CHANGE FORTHE
BETTER WITH
ENERGY STAR
Service & Product Provider Success Story
Service & Product Provider Partner
Trane, a division of American Standard Inc.
4833 White Bear Parkway, White Bear Lake, MN 55110
Business: Energy Service Company (ESCO)
Marianne Christianson, Comprehensive Solutions
Process Administration
Customer
The American Center
27777 Franklin Rd Suite 110, Southfield, Ml 48034
Business: Office Tower
Bill Jansen, Senior Property Manager
Phone: 651-407-3805 / Fax: 651-407-4358	Phone: 248-353-2660 / Fax: 248-353-8116
Email: mchristianson@trane.com	Email: billj@redico.com
The American Center office tower increases financial performance and reduces energy use with Trane
performance contract.
Project Scope
The American Center, a 25-story office tower in Southfield, Michigan, was built more than 25 years ago. The
Center had an inefficient, aging heating, ventilation and air conditioning system which were driving the building's
energy costs up dramatically. Facility property manager Bill Jansen initiated discussions with Trane
representatives to create a comprehensive strategy to improve both building operations and the financial
performance of the property. The office tower was awarded the ENERGY STAR in both 2002 and 2006.
Project Summary
The comprehensive project included the installation of two new 640-ton Trane CenTraVac™ chillers, a lighting
retrofit, gas-fired modular boiler, variable frequency drives, air distribution efficiency improvements, Direct Digital
Controls (DDC) upgrade, and a Trane Tracer Summit™ building automation and energy management system.
•	Energy Savings
Since project implementation in 2000, Trane has helped The American Center to deliver energy savings
of 4.25 kBtu/ft, which equates to $1,23/ft.
•	Investment
The project included a $3.2 million initial capital investment. A Performance Agreement for Comfort
program from Trane (PACT™) was used to pay for the equipment and retrofits with the energy savings
instead of incurring up-front capital costs.
•	Financial Return
The financial return has been substantial. The project has delivered $2,734,003 in total cost savings to
date.
Monitoring & Verifying Energy Savings
The American Center's utility companies, Detroit Edison and Consumers Energy, verified the savings and
credited the total energy savings as a direct result of the implementation of the building's retrofit.
Distinguishing Value
In addition to high-quality technical upgrades with no negative impact on the Center's capital or operating
budgets, careful planning and coordination enabled the project to be completed with minimal disruption to the
building's tenants.
£EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency

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