Healthcare Design - July 2014 - 40

OPERATIONS | 07.14

Vital signs
A Web-based utility usage dashboard offers insights into performance and
savings while it also serves as a troubleshooting tool
By Richard McKown
Imagine that you've driven a car for years and you
routinely get 20 miles per gallon of gasoline. Now
imagine that number starting to dip down to 15 miles
per gallon. You aren't likely to ignore that: Something
is wrong, something has changed, and you're going
to fix it because it's costing you money.
The ability to see similar changes in utility usage
at a healthcare facility can save thousands of dol-

Getting there
In order to determine those baseline values, an
energy simulation of the building was generated. It
models the thermal qualities of the facility and takes
into account when the building is occupied and such
details as when lights or equipment are expected to
be in use. It adds models of the heating and cooling
systems and reflects the efficiencies of chillers, boil-

lars-and that's where a utility usage dashboard tool
can make a real difference.

ers, pumps, and associated equipment.

Measuring performance
The University of Kansas Hospital began planning
for a new medical office building (MOB) in Kansas
City, Kan., in 2008. The hospital selected Burns
& McDonnell (Kansas City, Mo.) to prepare the
mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering
design for the project. The engineering design was
completed in 2009, and construction was completed in 2011. The 216,000-square-foot building went
on to earn LEED Silver certification from the U.S.
Green Building Council.
As part of the energy use verification services
provided for the facility, Burns & McDonnell developed and implemented an energy dashboard. The
Web-based dashboard provides real-time readings
on use of electricity, natural gas, and water in the
building, which has now been in operation for two
years.
Meters were placed throughout the building to
measure utility usage. The data from the systems
feeds back to the dashboard and is tied to the building automation system. The dashboard provides a
simple real-time readout of actual utility usage, with
each gauge also indicating predicted usage and
daily peak usage levels. At a glance, it's possible
to see utility expenses, plus savings (or excess)
relative to the baseline expectations. The results are
displayed in both dollars and the relevant units.
After the initial investment in setting up the equipment, the only recurring expense for the dashboard
is updating current blended utility rates. Since
most utility companies include various charges,
taxes, and fees on invoices, this system breaks that
information down into a simple cost per unit on a
monthly basis, making the dashboard's savings
calculations as accurate as possible.

HCDmagazine.com 07.14

The dashboard made it possible to justify
two simple energy fixes that came with
quick paybacks and would save one
hospital more than $100,000 per year.
The program performs a minute-by-minute simulation of outside air temperatures, determines whether
lights are on or off, and predicts other factors such
as building occupancy. The program then calculates
what the heating and cooling values should be at that
time. One of the complications of creating the dashboard for the MOB project was that standard energy
simulation software uses average weather data, so
the challenge was to factor in predicted utility use
based on actual outside temperatures. An algorithm
was developed to calculate expected energy usage
based on current weather conditions as well as day
type (weekday versus weekend, start of the week
versus mid-week or later) and time of day, an attempt
to create a better benchmark than a simple average
or approximation.
Making a case for savings
The simulation-driven baseline lets an operator
observe efficiencies and see whether the utilities are
performing to expectations. The dashboard offers
insight into what utility consumption means from
a cost or usage standpoint, and it provides the potential to identify savings opportunities or troubleshoot
unexpected readings.
Upon completion of the MOB, The University of
Kansas Hospital began trending its utility data in the
facility. An interesting pattern developed fairly quickly:
The electricity usage was significantly higher than
anticipated.

Richard McKown

http://www.HCDmagazine.com

Healthcare Design - July 2014

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