WEB EXCLUSIVE: High Performance Buildings For Summer

Today's Web Exclusive comes from John Conover, president of Trane Americas.

The summer months are a critical time to make sure your building is operating as efficiently as possible. This is especially true as energy costs continue to climb and considering that air conditioning systems in commercial buildings during hot weather are the highest contributors to peak electrical loads. These factors put pressure on facility managers to control energy use – or pay the price.

Working in high temperatures affects people in both commercial and industrial surroundings. In addition to high energy use as outside temperatures increase, buildings with inadequate air quality become unbearably hot and stuffy. This problem is compounded if sunlight penetrates into the building, causing a greenhouse-like effect, resulting in increased comfort complaints and loss of productivity. The real challenge for facility managers is to achieve a comfortable environment, while controlling energy costs.

Combating these issues requires a proactive approach that involves common sense preparation and smart building energy management. Following are some tips that can help make your building more energy efficient, environmentally responsible, and economically smart.

Intelligent Control
It’s not surprising that most energy use in a commercial building comes from keeping the space comfortable when it’s in use. That includes cooling warm rooms, warming cool rooms, and removing humidity.

For maximum efficiency, avoid cooling entire buildings or floors during off hours, and use energy efficient lighting and sensors wherever possible. Never over cool an entire building to correct an isolated problem. If, for example, an office space heats up due to south facing exposure, treat the windows in that area instead of adjusting the air temperature.

One way to reduce energy costs is to install a system that blocks fresh air requirements when the building is not in use. Computerized systems also are available that can dictate when and where fresh air, light, heat, and air conditioning infiltrate various parts of the building. A simple programmable thermostat that controls when the heating comes on and off can save up to 25% on energy costs.

Plant Wisely
Make landscaping part of your energy efficiency strategy. In addition to making your building look more attractive, properly placed vegetation will help reduce your energy costs. Deciduous trees, for example, provide natural barriers to summer sun while allowing winter sunlight to warm the building. In addition, plants and shrubs provide important windbreaks, not to mention environmental benefits.

Buildings surrounded with grass tend to be about 10˚ cooler in the summer than buildings flanked by asphalt or concrete. That’s because large areas of asphalt and concrete bounce solar radiation back to the building in the summer, which means air conditioning systems must work harder.

Think Alternative
More commercially viable alternative energy sources are available than ever. These include hydropower and solar harnessing systems. For example, consider photovoltaics (PV) for areas with low cloud cover and low obstruction. To reduce the likelihood of brownouts, use grid-tied photovoltaics to offset the electrical demand of high cooling loads, which often occur during the high-demand summer months.

The rising cost of fossil fuels, in concert with continuing technological advancement, makes PV an increasingly more cost-effective option. Though the payback period for investing in PV is long compared to other renewable strategies, it requires no fuel source and generates power as long as the sun shines.

Maintain Proactively
Energy consumption and conservation tie heavily to operation and maintenance practices. HVAC equipment must be well maintained for the complex array of chillers, boilers, air handlers, controls, and other hardware and software to assure they function at peak performance.

Here are some preventive maintenance techniques to save energy and improve the long-term, maximum performance of HVAC systems:

• Inspect pumps and cooling towers;
• Test motors when the system is running at its maximum to avoid unnecessary overloading;
• Ensure contactors are secure within tolerance starters and motor controllers are operating;
• Keep a close eye on refrigeration leakage;
• Make sure condenser and evaporator coils stay clean; and
  
• Check that drain pans are properly sloped for correct drainage and metal pans are not rusted.

Proper air filtration also plays an important role in protecting the rest of the HVAC system and in maintaining efficient operation. Air filters, whatever their design or efficiency rating, require regular maintenance – cleaning for some and replacement for most.

As a filter loads up with particles, it becomes more efficient at particle removal but increases the pressure drop through the system, therefore reducing airflow. Filters should be selected for their ability to protect the HVAC system components and general indoor air quality.

Improve Load Profile
Facility managers are very familiar with the demand charges utilities impose, which cut sharply into a building’s utility budget. To avoid these power demand peaks, it’s important to monitor power usage carefully through your building automation system to target possibilities for load shedding or load shifting.

For example, a building might use less than two megawatts throughout the day, but during peak times energy use might spike to three or four megawatts. Close monitoring also helps you determine if your cooling equipment lacks efficiency, allowing you to plan for replacements or updates during the winter.

To deal with this problem, change the schedule of building use and maintenance. Where possible, reschedule tasks to be done during periods of low energy demand. This raises valleys but lowers peaks in usage, thus lowering demand charges.


Make Safety A Priority
As you prepare to conduct unscheduled repairs, renovation work, or routine building systems maintenance, make sure safety is front of mind. It’s a matter of workers’ health, productivity, morale and money. Every cooling season, accident rates rise among facility staff and contractors, as is evident in reports by OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is due to heavy workloads and the rush to respond to unscheduled maintenance.

Safety failures inflict personal suffering, and in the worst case, can lead to serious injury or illness that leaves a worker out of commission for an extended period of time. They also cost your organization in lost work time, delayed projects, and higher project and insurance costs. This could mean less profitability on projects, and increased risk.

Here are a few tips on how to be safe this summer:

• Create a culture of safety. Make sure your facility has an effective Environmental, Safety & Health (ESH) program in place that it is understood and followed by all staff members.
• Conduct safety training monthly. All staff members, new and experienced, need safety training. The more training hours staff members undergo, the less likely they will be involved in a safety incident.
• Make project planning routine. Even under the pressure of a cooling emergency, take time to plan ahead. Some steps to take before starting equipment repair or replacement include assigning tasks to the most qualified personnel, ensuring you have the right tools and personal safety equipment, and determining how many people are needed to move heavy equipment.
• Watch your back. Some of the most common injuries to service technicians and maintenance personnel involve muscle, joint, or disc injuries to the back. To avoid these accidents, it is critical to understand correct positioning when lifting or moving heavy equipment.
• Choose a service provider with a strong safety record. Check the provider’s past performance, such as past incident records and references from past clients. The provider’s safety performance should be in line with your safety goals.

Have A Backup Plan
Even if you take all preventive measures, the possibility of a cooling system breakdown always exists. Buildings with critical cooling demands require a cooling contingency plan, which should include backup solutions for quick installation of temporary equipment to ensure operations continue until the situation is resolved.

Consult with a building specialist to guide you in plan development and outline the necessary components.

If you take the right measures before and during the cooling season, you will rest assured that your facility will stay high-performing and energy efficient through the summer.

Conover is responsible for growing sales and distribution of Trane’s commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning products, systems, services and solutions. Conover has served in a variety of roles in his 25-plus years with Trane, gaining innovative insights into the sales process, and ways to gain and retain customers. Conover also has played an integral role in introducing and developing account management into the organization.