HVAC
Articles in this section discuss various components of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and how these systems can work to maintain a higher level of efficiency.
Insulation: A Key Factor In Sustainable Schools
Dec 13th
Schools are where children – bright, energetic, and ready to learn and grow – first see society at work. It’s where they learn how to write, solve problems, socialize, relate to others and the world around them, and it’s where they build foundations for the future.
But what kind of foundations are schools providing?
Sadly, many children attending public schools in America are actually spending their days in inefficient and even deteriorating classrooms, which can negatively affect their well-being and overall ability to learn.
So what’s the solution?
Designing, building or upgrading schools so that they are sustainable and energy-efficient learning environments is certainly part of the solution. But it goes beyond an initial concept.
From the preliminary design stages and initial construction to maintenance years down the road, there are many ongoing factors that contribute to a green school. All of these factors combined are part of the “green schools” solution.
What makes a school green?
The design of the school does not simply come down to the architects and contractors. Rather, the building should be as integrated as possible so the facility can operate with maximum efficiency. The physical materials that go into the school are major components that can help solve the problems plaguing children’s well being and ability to learn. Some of the simplest changes that could greatly contribute to improved occupant well being include increased day-lighting, improved insulation and incorporating furnishings, fixtures and equipment that are in alignment with the green integrity of the facility.
Many classrooms have insufficient natural light – or no windows whatsoever – which has a direct impact on students’ ability to stay focused and comprehend new material. A report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory states that natural light in schools may significantly increase students’ test scores and promote better health and physical development – and can be attained without an increase in school construction or maintenance costs.
Measures include orienting the building to maximize day-lighting potential and minimize undesired heat gain. Other features, such as tall windows and slanted roofs, which allow light to “bounce” in, can also add natural light to a classroom.
Poor ventilation, mold and other hazards cause an alarming number of classrooms to be reported as substandard or even dangerous. Ensuring a building is insulated with the right materials is also critical to increase student comfort for a more conducive learning environment.
According to “Sustainable School Architecture” by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) accredited professional architects Lisa Gelfand and Eric Corey Freed, no other green building feature has greater impact for less cost than insulation. Insulation materials, a good sealing package and proper HVAC ductwork can provide thermal control and create good air flow, all being integral to increasing efficiency and reducing operation costs, when used together properly.
The outside temperature can affect learning within the classroom when a building is poorly insulated. And it isn’t uncommon, for schools lacking air conditioning and properly insulated classrooms to dismiss students early because of the soaring heat. For schools that do have functioning HVAC systems, the equipment works much harder if walls and ceilings are poorly insulated, thereby increasing energy and operation costs.
Proper insulation can also contribute to the acoustics of a room, as well. Disruptive sound can come from outside activities, noisy HVAC equipment and even conversations from across the room or adjacent classes. Loud learning environments can increase stress levels in students and teachers alike, resulting in misunderstanding and lost classroom time. However, proper insulation is designed to control noise transmission between rooms and absorb sound vibrations, which may improve the learning environment.
Finally, the classroom furnishings, fixtures and other equipment also have an impact on the school’s overhead costs. No- or low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, recycled flooring, cleaning products and energy-efficient lighting are a few examples of ways to improve a classroom.
Green schools in action
The urgency to conserve and sustain our environment is increasing. It might be a bit of work for us to change our habits now, but we can instill the ideals of sustainability in our children – in schools.
Part of building the foundation for young students today includes teaching them about sustainability to ensure their well-being in the future. One organization, The Green Schoolhouse Series, is doing just that.
A unique collaboration that brings together communities, school districts, corporations and volunteers, The Green Schoolhouse Series replaces uninspired and outdated portable classrooms at low-income public schools with sustainable “Green Schoolhouses.”
“The Green Schoolhouses will be built using donated top-of-the-line, green, sustainable products and state-of-the-art technologies,” explained Marshall G. Zotara, Co-founder and Senior Managing Partner of CAUSE AND EFFECT Evolutions. “Not only will the students benefit from learning in a more energy efficient classroom setting, the Green Schoolhouses will also serve as integral, hands-on teaching tools.”
The schoolhouses address many of the problems that impact students’ learning abilities. The inaugural Safari Schoolhouse in Phoenix, AZ, for instance, is aiming for LEED® Platinum certification. Stantec Architecture designed the building to utilize maximum day-lighting, Owens Corning will provide insulation, while the paint, flooring, lighting and furnishings are all sustainable products donated by green-minded companies.
Because of companies such as the ones contributing to The Green Schoolhouse Series, it’s possible to improve children’s learning environments – the foundations on which they build their knowledge, habits and perception of society.
Written by James Hou. James Hou is Director of strategic marketing for the Engineered Insulations Systems segment for the Building Materials Group at Owens Corning where he is responsible for creating and optimizing go-to-market strategies and plans.
Market Disruption Driving Creative Strategies in the Demand-Side Management Space
Dec 9th
Wrenching transformation and consolidation is sweeping across the once stable and conservative lighting industry. New technologies such as LEDs, digital networks and wireless communications are displacing legacy products. Component companies such as CREE are acquiring fixture manufacturers and thereby creating new lighting conglomerates. And, lighting is no longer about discrete applications – lighting is now a citizen in a broader energy intelligent enterprise. Similar change is taking place in other energy efficiency product categories – from HVAC to compressed air – with mature and well understood products being replaced by intelligent and complex technologies requiring significantly more solution design, customer support and hand holding. Moreover, these new energy efficient technologies are increasingly factoring into smart grid and demand management strategies deployed by utilities and grid operators, layering-in both additional opportunity and complexity.
New clean, intelligent and energy efficient technologies have re-set market lifecycles in many traditional product categories. Product categories that were in the late maturity phase a few years ago are now categories back in the early adoption phase. This has tremendous impact on go-to-market strategies. The technical and engineering knowledge and processes required to sell, deploy and support these new technologies are dramatically different. Late maturity is typically characterized by high sales velocity, low cost of sales and broad distribution through highly efficient, high-turn channel partners. In contrast, early adoption requires more consultative, hands-on sales processes across an elongated sales cycle – usually executed by well-trained, high cost direct sales forces and specialized channel partners.
This reset is forcing manufacturers to move quickly to find new strategies and paths-to-market. Channel participants are scrambling to remake their business models and to up-level their competencies. This disruption has caused new channel models, innovative go-to-market strategies, and novel industry partnerships to emerge. Here are some examples:
CHANNELS HARNESSING THE POWER OF INFORMATION
The rear-view mirror days of relying on utility bills to understand energy consumption are gone. Real-time information is the new gold standard in the energy management business. The smarter channel players have figured this out and have reworked their business models and solution offerings. Two such companies that are leveraging data and analytics to differentiate are McKinstry, a larger company in the Pacific Northwest, and Groom Energy, a smaller company based in Boston. McKinstry has evolved over time from a traditional mechanical contractor into an integrated Design-Build-Operate-Maintain firm that offers facility and energy management services in addition to engineering and construction services. However, what distinguishes McKinstry is how it leverages information. McKinstry recognized early the power of information and has invested heavily in its state-of-the-art operations center. This operations center enables McKinstry to leverage real-time building energy and operating data to “tune” buildings to operate at peak efficiencies at all times. By acting as its clients’ “eyes and ears,” McKinstry is able to anticipate breakdowns and dispatch service teams before costly disruptions occur. Similarly, Groom Energy, recognizing the power of information, has successfully transformed its business from lighting retrofitter to a full service energy management company that helps its clients capitalize on what they’ve coined the Enterprise Smart Grid. Groom competes against larger, slower moving competitors by helping clients become more energy intelligent. Groom not only helps its customers evaluate the myriad of software and analytical tools available, it goes further to integrate the submeters, sensors and software technologies to make it happen and also acts on the information coming back to design and implement solutions. The good news for McKinstry, Groom and other forward thinking companies is that they are the exception rather than the rule. There are still far too many companies in the energy management space that are living in an analog world and driving blind. These laggards will need to adapt quickly or risk obsolescence.
MANUFACTURERS PIONEERING NEW PATHS TO MARKET
Manufacturers of demand-side management technologies are also rethinking their paths to market. These companies are realizing that sales strategies centered on traditional dealer networks and broad-line distributors may no longer be the most relevant. Let’s take a look at Ice Energy, a newer player in the HVAC space. Ice Energy has developed an innovative thermal energy storage technology – branded the Ice Bear — that enables customers to use low cost off-peak power to meet cooling demand during costly peak hours. The technology is a great compliment to traditional HVAC units manufactured by companies such as Carrier and Trane and Ice Energy has fostered partnerships with these companies. However, Ice Energy is not content to surrender its destiny to these partners and wait for sell-through by channels it doesn’t control or influence. Instead, Ice Energy decided to drive sell-through with its own unique strategy. Ice Energy recognized that aggregating its units and deploying them at scale offers utilities megawatts of clean, peak power capacity at less cost than constructing new peaking plants. Putting rubber to the road, Ice Energy cut an innovative deal with Southern California Public Power Authority deploying Ice Bear units across 1,500 distributed sites in the utility’s service territory to offer 53 megawatts of stored capacity. Many of these units will coincide with rooftop unit replacements, enabling Trane and Carrier to realize sizable sell-through as a result of Ice Energy’s innovative thinking. A win for all involved, including ratepayers!
NOVEL INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS
The shifting industry landscape is also resulting in some interesting partnerships. One such partnership is between Redwood Systems and Anixter. Redwood Systems, an innovative venture funded upstart is looking to shake-up the lighting industry with its DC-based power, networking and controls technology, has aligned with Anixter, an established structured cabling distributor that hasn’t historically played in the lighting space. A few years ago it would have been laughable to think that structured cabling professionals could become significant players in lighting. Now some smart people are betting on it. However, before too much high-fiving takes place it is important to realize that the business world is littered with distribution agreements that never gained traction. What’s tricky about this deal is that Redwood’s new-to-world technology is supposed to be sold by mature structuring cabling professionals. Can these old dogs learn new tricks? Can their profit models, based on minimizing cost of sales, support the requisite high touch approach? For this deal to succeed, Redwood and Anixter will need to collaborate on training programs and tightly script sales playbooks on how to position, sell, deploy and support the new technologies. Redwood will also need to make its “factory direct” sales and technical resources easily accessible to Anixter and its cabling professional customers. And, given the higher cost of sales associated with selling Redwood’s products, Redwood may also need to offer more attractive pricing terms and market development funds to support demand creation. Although they will not want to cross the legal line into the franchise realm, franchise systems with tightly scripted processes and strong factory support may be an antecedent to review as they think about making this relationship a success.
It’s clear that business as usual will no longer suffice for technology and service providers competing in the demand-side management market. Moreover, companies will not prevail solely on having the best mousetrap. The winners will be those companies that complement great technology and great service offerings with innovative go-to-market strategies that are not only creative but also lifecycle appropriate.
Written by Erik G. Birkerts and Thomas G. Knight, founding partners of Evergreen Growth Advisors, a boutique strategy consulting firm serving clients in the Clean Energy industry.
Increasing Building Operating Efficiency through Proper Air Handling System Selection and Installation
Aug 26th
From new construction to renovations and additions, improving energy efficiency continues to be a primary focus for today’s builders. Contributing to this demand is the fact that both businesses and property owners are beginning to familiarize themselves with materials and building practices, that provide increased efficiency and reduced environmental impact, to help save resources and money in the long term.
An integral part of increasing efficiency and reducing operation costs is minimizing air leakage. Often it’s assumed that air leakage only occurs if a building’s exterior walls are poorly sealed and insulated. However, significant energy loss can also occur if a building’s interior air handling system isn’t properly configured and installed correctly.
When properly chosen, insulation materials — including duct board, wrap, liner, and flexible duct media — will work together as a complete air handling system to provide outstanding thermal performance, virtually eliminate air leakage and absorb noise. To ensure these materials are working effectively, specifiers must take into account a building’s location, purpose, and any additional variables that may play into the overall operation of a property.
Location plays a key role in the selection of insulation materials for an air handling system. For example, when ducts are located in an attic or in an unconditioned space, during cold or warm weather, R-8 labeled duct insulation will help to reduce unnecessary energy loss. Duct insulation can also aid in controlling condensation issues in humid weather. Fiberglas ducts located inside the building envelope help assure the delivery of properly conditioned air. Following manufacturer recommendations to select the correct materials will help ensure the building is operating at its maximum efficiency level.
Other important factors to consider when building-out an air handling system include the functionality of a building and whether there are any green building requirements that need to be met. A residential or office building, for example, may require additional acoustic paneling to conceal duct noise compared to an industrial setting, where noise may not be as much of a factor. Builders looking to achieve LEED or other green certifications will require more careful material selection upfront. In either case, specifiers should work closely with their product representatives to identify materials that satisfy a building’s unique needs, while also meeting any budgetary limitations.
One of the most common mistakes specifiers make during the material selection process is cutting back on the thickness of the material (ex. installing a one inch thickness foam vs. the recommended 1.5 inch thickness). While a half inch may not seem like a big difference, reducing the thickness of the recommended product can actually alter the way an entire building operates.
Removing or reducing the amount of insulation used to insulate a building’s heating or cooling ducts requires the entire HVAC system to work harder, resulting in greater operation costs and energy expenditures. Poor duct insulation can also result in uneven temperature pockets throughout the entire building. To ensure maximum efficiency, it’s important that contractors follow the manufacturer’s installation guidelines. This will help protect the building’s heating and cooling system to avoid any problems down the road.
Once the appropriate air handling insulation materials have been identified, it’s important to ensure that the entire insulation system is properly installed since poor installation practices also contribute to reduced energy efficiency.
Improper installation of the specified material is one of the most common mistakes made during the construction process. Compressing or stretching insulation, either unknowingly or to save costs, compromises performance, resulting in decreased efficiency, as well as an increased risk of problems down the road. Compressing insulation reduces its measurement of thermal resistance (R-value) and the overall thermal performance of the assembly into which it’s placed.
In the same way, trying to stretch the insulation to fit around duct work can negatively impact the R-value and is likely to result in thermal gaps somewhere in the system. For best results, the insulation should completely surround the duct work with no compression, gaps, or voids. In addition, any utility or other penetrations through the assembly or cavity should be sealed with an air impermeable and, when required by code, qualified fire blocking material.
Following these steps to indentify the proper insulation products and ensuring that they are correctly installed will result in a complete air handing system that operates efficiently, reduces energy loss, and cuts back on long-term building maintenance and operation costs. For more information or to learn more about the importance of proper material selection and installation contact your local manufacturer.
Written by Dick Gebhart. In his role as Technical Manager of Engineered Insulation Systems, Dick Gebhart supports Owens Corning’s (www.owenscorning.com) commercial and industrial insulation products on technical committees, code compliance and filed applications. He has more than 30 years of experience in the industry.
Funding Solutions for Energy Projects in a Post-Stimulus World
Aug 5th
Faced with a combination of ongoing municipal and state budget cuts, pressure from citizens to keep taxes low and the looming energy efficiency mandates that require a significant number of building upgrades, the public sector is consistently looking for ways to do more with less. In each case, facility managers are often forced to defer capital expenditures and maintenance to aging equipment in order to control costs.
Consider this: Buildings are the largest consumers of energy on the planet, currently accounting for 42 percent of energy usage worldwide and generating approximately 40 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. By 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicts that buildings will account for up to 75 percent of U.S. electricity consumption, and McKinsey and Company estimates that increased efficiency in buildings would save the U.S. economy $130 billion per year. The question then arises, where do we go from here? How do publicly funded buildings achieve energy efficiency and meet mandates while addressing taxpayers’ concerns when their budgets are being cut?
With stimulus money from President Obama’s recovery plan already dispersed, public sector institutions are turning to innovative funding mechanisms that can significantly reduce, if not completely pay for, building upgrades. One such approach that also addresses the aforementioned energy challenges within public buildings is Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC), which enables public sector buildings to receive energy efficiency retrofits and upgrades that pay for themselves over a guaranteed period of time.
Energy Savings Performance Contracting
An ESPC is an agreement with an energy efficiency expert that identifies and evaluates savings opportunities within a building through an energy audit, and then recommends a number of energy equipment retrofits, such as replacement or redesign of older, inefficient HVAC systems or building controls and lighting, which will save energy through more efficient operations. The savings generated on utility bills from the newly installed, more efficient equipment ultimately reverts toward paying for the cost of the capital equipment over a specified number of years – minimizing the financial risk to the public institution.
With a performance contract, upgrades of interrelated systems are bundled together into one comprehensive project that provides a customized solution based on the specific needs of each building. This approach maximizes the savings possible and allows the cost of the improvements to be a manageable expense. Many times, a performance contract assures that annual savings will be achieved and if the guaranteed level of savings is not realized, the energy services company (ESCO) that implements the performance contract must write a check to cover the shortfall, reducing the facility owner’s risk while giving the ESCO the impetus to ensure the system runs as efficiently as possible.
Through ESPCs, organization leaders and the C-level are able to leverage existing non-strategic funds toward strategic capital improvement initiatives, reduce operational and capital expenses and meet environmental requirements, all while improving the comfort of building occupants and in some cases, productivity. In a study commissioned by the International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), results showed that students’ performance in energy-efficient buildings increased by an average of 15 percent, and up to 30 percent with improved indoor climate conditions.
In addition, most ESPCs include the installation of active energy efficiency components such as building controls, which allow facilities’ staff to measure, monitor and better control their energy consumption. With these active energy management components, facility managers can collect and analyze data to identify inefficient usage patterns, and take steps to maintain equipment or correct the inefficient usage to further improve the building’s efficiency and sustainability.
Examples of Successful Performance Contracting Projects
In 2010, the city of Houston, Texas announced its participation in a $23 million performance contract as a continuation of its participation in the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Climate Initiative (CCI) Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program, which is an effort to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings in major cities around the world.
Through this project, the city is implementing numerous energy conservation measures (ECMs) in seven city buildings. As a result of these retrofits, Houston is projected to save $1.8 million annually over the 15-year contract when the second phase of the project is completed in August 2011.The positive impact on the environment resulting from the city officials’ dedication to reducing energy consumption will include decreasing annual emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere by 5, 831 tons, which is equivalent to removing 1,166 cars from the roads for a year or planting 1,586 acres of trees to help restore the ecosystem balance.
In addition, numerous higher education institutions are also turning to performance contracting to meet the needs of growing student bodies, cutting both their energy costs and carbon footprints while upgrading their facilities to attract incoming talent. North Carolina State University is currently working on a $20 million performance contract to improve energy efficiency, and drive sustainable clean energy projects in 1.6 million square feet of building space across 13 campus facilities. Upon completion of the installation, the university will save more than 10 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 68,785 decatherms of natural gas annually, which is equivalent to planting 80,376 acres of trees or removing 43,158 cars from the roads over the next 15 years.
The future of Energy Savings Performance Contracting
As ESPC continues to gain momentum in the public sector, private sector companies are starting to mirror the practice to create operational energy savings and meet corporate sustainability goals. Through programs such as President Obama’s Better Buildings Initiative, which encourages commercial building owners to retrofit their facilities to curb emissions and energy costs, more private companies are being enticed to focus on energy efficiency. As a result, new financing mechanisms such as ESPC for the private sector are emerging and enabling organizations to meet their energy efficiency goals.
Written by James Potach, senior vice president, Energy Solutions, Schneider Electric and is responsible for performance contracting and power management.
Overcoming Oil Fouling and Increasing Heat Transfer through Nucleo Molecular Regenerative Technology
Mar 6th
The application of Nucleo Molecular Regenerative Technology™ (NMR™) fits in-line with any company’s goal of making near-term, measurable improvements to energy conservation and carbon footprint reduction in its HVAC systems. More >
Achieving Central Plant Optimization
Feb 7th
Buildings – big and small, old and new – are collectively the largest consumers of energy worldwide. Within each individual building, the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems consume the most energy. An even closer look at a building’s various HVAC systems will reveal that it’s the building’s central chilled water plant that is the biggest energy glutton. More >
What Is Evaporative Cooling?
Jan 20th
We get the calls every year… “My building is too hot, please come out as soon as possible.” Thousands of dollars get wasted on temporary solutions, and then we’re called back for the next wave of hot weather. Does this sound familiar? More >
Advantages of Thermal Energy Storage Systems
Jan 2nd
In the early days of air-conditioning, electricity was plentiful and cheap, which enabled the building industry to provide almost all commercial buildings with comfort cooling. As a result, comfort cooling is standard in almost all of today’s commercial buildings. As the global economy continues to grow, demand for energy and electricity will increase with it, and air conditioning for buildings is a major contributor to that growth. More >
Characteristics of a Ductless Air Conditioning Unit
Jan 2nd
Ductless-split systems have existed for more than 50 years, and have been available in the United States HVAC residential and/or light commercial market for more than 30 years. Most American consumers, however, are unaware of these products. Currently, the U.S. market primarily consists of traditional unitary equipment, with ductless-split systems contributing only 3 percent to 4 percent of total HVAC sales. Compare the U.S. heating and cooling market to other world markets: ductless systems make up 90 percent of Japan HVAC sales, and 81 percent of HVAC systems sold in Europe are ductless. More >
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