved more than 10% savings with the Crest with Hellcat boilers. The system has also allowed the museum to reduce its overall heating-water setpoint to approximately 130°F.
The lower setpoint improves water-use efficiency while reducing energy consumption, supporting the museum’s goal of becoming increasingly carbon-neutral. At the same time, the system maintains the controlled building environment needed to protect the museum’s artwork.