First Congregational Church,  Atlanta, GA.
Mr. Elkins performed this project prior to forming Expert Consultations.

​First Congregational Church has historical significance in the Atlanta community and the main building is recognized as a Historical Monument.  Originally built in 1908,  this building was recently renovated and successfully achieved LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).  Mr. Elkins participated in this project as the mechanical engineer of record and provided the analysis of the existing building to assist the Commissioning Authority with the facility assessment needed to determine where the LEED credits could be most easily obtained given the limitations of the historic building.  

The acoustical properties of the building required the HVAC system serving the main sanctuary to be extremely quiet in delivery of the conditioned air.  One of the critical features of the HVAC system for this space was a self-balancing air distribution system that absorbs the airflow from two different roof-mounted air handling units and evenly distributes the airflow regardless of  condition. This design approach resulted in a tuned supply air system that did not require manual damper adjustments regardless of load in the space.  The conditioned air is supplied from the elevated ceiling in one smooth column of air and is returned by means of a concealed opening into the space behind the altar which keeps the noise-producing equipment as far from the occupants as is possible.