Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2008 - (Page 23)

M/E Roundtable I require certified welders for stainless steel exhaust ductwork, check certificates during the submittal process, and have rigorous leak tests for the ductwork. I also pay close attention to duct sealing requirements; there’s nothing wrong with asking for higher seal class ratings than the minimum required by SMACNA. Sprangers: Start by coordinating the bigpicture items with your architect. The locations of lab exhausts and intakes drive the entire project in well-designed facilities. Determine as early as possible whether lab flow rates will be dictated by air change requirements, cooling loads, or peak fume exhaust flow rates. If air change requirements dictate the flow rates, there may be no savings for VAV or low-flow fume hoods. Another major influence is which types of energy recovery are deemed acceptable for which exhaust systems. Feliciano-Welpe: Involve key equipment manufacturers/contractors in the design process early on to help evaluate potential issues. Focus on desired results and performance rather than product specifications that can “pigeon-hole” manufacturers into providing non-standard features that gain no benefit in achieving the desired results. They have also lived with facilities and their users long after the building has been designed/constructed and can give you insight to what has worked well, and more importantly what has not. Get the commissioning agent involved early in the design process so there is cohesion between what has been designed and what will it be functionally tested to—that is, will the design meet the test requirements? Make actual commissioning documents (specific to the project—not “guide” documents) part of the bid documents. This is the hardest part for a control vendor to estimate. The more information available, the clearer the scope of work becomes, and everyone gets a better product. Make the construction documents clear and specific for the intended facility. We all learn from our previous experiences, but each facility is going to be different with different challenges. Brooks: Look for the AMCA CRP seal on the air-moving product (fans, airflow measurement stations, acoustical duct silencer, dampers, louvers, etc.) to ensure you get the performance expected. A general rule to avoid system effect factors is to have a minimum 2.5 duct diameters of straight duct on the outlet, 5 to 8 duct diameters of straight duct on the inlet, and avoid inlet swirl. Web extra: The Q&A about acoustics and corrosion are available at www.csemag.com. Input #214 at csemag.com/quickResponse http://www.wattstopper.com/psg http://www.wattstopper.com/psg http://www.csemag.com http://www.csemag.com/quickResponse

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2008 Contents Viewpoint Letters News M/E Roundtable Cities Under One Roof Eight Design Tips for Integration Is 'Green' Really New? Down the Drain Product of the Year Awards Codes & Standards Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - October 2008

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