IKEA | Centennial, CO

The Project Scope

When we first began working with the largest IKEA in the region, they presented us a two-fold challenge. They wanted to keep energy costs low and adhere to their sustainability goals in their large building, as well as provide a comfortable environment for their customers.

For starters, the building’s 415,000 square feet of retail space includes 50 model rooms, a supervised playground for children, and a 550-seat restaurant. The store layout and walking path is certainly off the beaten path. Instead of the typical aisles we encounter at the local hardware or grocery store, IKEA’s customers navigate the store via a long, linear path that winds through the entire space. It’s designed to provide shoppers a fresh destination in every department.

The Build Plan

First we addressed heating. The massive building sits on 1.1 million square feet — that’s a lot of ground with a lot of heating potential. So our team installed a geothermal bore field and heat pump units. This system also utilized rooftop make-up air units with heat recovery wheels, which means exhaust air could now be used to preheat the cold air outside before it entered the building.

We also installed a cooling system with ice storage tanks. This allowed the central plant to build ice at night when the utility rates are lower, and then melt the ice during the day to provide chilled water to cool the space.

Thanks to the outstanding efforts of our field teams, the project was completed 3 months ahead of schedule. Our service team provided on-site assistance for opening day to ensure IKEA’s visitors (in the thousands) would have a comfortable experience.