Engineered Systems - March 2009 - (Page 54)

A New Haven For Sustainable Schools $8 New Haven Utility Cost History Equates to an average annual escalation of 7.6% over the past 16 years 5.0 7.5 7.2 $7 5.9 $6 $5 4.1 $4 2.9 $3 2.1 $2 2.0 2.4 3.0 3.1 3.7 3.4 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.9 4.5 carbon dioxide emissions, 27% when compared to the ASHRAE 90.1 base case design. This is equivalent to 400 passenger cars. • Utility cost avoidance, including peak demand charge cost avoidance for both electric and gas service. This movement in certainly not restricted to New Haven, as school districts all across the country have been moving in the same direction. Innovation continues as designers continue to come up with new methods of making buildings perform better and new ways of limiting impact to the environment. The high-performance strategies discussed in the article may become standard practices in the future, and new techniques and products will continue to be developed. With this increased dedication and focus on innovation from K-12 designers, the future looks bright for American schools and our students. ES $1 $0 19 87 8 /8 19 88 9 /8 19 89 /9 0 19 90 1 /9 19 91 /9 2 19 92 /9 3 19 93 /9 4 19 94 /9 5 19 95 /9 6 19 96 /9 7 19 97 /9 8 19 98 /9 9 19 99 /0 0 20 00 /0 1 20 01 /0 2 20 02 /0 3 20 03 /0 4* 20 04 /0 5* FIGURE 3. New Haven utility cost escalation projection in millions of dollars. savings that they will provide. In order to validate the correct installation and functionality of these systems, NHSCP utilizes a building commissioning program. The building commissioning program is lead and facilitated by a commissioning agent, a third-party independent advocate for the owner. Commissioning is intended to verify that the building systems are installed, calibrated, and function according to the owner’s project requirements, basis of design, and construction documents. NHSCP has adopted a comprehensive commissioning program with the commissioning agent involved at every stage of the project, including design reviews at each stage of design, supervision of the building turnover process, and warranty phase system performance reviews. The commissioning process at several NHPS facilities has documented in excess of $500,000 of life-cycle savings at each facility through cost avoidance. CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Despite the documented successes of the NHSCP, the program has committed to further improvement. A series of no-cost and low-cost upgrades has recently been completed on 16 of the schools that were completed early in the program (prior to the refinement of the NHSCP high performance design standards). In each case, where life-cycle costing dictated that improvements be made, they were implemented. These improvements are estimated to save the city an additional $650,000 per year. Examples of these upgrades include: • The installation of mechanically deployed pool covers at those schools with swimming pools; • The conversion of gymnasium luminaries 54 En g i neer ed Sy stem s from HID-type to more efficient T-5 fluorescent luminaries controlled by occupancy sensors; • The de-lamping of luminaries in areas where installed light levels were well in excess of code required light levels; • The conversion of AHUs from single zone constant volume systems to VAV systems in order to capitalize on reduced fan speeds at part-load conditions; • The addition of VFDs to pool water recirculation pumps to allow pump motor speed to be reduced during unoccupied hours; • The refurbishment and retrocommissioning of HVAC controls systems at schools that were constructed prior to the implementation of the building commissioning program; • Installation of photocells and occupancy sensors to control classroom lights; • Installation of CO2 sensors for DCV on specific AHU systems. MEASURES OF SUCCESS The adoption of the NHSCP high-performance schools design standards and related facility planning process has initiated a whole new way of thinking among design teams, construction teams, and building operations staffs. This change in focus has not been without measurable benefit for the city of New Haven, including students, teachers, and each taxpayer. The following benefits have been recognized since the beginning of the school construction program in New Haven: • O&M savings; • Increased student performance and less absenteeism; • Improved teacher retention; • Avoided more than 5.75 million pounds of Seckel is a vice president for SSRCx, LLC, a nationwide building commissioning provider. He has served as the commissioning agent on ten completed or in-progress projects for the New Haven School construction program, and has also commissioned several other schools in other parts of the country. He is a licensed professional engineer, holds commissioning certifications from both the AEE and ACG, and is a LEED® AP. Grouten, Jr. is a special projects manager for Gilbane Building Company, a nationwide provider of program management and construction management services and serves as the manager of engineering for the New Haven School Construction Program. In his present capacity, he is responsible for oversight of the New Haven Schools high performance design requirements, third-party commissioning services, turnover and plant O&M interface He has a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, over 27 years of experience in the building construction industry profession and is a LEED AP. March 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Engineered Systems - March 2009

Engineered Systems - March 2009 Contents Editor’s Note Back2Basics Case In Point Commissioning Building Automation HVACR Designer Tips Application Checklist Teaching An Old School New Tricks Basics For Absorption Chillers A New Haven For Sustainable Schools Glossary Classifieds Advertiser Index Tomorrow’s Environment

Engineered Systems - March 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.