Ameresco urges LaPorte County to commission site inspection after years of courthouse HVAC failures

Ameresco representatives told LaPorte County councilors and commissioners at a joint workshop that the county's courthouse heating and cooling system—installed under a contract executed in 2014 and signed off in January 2016—has experienced recurring failures and needs a formal on‑site diagnostic before longer‑term repairs are chosen. "We want to try to help you guys out," Ameresco's Mark Hairbrandt said, offering the company's time and a VRF consultant to examine system conditions.

Ameresco project manager Garen Evans, who identified himself as the company's director of engineering, said the work completed in 2014–15 included VRF HVAC installations and electrical upgrades at the LaPorte County Courthouse and other county facilities. He told the meeting that manufacturer warranties began in the summer of 2015 and that final county sign‑off occurred in January 2016. Evans said an expected second phase of envelope and control work was not completed and that gaps in attic insulation, vapor barriers and damper controls likely worsened system performance in winter and summer conditions.

Evans described a sequence of post‑installation problems: ice damage to outdoor equipment in the winters after startup, repeated wintertime complaints about inadequate heat, and intermittent failures that surfaced again about 2018–2020 and in late 2025. "These are more sophisticated systems," he said of VRF equipment, warning that the refrigerant charge and electronics require trained technicians and software access to diagnose and service effectively.

County staff and Ameresco also discussed the county's difficulty getting consistent manufacturer‑level support. Ameresco said vendor escalation typically routed issues to an equipment representative (identified during the meeting as VCS/Envelop Group) and a local service partner (referred to as Commercial Services), and that those vendors have not always maintained steady follow‑up. One county official described that pattern as being "ghosted." Evans said Ameresco could try to re‑engage those parties, but recommended bringing an independent VRF consultant and qualified technicians to perform a full site inspection and diagnostic.

Ameresco engineers recommended a stepped approach: first, a coordinated site survey with county facilities staff and the current service provider; second, targeted work such as power‑conditioning on HVAC circuits, improved control access and software diagnostics, and selective auxiliary heat or envelope improvements where appropriate. "We'd be willing to work with a consultant that we work with and come in and help do some inspections of the system," Evans said.

County facilities staff (identified in the meeting as Angela and Reed) and members of the maintenance committee agreed that a site visit and consultant survey would be appropriate. Ameresco said it would coordinate scheduling and could fund a limited inspection through its consultant relationships; county staff said they would work to arrange dates and to supply available O&M records.

Next steps: the maintenance committee and county facilities staff will schedule a consultant‑led survey and coordinate attendance with Ameresco and the county's current service provider. No formal motion or vote was taken during the workshop.