ASHRAE Journal -November 2012 - B9

other buildings “view-only” access to the controls at their sites, allowing them to ‘see what we see.’ This drastically reduces the number of nuisance hot/cold calls, and greatly enhances their ability to report real equipment issues or outages.” As with any new system, there are still a few “teething problems” to work out. This is especially true in buildings where the original HVAC equipment was grossly oversized. Over time the capacity of this equipment deteriorated to the point where it was now “right sized,” although woefully inefficient. Not realizing how much the old equipment had declined, replacement equipment was selected to match the nameplate capacity of the worn out machinery. This initially resulted in short-cycling, excessive airflow noise through the diffusers, and comfort complaints. The new system allows technicians to adjust the operating parameters and tune the controls to find an appropriate balance of indoor environmental quality characteristics, including noise, but that takes time. A lesson learned is that equipment deteriorates over time, and if an old and decrepit piece of equipment is meeting the load today it was probably oversized when it was new. It would be a good idea to run some load calculations before ordering a replacement. From a financial standpoint, one of the interesting features of this project is that it became the basis for a revolving loan fund (RLF) for in-house energy projects. The initial ARRA funding was used as seed money. All projects include energy meters, and the energy use is carefully monitored. Utility costs after each energy project are compared to the preceding utility bills and the savings are credited to the RLF. Then, the RLF can be used to fund additional energy projects. The improvements to these initial 26 buildings have been in place for less than a year, and they’ve already contributed more than $88,000 in utility savings to this fund, plus an additional $40,000 in anticipated rebates. Projections are that the fund will equal the original $1.75 million seed money in seven years. While a seven-year return on investment (ROI) is not particularly spectacular, Boyd points out that a simple ROI is not the best measure of success for a project like this. Most of the mechanical systems upgraded were in dire need of replacement. The cost of the new mechanical equipment significantly increased the ROI, but the city would have had to buy new equipment anyway, even without the energy initiative. The energy initiative only meant they were buying equipment with, say, a seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of 16 rather than a SEER of 13. Buildings that didn’t need new equipment and could get by with a simple control system upgrade saw ROIs as low as 1.5 years. Regardless of how you do the accounting, the project has been a success. Orlando has buildings that are performing better, are providing a more comfortable place for people to live and work, and are saving energy. The energy savings translate into dollar savings, and those dollars will be used to fund more projects. Boyd is tracking these buildings through the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program, and although the initial projects have not yet been in operation for a full year the energy performance has already improved their ENERGY STAR ratings
November 2012

Photo 1: Miller (left) and Boyd analyze the performance of a building in the project. by up to 30 points. Some may soon qualify as ENERGY STAR facilities. Probably the biggest lesson learned from this experience is “Don’t ignore small projects or small buildings!” The savings from these small projects keep growing over time, and this money can be used to fund more small projects and perhaps a few big projects in the future. Small or large, these projects can use BACnet. All future projects that include new HVAC equipment, electric meters, renewable energy components, and lighting systems will be required to use BACnet. That was another lesson learned. To no one’s surprise, BACnet successfully integrated the widely scattered buildings into a unified, energysaving system. BACnet worked as advertised.

References
1. Tom, S.T. 2008. “Managing energy and comfort.” ASHRAE Journal 50(6).

Advertisers Index/Reader Service Information
Two fast and easy ways to get additional information on products and services in this issue:
1. Visit the Web address below the advertiser’s name for the ad in this issue. 2. Go to www.ashrae.org/freeinfo to search for products by category or company name. Plus, link directly to advertisers’ Web sites or request information by e-mail, fax or mail.

Company Web Page

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BACnet International ..............................................................................B24 info.hotims.com/41645-100 Contemporary Controls .........................................................................B15 info.hotims.com/41645-53 Contemporary Controls .........................................................................B23 info.hotims.com/41645-54 FieldServer Technologies ........................................................................B2 info.hotims.com/41645-55 Reliable Controls .............................................................................. B6 – B7 info.hotims.com/41645-57
For information on advertising in the ASHRAE Journal, contact Greg Martin at 678-539-1174 or gmartin@ashrae.org.

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ASHRAE Journal -November 2012

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