Research & Innovation

Cost Benefit Analysis for Sustainable Energy Building Upgrades at Safety Rest Areas and Travel Information Centers

Need Statement 706

Problem

MnDOT owns and operates roughly 50 Class I Safety Rest Areas (SRAs) and Travel Information Centers (TICs) across the State of Minnesota. Many of these facilities would benefit from significant investment and upgrades related to heating and cooling systems, electrical systems, and building automation systems (BAS). Due to the eras in which these were initially constructed, many of the SRAs have matching buildings throughout the State, creating opportunities for solutions that are transferable.
While some upgrades may be simple building additions, such as adding solar panels, introducing heat pumps, or adapting to building automated systems (BAS), there may also be greater opportunities for long-term energy savings and carbon reduction through building renovation. A deep refurbishment can retain the sub-structure and structure and still provide excellent fabric performance. By choosing the right fabric, some buildings can reduce heat demand and provide equivalent or better lighting and ventilation standards as a new building. Of course, not all buildings will be suitable for net zero carbon retrofit, but with ingenuity, a lot more can be done than perhaps expected. Key considerations will include massing (how the building looks in terms of shape or mass), floor-to-ceiling heights, depth of floor plate, and the positioning and size of cores.
Knowing where to prioritize investment in our existing rest area buildings via a cost/benefit analysis can help us prioritize the level of investment in these facilities, whether it be a deep refurbishment or simple building upgrades like solar panels or heat pumps. 

Objective

The goal of this study is to determine the feasibility of sustainable practices that are cost-effective, replicable, and can be effectively and efficiently incorporated into SRAs. Research of pertinent sustainable construction and operational practices that may offer benefit to SRA projects should be prioritized by a cost/benefit analysis with an emphasis on ease of implementation, Return on Investment (ROI), and overall impact to MnDOT’s vision for maximizing the health of people, the environment, and our economy.

• Conduct an assessment of rest areas in our system and document their features via a building energy performance analysis. The assessment should include an inventory of building features (i.e., flat roof v. sloped, building area, mechanical systems, electrical systems, smart systems, etc.). Deliverables will include an index of rest area facilities that provides an outline of their existing features related to building energy performance and provides recommendations and prioritization for building upgrades.
• Develop a companion piece to the index called a Decision Support Tool (DST). The DST would consist of a schedule of common building energy-performance upgrades, including general levels of cost to implement each specific upgrade, ratings for the level of complexity to implement, Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), pros and cons, and other considerations. The DST will serve decision-making for future rest area investments.  

Strategic priorities

• Innovation & Future Needs:
  Building technology has expanded exponentially over the past 20+ years. Many of the rest area facilities within the SRA system predate these advances, which result in buildings that are not as energy efficient as they could be and face on-going maintenance needs. Investigating and prioritizing investment for upgrades will ensure cost-efficient decision-making and help to prolong the service periods of these facilities.
• Asset Management:
  These locations provide opportunities for travelers to safely stop to rest, refresh and manage their travel needs. These facilities are integral elements of the interstate highway system and function as a countermeasure to drowsy driving. In addition, SRAs support commercial freight movements across the region, state, and nation. They provide commercial motor vehicle operators opportunities to stage deliveries, minimize travel during rush hours, and provide an opportunity for short and long rest breaks. These rest breaks include those required under federal Hours of Service regulations.
  
  In cooperation with Explore Minnesota Tourism (EMT), MnDOT provides Travel Information Centers (TICs) at strategic locations, primarily at state border crossings to provide tourism-related services for motorists and to promote state and regional tourism. MnDOT also partners with the Minnesota State Patrol at several SRAs to provide patrol officers with convenient, remote office space within the SRAs.
• Climate Change & Environment:
  The built environment demands around 40% of the world’s extracted materials while waste from demolition and construction represents the largest single waste stream in many countries. Together, building and construction are responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions in the world, with operational emissions (energy used to heat, cool and light buildings) accounting for 28%.
  
  The perception is that building new radically reduces carbon emissions compared with an existing building. However, those savings are only realized in the future. Even though operational emissions are reduced, construction of a new building makes a heavy upfront toll in carbon emissions through extraction of raw materials, transport, and construction activities. In contrast, a deep refurbishment of an existing building not only cuts operational carbon emissions, it does so without the emissions associated with building new. Embodied carbon covers the total emissions arising from initial construction to its end of life.
  
  By incorporating building upgrades that expand the service life of our rest area facilities, the embodied energy within these facilities is maintained. Carbon emissions related to the demolition and reconstruction of these facilities is deferred to a future time. Based on advances in all aspects of building construction and design, future-built facilities will be even more energy efficient and require less carbon output to create.

Expected outcomes

• New or improved technical standard, plan, or specification
• New or improved manual, handbook, guidelines, or training
• New or improved business practices, procedure, or process
• New or improved decision support tool, simulation, or model/algorithm (software)

Expected benefits

• Environmental Aspects
• Air Pollution: Most Class 1 rest areas rely upon liquid propane (LP) to heat the buildings. Reducing or eliminating the use of this fossil fuel at rest areas will have a significant impact on air pollution, reducing our carbon footprint, and may offer potential energy savings.
• Energy Savings: Heating and cooling of buildings is one of the largest sources of operation carbon emissions. More efficient buildings and internal systems provide energy savings by reducing both operational costs and carbon emissions.
• Lifecycle
• Products with longer lifespan: Increasingly sustainable technology, such as heat pumps, may offer long-term benefits by outlasting traditional heating and cooling equipment.
• Reduced Maintenance Costs: Updated building equipment requires less overall maintenance. and building automated systems (BAS) prolong the lifespan of building fixtures.
• Operations and Maintenance Savings
• There is potential impact to a variety of aspects regarding operations and maintenance, including long-term material savings, labor savings, equipment savings, etc. 
• New method of using technology
• Adapt MnDOT assets to utilize new and emerging technology related to building construction and energy savings, including building automated systems (BAS).

Technical advisory panel

• Tony Chevalier, MnDOT Site Development Unit (SDU), 651.470.0115
• Jenny Krantz – MnDOT Rest Area Program Manager, 651.366.4695
• David Jones, MnDOT Architectural Design Supervisor, 651.366.3365
• Mark Moehlenbrock, MnDOT Energy Engineering, 651.366.3557
• Paul Dragich, MnDOT Mechanical Engineering Unit Leader, 651.366.3568
• Michael Ligday,  MnDOT Planning, Programming & Asset Mgmt. Unit, 651.366.3587
• Neile Reider, MnDOT Waters Services Engineering Leader, 651.366.3567
• Amber Dallman  – MnDOT Sustainability and Public Health Office Director, 651.366.4189
• Katie Walker, MnDOT Research and Innovation Office Director, 651.366.3765