Convention Center Completes $20M Energy Upgrades

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center finished a $20.6 million project to reduce future energy-related expenses. The sustainability upgrades include an overhaul of its lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems – designs which were all provided by Moses Engineers. These upgrades will save hundreds of thousands of dollars and millions of kilowatt hours. They should also improve the overall experience for future visitors. The Convention Center plans to conduct an energy audit to measure how well the project is working in the future.

Energy Upgrade Details

LEDs replaced over 4,000 light fixtures, and over 2,000 light fixtures were retrofitted. The tunable LED lighting gives the ability to control individual fixtures. This provides the ultimate flexibility for illumination levels and color appearance. They also installed over 40 miles of new wiring for the lighting system. The ability to control individual fixtures provides the ultimate flexibility for illumination levels and color appearance.

New high-efficiency systems replaced their three water-cooled chillers. The new system utilizes variable speed drives on all equipment to provide state of the art energy efficiency. Moses Engineers redesigned their HVAC plant with a new updated control room and operations center. The design also included installing new low-flow fixtures to 36 sets of their restrooms. All of these upgrades will significantly lower energy costs and usage. The upgrades will also make them eligible for a refund grant from Entergy’s Energy Smart program.

Moses Engineers designed the original electrical and mechanical systems back when the Convention Center opened in 1984. It originally took up the space of 6 football fields but has since expanded to 1.1 million square feet. Now, 38 years later, Moses Engineers is honored to provide the Convention Center with these upgraded designs that are modern, energy saving, and cost efficient.

“Not only will these energy efficiency upgrades lessen the impact that the Convention Center has on the environment, they will also improve the experience our guests have when they visit the facility,” Linda Baynham, director of sustainability at the facility, said in the release.

Convention Center completes $20M energy upgrades | New Orleans CityBusiness