ASHRAE Journal May 2015

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ASHRAE Journal



Inside | The Path to a Net Zero-Ready School

Science for Sustainability

Automation Dashboards | UFAD Controls | Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Fire Mitigation

MAY 2015

J O U R N A LTHE MAGAZINE OF HVAC&R TECHN OLOGY AND APPLICATIONS ASHRAE.ORG

®



www.info.hotims.com/54428-18



M AY 2 01 5 a sh ra e. or g A S H R A E J O U RN A L 3

FEATURES

STANDING COLUMNS

CONTENTS VOL. 57, NO. 5, MAY 2015

ASHRAE® Journal (ISSN 0001-2491) MISSI ON STATEMENT | ASHRAE Journal reviews current HVAC&R technology of broad interest through publication ofapplication-oriented articles. ASHR AE Journal’s editorial content ranges from back-to-basics features to reviews of emerging technologies,covering the entire spectrum of professional interest from design and construction practices to commissioning and the service life ofHVAC&R environmental systems. PUBLISHED MONTHLY | Copyright 2015 by ASHRAE, 1791 Tullie Circle N.E., Atlanta, GA 30329. Periodicals postagepaid at Atlanta, Georgia, and additional mailing offices. LETTERS/MANUSCRIPTS | Letters to the editor and manuscripts for publication shouldbe sent to: Fred Turner, Editor, ASHRAE Journal, [email protected]. SUBSCRIPTIONS | $8 per single copy (includes postage and handling onmail orders). Subscriptions for members $6 per year, included with annual dues, not deductible. Nonmember $79 (includes postage inUSA); $79 (includes postage for Canadian); $14 9 international (includes air mail). Expiration dates vary f or both member and nonmembersubscriptions. Payment (U.S. funds) required with all orders. CHANGE OF ADDRESS | Requests must be received at subscription office eight weeksbefore effective date. Send both old and new addres ses for the change. ASHRAE members may submit address changes at www.ashrae.org/address. POSTMASTER | Send form 3579 to: ASHRAE Journal, 1791 Tullie Circle N.E., Atlanta, GA 30329. Canadian A greement Number 40037127.

ONLINE at ASHRAE.org | Feature articles are available online. Members can access articles at no cost. Nonmembers may purchase articlesat www.ashrae.org/bookstore. MICROFILM | This publication is microfilmed by National Archive Publishing Company. For informationon cost and issues available, contact NAPC at 800-420-NAPC or www.napubco.com. PUBLICATION DISCLAIMER | ASHRAE has compiled thispublication with care, but ASHRAE has not investigated and ASHRAE expressly disclaims any duty to investigate any product, service,process, procedure, design or the like which may be described herein. The appearance of any technical data, editorial material oradvertisement in this publication does not constitute endorsement, warranty or guarantee by ASHRAE of any product, service, process,procedure, design or the like. ASHRAE does not warrant that the information in this publication is free of errors and ASHRAE does notnecessarily agree with any statement or opinion in this publication. The entire risk of the use of any information in this publication andits supplement is assumed by the user.

DEPARTMENTS

54

38

72

2015 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARDS

46 ENGI NEER’S NOTEBOOK

Control of Underfloor Air-Distribution Systems

By Daniel H. Nall, P.E.

54 BUILDING SCIENCES

Vitruvius Does Veneers By Joseph W. Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng.

80 DATA CENTERS

The Digital Revolution,Part 3

By Donald L. Beaty, P.E.; David Quirk, P.E.

90 REFRIGERATION

Watt’s the Big Occasion? By Andy Pearson, Ph.D., C.Eng.

16 Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Fire Mitigation

By Stephen K. Melink, P.E.

28 Criteria for Building AutomationDashboards

By Frank Shadpour, P.E.; Joseph Kilcoyne, P.E.

62 Hydronics 101 By Jeff Boldt, P.E.; Julia Keen, Ph.D., P.E.

38 A Beacon for Urban Waters By Matthew Longsine, P.E.

72 Net Zero-Ready School By Brian Haugk, P.E.; Brian Cannon, P.E.

4 Commentary

6 Industry News

14 Meetings and Shows 92 InfoCenter

96 Special Products

98 Products

102 Classified Advertising

104 Advertisers Index

ABOUT THE COVER

At the Tacoma Center for Urban

Waters in Washington, cedar anddouglas fir snags along the water-

front provide staging, feeding

and nesting habitat for birds and

small animals. The LEED Platinum

laboratory won a first place 2015

ASHRAE Technology Award. The

article begins on Page 38.



A S H RA E J O U RN A L a sh ra e. or g M AY 2 01 54

ASHRAE Journal reviews current HVAC&R technology of broad interest through publication of applica-tions-oriented articles. Content ranges from back-to-basics features to reviews of emerging technologies.

COMMENTARY

PUBLISHER

W. Stephen Comstock

EDITORIAL

Editor

Jay Scott [email protected]

Managing EditorSarah [email protected]

Associate EditorRebecca [email protected]

Associate EditorChristopher [email protected]

Associate Editor Jeri Alger [email protected]

Assistant Editor

Tani [email protected]

PUBLISHING SERVICES

Publishing Services ManagerDavid Soltis

Production Jayne Jackson Tracy Becker

ADVERTISING

Associate Publisher, ASHRAE Media Advertising Greg [email protected]

Advertising Production Coordinator Vanessa Johnson

[email protected]

CIRCULATION

Circulation SpecialistDavid [email protected]

ASHRAE OFFICERS

President Thomas H. Phoenix, P.E.

President-Elect T. David Underwood, P.Eng.

Treasurer Timothy G. Wentz, P.E.

Vice PresidentsDarryl K. Boyce, P.Eng.Charles E. Gulledge IIIBjarne W. Olesen, Ph.D.

James K. Vallort

Secretary & Executive Vice President Jeff H. Littleton

POLICY GROUP

2014 – 15 ChairPublications CommitteeMichael R. Brambley, Ph.D.

Washington Office [email protected]

1791 Tullie Circle NE Atlanta, GA 30329-2305Phone: 404-636-8400Fax: 404-321-5478 | www.ashrae.org

New Editor, But You’re in Charge You may have noticed a new name on

the masthead of this issue. Allow meto introduce myself. I’m Jay Scott, the

new editor of ASHRAE Journal, three

e-newsletters and High Performing

Buildings magazine.

I’m replacing Fred Turner, who

retired in January after nearly 20 years

of service with ASHRAE. As the new

editor, I join the ASHRAE team as a

publishing veteran with over 30 years

of experience, both in the print and

online worlds.Do I have expertise as an engineer?

No. That’s the beauty of ASHRAE; I don’t

have to. You, the ASHRAE community,

lead the organization at every level. The

volunteers who contribute to our publi-

cations and the reviewers who confirm

every technical detail are the subject

matter experts. You, the readers, pro-

vide your own expertise with your

thoughtful comments and suggestions.

THE EDITORIAL TEAM is here to

facilitate content that will educate,

inform and advance the goals we all

strive for: serving the built environ-

ment, creating value and recognizing

the accomplishments of others. We’re

here to make sure you have a transpar-

ent editorial process that you drive

while advancing technical information

and debate. As the new editor, I hope to hear from

you when you have a suggestion, or a

complaint. I especially encourage let-

ters to the editor because they prompt

informed discussion of engineering

issues. You can reach me at jayscott@

ashrae.org. I look forward to hearing

from you and meeting people at the

Annual Conference in Atlanta.

IN THIS ISSUE, our cover story

focuses on the challenges in building

the Tacoma Center for Urban Waters

laboratory in Tacoma, Wash. The three-

story laboratory, built to maintain

the cleanliness of the bodies of water

throughout Puget Sound, was com-

pleted through a collaborative design

and construction process.

Laboratories traditionally use largeamounts of energy. The center, how-

ever, was designed with efficiency and

sustainability in mind from the start.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS this month:

• A look at Valley View Middle School

in Snohomish, Wash., a new three-sto-

ry, 168,000 ft2 (15 600 m2) facility that

replaced a much smaller building. The

new school uses less energy than theprevious school that was half the size.

• Engineer’s Notebook explores

effective control strategies to solve com-

mon complaints with UFAD systems.

• An article in the Fundamentals at

Work series explains the basics related

to configuration, layout, and major

system components of hot water and

chilled water systems as an introduc-

tion to hydronics for those new to the

design industry. • And the Building Sciences column

revisits the question: What should the

air space or air gap be behind a clad-

ding and what should the venting

geometry be behind a cladding?

Enjoy the issue.

Jay Scott, Editor



A S H RA E J O U RN A L a sh rae . o rg MA Y 20156

INDUSTRY NEWS

BANGALORE, India—The

mood on the show floor at

ACREX, the Indian trade

fair for air conditioning and

refrigeration, held here in

February, did nothing to

dispel reports that India’seconomy is quickly end-

ing its three-year slump.

Industrial expansion, new

building construction, the

need to limit energy con-

sumption, and emphasis

on air quality are the driv-

ers. All were in evidence at

ACREX.

The International

Monetary Fund in its latest World Economic Outlook

report predicts India’s

annual economic growth

rate will be between 6.3%

and 6.5% over the next two

years, surpassing China’s.

With the global economic

growth projected at around

3.5%, it is little wonder

manufacturers are target-

ing India.

India’s Strength Pushes ACREX to Sixth Spot

Analysts say building

space in India will jump

from 86 billion ft2 in 2005

to a mind-boggling 450 bil-

lion ft2 by 2030. Nearly 70%

of the buildings in India

that will exist by 2030 have yet to be built. To keep pace,

India’s energy production

must grow 6.5% per year,

an unsustainable number.

For that reason India ranks

in the top three countries

for green buildings with

over 2.5 billion ft2 of green

building footprint accord-

ing to the Indian Green

Building Council.Engineers say it just

makes good business sense

to build green in India

where the incremental

cost is only 3% to 5% for a

commercial green build-

ing and 1% for a residence.

With India’s energy costs

and availability of low-cost

green building products,

the additional cost gets paid

back within three to four

years.

“The market potential for

green building products

and technologies is $100

billion,” said Nirmal Ram,a consulting engineer in

Bangalore. “In India, many

new products are being

introduced to meet the

demand for green. Our

country is now one of the

leading exporters of green

building materials and

technologies.” Ram is a past

president of ISHRAE, the

association of engineers

that organizes ACREX.

By the time ACREX ended,

more than 28,000

visitors attended

the three-day fair

February 26 to 28,

viewing the 400

exhibitors from 25

countries. Among

them were industry

leaders like Carrier-UTC,

Hitachi, Blue Star, Daikin,LG, Bosch, Siemens, Voltas,

Climaveneta, Mitsubishi,

ebm-papst and Trane India.

Visitors came from Canada,

China, Czech Republic,

France, Germany, Hong

Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea,

Netherlands, South Korea,

Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey,

Ukraine, UAE, United

Kingdom and the U.S. Among the exhibition

highlights was the dedicated

Refrigeration & Cold Chain

Pavilion, which reflects the

industry’s “sunrise” status

in the country. With a com-

pound annual growth rate of

around 26%, the Indian cold

chain industry is expected

to reach nearly $10 billion

by 2017.

CLIMAVENETA displayed

its line of centrifugal chill-

ers with inverter driven

compressors featuring mag-

netic levitation technology.

The range includes watercooled and air cooled units.

The company also displayed

its high precision air condi-

tioning units, high density

solutions for data centers,

and VFD screw compressor

chillers.

Anil Dev, chief tech-

nical officer with

CLIMAVENETA, said he has

noticed a growing aware-

ness in India for energy-

efficient and sustainable

products. “Indian

consumers are

becoming extremely

aware of green

building,” Dev said.

According to Dev,

CLIMAVENETA’s air-

cooled screw chiller

is its number one product

in India. “We have been very successful in the IT

sector. One of the reasons

is that we have been able to

achieve the highest uptime

for our products. Uptime

commitments are very

important in the IT sector.”

LG Electronics showed

its full line of products,

including the Multi-V IV.

Mounted with a high effi-ciency inverter compressor,

the Multi-V IV yields a 4.79

COP, among the highest

energy efficiency ratings

for air conditioners sold in

India. It raises energy effi-

ciency by about 20% from

existing models. The “Ocean

Black Fin” heat exchanger

in the unit is dual-layered

and double-sided with a

Dev

Basanth Kumar stands next to Armstrong’s Fluid Management system comprising ofDesign Envelope pumps with sensor-less technology. It is designed as a plug-and-play

HVAC pumping solution for commercial, institutional and industrial buildings.


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A S H RA E J O U RN A L a sh ra e. or g M AY 2 01 58

INDUSTRY NEWS

It’s Mosquitos Away Technology at LG’s ACREX stand. Some 28,000 visitors attended theACREX fair held in Bangalore.

black coating to shield it

from salt, sand and other

elements brought in by

strong sea winds along

India’s coast. Water drops

are prevented from forming

because of external envi-

ronmental changes, a real

performance advantage in

the humid conditions that

prevail along India’s coast.

The coating also protects

the unit against the effects

of industrial pollution.

“We have a big sea line,

and visitors want to know

more about our products

that can resist such things,”

said Sohrab Zafferulla, area

head of LG’s System Air-

Conditioning Division.

“We’re excited about our

new HVAC solutions, which will provide unprecedented

benefits to our existing

partners and prospects

seeking high-efficiency

commercial solutions.

LG is on track to lead the

Indian HVAC market with

our locally relevant busi-

ness strategy, highly energy

efficient products as well

as its tradition of quality

engineering and reliable

customer service through-

out the entire country,”

said Mahendra Agarwal,

Vice President-System Air-

Conditioners, LG India.

Another product attract-

ing attention at the LG

stand was the Inverter

V air conditioner with

Mosquito Away technol-

ogy. The unit emits ultra-

sonic waves, preventing

mosquitos from detecting

humans and protecting

occupants from mosquito-

borne diseases. The tech-

nology works whenever

the unit is on, not just

when the AC is running.

The new Variable Tonnage

Technology used in LG’s

Inverter V air condition-ers adjusts the cooling by

automatically controlling

the compressor speed.

Cooling capacity is auto-

matically increased to give

faster cooling until the

desired temperature is

reached and reduces the

tonnage after to provide

savings, sometimes by as

much as 66%.



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M A Y 2 0 1 5 a s h ra e .o r g A S H R A E J O U RN A L 9

INDUSTRY NEWS

Maheshwari

Armstrong displayed its

“configure to order” solu-

tions for fluid flow and heat

transfer applications. The

company’s Design Envelope

IVS pumps reduce pump-ing costs through variable

speed, demand-based

operation—consuming only

the energy required based

on current system demand.

The pumps use a combina-

tion of optimized impeller

size and speed control for

energy efficient operation

within a given performance

envelope. The performance

envelopes are mapped for

the best pump efficiency

at 50% of the design flow

rate, where variable flow

systems operate most often.

This ensures a building’s

hydronic pumping system

consumes as little energy

possible and meets the

installation needs required

in ASHRAE/IES Standard

90.1 of a 70% energy savings

at 50% peak load. Armstrong also displayed

its chilled water line of

Integrated Plant Packages.

The IPP-CHW solution is

an integrated factory built

system, optimized for quick

installation. The IPP-CHW

incorporates split coupled

pumps, oil-free frictionless

compressors, and an ultra-

efficient chilled water plant

control system.

Besides the need to limit

energy growth, India faces

another challenge. How to

improve air quality? And

solutions for that were on

display at ACREX.

Of the world’s top 20 cit-

ies with the world’s worst

air, 13 are in India, accord-

ing to an analysis by the

World Health Organization

(WHO). Despite air qualityin Chinese cities receiv-

ing more media attention,

many of India’s cities are

actually worse when annual

averages of fine air-

borne particulates

are considered.

Particulate pollution

is especially danger-

ous because par-

ticulates are perma-

nently lodged within

the lining of the lungs.

Surveying 1,600 cities in 91

countries, the WHO found

that New Delhi’s air was the

worst in the world. Three

other Indian cities—Patna,

Gwalior, and Raipur—round

out the top four, with

Karachi, Pakistan, the fifth

worst. None of China’s cities

came in the top 20. Beijing

was 77th.Business for indoor air

particle counters is grow-

ing, according to Keerthi

Satya, regional sales

manager of TSI

Instruments—India.

While TSI offers

particle counters

for cleanroom

applications for

semiconductor and

pharmaceutical

industries, it also offers

dust monitoring instru-

ments. “What is the kind

of air we are breathing

indoors, whether it be our

offices or our residences?”



A S H RA E J O U RN A L a sh ra e. or g M AY 2 01 51 0

INDUSTRY NEWS

Walt Vernon and Dick Moeller presented ASHRAE’s Designing High PerformingHealthcare Facilities course. The healthcare industry in India is said to be growing at anannual rate of 15% due to a booming population with unmet medical needs and medicaltourism. Other ASHRAE courses covered developments in controls technology, datacenter energy efficiency, and laboratory design.

said Satya. TSI dust monitors can be used for commercial

and institutional applications, including hospitals. “It

is good practice for the health-care segment to monitor

indoor air quality because of patients with compromised

immune systems.”Caryaire exhibited its air purification solution for the

residential and the school room markets, winning a

product innovation award. According to the company,

new building codes being considered in India for new

residential buildings include fresh air requirements

along with air purification. “We’re now talking about not

only energy conservation but also maintaining minimum

indoor air quality standards. Awareness is growing daily,”

said Sachin Maheshwari, director at Caryaire. “We have

stopped calling our new product an air purifier. We are

calling it a life-conditioner or health-conditioner. It’s all

about saving your life.”

The company’s residential units displayed at ACREX have

been reconfigured for existing and new housing from the

commercial and industrial products. Chemical filtration

is offered to remove the VOCs and NO X from carbon and

sulfur in the air. “We are quite positive the next five years

are going to be a golden phase for India,” said Maheshwari.

“2004 through 2009 was a big boom phase for India. We see

the next jump year taking place next year through 2019 or

2020.”

The next ACREX will take place Feb. 25 to 27, 2016, in

Mumbai.






INDUSTRY NEWS

run entirely on a mix of

solar, wind, and hydro

power, along with waste

wood chips and sawdust,

rather than fossil fuels. The

“EcoDataCenter” is also

designed to convert the heat

generated by its servers into

energy for homes in Falun,

a city of around 37,000 in

central Sweden. The facility

will be linked to the town’s

district heating system to

deliver hot water to warm

homes during winter. In

the summer, it will supply

district cooling, running

air-conditioning systems

that would otherwise use

electricity.

DOE, NIBS

Developing Training Guidelines WASHINGTON, D.C.—The

U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE) has partnered with

the National Institute of

Building Sciences (NIBS)

to develop new guidance

designed to enhance and

streamline commercial

building workforce train-

ing and certification

programs. The voluntary

Better Buildings Workforce

Guidelines provide a

national framework for

certification agencies across

the country to roll out con-

sistent programs.

S W E C O A R C H I T E C T S A B / N O R D I S K

K O M B I N A T I O N A R K I T E K T E R A BBacteria Shine

Light on AirQuality Monitoring BEER SHEVA, Israel—

Researchers have developed

a simple and inexpensivedevice that uses

bioluminescent bac-

teria to monitor air

quality and alert to

potentially unsafe

conditions. If bac-

teria encounter haz-

ardous substances

in the environment,

they launch a system

to repair damaged DNA

and maintain other func-

tions, says Robert S. Marks

of Israel’s Ben-Gurion

University of the Negev. By

adding the genes that make

luciferase—a glow-inducing

protein—to the same part of

the bacteria’s genome as the

microbial repair response,

scientists have created bac-

teria that glow in response

to chemicals that are toxic

to cells. Marks hopes that byincorporating bacteria

with different chemi-

cal sensitivities, he may

eventually be able to iden-

tify which specific toxins

are in the air with

the device as well.

The research is pub-

lished in the journal

Analytical Chemistry.

Data Center toHeat Swedish TownFALUN, Sweden—A team

of Swedish entrepreneurs

is partnering with a local

energy company to build

a data center that will

Air quality device

Carbon negative data center in Sweden.




MEETINGS AND SHOWS FULL CALENDAR: WWW.ASHRAE.ORG/CALENDAR

MAY AHRI Spring Meeting, May 5 – 7, Crystal City, Va.Contact Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigera-tion Institute at 703-524-8800, [email protected],or www.ahrinet.org.

EE Global 2015, May 12 – 13, Washington, D.C.Contact Becca Rohrer at Alliance to Save Ener-

gy at 202-530-2206, [email protected], or www.eeglobalforum.org.

AIA Convention 2015, May 14 – 16, Atlanta. Con-tact the American Institute of Architects at 800-242-3837, [email protected], or www.aia.org/convention.

AIHce 2015, May 30 – June 4, Salt Lake City. ContactLindsay Padilla at the American Industrial Hygiene

Association at 703-846-0754, [email protected], or www.aihce2015.org.

JUNE ASHRAE Annual Conference, June 27 – July 1, Atlanta. Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723 [email protected].

JULYSolar 2015, July 28– 30, State College, Pa. Contact 303-443-3130, [email protected], or http://solar2015.ases.org.

AUGUSTNAFA Annual Convention, Aug. 27 – 29. Key West,Fla. Contact the National Air Filtration Associa-tion at 757-313-7400, [email protected], or www.nafahq.org.

SEPTEMBERI2SL Annual Conference, Sept. 21 – 23, San Diego.Contact the International Institute for SustainableLaboratories, at 703-841-5484 [email protected], or

www.i2sl.org/conference.

SMACNA Annual Convention, Sept. 27 – 30, Colo-rado Springs, Colo. Contact the Sheet Metal and AirConditioning Contractors’ Association at 703-803-2980, [email protected], or www.smacna.org.

RETA Conference, Sept. 29 – Oct. 2, Milwaukee.Contact the Refrigeration Engineers and Techni-cians Association at 831-455-8783, [email protected],or www.reta.com.

World Energy Engineering Congress, Sept.30 – Oct. 2, Orlando, Fla. Contact the Association ofEnergy Engineers at 770-447-5083, [email protected], or www.energycongress.com.

2015 ASHRAE Energy Modeling Conference: Toolsfor Designing High Performance Buildings, Sept.30 – Oct. 2, Atlanta. Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723,[email protected], or www.ashrae.org/emc2015.

OCTOBERIFMA’s World Workplace, Oct. 7 – 9, Denver. Con-tact the International Facility Management Asso-ciation at 713-623-4362, [email protected], or www.ifma.org.

AMCA Annual Meeting, Oct. 15 – 18, Ojai, Calif.Contact the Air Movement and Control AssociationInternational at 847-394-0150 or www.amca.org.

AHR Expo-Mexico, Oct. 20 – 22, Guadalajara, Mex-ico. Contact the International Exposition Compa-ny at 203-221-9232, [email protected], or

www.ahrexpomexico.com.

CTBUH 2015, Oct. 26 – 30, New York. Contact theCouncil on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat at 312-567-3487, [email protected], or www.ctbuh2015.com.

NOVEMBER AHRI Annual Meeting, Nov. 15 – 17, Bonita Springs,Fla. Contact Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrig-eration Institute at 703-524-8800, [email protected], or www.ahrinet.org.

Greenbuild International Conference & Expo,Nov. 18 – 20, Washington, D.C. Contact organizers at866-815-9824, [email protected],or www.greenbuildexpo.com.

2016

JANUARYBuilding Innovation 2016, Jan. 11 – 15, Washington,D.C. Contact the National Institute of Building Sci-ences (NIBS) at 202-289-7800, [email protected], or

www.nibs.org/conference2016.

ASHRAE Winter Conference, Jan. 23 – 27, Orlando,Fla. Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723 or meetings@

ashrae.org.

International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Re-frigerating Exhibition (AHR Expo), Jan. 25 – 27,Orlando, Fla. Cosponsored by ASHRAE and AHRI.Contact the International Exposition Company at203-221-9232.

JUNE ASHRAE Annual Conference, June 25 – 29,St. Louis. Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723 [email protected].

JULY2016 Purdue Compressor/Refrigeration and AirConditioning and High Performance Buildings

Conferences and Short Courses, July 11 – 14, WestLafayette, Ind. Contact Kim Stockment at 765-494-6078, [email protected], or http://tinyurl.com/Purdue2016.

OCTOBER ASPE Convention and Exposition,Oct. 27 – Nov. 4,Phoenix. Contact the American Society of Plumb-ing Engineers at 847-296-0002, [email protected], or

www.aspe.org.

OUTSIDE NORTH AMERICA

MAY2015 International Conference on Energy and En-

vironment in Ships, May 22 – 24, Athens, Greece.

Contact ASHRAE at 800-527-4723, [email protected], or www.ashrae.org/Ships2015.

JULYISHVAC-COBEE 2015, July 12 – 15, Tianjin, China.Endorsed by ASHRAE. Contact organizers [email protected] or http://www.cobee.org.

AUGUSTIIR International Congress of Refrigeration, Aug.16 – 22, Yokohama, Japan. Endorsed by ASHRAE.Contact 81 3 3219 3541, [email protected], or

www.icr2015.org.

The Future of HVAC 2015 Conference, Aug. 18 – 19,Melbourne, Australia. Endorsed by ASHRAE.

Contact the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Airconditioning and Heating (AIRAH) at 613 86233000 or http://tinyurl.com/HVACFuture.

SEPTEMBERMostra Convegno Expocomfort Asia, Sept. 2 – 4, Singapore. Contact Reed Expositions Singaporeat 65 6780 4671, fax 65 6588 3832, [email protected] or www.mcexpocomfort-asia.com.

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TECHNICAL FEATURE

Stephen K. Melink, P.E., is president of Melink Corp. in Milford, Ohio.

BY STEPHEN K. MELINK, P.E., MEMBER ASH RAE

Commercial Kitchen Ventilation Fire Mitigation

Foo -service esta is ments are notorious y prone to itc en fires t at

emana e from ig -energy coo ing app iances an often sprea o t e ooan uct sys em an somet mes eyon . T is s w y nsurance compa-

n es c assify suc esta is ments n ig er-ris ca egory t an mos ot er

commercia ui ings. An , t is s w y proper y esigne itc en venti a-

t on an fire suppress on sys em for coo ing equ pment s require y co e.1

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, cooking

was the leading cause of commercial building fires in

years 2007–11, averaging over 25,000 such fires per

year. The second leading cause averaged less than10,000 fires per year. In addition, the dollar loss for

cooking-related fires averaged almost $50 million per

year during this five-year period. And, although deaths

and injuries are not shown for specific causes, there

were 3,005 deaths and 17,500 injuries due to all fires in

just 2011.2

Therefore, it is relevant to ask how engineers can

mitigate these costs and risks going forward. Do we

continue to design the way we always have and accept

the above statistics as outside of our control? Or do we

seek opportunities to improve fire safety in areas within

our control?So often the emphasis gets placed on specifying the right

commercial kitchen hoods and fire suppression system.3

Yes, if a fire ever occurs, having a listed hood and fire sup-

pression system is important. We want the fire properly

contained at the source and immediately extinguished.

However, the previous statistics suggest more is necessary.

The purpose of this article is to suggest that additional

emphasis should be placed on fire mitigation strategies.

PHOTO 2 Stretched, cracked and almost broken belt. This is common for restaurantexhaust fans. Despite calls for proper maintenance by codes, this is oftenignored.

PHOTO 1 Grease exhaust fans with backdraft dampers locked in open position.Maintenance personnel got tired of dealing with dampers found stuck inthe closed position.



M AY 2 01 5 a sh ra e. or g A S H R A E J O U RN A L 1 7

FEATURE

in weld seams. There is also a tendency for engineers to

rely on codes as their sole basis of design and not fully

recognize improvement opportunities.

As many engineers already know, since commercial

kitchen ventilation (CKV) systems are a type of HVACsystem, it would behoove our profession to educate

architects on the need to move CKV out of the food-

service section of the plans and specifications, and into

the mechanical section. The hoods are located in the

kitchen, but so are other HVAC components such as

grilles, registers, and diffusers. More importantly, the

food-service consultant usually has little or no knowl-

edge of the “V” in CKV or HVAC, and should not be spec-

ifying hoods, controls, and other features to which they

may not understand the consequences of their choices.

The engineer is uniquely positioned to ensure the

entire system is designed for optimal fire safety—as well

as energy efficiency—for the life of the building. And

though listed hoods for food-service applications are

widely available, there is more to designing than justspecifying listed equipment.

Nevertheless, the focus of this article is the portion

of the CKV system above the ceiling and how it can be

designed to improve fire safety. As such, following are

six design practices to consider in order of priority for

your future projects.

1. Design short, straight, and vertical grease ducts

whenever possible—and design horizontal ducts only

if necessary . Grease, like oil, is a highly flammable sub-

stance. If you’ve ever seen a grease fire along with its

FIGURE 1 Higher- and lower-risk designs of grease ducts.

Large High S.P. Exhaust FanBelt-Driven (Weak Link)

Between Roof & Ceiling: the Less “Stuff”the Better Because Out of Sight, Out ofMind Often Prevails in the O&M World.

Roof Line

Clean-Out

Clean-Out90° Turn

Damper

90° Turn

90° Turn

90° Turn

DamperClean-Out

90° Turn Clean-Out

Damper

90° Turn

Clean-Out

Typical Grease Duct Design with Single Exhaust Fan. Long duct runs, multiple 90-degree turns and dampers addsignificant resistance to airflow—increasing fan energy during most all operating conditions. Also, more expensive to install,

maintain and clean. Liability is also a concern with more surfaces and obstructions for grease to collect. Thus, clean-outs.Finally, one fan failure (belt/motor) can bring down the entire kitchen.

Higher Risk Design

Lower Risk Design

Roof Line

Smaller Low S.P. Exhaust FansDirect Drive (Less Maintenance)

Short & Straight Ducts(No Obstructions)

Improved Grease Duct Design with Dedicated Exhaust Fans. Short duct runs, without 90-degree turns and dampers,reduce resistance to airflow—minimizing fan energy. Also, very simple to install, maintain and clean. Liability is minimizedby creating a direct path for heat/smoke/grease to easily move up and out of the building. Finally, multiple fans provide saferedundancy in case of any problems.

Fire suppression, by definition, is

about extinguishing a fire after it

has already started. Fire mitigation,

on the other hand, is about reduc-

ing risks so that a fire is less likely to

occur in the first place or less likely

to spread and cause subsequent

damage/injuries.

Looking at the entire heat/grease

system from the cooking equipment

to the exhaust fan, the area with

the least published research and

most design variability from appli-

cation to application is the grease

duct. While listed grease ducts are

also available, they are usually onlyspecified where reduced clearances

to combustibles dictate their use.4

Otherwise, the more common prac-

tice is to custom design the grease

ducts in accordance with codes.5 But

this is typically done out of habit or

to reduce construction costs—and

not necessarily as a conscious effort

to improve fire safety.

Where there is custom design,

there is custom installation. And

where there is custom installation,

there is a higher probability of field

errors by the mechanical contrac-

tor. This often includes using the

wrong sheet metal and leaving holes




thick black smoke, you understand the serious natureof your work. Therefore, don’t mess around. Design

the grease ducts so that they provide the shortest path

for the heat and smoke to travel outside the building as

possible.

Long ducts provide more surface area for this grease to

collect and eventually serve as a potential fuel source for

a fire. And horizontal ducts provide a surface for heavy

grease particles to fall out of the airstream and collect at

a higher rate than vertical surfaces.5 In fact, grease often

“pools” in horizontal grease ducts, and this is a major

reason why clean-outs need to be installed. Yes, these

ducts are required to be sloped to facilitate draining, but

such drainage does not always occur due to inadvertent

low spots in the duct, the high viscosity of grease, and/or

entrainment caused by the operating exhaust fan. And

yes, conventional practice is to blame the hood and duct

cleaner if this happens, but smart design should dictate

that you eliminate the potential for grease collection

in the first place. Moreover, a horizontal duct usually

involves at least two 90-degree turns, and this additional

resistance requires more fan energy to move the designairflow. When you can design for both fire safety and

energy efficiency, all the better.

Though clean-outs are required for gaining access6

they introduce another potential weak link in the sys-

tem. Not only can grease leak at these clean-outs due to

an improper seal—and drip onto the hood and ceiling,

the covers are sometimes forgotten and left to allow

the exhaust air to short-cycle and cause impaired hood

performance. Moreover, if there is not a mezzanine with

proper access and lighting, leaving it up to duct cleaners

to find a way to navigate a ceiling full of electric con-duit, water lines, and cabling in the dark is a recipe for

problems.

Certainly, many existing buildings that are retrofitted

with commercial kitchens do not have the same design

flexibility as new construction. And even some new

construction has constraints on where the hoods, ducts,

and fans can be located. But to the degree designers have

influence on a project, we should speak to the architect

and owner with fire safety in mind, first and foremost.

Who knows, perhaps the discussion will open up new

possibilities. Perhaps the kitchen can extend to the side

of the main building on the first floor with the ducts and

fans immediately above it. Or perhaps the kitchen can

be moved to the top floor with better views and where

the ducts and fans can be positioned immediately above

it. Building owners do not want to incur undue risks and

liabilities, and so we need to speak up.

2. Eliminate obstructions such as dampers, filters,

coils, and 90-degree turns in grease ducts whenever

possible. Remember, the purpose of a kitchen ventila-

tion system is to remove potentially dangerous heatand smoke from the building as efficiently as possible.

And so designing obstructions in the duct only make

this more difficult.7 Yes, dampers, filters, coils, and

90-degree turns are a fact of life for most HVAC sys-

tems—but grease ducts are a different animal. Most

HVAC systems are not prone to collecting a highly com-

bustible substance and moving high-temperature air

through them. And, most HVAC systems are not as prone

to catching fire. So design the grease ducts as aerody-

namically as practical.

PHOTO 3 Direct-Drive Exhaust Fan. No belt can fail and cause heat/smoke issues.Also no belt drive losses and belt maintenance required.

PHOTO 4 Exhaust Fan with Grease on Roof. Indicates how extensively grease cancontaminate duct and fan system. Therefore best to keep them short,straight and vertical.

TECHNICAL FEATURE





Think of your gas grille on the patio of your home.

Would you ever consider moving it into your kitchen

and installing a hood with modulating dampers, a bag

filter, heat exchanger, and four 90-degree turns before

it exits your second-floor roof? If not, why would you

do this for a hotel, hospital, or college with hundreds of

times more property value and occupant lives at stake?

And while you may be maintenance savvy as an engineer

what about the restaurant owner or his low-cost helper?

Energy efficiency is increasingly important in today’s

world, but it should never come at the expense of fire

safety.

Another reason not to design long grease ducts with

multiple turns is the hood fire suppression system will

be less effective if the inside of the duct catches fire. A

single nozzle aimed into the grease duct will cover lesssurface area if the duct is not short and straight.

3. Specify listed grease ducts. Factory-built systems

are designed with a double-wall construction and are

therefore stronger and more durable than single-wall

grease ducts. In addition, they are less apt to be installed

with holes/gaps in the seams and allow grease leaks to

occur because the assembly and welding mostly takes

place in a controlled environment. Experience shows

that trying to weld a liquid-tight vessel above the ceiling

where it is dark and easy to miss holes/gaps is largely

dependent on the quality of the welder. And since the

low-bid mechanical contractor usually gets the job, the

owner usually gets what he paid for. Finally, factory-

built systems are manufactured with stainless steel,

which has a higher temperature rating than black iron

sheet metal. This is important if/when a fire ever does

occur because if the grease duct fails, the fire will be able

to spread that much more quickly. Stainless steel buys

more time.

But if a listed grease duct cannot be specified and used

for whatever reason, then serious consideration shouldbe given to how the field-fabricated and welded grease

duct will be protected above and beyond the mini-

mal threshold of code compliance. For example, even

if the required clearance to combustibles is met, the

grease duct should ideally be wrapped with insulation

or enclosed so that a fire inside the duct cannot easily

spread outside the immediate surrounding area. Again,

fire mitigation is about preventing a fire from spreading

and becoming an out-of-control fire.

4. Design redundancy in the kitchen ventilation

system by including more than one exhaust fan

where there are multiple hoods. As already stated, the

purpose of a kitchen ventilation system is to remove

heat and smoke—and so when this vitally important

function stops because a single belt or motor fails, this

is as much a reflection of poor design as poor prod-

uct quality and/or maintenance. Some functions are

so mission-critical that unless the associated system

components are 99.99% reliable in design, construc-

tion, operation, and maintenance, redundancy is a

best-practice. That is why IT companies have serverslocated across the country. They cannot afford to lose

customer data if one natural disaster or terrorist attack

occurs. That is why airlines have at least two engines

on planes flying across the ocean. There are too many

lives at stake if a plane has just one engine and it fails

in mid-flight.

Yet, kitchen exhaust fans are almost as mission-crit-

ical in applications like hotels, hospitals, schools, and

high-rises occupied by hundreds of people. What do

you do if a hotel banquet kitchen is preparing food for

TECHNICAL FEATURE





TECHNICAL FEATURE

staff would not necessarily be thinking about the pos-

sible risks.

And if a fire does start and overtake the hood and

duct due to a fan failure and the resulting heat build-

up, then who is to blame? It would be easy to dismiss

our culpability as mechanical designers and blame

it on the motor manufacturer, maintenance staff,

hundreds of people on a Saturday night and there is

only one exhaust fan serving the kitchen—and then

the motor burns out? From a safety standpoint, you

should turn off the cooking equipment and apologize

to your customers because a new motor will not be

able to be installed very quickly. But in reality, the

pressure to continue cooking could prevail as the

kitchen cooks, or the fire suppres-

sion system. (Based on the statis-

tics mentioned earlier, we should

not assume fire suppression sys-

tems will necessarily put out all

fires). But in this litigious society

in which we live, lawyers will not

necessarily see it that way.

If a second duct and fan had beendesigned into the overall kitchen

ventilation system, it is possible

any smoke-related damage and

injuries/deaths could have been

avoided. This would not have pre-

vented the initial fire inside the

hood with a motor failure, but it

could have provided sufficient ven-

tilation through the other hoods to

keep smoke from reaching other

parts of the building and getting

into the eyes and lungs of kitchen

staff as they might try to put out

the fire or escape and call the fire

department.

5. Eliminate the weak link when

possible by specifying listed

direct-drive exhaust fans. The

fan belt is the infamous weak link

of most every kitchen ventilation

system out there. It’s a relativelycheap part that is prone to stretch-

ing, cracking, and eventually

breaking—and causing untold lost

business revenue, employee wages,

customer loyalty, and building

damage and human injury/lives for

the reasons mentioned earlier. And

it often breaks at the most inoppor-

tune time when demand for food

and thus ventilation is at its highest

TECHNICAL FEATURE





and the availability for repair service is at its lowest.

Again, think Saturday night.

Conventional on/off motor starters add to the problem

because they provide nearly instantaneous acceleration

at start-up, which means these weak links are severely

stressed—and stretched—every day when the hoods are

turned on in the morning. And so before the belt actu-

ally breaks, it will gradually become loose within the

pulley grooves and slip, resulting in slower and slower

fan speeds over time.

The solution is to specify direct-drive exhaust fans

and variable-frequency drives (VFDs) when possible

to eliminate this problem. Conventional practice is

to point the finger at maintenance for not regularly

replacing these belts, but why not think proactively

and design more reliable systems? Fan manufacturershave made major strides in recognizing this need and

opportunity by expanding their fan lines to include

direct-drive (up to approximately 3,000 cfm [1416

L/s], currently) over the last five to 10 years, and so it

is up to the mechanical designer to take advantage of

this when possible. Don’t let a $10 part fail and cause

a potential fire because “that’s the way it’s always

been done.”

And don’t let the VFD become the next weakest link by

allowing a low-quality drive to be used. Specify a top-tier

brand with a national and preferably global reputation

for quality.

6. Specify a listed demand control kitchen ventila-

tion (DCKV) system. This allows the customer to gain

more utility from the VFDs than just setting a fixed

speed on direct-drive fans. It also allows the customer

to gain more utility from minimally intelligent auto-

start systems now required by code. In fact, most codes

now require an electrical or thermal interlock between

the cooking equipment and hood fans to address the

possibility that cooks may forget to turn the system onin the morning or off at night.6,8 With little or no extra

cost, the CKV system can be designed with DCKV capa-

bility and thereby modulate the exhaust and make-up

fan speeds based on temperature and/or smoke to save

energy.

TECHNICAL FEATURE




A S H RA E J O U RN A L a s h ra e .o r g M A Y 2 0 1 52 6

Fire-prevention features of a well-engineered DCKV

system include an audible alarm if the exhaust air tem-

perature rises within 100°F (38°C) of the activation tem-

perature of the fire suppression system. Similar to new

cars with sensors that tell you when you are getting too

close to another object, new hoods should be specified to

“beep” and tell you if the exhaust air temperatures are

getting dangerously high. Another possibility is an auto-

matic gas/electric shut-off capability if the exhaust air

temperature continues to rise within, say, 50°F (10°C) of

the activation temperature. Why wait until the fire sup-

pression system is activated to shut-off the fuel source?

In this day and age, intelligent hoods should monitor,

communicate, and control to prevent a potential disas-

ter from occurring. Specify accordingly.

SummaryIn conclusion, no food-service establishment is fire-

proof, but we can help design them to be more fire safe.

More specifically, design grease ducts so that they are

short, straight, and vertical whenever possible. Design

them without obstructions so that the heat and smoke

can exit the building in the most efficient manner pos-

sible. And, specify UL-listed grease ducts to provide

an extra barrier between the potential fire source and

combustibles. Furthermore, design the CKV system

with more than one exhaust fan so that there is a level of

redundancy in ventilation in case one fan goes down. To

minimize this possibility, eliminate the belt by specify-

ing direct drive fans where applicable. Lastly, specify

a DCKV system so that the fans not only automatically

start upon the detection of heat—but so that temperature

alarms can signal if/when the exhaust temperature rises

above normal and/or safe levels.

These design practices are especially important in

buildings occupied by hundreds of people. And it is even

more important for systems that may receive little pre- ventive maintenance. Anything designed above the ceil-

ing is not only out of sight—but very often out of mind

until it fails.

Yes, there are some things outside of our control as the

mechanical designer when it comes to fire mitigation.

But there are also things within our control. The purpose

of this article was to highlight the latter and advocate

for a bias towards safety. The engineer should never

abdicate his professional responsibilities to the owner,

architect, manufacturer, contractor, or food-service con-

sultant because “that’s the way it’s always been done.”

Sleeping well at night might depend on it someday.

Notes1. NFPA. National Fire Protection Association Standard 96-2014,

Standard for Ventilation Control and Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking

Operations. Also the Uniform Mechanical Code, UMC 2012 borrows

most NFPA 96 requirements related to fire suppression for com-

mercial cooking. Moreover, the International Mechanical Code,

IMC 2012 Chapter 5 covers this area.

2. U.S. Fire Administration. 2011. “Restaurant Building Fires.”

Topical Fire Report Series. U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

3. Griffin, B., M. Morgan. 2014. “60 years of commercial kitchenfire suppression.” ASHRAE Journal, June.

4. UL. UL Standard 1978, Grease Ducts. Covers factory-built grease

ducts and grease duct assemblies that are intended to be installed

at reduced clearances.

5. Gerstler, W.D. 2002. “New Rules for Kitchen Exhaust.” ASHRAE

Journal, November.

6. IAPMO. 2012. Uniform Mechanical Code and ICC. 2012. Interna-

tional Mechanical Code.

7. Duda, S.W. 2014. “Fire & Smoke Damper Application Require-

ments.” ASHRAE Journal, July. This states under Other Rules: Do not

put any dampers in Type 1 grease exhaust systems.

8. California Energy Commission. Title 24, Building Energy Ef-

ficiency Standards and ASHRAE Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for

Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.

TECHNICAL FEATURE




Frank Shadpour, P.E., and Joseph Kilcoyne, P.E., are principals at SC Engineers in San Diego, Calif. Shadpour is a member of TC 1.4, control theory and application.

TECHNICAL FEATURE

BY FRANK SHADP OUR, P.E., HFDP, FELLOW ASHRAE; JOSEP H KILCOYNE, P.E., MEMBE R ASHRAE

for Building Automation Dashboards

an you mag ne riving a car without a ashboar ? The thought seems nconce v-

able to ay, ye n 1914, the For Mo el ser es was intro uce o the worl without a

ashboar . n the early ays of the automobile in ustry, sys em reliability an func-

tionality were the pr mary concern. Spee , fuel economy, an alarms were secon -

ary pr or t es, if consi ere a all. s t me progresse , so i the nee s of the average

river. Cars manufacture to ay often come stan ar with ashboar s that provi e

real-time mon tor ng of fuel economy, an serve as the ma n interface for auxiliary

serv ces such as GPS irections, phone calls, an car au io.

Building operations share similar principles with the

operation of a motor vehicle: both run on “fuel,” both

require continuous maintenance for proper operation

and longevity, and both can be optimized to operate

at greater efficiencies. However, while the automobile

dashboard has become a universal industry standard,

the majority of buildings still operate without the con- venience and effectiveness of this valuable feature. It is

time for the building industry to catch up. This article

proposes a rational basis for evaluating the performance

criteria of building automation dashboards.

What is a Dashboard? The term “dashboard” originally applied to a barrier

of wood or leather fixed at the front of a horse-drawn

carriage or sleigh to protect the driver from mud or

other debris “dashed up” by the horses’ hooves. The

term has gained popularity in the computing indus-

try since the Hewlett-Packard Company released

Dashboard for Windows in 1992. While the specific

definition of the term varies by market, a commonly

accepted definition includes “a visual display of themost important information needed to achieve one

or more objectives; consolidated and arranged on a

single screen so the information can be monitored at a

glance.”1

For most observers, the term energy dashboard

brings to mind images of sleek lobby displays for LEED-

certified buildings that tout “green facts” or total facility

emission reductions in terms of “trees planted” or “cars




FEATURE

taken off of the road.” While these items are certainly

eye-catching and intuitive to the casual observer, they

only scratch the surface of the potential of building

dashboards. Today’s dashboard users have the ability to

acquire real-time customized data from sources never

available before and to make informed decisions to con-

tinuously optimize building operations.

Need for Classification

All dashboards are not created equal. The term “dash-

board” today continues to be flaunted when market-

ing any screen-based display with flashy graphics and

energy related charts. But what do you get when you

decide to purchase a dashboard?

Prospective dashboard users should know:

• Is the dashboard strictly related to facility energyuse or does it also provide insight into building automa-

tion systems?

• Can the dashboard be individually customized for

my facility’s HVAC technician, as well as the building

manager, and CEO?

There are currently no universal dashboard classifica-

tion standards that establish performance criteria for

rational evaluation of the requirements for energy or

building automation dashboards. A uniform reference

for comparing services and functionality is necessary

and would be an invaluable tool when choosing between

dashboard software packages. Unfortunately, this tool

does not exist today.

Three essential elements to consider when selecting

dashboard software include:

• Intuitive Graphics. Are the graphics clear and in-

tuitive so that they are easily understood without resort-

ing to supplemental instructions?

• Analytical Tools. Do the dashboard analytical tools

have the capability to integrate multiple live and historic

data sources to provide real-time decision-makinginformation?

• Ease of Customization. Can the dashboard be eas-

ily customized to adapt to the program requirements

of maintenance, operations, and financial building

personnel?

This article presents a rational method for categorizing

building automation dashboards to indicate required

features at each level so that owners, operators, design-

ers, and contractors can discuss their needs in the same

terms. The proposed classification is established with

levels similar to the ASHRAE categorization of the build-

ing energy audit process.2

The proposed method of classification includes four

dashboard levels. Each level contains the functionality

and toolsets provided in all lower levels.

Level 0: Static Data Dashboards

We start at Level 0 with dashboards that use static

data sets only. These dashboards are typically cre-

ated by engineers to illustrate the relationship among

several potential conditions during the facility plan-

ning process. Level 0 dashboards can be thought of as“interactive reports.” Instead of presenting a printed

report with fixed assumptions for projected rates and

tariffs, the Level 0 dashboards allow the user to see

how changes in rates or efficiencies will affect their

key performance indicators. The intent of the Level 0

dashboard is to provide an intuitive graphical inter-

face that allows the user to quickly manipulate large

data sets and calculate a key variable such as payback

period, projected budget, or comparative life-cycle

costs.

The Industry Speaks

An original survey performed by the authors of more

than 100 HVAC professionals including facility manag-

ers, engineers, and control technicians was conductedto gauge industry interest in dashboards for this

article. Participants were asked to list the dashboard

features that interest them the most. The following

list indicates the most popular features in prioritized

order:

• Real-time energy costs;

• Fault detection and diagnostics;

• Integrated facility control;

• Weather data;

• Integrated lighting control;

• Renewable energy system monitoring;

• Trend analysis;

• Remote access;

• Manual override notification; and

• Fire alarm system monitoring.

The same survey revealed that 73% of participants

indicated that the ability to customize a dashboard was

“very important” to them, and 58% indicated that they

would prefer a custom third party dashboard interface

to their existing HVAC control graphics.




The proposed categories begin with Level

0 rather than Level 1 because the Level 0 is

not accessing or displaying any real-time

live data even though it may have the look

and features of a live data dashboard. Data

sources commonly used in Level 0 include

building energy simulation results, historic

interval meter data, and other large static

data sets from which valuable insight can

be derived. Level 0 dashboards are most

frequently used for master planning pur-

poses when comparative “what-if” analyses

of building life cycle and projected con-

struction costs allow an owner to make bet-

ter informed capital planning decisions.

Figure 1 is a sample of a Level 0 dashboardthat shows an interactive campus master

energy plan.3 Comprehensive cost and

energy savings calculations are drawn upon

to provide a dynamic analysis of energy

efficiency and renewable energy opportu-

nities. Projected inflation rates and financ-

ing rates can be adjusted to show how they

impact the bottom line.

Level 1: Live Display Dashboards The most commonly perceived version of

an energy dashboard is provided at Level 1

where live data sources are displayed. The

Level 1 dashboard will typically display real-

time energy data, building characteristics,

LEED performance, and “green tips.” These

FIGURE 1 Level 0 dashboards allow manipulation of static data sets. The relationship among mul-tiple variables and options can be demonstrated in an intuitive display.

FIGURE 2 Level 1 dashboards typically display facility energy performance data streamed fromenergy meters and the building automation system.

dashboards can exist as physical display kiosks located

within the building or as virtual displays to be accessed

over the internet. The goal of the Level 1 dashboard is to

create occupant awareness through the display of actual

building performance, demonstration of real-time sus-tainable design features, tips on how to be efficient, and

other educational features.

Level 1 dashboard display data is typically derived

from sources such as energy meters, building automa-

tion systems, trend data, and LEED scorecards. The

Level 1 dashboard can display the energy use inten-

sities of multiple buildings at an enterprise level or

compare a single building’s current monthly energy

use to the previous year. The level of detail for the data

provided in a Level 1 dashboard can range from whole

building energy use down to sub-metered systems or

equipment. Figure 2 shows a sample live data energy-

efficiency dashboard.

Level 1 dashboards are intended for monitoring and

display purposes only. Additional analysis is often notavailable or limited to a few “out of the box” tools such as

utility rate or bill analysis engines.

Level 2: Integrated Control and Analytics DashboardsLevel 2 dashboards introduce three additional capa-

bilities: analytics, web services, and integrated controls.

Analytics

Perhaps the biggest buzzword in the building automa-

tion industry today is analytics. Promises of advanced

TECHNICAL FEATURE




Integrated Controls

The widespread use of open communications control

protocols such as BACnet in today’s smart building sys-

tems has opened the marketplace to integration com-

panies who offer a single source solution to integrated

supervisory control of field level equipment controllers

from different manufacturers.

With this advent of third-party software platforms that

can replace a DDC hardware manufacturer’s front end

graphics, building operators now have a choice to leave

their standard graphics behind and produce customized

building automation dashboards.

By adding the capability to send commands to digital

control systems, Level 2 integrated building automa-

tion dashboards can become the primary graphical user

interface for building monitoring and operation. Level 2building automation dashboards offer the added advan-

tage of being able to overlay energy usage, trend plots,

and other key performance indicators on top of standard

HVAC equipment graphics enabling users to diagnose

equipment operation at a glance. Additionally, building

automation dashboards which integrate other smart

building systems such as lighting control, fire alarm,

and CCTV offer the capability to display multiple build-

ing systems on the same graphic floor plan as shown in

Figure 3. With Level 2 dashboards, supervisory control

sequences which span several building systems become

possible. By assigning certain HVAC systems and lighting

circuits to each building occupant’s key card, access by a

single occupant during off hours can trigger the build-

ing automation dashboard to only enable those systems

required to light and condition the spaces occupied by

that tenant.

Level 3: Ongoing Commissioning DashboardsLevel 3 dashboards bring a third level of analysis to the

dashboard. It provides an instrument that continuouslymines the “big data” generated by smart building sys-

tems to optimize each system. The recent rapid increases

in building automation server power and storage capaci-

ties have led to a trend to store more and more historic

data. It is not uncommon today for facilities to trend

every point in their BAS at 15 minute intervals for an

entire year. Sorting through this data to look for patterns

simply isn’t possible with conventional means.

This trend has led to the emergence of a market for

automated fault detection and diagnostics, or FDD. FDD

analytics seem to be part of the marketing materials for

every building intelligence software proposal.

But what are analytics? The term analytics applies

to software that provides usable information result-

ing from systematic analysis of data and statistics.

Essentially, analytics are number crunching software

packages working behind-the-scenes to generate the

dashboard key performance indicators. While Level 1

dashboards may contain a few simple analytic func-

tions, the Level 2 dashboard enables the program-

mer and user to produce customized analytical tools

to focus on specific elements relevant to individual

users.

For instance, if an HVAC technician is interested in

seeing if a central chilled water plant is operating more

efficiently after implementing a new chiller stagingsequence, the analytical function could be set up as

follows:

• Use trend data from the building automation sys-

tem to average chiller plant power usage per ton hour

delivered.

• Leverage historical weather databases to normalize

the data per cooling degree day.

Once the analytic is produced, it is available to con-

tinue tracking the central plant performance or to be

applied to other central plants in additional buildings.

Web Services3

Web services establish standardized methods for inte-

grating analytical applications over an internet protocol

network. They allow exchange of data and communi-

cation between electronic devices. The web services

are software systems designed to support machine-to-

machine interaction over various networks.

Often, web services use eXtensible Markup Language,

or XML. XML provides a practical method to package

data so that it can be transferred between various inter-net applications. It is basically a data file protocol to sim-

plify the process to package, tag, store, and find data.

Building automation systems may use simple object

access protocol (SOAP) to access XML and HTML files

from various web services to obtain the data necessary

to support the analytic programs. As the price of energy

rises, web services, XML and SOAP will likely play a sig-

nificant role in reducing energy consumption cost by

providing the information required to make operating

decisions in a timely manner.

TECHNICAL FEATURE





consists of overlaying software platforms

which analyze historic databases with a

goal to identify faults and determine their

root causes. FDD can also document actions

taken to correct those faults and monitor the

resulting energy and cost savings. Enabled

with FDD software, a Level 3 dashboard can

automatically alert a user of system failures

and deviations, identify the root cause of an

issue, calculate deviations between actual

and optimal performance, and prioritize

remedies by importance and potential oper-

ating cost savings.

In an FDD application, a set of rules is cre-

ated by which all network data points are

run through to continuously check for defi-cient system operation or deviation from a

particular sequence of operation. Most FDD

platforms available today come with a set of

FIGURE 3 Level 2 dashboards can offer a single customized graphical user interface to monitor and

control multiple facility disciplines. Overlaying energy performance data and trend analytics onoperational interfaces gives operators the data required to run their facilities more efficiently.

standard rules to identify common HVAC system deficien-

cies such as:

• Simultaneous heating and cooling;

• Short cycling of equipment;

TECHNICAL FEATURE




to immediately improve performance. Figure 4 shows a

sample FDD dashboard graphic.

The fault detection and diagnostics market is still in

its infancy. Most of the available platforms come from

third party applications offered in a software-as-a-ser-

vice (SaaS) model in which the software is licensed on a

subscription basis and centrally hosted.

Many forward thinking owners are preparing for the

emergence of the mainstream market of FDD “apps”

by standardizing the protocols for labeling and storing

data. By organizing their historian databases in an open

relational database-management-system (DBMS) such

as standard query language (SQL) and providing a con-

sistent point naming or tagging standard across their

networks, they can significantly reduce the effort andcost to map their point databases to any combination

of ongoing commissioning and FDD applications they

chose. The ultimate goal is a system configuration where

multiple applications from several manufacturers are

accessing a facility’s DBMS server simultaneously and

providing vendor-specific reports to accomplish indi-

vidual facility objectives.

Conclusion As the market for energy and building automation

dashboards continues to expand, there is an increas-

ing need to provide a rational basis to classify standard

and advanced dashboard features. Rational building

automation dashboard classifications are necessary to

allow an “apples to apples” comparison when choosing

between platforms.

This article presents four levels of dashboards ranging

from interactive analysis of static data to ongoing con-

tinuous analysis of live streams of building automation

“big data” sets. Armed with a better notion of the overall

range of available dashboard toolsets and the required

amount of effort to accomplish each Level, facility own-

ers and operators can select an application which best

suits their needs.

For the industry to see the full inherent value andpossibilities in energy and building automation dash-

boards, we must first provide the language and struc-

ture to characterize them. This effort is long overdue.

References1. Few, S. 2007. “Dashboard confusion revisited.” Visual Business

Intelligence Newsletter March.

2. ASHRAE. 2011. Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits,

Second Edition.

3. Shadpour, F. 2012. The Fundamentals of HVAC Direct Digital Control:

Practical Applications and Design, Third Edition.

FIGURE 4 Level 3 dashboards can provide automated fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) software tocontinuously identify and display conditions resulting in sub-optimal energy performance or thermalcomfort conditions.

• Degraded heating or cooling

functions;

• Suboptimal economizer opera-

tion;

• Non-functioning sensors;

• Setpoints overridden; and

• Equipment not operating with

schedules.

Custom rules can be developed

with a Level 3 dashboard to address

specific project requirements and

conform to unique sequences of

operations. An FDD program can

be programmed to not only identify

specific faults but document their

duration, evaluate their cause, anddetermine the economic operating

costs associated with each fault. The

goal of these efforts is what indus-

try insiders call “actionable intel-

ligence” to provide notifications of

conditions, which can be addressed

TECHNICAL FEATURE



A S H R A E J O U R N A L a sh ra e. or g M AY 2 01 53 8

BUILDIN G AT A GLANCE

Matthew Longsine, P.E., is senior associate, Building Mechanical Systems at WSP, Seattle.

The 51,000 ft2 lab facility func-

tions as a shared research facil-

ity for the City of Tacoma, the

University of Washington and

Puget Sound Partnership.

The facility was proposed to

maintain the cleanliness of the

waterway & help restore, protect

and maintain other water bodies

throughout the Puget Sound.

FIRST PLACE

COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS, OTHER INSTITUTIONAL, NEW

2015 ASHRAE TECHNOLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES

BY MATTHEW LONGSINE, P.E., ASSOCIATE MEMBER ASHRAE

Tacoma Center

For Urban Waters

Location: Tacoma, Wash.

Owner: National Development Council,HEDC Public-Private Partnerships forthe City of Tacoma

Principal Use: Research

Includes: City of Tacoma office space

Employees/Occupants:104

Gross Square Footage: 51,000

Conditioned Space Square Footage: 40,000

Substantial Completion/Occupancy: March 2010

Occupancy: Approximately 85%

The acoma Center for Urban aters s a three-story

a u ng t at env s one y t e ty o acoma,

Wash., to be a beacon on the water; an icon that can be

seen from the owntown core; an an example of us ng

u ng an s te susta na e strateg es t at se t e

irection for future projects in the city. The 51,000 ft

(4738 m ) buil ing functions as a share research facil-

ty or the ty o acoma, n vers ty o Washington, an

Puget Soun Partnership.

ur ng the mi -1990s, the City of acoma, Wash., n

partnership with the Environmental rotect on gency

(EPA) un ertook a major cleanup effort of the Theo

oss aterway, locate just east of the city’s bustling

owntown.

B E N

B E N S C H N E I D E R

A Beacon For Urban Waters




ABOVE Typical lab space. Note the light fix-

tures placed over the work station, the greenpiping chase to service the lab benches, and

the north facing access to daylight and views.

LEFT Mechanical penthouse showing chilled

water pumps with water-to-water heat pump.

OLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES

It took nearly 12 years to undo decades of pollution

and sewage dumped directly into the waterway. At

the completion of this undertaking, a new facility was

proposed to maintain the cleanliness of the waterway

and help restore, protect and maintain other waterbodies throughout the Puget Sound.

This mix of scientists, engineers and policymak-

ers helps implement best practices in serving the

environment. The lab focuses on receiving and ana-

lyzing water samples from the waterways of Tacoma

and surrounding areas, and 9,000 ft2 (836 m2) of

the building is dedicated to laboratory testing and

research.

This project was completed using an integrated, col-

laborative effort throughout design and construction

with ambitious sustainable goals, and is now certified as

a LEED v2.2 Platinum laboratory. The following design

features were all critical to the successful implementa-

tion of this project:

• Ground loop geoexchange heating and cooling;

• Heat recovery;

• Energy efficient lighting;

• Daylighting;

• Natural ventilation;

• Radiant floors;

• Low-e glass and exterior operable shading; • VAV low-flow fume hoods;

• Low-flow plumbing fixtures & rainwater

harvesting;

• Green roof; and

• Energy efficient HVAC components.

Mechanical Systems The building’s central plant consists of a 200 ton (703

kW) ground source water-to-water heat pump that com-

bines with a geoexchange loop with 84 bore holes at an

average of 280 ft (85 m) deep each. The water-to-water

heat pump can simultaneously produce hot and chilled

water that is pumped throughout the building. As a cost

saving measure, the ground loop was sized for 100%

of the heating load and only 75% of the cooling load. Therefore, a 70 ton (246 kW) fluid cooler was provided

for peak cooling operation. After observing the build-

ing’s operation, the fluid cooler only operates two or

three times a year.

Given the mixed occupancy of lab and office space,

the building has been divided into two separate

spaces that are conditioned by two separate system

types. For the lab, a 60 ton (211 kW) variable air vol-

ume (VAV) air-handling unit (AHU) delivers 18,500

cfm (8731 L/s) of air to the space while two 21,000 cfm

(9911 L/s) VAV lab exhaust fans have been provided

that connect to the fume hoods, snorkels, bio-safety

cabinets and general exhaust. A runaround loop was

provided so the warm air from the exhaust system is

transferred via water and serves as a preheat coil for

the air handling unit.

For the office space, a 40 ton (140 kW) 100% outside air

AHU delivers 9,300 cfm (4389 L/s) to the space. This unit

also has been provided with a heat recovery enthalpy

wheel, so that all return air, including the toilet exhaust,

passes through the enthalpy wheel, which serves as pre-heat for the supply air (or precooling in summer).

The majority of the office floor plate is open, with few

enclosed offices or conference rooms. This, combined

with a narrow floor plate of 25 ft (7.6 m) wide, serves as

an ideal environment for a passive ventilation and cool-

ing solution.

Operable windows are provided in combination with

room indicator lights that let the occupants know when

the most ideal outdoor air conditions are to open the

windows. For times when the windows are shut, the

B E N

B E N S C H N E I D E R




floor can be activated through a

radiant floor system that has been

sized for both the heating and cool-

ing loads of the office. With the nat-

ural ventilation/radiant system, the

air-handling unit size was reduced

by nearly 80%, which opened up

ceilings and spaces.

Energy Efficiency Traditionally, laboratories use

large amounts of energy for their

operations. Tacoma Center for

Urban Waters was designed with

efficiency and sustainability in mind

from the initial phases of the projectand was targeted during design to

use 32.8% less energy than ASHRAE/

IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 and

36.6% less cost savings.

We conducted energy and ther-

mal simulations in the early design

stages to determine the most effective

strategies. According to the AIA 2030

Commitment Reporting Tool Design

Year 2010, the average lab building

energy use intensity (EUI) is 370.

From our modeling simulations, we

are able to determine a baseline EUI

of 122 with a design EUI of 82.

After one year’s occupancy, we

discovered that the Tacoma Center

for Urban Waters Project performs

slightly higher than which it was

designed, and has an actual EUI of 85.

The project’s exemplary EUI reduc-

tion of 77% meets the 2030 Challenge.

Indoor Air Quality & Thermal ComfortIn accordance with ASHRAE

Standard 62.1-2004, each lab has

been provided with an air monitor-

ing system that measures the vary-

ing quantities of supply and exhaust

in the room and adjusts to ensure

that these spaces are always nega-

tively pressurized from the rest of

the building, so chemical odors can-

not migrate into surrounding spaces

affecting the occupants.

Three of the labs require an envi-

ronment where the room must

be positively pressurized. In these

instances, an override button is pro-

vided at the lab’s exit to reverse the

pressurization in the event of a spill.

In addition to the labs, janitor’s clos-

ets and copy rooms are negatively

pressurized as well.

Air-handling units serving these

spaces provide 100% outside air with

no recirculation of air back to the

building. High occupancy densitynon-lab spaces, consisting of confer-

ence and meeting rooms and rooms

with occupancies greater than 25

people per 1,000 ft2 (93 m2) are

equipped with CO2 sensors to help

track indoor environmental quality.

The building is located in an

industrial area of Tacoma, Wash.,

that is not conducive to a natural

ventilation solution. Given the site’s

close proximity to water combined

with the prevailing winds, early site

studies were conducted to ensure

odors or contaminants from nearby

properties would not affect the air

quality inside the building.

The contractor also implemented

measures to maintain high indoor air

quality during construction including

temporary filters on equipment that

were replaced prior to occupancy anda building flush out, earning EQc3 in

the LEED NC v2.2 rating system.

ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 is

based on the Predicted Mean Vote

(PMV) comfort model, which incor-

porates heat transfer models to

relate the personal activity levels,

clothing and environmental con-

ditions, enabling us to calculate a

value on a thermal sensation scale.

TABLE 2 Energy use intensity (EUI) summary.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION(KBTU/FT 2·YR)

Baseline Design 122

Modeled Design 82

Actual Use 85

TABLE 1 Total building annual utility consumption.

ENERGY CONSUMPTION

2013ELECTRICITY

(KWH)NATURAL GAS

(THERMS)

January 121,000 195

February 114,000 216

March 96,000 165

April 97,000 225

May 103,000 190

June 105,000 206

July 113,000 176

August 117,000 168

September 104,000 192

October 95,000 184

November 94,000 192

December 116,000 205

TOTAL ANNUAL 1,275,000 2,314

The scale ranges from –3 (cold)

to +3 (hot). A PMV of –0.5 to +0.5

meets Standard 55-2004. Standard

55-2004 does not specify minimum

humidity levels. The output from

the ASHRAE comfort model indi-

cates that the indoor design condi-

tions meet the Standard 55-2004

with a rating of –0.31 in the summer

and a –0.10 in the winter.

Innovation The most innovative part of the

project is the use of the geoexchange

system. At depths below 12 ft (3.6 m),

the earth is typically at a relatively

constant temperature compared with

the surrounding air (approximately

55°F [12.7°C] in the Puget Sound

region). When feasible, this makes

it an ideal medium to either reject





heat from the building in the cooling cycle or draw energy

from the earth for heating the building. As mentioned

previously, 84 wells were provided as part of this system

with an average depth of 280 ft (85 m). The original design

called for 76 wells with depths of 300 ft (91 m).

Early on in the drilling of the wells, it was found that given

the site’s proximity to the waterway, approximately 50 ft (15

m) on the west and 150 ft (46 m) on the south, the wells on

the north side of the site began to cave in on themselves at

approximately 240 to 260 ft (73 to 79 m) as the soil became

unstable. This was not an issue for the test well, which was

drilled during the design phase of the project. It was later

found the test well was drilled on the north side of the proj-

ect’s site, where the soil was more stable and the originally

planned 300 ft (91 m) well depth could easily be achieved.

To overcome the shortfall in capacity that would haveresulted from a reduced average borehole depth, eight

more wells were drilled on site to enable the well field to

away from the windows access to natural light that they

wouldn’t have in a standard office design.

A second synergy found between the lab planner and

engineer was on the function of the fume hoods located

in the labs. Historically, a typical design face velocity

used for fume hood design is 100 fpm (0.508 m/s). This

practice had been rarely challenged until recent years,

but studies have shown that a hood can be just as effec-

tive in containing their environment at face velocities as

low as 60 fpm (0.305 m/s), depending on what and how

meet the building’s heat-

ing and cooling loads.

Integrated design was a

common theme through-

out the design process.

The mechanical engineer

worked closely with the

architect and the rest of

the design team to find

synergies between build-

ing envelope and the

mechanical systems to

reduce system loads.

One of those synergies

was to provide a dynamic

exterior shading system.

A sun tracking device

located on the roof of the

building monitors thesun’s position and brightness levels throughout the day.

Depending on the brightness level, a signal is sent to

exterior blinds located on the south façade of the build-

ing that can raise, lower, open and close. If the building

occupants want more or less light, regardless of the out-

door conditions, an override switch is provided giving

the user control of their environment. In addition to

the external shading, light shelves have been provided

above the blinds to help introduce reflected sunlight

deep into the building’s space, giving occupants situated

FIGURE 1 Overview of the sustainable features that have been provided at theCenter for Urban Waters.

Center for Urban WatersSustainable Strategies

1

1 Green Roof

2 Summer Sun

3 Win te r Sun

4 Water Storage Tanks

5 Irrigation from StorageTanks

6 Rain Garden

7 Natural Ventilation

8 Ground SourceHeat and Cool

9 Radiant Floor

10 Excess Clean WaterFrom Labs

11 Flush Toilets fromStorage Tanks

2

3

11

7

9 7 6

4

8

5

10

FIGURE 2 Highlights of the building’s water use and reuse.

Baseline Potable Water Consumption425,600 Non-Conserving Fixtures53,000 Irrigation260,000 Runoff System

738,600 Gal./Yr.

Rainwater Collection100,000 Gal./Yr. Water Storage Tanks

(41,000 Gal./Ea.)

Runoff Reject130,000 Gal./Yr.

Toilets & Urinals

Waste Water447,700 Gal./Yr.

Domestic Water Main

Storm Main

Waste Main

Reverse OsmosisWater Treatment

System

RunoffWater to

Labs

Potable Water400,700 Gal./Yr.

Irrigation53,000 Gal./Yr.

Storm Water Runoff398,500 Gal./Yr.

Precipitation498,500 Gal./Yr.

Water Conservation & Reclaim738,600 Baseline Gal./Yr.–223,900 Conservi ng Fixtures–61,000 Toilet Flushing from Storage Tanks–53,000 Irrigati on from Storage Tanks

400,700 Gal./Yr. (46% Savings)Storm Waste Water

Runoff Reject DomesticIrrigati on Toilet Supply

C r e d i t : P e r k i n s + W i l l






the fume hood is being used and provided the overall

room air distribution is properly specified. After delib-

eration with owner stakeholders, as a compromise, 75

fpm (0.381 m/s) was ultimately chosen for the design

face velocity on all fume hoods.

An exceptional calculation to ASHRAE/IESNA Standard

90.1-2004 was performed, which yielded an additional

3 to 4% energy savings for the building through the

reduction in face velocity at the hoods. This savings also

earned an additional LEED point under Credit EA 1.

Another innovative component of the project is the use

of rainwater harvesting and reuse for non-potable water

applications. Two 36,000 gallon (136 275 L) water storage

tanks sit outside the building and collect rain water and

deionized lab water to be used for toilet flushing and

irrigation. Combined with low flow plumbing fixtures,

this project sees a 46% reduction in water use relative

to the LEED baseline. To help building occupants and

visitor’s better understand the impact of these tanks, an

LED display located on the outside of each tank shows

how much water is stored throughout the year.

Operation and MaintenanceFor the first year of operation, the building did not per-

form as well as expected. Given the then limited experience

with centralized ground loop heat pump systems in theNorthwest, fine-tuning the equipment to operate at its full

potential took longer than expected by all parties involved.

The building engineer was engaged throughout the

process and understood how the mechanical systems

were supposed to operate and understood the benefits

that could be achieved and therefore was committed to

seeing the commissioning process through. Nearly one

year after occupancy, the building was fully commis-

sioned, and now is performing as expected. Thus far,

the building management team appreciates the many

50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

H u m i d i t y R a t i o ( l b

w / k l b

d a

)

Dry-Bulb Temperature (°F)

Dry Bulb 66.4°FRelative Humidity 100.0%Humidity Ratio 19.3 lbw/klbdaWet Bulb 73.2°FDew Point 75.6°FHumidity 21.1 Btu/lb

Dry Bulb 67.2°FRelative Humidity 100.0%Humidity Ratio 19.3 lbw/klbdaWet Bulb 73.5°FDew Point 75.6°FHumidity 21.1 Btu/lb

50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

H u m i d i t y R a t i o ( l b w

/ k l b

d a

)

Dry-Bulb Temperature (°F)

FIGURE 3 Summer indoor setpoint (left); winter indoor setpoint (right).



http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ashrae-journal-may-2015 58/121www.info.hotims.com/54428-37




sustainable features for this project.

An interactive building energy dashboard is displayed

in the lobby of the building, giving the occupants the

chance to see how much energy and water is used on a

weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Comparisons to previ-

ous time frames can also be displayed to show how well

the building performs over time.

Cost Effectiveness With any lab facility, cost for mechanical equipment is

at a premium. The total construction cost for this project

was $18.3 million ($359/ft2 [$3864/m2)], with $4.1 million

($80/ft2 [$861 m2]) dedicated to the HVAC and plumb-

ing costs, which was on budget. Energy modeling for the

project was simulated for LEED Certification compliance

to demonstrate that the building performs 36.6% (energycost) better than a baseline building defined using the

Performance Rating Method in ASHRAE/IESNA Standard

90.1-2004, reducing significantly long-term operational

costs. In addition, the geoexchange ground loop will last

the life of the building without requiring replacement, or

any anticipated maintenance.

Environmental Impact The multiple sustainable strategies involved with

the Tacoma Center for Urban Waters project helped it

achieve 57 points out of a possible 69 under LEED-NC

v2.2 resulting in a Platinum certification.

A significant reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emis-

sions was achieved. Using the fuel emissions factor set

forth by ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1 (Natural

Gas 0.51 lbs carbon/kWh, electricity 1.67 lbs carbon/

kWh), Tacoma Center for Urban Waters reduces CO2

emissions from a baseline 3.66 million lbs carbon/kWh

to an actual use of 2.48 million lbs carbon/kWh. The

result is a 32.2% reduction in CO2 emissions.

Conclusion

Overall, the City of Tacoma is pleased with the perfor-mance of the facility and will continuously monitor the

building’s performance through the LEED EB program.

Occupant satisfaction remains a top priority with many

of the building’s comfort controls given to the end user.

The Tacoma Center for Urban Waters continues to be an

excellent example of integrative design.






Daniel H. Nall

Daniel H. Nall, P.E., FAIA, is vice pres ident at Syska Hennessy Group, New York.

COLUMN ENGINEER’S NOTEBOOK

BY DANIEL H. NALL, P.E., BEMP, HBDP, FAIA, FELLOW/LIFE M EMBE R ASHRAE

ontro o Un er oor

A r-D str ut on ystemsUn erfloor air- istribution (UFAD) systems have been esigne an built in the

Unite States for more than 20 years with various egrees of success. The system

remains controversial, with both a vocates an etractors, but has experience

significant penetration in some markets. The most common complaint with these

systems, however, is that spaces are chronically over-coole . any critical factors

have been i entifie for avoi ing this pitfall, but the implementation of effectivecontrol strategies is arguably the most important step.

Underfloor air-distribution system typically refers to

an HVAC system that delivers conditioning air from an

air-handling unit through an access floor plenum to

multiple floor-located diffusers or terminals that modu-

late airflow to individual zones to maintain comfort.

Underfloor air is not a universal solution for all office

buildings. It is well-suited to open plan, single tenant or

owner-occupied buildings. In those buildings, the over-

all cost of the system, including available economies in

systems furniture and cable distribution and certain tax

advantages, is competitive with conventional overhead

air-distribution systems. For occupancies that require

many closed rooms, however, or where construction

costs are divided between landlord and tenant, UFAD

may be less attractive. Selection of the system should

follow a comprehensive review of the usage, goals and

configuration of an occupancy and extensive discussion

with the occupants and owner of the project.

Differences between this system and a conventionalsingle duct overhead delivery VAV system include:

• Air distribution is primarily through an open ple-

num under an access floor, rather than through closed

ductwork above the ceiling.

• Air delivery from the floor-mounted diffusers is

intended to be semi-displacement rather than full mix-

ing and, therefore, the design supply air temperature to

the space is much higher (~62°F vs. ~55°F [17°C vs. 13°C])

and diffuser face velocity is significantly lower than with

overhead systems.

• Because floor registers are immediately accessible

to occupants, manually adjustable diffusers are often

used in interior workstations instead of thermostatically

operated diffusers or terminals.

• Air temperature distribution in the space is usually

markedly different with a UFAD system than with an over-

head mixing system, showing significant stratification.

Many of the parts of an UFAD system are conventional

and familiar, although some require some special modi-

fications for UFAD. Primary air-handling units are simi-

lar to those of overhead systems, although, in humid

climates, air-handling units supplying directly to the

plenum will require a coil bypass so that return air may

be redirected around the cooling coil to raise the sup-

ply air temperature to the space while maintaining the

required apparatus dew-point temperature. All humid

outside ventilation air is directed across the coil to

ensure that the supply airstream has an adequately low

dew-point temperature to control space humidity.Many UFAD systems provide supply air for both inte-

rior and perimeter zones from the same source through

the same supply plenum. Provision of a separate supply

plenum or a separate, often hydronic, cooling source

for perimeter zones usually is often ruled out because

of operational or first cost considerations. Serving both

the perimeter zones and interior zones from the same

underfloor supply plenum requires a control sequence




ENGINEER’S NOTEBOOK

is that comfort control for spaces not part of the general

open plan can occur independently of the control strata-

gems imposed on the overall air-distribution system.

These spaces might include closed offices, conference

rooms and perimeter spaces. This corollary has signifi-

cant implications for the design of the system to avoid

conflict between comfort control in these separate spaces.

Figure 1shows typical UFAD system with both interior and

perimeter zones served by the same floor supply plenum.

System Control for Maximized ComfortHistorically, UFAD systems have been designed and

installed with various arrangements and control strate-

gies with varying levels of success compared to conven-

tional overhead systems.2 Many times the project’s physical

form will guide the equipment locations and strategies, butin all cases, engineers should ensure that the systems are

arranged to maximize occupant comfort and realize the

other benefits possible with UFAD systems. Prior to com-

mitting to any control strategy, it is critical that the design

team focus on creating system arrangements that minimize

thermal decay and air leakage, promote air stratification

and facilitate independent control of different space types

served by the air-distribution system.

Block loads in the interior zones of office spaces are not con-

stant. Even in an open plan area with uniform work station

that enables comfort control for both types of zones

simultaneously.

Supply air temperature degradation due to heat trans-

fer across the access floor into the supply air and across

the floor slab from the return air plenum below is a

significant issue with UFAD systems. Many strategies

have been developed to deal with this issue, but they are

beyond the scope of this article. A well-designed under-

floor plenum system using all of the known strategies to

avoid thermal degradation should have a temperature

rise across the plenum ranging from 2°F (1°C) to no

more than 6°F (3.4°C). These strategies include location

of supply air insertion points for the plenum to avoid

lengthy or circuitous pathways to the most remote out-

lets and controlling insertion velocity to minimize the

generation of large scale vortices under the floor. The fundamental hypothesis of UFAD systems is that

loads in the open plan area served by the system will vary

uniformly over time. Control schemes can be applied to

the entire distribution system to handle the load variation

that does occur in this space. Individual manual control

can be applied to the floor diffusers to “trim” air delivery

to individual workstations or to handle an extraordinary

load “event.” Frequent manipulation of the floor diffusers

is not considered to be a necessary component for main-

taining comfort. A necessary corollary of this hypothesis

FIGURE 1 Configuration of the underfloor air-distribution system.

Perimeter Heating/Cooling Updraft Supply

Multi-Slot PerimeterFloor Diffuser

High Performance Glass Façade

Power Junction BoxRun at Floor Slab

Power Conduit Run at Floor Slab

Supply Cooling Air

Flexible Conduit Whip

Warm Return Air

Floor MountedSwirl Diffuser

Multi-Service Floor Boxwith Power/Tele/Data

Light Fixture

Thermal Plume

RecessedSprinkler Head

Sprinkler Branch LineCeiling Return Plenum

Return Air

Variable Speed Fan withHydronic Heating Coil

Stratification Boundary Level

Recessed Light Fixture

Supply Air Floor Plenum

Swirling Supply Air




supply plenum with respect to the space and reset of the sup-

ply air temperature in the floor plenum.3 Each of these alter-

natives has implications for comfort control in the non-open

plan spaces. Reset of the plenum pressure setpoint requires

that airflow to the zones that are not interior open-plan be

independent of plenum pressure or that the air outlets in

those spaces are sized for design airflow at a pressure lower

than the maximum setpoint. Reset of supply air temperature

implies that the air outlets be sized to meet design cooling

loads with a higher supply air temperature than the mini-

mum setpoint. Reset of supply air temperature also implies

that the dew-point of the supply air is relatively independent

of the supply air dry bulb temperature in order to maintain

space humidity control in humid climates. Supply tempera-

ture downward reset should also be limited to a minimum of

60°F (15.6°C) to avoid thermal asymmetry discomfort (cold

feet, warm head) for space occupants.

Figure 2 is a control scheme that has been found successful

for several different projects:

• Reset supply plenum static pressure setpoint basedon interior space temperature. The logic resets the pres-

sure setpoint to maximum design pressure (e.g., 0.1 in.

w.g. [25 Pa]) when the interior spaces are warm down to

0.01 in. w.g. [2.5 Pa] when they are cold.

• Reset supply air temperature to satisfy the perim-

eter zone that requires the coldest air. The best reset

strategy is trim and respond, which easily allows the

user to ignore some non-critical zones from the logic.4

The two strategies together can help prevent overcool-

ing: as supply air temperature falls when perimeter zone

cooling demand increases, the floor pressure falls to

reduce airflow to interior spaces to reducing overcooling.

These reset protocols require several temperature

sensors mounted in the open office area.3 The author’s

experience is that mounting these sensors approxi-

mately 6 ft (1.8 m) above the finished floor is an effective

strategy. Several sensors, spaced around the open plan

area, are used, and they can be averaged to determine

whether or not reset is necessary. The setpoint tempera-

ture for these sensors, approximately at head height,

should be a few degrees warmer than the ideal comfort

temperature for seated chest height. These sensors

should be identified on the documents as temperature

sensors, as opposed to control thermostats, so as not to

evoke Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) require-

ments for location.

Using differential pressure reset as a control stratagem is

dependent upon two factors. The first of these is that the

pressure sensors used have the sensitivity and accuracy

to measure very low pressures. Inadequate sensors will

not be able to deliver sufficiently fine control to modulatecapacity in response to load variation. The sensor range

should be as low as possible to capture the maximum

design pressure. Sensors with accuracy as low as ±0.5% of

full scale are readily available at reasonable cost.

The second requirement is somewhat more subtle

and it is that the pressure drop across the floor from

the plenum to the space be sufficiently high to allow an

adequate control range for re-setting the plenum pres-

sure differential. Airflow through the floor from the ple-

num to the space is composed of both leakage through

FIGURE 2 Fan operation and airflow for perimeter fan terminals.7

130°FMaximum Fan Speed

Design Fan Speed

F a n S

p e e d

30% DesignFan Speed

Lowest PossibleFan Speed

(~15% MaximumFan Speed)

60°F

Heat Loop Output Deadband Cooling Loop Output

Discharge AirTemperature

SetpointAirflow

Design Airflow

A i r fl

o w

30% DesignAirflow

MinimumAirflow (Due

To PressurizedPlenum)

Fan Speed

density, the block load may demonstrate a varia-

tion across the day. Following a warm night or

weekend, the cooling load will experience a

peak during “morning cool-down” as the system

overcomes high temperatures that result from

the overnight deactivation of the HVAC system.

In cooler weather, early morning cooling loads

may be almost non-existent as the heat gain

from lights, equipment and people must warm

up the thermal mass of the space before the heat

gain shows up as cooling load. A fundamental

requirement for maintaining comfort is accom-

modation of these basic load profiles, while main-

taining flexibility to meet loads in other spaces.

Generally recognized schemes for tracking the

block load profile of the open plan interior zoneare to reset the positive pressure setpoint of the





Use of plenum pressure reset as a means of tracking the

block load of the interior space means that other types of

zones must be able to track their individual loads inde-

pendently of plenum pressurization. For enclosed private

offices or small conference rooms this may mean the use

of thermostatically controlled floor diffusers that are sized

to deliver design airflow at lower than design pressure.

Thermostatic controls can restrict flow through the dif -

fuser during periods of lower part loads in the space or of

higher pressurization of the supply plenum. Areas with

more intense cooling loads such as large interior confer-

ence rooms and perimeter zones require thermostatically

controlled fan forced air supply to those zones. Variable

speed fan terminals convey air from the plenum to the

space independently of plenum pressurization, fully isolat-

ing perimeter zone temperature control from load trackingin the interior zone. Ideally, the heating mechanism for the

perimeter zones is completely separated from the under-

floor air system, for example, under-window convectors,

but rarely is this solution architecturally acceptable. As a

result, the fan terminals usually incorporate hydronic coils

or electric resistance coils to provide heat to the perimeter

zones. The fan terminal control scheme in Figure 2 recom-

mended to be compliant with ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1

restrictions on reheat of previously cooled air.6

Large conference room variable speed fan terminals

follow a similar control scheme except that the fan does

not shut off in the deadband in order to fully comply

with ASHRAE Standard 62.1. CO2 sensors can be used

to dynamically reset the minimum airflow setpoint.

Because CO2 emission from occupants can cause CO2 to

rise faster than occupant heat gain causes space temper-

ature to rise, reheat coils may be required to maintain

the room within the required temperature range.

If reduction of supply plenum differential pressure

proves inadequate to avoid overcooling the interior zones

of the space, the second stage of capacity control for theinterior zones is raising the supply air temperature set-

point. Unfortunately, upward reset of supply air necessarily

impacts system cooling capacity for the perimeter zones.

This strategy should be avoided except during periods

when perimeter or conference room loads are very unlikely

to be at design levels, such as during nighttime partial

occupancy. In most cases, occupied periods with the lowest

internal zone cooling loads, possibly required supply air

temperature reset, are the same periods that will likely

have lower conference room and perimeter zone loads.

the floor and flow through the various diffusers and ter-

minal units that control airflow to the space. Excessive

leakage through the floor or deployment of too many

floor diffusers can result in lower than anticipated pres-

sure drop through the floor at design airflow. If design

airflow is achieved at a much lower pressure differential

across the floor than 0.05 in. w.g. (12.5 Pa), then the

control range for floor pressure reset may be too small to

achieve the required flow modulation to accommodate a

varying load profile for the interior zones.

In general, leakage from the supply plenum is classi-

fied as Type I, Leakage to Unoccupied Spaces (including

outdoors, core and return air plenum), and Type II,

Leakage to Occupied Spaces. While Type I leakage may

represent energy waste, either fan energy for moving air

directly from the supply plenum to the return plenum,or both fan and cooling energy by moving air out of the

conditioned area, Type II leakage presents a more subtle

controllability problem that may lead to overall occu-

pant dissatisfaction with the building.

Avoidance of this problem requires several different

steps. The first is a robust performance specification for

air leakage through the floor, accompanied by require-

ments for verification that the specified measures have

been implemented. Recent testing data has indicated

that leakage levels, at a pressure differential of 0.05 to

0.06 in. w.g., (12.5 Pa to 15 Pa) of less than 5% for Type I, and

less than 7.5% for Type II, may be achieved.5 Performance

specification and testing requirements will enable the

owner to require remediation should the floor system fail

to comply. The second step is an accurate load calculation

to determine the maximum amount of supply airflow

that will be required to condition the area served by the

underfloor plenum. The third step is to allocate the num-

ber of passive floor diffusers such that design flow will

only be achieved when plenum pressure is at or above the

target pressure differential. Sizing of air terminals anddetermination of the number and location of passive dif-

fusers should recognize that Type II leakage will contribute

a significant amount of uncontrolled conditioning air to

the space. The author has often limited passive diffusers to

workspace locations, completely eliminating them from

transient areas such as passageways and congregation

areas, in order to maintain an adequate pressure drop from

the plenum to the space. If building commissioning reveals

that airflow is achieved at a lower pressure differential than

desired, then some of the floor diffusers may be closed off.






ConclusionMany projects have demonstrated that UFAD systems

are an appropriate and successful HVAC system selec-

tion for some office building applications. Successful

design of UFAD systems requires reconciling passive

comfort control in the interior open-plan zones with

active comfort control in perimeter and enclosed

zones. The most common comfort complaint in UFAD

systems is overcooling in the open plan interior areas.

Successful temperature control in these areas requires

control schemes that allow the system to track interior

zone load profiles without inordinately curtailing sys-

tem capacity at the perimeter zones. Achievement of

this goal can be accomplished through the following

control measures:

• Use plenum pressure control as the primary meansof tracking interior zone cooling loads.

• Use sensors that are sufficiently sensitive and accu-

rate, precisely to control plenum pressurization.

• Ensure that supply air temperature reset does not

compromise required cooling capacity at exterior zones,

private offices or conference rooms.

• Use capacity modulation methods in perimeter and

enclosed spaces that are relatively independent of sup-

ply plenum pressure.

These goals can be achieved with either a common or

a separate cooling source for perimeter and exterior

zones. Success will be determined by rigorous recogni-

tion of how the control sequences interact to maintain

comfort in both types of zones.

References1. Lee, E.S., et al. 2013. “A Post-Occupancy Monitored Evaluation

of the Dimmable Lighting, Automated Shading, and Underfloor Air

Distribution System in The New York Times Building.” Lawrence

Berkeley National Laboratory, pp. 49–50.

2. Woods, J. 2004. “What real-world experience says about the

UFAD alternative.” ASHRAE Journal 46(2).

3. Megerson, J.E., et al. 2013. UFAD Guide: Design, Construction and

Operation of Underfloor Air Distribution Systems. Atlanta: ASHRAE.4. Hydeman, M., et al. 2014. “Final Report: ASHRAE RP-1455

Advanced Control Sequences for HVAC Systems, Phase I.”

5. Anticknap, S., M. Opalka 2011. “Testing for leaks in underfloor

plenums.” ASHRAE Journal 53(12).

6. ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013, Energy Standard for Buildings

Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, p 52.

7. Lee, K. H., et. 2011. “Lessons Learned In Modeling Underfloor

Air Distribution Systems.” Center for the Built Environment.





COLUMN BUILDING SCIENCES

Joseph W. Lstiburek

BY JOSEPH W. LSTIBUREK, PH.D., P.ENG., FELLOW ASHRAE

Drilling into Cavities

Vitruvius ha it right 2,000 years ago: “…if a wall is in a state of ampness all over,

construct a secon thin wall a little way from it…at a istance suite to the circum-

stances…with vents to the open air…when the wall is brought up to the top, leave air

holes there. For if the moisture has no means of getting out by vents at the bottom an

at the top, it will not fail to sprea all over the new wall.”*

In Vitruvius’s discussion on methods of building walls

he points out: “this we may learn from several monu-

ments… in the course of time, the mortar has lost its

strength… and so the monuments are tumbling down

and going to pieces, with their joints loosened by the

settling of the material that bound them together…. He

who wishes to avoid such a disaster should leave a cav-

ity behind the facings, and on the inside build walls two

feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick

or lava in courses, and then bind them to the fronts by

means of iron clamps and lead.”†

Kind of humbling, eh? And so where are we two mil-

lennia later? Arguing about “a distance suited to the

circumstances.” What should the air space or air gap be

behind a cladding and what should the venting geom-

etry be behind a cladding? We looked at this earlier(“Mind the Gap, Eh?,” ASHRAE Journal, January 2010, and

“Hockey Pucks & Hydrostatic Pressure,” ASHRAE Journal,

January 2012). Apparently we need to look at it again so

that we can all stop arguing.

It is instructive to look at the evolution of walls from a

water management perspective. We pretty much started

with mass walls a couple of thousand years ago. A typi-

cal old mass wall consisted of several wythes of brick

( Figure 1). Rainwater would hit a mass wall, much of the

water would drain off the face. Some would be absorbed

and some would enter the wall via cracks and gaps in

the mortar. How much would enter? Ah, good ques-

tion. With brick, less than 1% of the rainwater incident

on the wall would get past the first layer of brick. Then,

less than 1% of the 1% would get past the second layer—

then less than 1% of the 1% of the 1% would get past the

third layer—you get the idea.‡ The first big improvement

in mass walls to handle rain was to stucco them. And,

over a couple of centuries this stucco rainwater control

approach caught on. The Greeks did it. The Romans didit. Lots of cultures took credit for the idea.

Then, we got Vitruvius and the cavity wall.§ This was

revolutionary. An air space or gap behind the first

wythe to allow drainage of penetrating rainwater was

V truv us Does Veneers

* Marcus Vitruvius Pollio wrote in the time of Augustus (63 B.C. – 14 A.D.) and it is believed that he wrote this around 15 B.C.1

† Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, De Architectura, Book II, Chapter VII, Methods of Building Walls, 15 B.C.‡ This is my take on this based on being an old guy who has been around. We know today, based on measurements, that less than 1% of rainwater gets past a single layer of brick: a brick veneer wall. Andtoday’s brick veneer walls are pretty crappy workmanship compared to bricks laid 100 or 200 or more years ago.§ Vitruvius did not invent the cavity wall. He just was the first to write about it. We don’t know who invented it. This happens all the time. Someone who had nothing to do with the original idea writes about it,gets it published in a peer-reviewed journal, everyone else references the paper, and the original creator gets nada credit.




BUILDING SCIENCES

Joseph W. Lstiburek, Ph.D., P.Eng., is a principal of Building Science Corporation in Westford, Mass. Visit

www.buildingscience.com.

Rain has always been a big thing

once you get over the structure and

fire thing. First, make sure build-

ings don’t fall down. Second, make

sure they don’t burn. Then, keep

the rain out of the inside. Pretty

fundamental. The gap was the rain

control thing in the original cavity

walls. And, the key to the gap was to

keep the mortar out of the gap ( Photo

1). The bigger the gap, the easier it

was to keep the mortar out of it. A

2 in. (51 mm) gap worked great. It

had other benefits. Most folks don’t

remember this—the 1960s had a lot

to do with it# —but you could lay up

both the inner and outer walls from

the inside. You did not need to scaf-

fold the building. Think of the cost

savings of not having to scaffold thebuilding. When both the inner and

outer walls were done this way from

the inside, the 2 in. (51 mm) gap was

essential for mortar dropping con-

trol and hence rain control.

Check out Figure 2and 3 from

Canadian Building Digest 21. These

represent the “classic” cavity wall

FIGURE 1 Cavity Wall Evolution. Cavity walls over time evolved into two equal load bearing layers tied together structurally. The gapwas typically limited to 2 to 3 in. (51 to 76 mm) based on the structural limitations of the ties. Over time the outer wythe of brickbecame a non-load-bearing “veneer” coupled with a masonry “backup” wall that was structurally more “robust.” When steel andconcrete frame buildings were introduced, the “backup” walls no longer needed to be load bearing. The masonry “backup” wallsgot less and less “robust” and over time were completely replaced with frame walls constructed with steel studs. For much of theevolution described above, the water control approach was the air gap. Water control layers were an alien concept and did not get

introduced until the last half of the last century. With cavity wall construction, we did not see them until after the 1960s.

based on the structural limitations

of the ties. Two wythes of brick tied

together this way tended to be pretty

limiting structurally, and structural

engineers are known to not like

being limited. It did not take much

time for things to change. The outer

wythe of brick became a non-load-

bearing “veneer” coupled with a

masonry “backup” wall that was

structurally more “robust” ( Figure 1).

And then, things got even more

interesting structurally. We got steel

and concrete frame buildings where

the “backup” walls no longer needed

to be load bearing. The masonry

“backup” walls got less and less

“robust” and over time were com-

pletely replaced with frame walls

constructed with steel studs ( Figure 1).For much of the evolution laid

out in Figure 1, the water control

approach was the air gap. Water

control layers were an alien concept

and did not get introduced until the

last half of the last century. With cav-

ity wall construction, we did not see

them until after the 1960s.

PHOTO 1 Mortar Droppings. The gap was the raincontrol thing in the original cavity walls. And, the keyto the gap was to keep the mortar out of the gap.

The bigger the gap, the easier it was to keep themortar out of it. A 2 in. (51 mm) gap worked great.

details. This is how I was taught to

do it. Everyone in my generation was

taught to do it this way. Everything

is flashed to the exterior face of the

outer wall. If you have no water

control layer on the outside face of

the inner wall you absolutely have

to flash everything to the outside.Remember this for later. If you have

no water control layer on the outside

face of the inner wall you absolutely

have to have a 2 in. (51 mm) air

space. Remember this for later.

The big, big, really big thing

(aside from the structural thing)

that occurred with the introduction

# The saying goes if you can remember the 1960s you did notlive them.

a phenomenal concept

( Figure 1). The air space or

gap also acted as a capil-

lary break and allowed

airflow to redistribute

the penetrating absorbed

water and subsequently

vent it out of the assembly.

Drainage, ventilation and

a capillary break all in one.

Amazing.

Cavity walls over time

evolved into two equal

load bearing layers tied

together structurally. The

gap was typically limitedto 2 to 3 in. (51 to 76 mm)

Multi-WytheMass Wall

OuterWall

InnerWall

Veneer Masonry“Backup”

Wall

Frame Wall(Steel Stud or

Wood Stud)

Cavity Insulation

Sheathing(Gypsum Board,Plywood or OSB)

Water Control Layer

Veneer




to construct. You would think that

folks would embrace this? Ha!||

It was not practical to install build-ing paper over a masonry “backup”

wall. You can’t staple it, you can’t nail

it. What are you going to do? Glue it?

What did we have available at first? We

used mastics ( Photo 2)—basically below

grade waterproofing—and then “peel

and stick” membranes were devel-

oped.** Today, we have fluid-applied

and spray-applied water control layers

to go over masonry “backup” walls.

So what does a water control layer

on a masonry “backup” wall allow

us to do? I have already mentioned

the smaller air gap and the flashing

thing. So what happens if you now

also control hydrostatic pressure?

Magic happens. We talked about

some of this magic before (“Hockey

Pucks & Hydrostatic Pressure,”

ASHRAE Journal, January 2012). We

need to go there again.I do not have to care about mortar

droppings in a cavity if I install a

drainage mat over the water control

layer. The drainage mat maintains

a drainage space regardless of the

mortar droppings. This drainage

mat can be as small as 1/4 in. (6

mm). This drainage mat also acts asa capillary break.

Even more magic happens if I

replace the drainage mat with a

draining insulation. I got my first

real education in draining insula-

tions in the late 1970s doing exterior

foundation insulation using fiber-

glass roofing insulation ( Photo 3).

Today, rock wool (“stone wool”) is

commonly used as a draining insu-

lation below grade on the exterior of

foundations ( Photo 4). If you can use

rock wool/stone wool below grade

you certainly can use it above grade

( Photo 5 ). What about other draining

insulations? You can use extruded

polystyrene (XPS) and expanded

polystyrene (EPS) ( Photos 6, 7and 8).

Figure 4 lays out the evolution of water

control with water control layers on

masonry backup walls. With only a water control layer on the masonry

backup wall, you need an air cavity

that is drained. A good dimension for

the air cavity is 1 in. (25 mm). And,

you have to keep the cavity free from

II Who hated steel frame “backup” walls? The brick and masonry folks. Duh! They were losing out big time. They only got to keep the outer wall—the veneer. They lost the masonry backup wall. They wereticked. And they did everything to make life miserable for anyone who dared to construct frame walls with veneers. One of the major miseries they inflicted on everyone was the continued insistence on a2 in. (51 mm) gap. Think of why? To install a water control layer on the exterior of a masonry backup wall requires you to construct the backup wall first. Then you install the water control layer over thismasonry backup wall. And then finally you construct the veneer. You can’t construct both walls at the same time from the inside. You now need scaffolding. This was a huge impact on costs. So the brickand masonry folks continued to insist on a 2 in. (51 mm) gap even though you did not need one if you had a water control layer, and the brick and masonry folks continued to insist on flashing everything tothe exterior even though you did not need to if you had a water control layer. They continue to cling to this 2 in. (51 mm) gap to this day; they are bitter clingers.**

We should have called them “stick and peels” because the early ones tended to peel off until we figured out that we needed to prime the masonry surfaces first.

mortar droppings. When you add a

drainage mat that maintains a con-

tinuous drainage space, you don’t need

an additional air cavity beyond what

is provided by the drainage mat. A

good dimension for the drainage mat

is 1/4 in. (6 mm) or greater. When you

replace the drainage mat with drain-

ing insulation, you do not need any

additional air cavity. It is good to have

a draining insulation that drains onboth the front and back surfaces of the

insulation layer.

So, guess what? With draining

insulations you do not need an air

gap—except when you do. Huh?

of steel frame “backup”

walls was the use of build-

ing paper as a rain con-

trol layer. This meant a

couple of things: you did

not need as big an air gap

and you no longer needed

to flash everything to the

outside face of the outer

layer. There were huge,

huge, huge implications

with this. Things could get

easier and less expensive

PHOTO 2 Mastic Water Control Layer. It was notpractical to install building paper over a masonry“backup” wall. You can’t staple it, you can’t nail it.What did we have available at first? We used mas-tics—basically below grade waterproofing—and then“peel and stick” membranes were developed. Today,we have fluid-applied and spray-applied water con-trol layers to go over masonry backup walls.

FIGURE 2 (LEFT) Classic Cavity Wall. From Canadian Building Digest 21.2 This is how I was taught to do it. Everyone in my generation wastaught to do it this way. Everything is flashed to the exterior face of the outer wall. FIGURE 3 (RIGHT) Classic Cavity Wall. From CanadianBuilding Digest 21.2 If you have no water control layer on the outside face of the inner wall, you absolutely have to flash everything to theoutside. If you have no water control layer on the outside face of the inner wall, you absolutely have to have a 2 in. (55 mm) air space.

Outer Wall

2 in. Air Space

Metal Tie

Flashing to FormCavity Gutter

Weep Hole (MortarOmitted)

Foundation Wall

Inner Wall

Brick

Mortar Joint

Outer Wall

2 in. Air Space

Weep Hole

Shelf Angle; GalvanizedSteel, Bolted to Beam

Spandrel Beam

Metal Tie

A D A P T E D

F R O M

R E F E R E N C E

2

Inner Wall





Pay attention here.

This part is important. I

have just gone through a

pretty convincing argu-

ment to eliminate the air

gap if I use a drainage

mat or draining insula-

tion. One part I have not

discussed. Freeze-thaw

damage to veneer clad-

dings. In places where it

is cold and where it rains(think IECC Climate Zone

5 and higher and mod-

erate or higher rainfall

over 20 in. (508 mm) per

year) you need to keep

the water off brick and help the brick dry when it gets

wet. In highly insulated wall assemblies, helping the

brick dry can only be done by back ventilating the

brick.

So we need a vented air gap behind even a draining

insulation in places where it is cold and wet (as defined

above). How big an air gap? Not 2 in. (51 mm) for sure. My

experience tells me 3/8 in. (9.5 mm) with vent openings

top and bottom. If you don’t want to go with my experience

argument, check out Straube and Smegal.3

PHOTO 3 (LEFT) Below Grade Draining Insulation. Fiberglass. I got my first real education in draining insulations in the late 1970s doing exterior foundation insulation using fiber-glass roofing insulation. Yes, that is Professor John Timusk on a job site in Brampton, Ontario, in 1979, trimming the exterior basement draining insulation.PHOTO 4 (CENTER) Below Grade Draining Insulation. Rock wool/stone wool. Today, rock wool (“stone wool”) is commonly used as a draining insulation below grade on the exte-rior of foundations. PHOTO 5 (RIGHT) Above Grade Draining Insulation. Rock wool/stone wool. If you can use rock wool/stone wool below grade, you certainly can use it abovegrade on the exterior of a water control layer.

PHOTO 6 (LEFT) Above Grade Draining Insulation. Extruded polystyrene (XPS). The stone veneer is installed with no gap against the exterior face of the draining XPS. The groovesare covered with a filter fabric to keep mortar out of the grooves. PHOTO 7 (CENTER) Drainage Grooves and Filter Fabric. Grooves are covered with a filter fabric to keep mortar out ofthe grooves. It is good to have a draining insulation that drains on both the front and back surfaces of the insulation layer. So double-sided “groovy” is a pretty cool thing.PHOTO 8 (RIGHT) Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Draining Insulation. This comes to us from our friends in New Zealand. Apparently, the physics are similar south of the equator.

FIGURE 4 Evolution of Water Control. Water control layers are now standard for masonry backup walls. With only a water controllayer on a masonry backup wall, you need an air cavity that is drained. A good dimension for this air cavity is 1 in. (51 mm).And, you have to keep the cavity free from mortar droppings. When you add a drainage mat that maintains a continuous drain-age space, you don’t need an additional air cavity beyond what is provided by the drainage mat. A good dimension for the drain-age mat is 1/4 in. (6 mm) or greater. When you replace the drainage mat with draining insulation, you do not need any addi-tional air cavity. It is good to have a draining insulation that drains on both the front and back surfaces of the insulation layer.

Veneer Masonry Wall

Water Control Layer

Drainage Insulation

Veneer Masonry Wall

Water Control Layer

Air Cavity (Drained) Drainage Mat

Masonry WallVeneer

Water ControlLayer





Is there any other reason

for an air gap, now that I

have said we don’t need

one—besides the freeze-

thaw thing? Actually, a

really, really important one.

A reason that folks who do

AutoCAD and never get

out into the real world and

look at real buildings going

up never understand. In

AutoCAD World everything

is straight and right-angled

and planes are flat and

everything fits. Ha! Double

ha! The air gap behindcladdings has a huge role to

play in construction toler-

ances. The backup wall is

never completely flat. But

the exterior has to be com-

pletely flat because folks

can see it.

We need gaps to reconcile

the alignment of the steel

framing and concrete and

the brick veneer. Small gaps

work for small buildings.

You need big gaps for big

buildings—3/8 in. (9.5 mm)

works for a one-story house

but would never work for a

six-story commercial build-

ing with 14 ft (4 m) floor to

ceiling heights.

What if we use a frame

wall as the “backup” wallrather than masonry?

Check out Figure 5. You

FIGURE 5 Frame Wall Water Control. For a frame wall “backup” wall you can use a drainage mat or a draining insulation with noadditional air cavity. Except in IECC Climate Zone 5 and higher and moderate or higher rainfall over 20 in. (508 mm) per year.Then go with a minimum 3/8 in. (9.5 mm) air cavity with vent openings top and bottom.

can use a drainage mat or a draining insulation with

no additional air cavity. Except in IECC Climate Zone 5

and higher and moderate or higher rainfall over 20 in.

(508 mm) per year. Then go with a minimum 3/8 in.

(9.5 mm) air cavity with vent openings top and bottom.

One last thing. With a water control layer in the assem-

bly, you do not need to flash to the exterior. Check out

Figures 6 and 7 . Easier. Works. Enjoy.

References1. Pollio, Marcus Vitruvius. 1914. “De Architectura.” The Ten

Books on Architecture, Book VII, Chapter IV, On Stucco Work in

Damp Places. Translated by Morris Hicky Morgan. Cambridge,

Mass: Harvard University Press.

2. Ritchie, T. 1961. Cavity Walls, Canadian Building Digest – 21,

National Research Council of Canada.

3. Straube, J., J. Smegal. 2007. “The Role of Small Gaps Behind

Wall Claddings on Drainage and Drying.” 11th Canadian Conference

on Building Science and Technology.

FIGURE 6 (TOP) Flashing at Sills. With a water control layer over a sheathing, the sill flashing does not have to extend to the

exterior face of the brick veneer as shown on the left. FIGURE 7 (BOTTOM) Flashing at Heads. With a water control layer over asheathing the head flashing does not have to extend into the steel angle as shown on the left.

Frame Wall(Steel Stud orWood Stud)

Cavity Insulation

Sheathing (GypsumBoard, Plywood or

OSB)

Water Control Layer

Draining Mat

Flashing Extending tothe Exterior Face of

the Veneer

Weep

FlashingExtending

AcrossCavity IntoSteel Angle

Steel Angle

Frame Wall

Cavity Insulation

Sheathing(Plywood or OSB)

Water Control Layer

Fully AdheredFlashing

Extending IntoOpening

Weep

Fully AdheredFlashing Tape

Sealant

Sealant

VeneerVeneerVeneer

Veneer Veneer


Cavity Insulation

Sheathing (GypsumBoard, Plywood or

OSB)

Water Control Layer

DrainingInsulation


Cavity Insulation

Sheathing(Gypsum Board,Plywood or OSB)

Water Control Layer

Draining Insulation

Air Cavity (Vented)

WeepOpening

Frame Wall

Cavity Insulation


Water Control Layer

Water Control Layer



Steel Angle

Water Control Layer(Fully Adhered or Liquid

Applied)





Jeff Boldt, P.E., is a principal and director of engineering at KJWW Engineering in Monona, Wis. He is a member of standards committees 90.1, 189.1 and 215. Julia Keen, Ph.D., P.E.,

is an associate professor at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan. She is past chair of TC 6.1, Hydronic and Steam Equipment and Systems.

BY JEFF B OLDT, P.E., HBDP, MEMBE R ASHRAE; JU LIA KEEN, PH.D., P.E., HBDP, BEAP, MEM BER ASH RAE

Authors’ no e: This article focuses solely on the basics related o configuration, layout, and major sys em componen s o hot wa er and chilled wa er

sys ems intro uction o y ronics or t ose o t e esign in ustry.

The first ocumente hy ronic cooling systems were connecte to the Roman aque-

ucts, n which wa er was route through brick walls of homes of the affluent. Hy ronic

heating became prevalent in buil ings as the source of hot water expan e . The first

commercial hot wa er boilers became available n the 1700s. Gravity hot wa er or s eam

heating systems were the norm in buil ings until the mi -1900s.

The operation and design of these systems were greatly

advanced with the introduction of water pumps early in

the 20th century. Post-World War II, hydronic systems

experienced significant competition with the develop-

ment of forced air systems. Today, hydronic heating

and cooling coils are frequently used in conjunction

with forced air systems. More recently there has been

a resurgence of hydronic applications at the zonelevel as a result of the increased emphasis on energy

conservation.

Definition of Hydronics This article uses the definitions of hydronics, open

system, and closed system from ASHRAE Terminology

on ASHRAE.org, which defines hydronics as “science of

heating and cooling with water.” Open systems are open

to the atmosphere in at least one location. Systems that

employ cooling towers as their heat rejection method

are one of the most common examples of open hydronic

systems. Closed systems, on the other hand, are not

open to the atmosphere, except possibly at an expan-

sion/compression tank.

Advantages of Hydronic SystemsHydronic systems have several advantages:

• They require little space when compared to air

systems. A 3 in. diameter pipe is needed to convey

1,000,000 Btu/h of heating or cooling energy when a 70

in. × 46 in. duct would be necessary to accomplish the

same task with air.

(Assume a ∆T = 20°F and friction loss of 0.08

in./100 ft length for air and 4 ft/100 ft length for pipe.

TECHNICAL FEATURE | Fundamentals at Work




FEATURE

100 gpm = 1,000,000 Btu/h/[500(20°F)] and 46,000 cfm

= 1,000,000 Btu/h/[1.086(20°F)].)

• Energy loss due to pipe leakage is almost nonexistent.

• Transport energy is very low. For example, trans-

porting 1,000,000 Btu/h of cooling in a ducted air system

may require 100 hp of fans, whereas a typical hydronic

system would require about a 2 hp pump.

1,000,000 Btu/h/(20°F × 1.086) = 46,000 cfm × 90.1

limit + allowances@ 60 to 120 bhp.

1,000,000 Btu/h/(20°F × 500)= 100 gpm × 50 ft of head ×

0.0002525/70% pump efficiency = 1.8 bhp.

• Noise complaints are less common than in air

systems, as long as established pipe sizing principles are

followed.

How Many Pipes?Closed hydronic systems commonly are referenced

based on the number of pipes within the system:

one-, two-, three-, and four-pipe. One-pipe systems

have one supply pipe and return from each coil con-

nected back into that same pipe. The advantage of

one-pipe systems is reduced piping cost. The disad-

vantage is a loss of exergy because of blending of tem-

peratures in the supply main. One-pipe systems are

rare, but sometimes seen in geothermal heat pump

systems or individual floors of buildings with heating

water systems.

A two-pipe system is depicted in Figure 1. It has one

supply pipe and one return pipe. This type of system

can heat, or it can cool, but it cannot do both simultane-

ously because it is using the same distribution piping

but opening and closing valves to isolate the heat source

(i.e., boiler) or heat sink (i.e., chiller). This is the main

disadvantage of a two-pipe changeover system. A build-

ing must be fully in cooling or fully in heating, which is

unlikely to make all occupants comfortable, especially

during moderate climatic conditions. Deciding when tochange from heating to cooling can be a major issue with

two-pipe systems.

Three-pipe systems have a separate supply pipe for

hot water and chilled water but a common return pipe

for both. This system allows for simultaneous heating

and cooling with reduced length of installed piping but

at the sacrifice of energy. Therefore, three-pipe systems

are not permitted by modern energy codes. The energy

consumption of three-pipe systems is very high because

the mixing of chilled and heated return water creates

a much greater temperature differential at the heat

source or sink, requiring more work.

Four-pipe systems as depicted in Figure 2have separate

supply and return pipes for hot water and chilled water.

Four-pipe systems can provide heating to some coils while

simultaneously routing cooling to other coils. This makes

them very versatile and provides for much greater occu-

pant comfort, but the first cost of the piping is higher than

that for the other piping system arrangements.

Direct vs. Reverse ReturnIn addition to the number of pipes used in a system,

the piping configuration must also be considered. There

are two configurations: direct and reverse return. Direct

return systems use less piping and are depicted in Figure

1. Reverse return systems require more return piping,

but simplify the balancing of systems, because the pipe

length to each coil is approximately the same ( Figure 3).

A single piping system can combine direct and reverse

FIGURE 1 Chilled water closed system with cooling tower open system. Feed watercomponents are not shown for the cooling tower (condenser) loop.

Safety Relief Valve orRelief Valve

Expansion Tank

Pressure Reducing Valve

Water Meter

Cooling Tower

AS

AirSeparator

ChillerPump

Three-WayValve (Rare)Heat Transfer

To Floors Below

M

NO

NC

Two-WayValve (Normal)




return. Combining the configurations is commonly

done to reduce the first cost of the system while reap-

ing most of the benefits of a reverse return system. In

a large multi-story building, direct return may be usedto minimize the large piping (such as the main supply

and return risers), but to make balancing easier reverse

return may be used to serve small coils located on each

floor. (A complete analysis of direct and reverse return

can be found in Reference 1.)

Hydronic ComponentsBoth hot water and chilled water systems have com-

mon components that serve similar purposes. The

components that are common include: piping, pumps,

air separators, expansion tanks, fill accessories, valves,

and accessories. The following section will discuss each

of these components and the purpose they serve in the

system. This will be followed by a discussion of the dif-

ferences between hot water and chilled water system

component layouts.

Piping and pump selection, sizing, and layout are criti-

cal to the proper design of a hydronic system. The piping

will have a direct impact on pump selection because it

will influence the pump head and energy required to

move the water through the system. There are many dif-ferent factors to consider when designing and laying out

the piping as well as when selecting the pump to apply to

a hydronic system. Piping design must consider the pipe

material, flow rate, water velocity, fittings, and friction

loss. The flow rate depends on the load and temperature

differential selected for the pumped fluid. The pump

type (inline, base mounted, etc.), pump arrangement

(primary, primary-secondary, etc.), and pump controls

must all be decided and will have a significant impact

on the energy consumed over the life of the building.

(These topics require far more discussion and detail

than can be contained in this article; therefore it is

encouraged that the ASHRAE Handbook, Chapters 13, 44

and 47, be consulted when beginning design.) Air separators remove entrained air from hydronic

systems. If this is not done, corrosion rates may be high

and noise may become prevalent when air is lodged in

equipment near occupied areas. Air separators should

be located where air is least soluble in water—this

depends on two factors the hottest water temperature

and the lowest system pressure. Curves are available to

describe the exact relationship between pressure, tem-

perature, and solubility. (See 2012 ASHRAE Handbook—

HVAC Systems and Equipment , Chapter 13, Figure 3.)

Centrifugal separators are very common, but competing

designs are making inroads.

Expansion tanks control the system pressure and

absorb the expansion/contraction of water as the tem-

perature changes. Today, most expansion tanks include

a bladder or diaphragm, allowing the water to be

totally separated from atmospheric air, minimizing the

introduction of oxygen that contributes to corrosion.

Expansion tanks are sized based on the total volume

of the system, maximum temperature variation, and

maximum and minimum pressures that are acceptableat the tank location.

Fill accessories include water meters, pressure reduc-

ing valves, backflow preventers, and safety relief valves

(SRVs), and pressure relief valves (modulating relief

valves, as opposed to “popping” safety valves). Water

meters measure the amount of makeup water. Tracking

the amount of makeup water is important because

it reveals how many gallons of fresh water, includ-

ing fresh oxygen, were added to the system. Makeup

water is needed regularly to keep the piping full in

FIGURE 2 Four-pipe systems have a separate supply and return pipe for hot waterand chilled water.

Chiller Boiler Boiler

FIGURE 3 Two-pipe reverse return systems require more return piping, but sim-plify the balancing of systems.

TECHNICAL FEATURE | FUND AMENTALS AT WORK




closed systems because water is drained in the blow-

ing down of strainers, draining of coils in the winter,

improperly operating automatic air vents, and system

leaks. Minimizing makeup water maximizes system

life because it limits the introduction of oxygen to the

system.

Pressure reducing valves are included to reduce the

water pressure entering the system from the build-

ing potable water system, which is often higher than

that of the hydronic system. Plumbing codes require

backflow preventers to prevent backflow of chemicals,

biological growth, etc., from hydronic systems to potable

water systems. The pressure reducing valve is normally

selected to maintain 5 psig (34 kPa) of positive pressure

at the lowest pressure portion of the system (normally

the return side of the system on the top floor). A rule ofthumb is 5 psig plus 5 psig (34 kPa plus 34 kPa) per floor

of building height. A small SRV is often located down-

stream of the pressure reducing valve. The purpose of

the SRV is to relieve excess pressure from the system

when outside the desired conditions. This very small

SRV located at the system fill location is added to avoid

operation of the much larger SRVs at each major boiler

or heat source.

Valves are used to control water flow. Many different

valve types are used in hydronic piping applications. The

decision as to the type of valve depends on its size and

use. Ball valves are probably the most common form of

on-off or modulating two-way valve used today.

Advances in elastomer technology have made ball

valves economical and reliable. Butterfly valves domi-

nate the market in applications larger than 2.5 in. (64

mm) because ball valves become more expensive in

large sizes. Once common, gate and globe valves have

had much reduced market share in recent decades

because ball (smaller size) and butterfly (larger size)

valves are less expensive. Three-way valves are another valve type commonly used in the past. These have

become less popular as technology has allowed system

water flow to be variable, rather than constant, which

results in reduced energy use (encouraged by energy

codes). Three-way valves are sometimes necessary in

systems that use equipment that requires a minimum

water flow rate. Check valves are installed to prevent

reverse water flow.

Multi-function or triple-duty valves are ubiquitous on

pump discharge piping. They provide the functions of a

balancing valve, shutoff valve, and check valve at a low

cost and in a compact configuration. The disadvantage of

the triple-duty valve relates to its balancing function. In

variable speed pump applications often used today, the

balancing function is not desired at the pump and can

waste significant pumping energy if discharge valves are

throttled. In addition to not needing all the functions, the

pressure drop for a triple-duty valve is higher than for

most combinations of check valve, flow measuring device,

and shutoff valve. Therefore, in some applications it may

be more appropriate to use a separate check valve, shutoff

valve, and flow measuring device in lieu of a triple-duty

valve.

Besides the many necessary pieces of a hydronic sys-

tem for operation and control, there are a number of

accessories that are typically installed to more easilymonitor the system and troubleshoot when there is a

problem. Pressure gauges often wear out far sooner

than expected. All manufacturers recommend closing

the shutoff valves when readings are not being taken

to reduce wear on the movement mechanism, which is

usually a bourdon tube with a rack and pinion assembly.

However, most operators leave the valves open continu-

ously. Therefore, snubbers are recommended on all

gauges.

Snubbers dampen pressure changes so that gauges

read a steady average pressure instead of bounc-

ing wildly. Where gauges aren’t needed continuously

but occasional readings of pressure or temperature

are needed, test plugs or pressure/temperature plugs

are installed. These plugs allow for instruments to be

installed as needed without having to interrupt the sys-

tem operation. It is helpful to locate a plug near all DDC

pressure or temperature sensors to aid in calibration.

Hydronic Heating System Layout and Components

Many common components exist between chilled water and hot water systems, but the position of the

components within the piping system is different. Figure

4 depicts the normal location for boilers in hydronic sys-

tems. Boilers are commonly the heat source in a heating

hot water system. The two classifications of boilers used

in commercial hydronic systems are fire-tube and water

tube. (A discussion comparing the different boiler types

and their application is too extensive to be included in

this article, and it is recommended that the information

be obtained from the ASHRAE Handbook, Chapter 32.)






Most hydronic components are rated for at least 125 psi

(862 kPa) of differential pressure between the interior pres-

sure and the exterior (atmospheric) pressure. Cast iron

flanges and fittings are generally rated at 125 psi (862 kPa).

Steel flanges and fittings are rated at 150 psi (1034 kPa).

Often, the boiler is the lowest pressure-rated item in the

system, with 15 psi (103 kPa) steam/30 psi (207 kPa) water

matching the ASME definition of a low-pressure system.

Because of this, the boiler is generally placed immediately

upstream of the expansion tank, which controls system

pressure and is the point where pressure remains relatively

constant. It is also directly upstream of the air separator

because the water leaving the boiler is the hottest water in

the system and, therefore, can hold the lowest concentra-

tion of entrained air. Water pressure also affects air separa-

tion. Therefore, when the boiler is in a basement, it may bepreferable to have the air separator at the top floor.

Hydronic Cooling System Layout and Components The obvious difference between a hydronic heating

and cooling system is the production of hot or chilled

Boiler

To Floors Below

NO

NC

AS

M

FIGURE 4 Hydronic system with a boiler in the typical location.

water. In lieu of a boiler, in a hydronic cooling sys-

tem a chiller is used. There are many types of chillers;






reciprocating, scroll, helical rotary, centrifugal, and

variations that recover heat from one process to trans-

fer to another. (A discussion comparing the different

chiller types and their application is too extensive to be

included in this article, and it is recommended that the

information be obtained from the ASHRAE Handbook,

Chapters 42 and 43.)

There are some differences between the system layout of

heating and cooling hydronic systems. Cooling hydronic

systems have expansion tanks, but they can be much

smaller than in heating systems because of the much

lower temperature difference between the maximum and

minimum fluid temperatures.

Theoretically, the fill water is warmer than the normal

chilled water temperature, resulting in makeup water

being added to the system to fill the piping when thechilled water is brought down to operational tempera-

ture. Some designers delete air separators in cooling

hydronic systems, although this is not recommended.

Heating systems, on the other hand, need much larger

expansion tanks and air separation is a more critical

design concern because air more easily separates from

heated water (watch bubbles form when you heat a pan

filled with water).

SummaryHydronic systems are a staple of our industry. They

provide large amounts of heat transfer with low first

costs and energy costs for transporting energy. This

article provides only a basic overview and intro-

duction to hydronic system design, layout, and

components. For more information, on the topic of

hydronic systems, the ASHRAE Handbook is an excel-

lent reference.

We plan to cover many other hydronic topics: condens-

ing boilers, valve-coil-heat transfer, pressure indepen-

dent control valves, etc., in future articles.

References1. Taylor, S., J. Stein. “Balancing variable flow hydronic systems.”

ASHRAE Journal 8.

2. 2012 ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Systems and Equipment, Chapters

32, 36, 43, and 44.




A S H R A E J O U R N A L a sh ra e. or g M AY 2 01 57 2

BUILDIN G AT A GLANCE

Net Zero Ready School

FIRST PLACE

EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES, NEW

A ground source water-to-

water heat pump (WWHP)

allowed the design team to

use displacement ventilation,

which requires very tight dis-

charge air temperature control,

to maintain occupant comfort

only achievable with a WWHP

system.


BY BRIAN HAUGK, P.E., MEMBER ASHRAE; BRIAN CANNON, P.E., ASSOCIATE MEMBER ASHRAE

Brian Haugk, P.E., is a principal and Brian Cannon, P.E., is an associate principal at Hargis Engineers in Seattle.

Valley View

Middle School

Location: Snohomish, Washington

Owner: Snohomish School District

Architect: Dykeman

Engineer: Hargis

Principal Use: Public middle school, grades7 & 8

Includes: Geothermal heating, 90% heatrecovery, displacement ventilation, natu-ral cooling, radiant heating, rainwaterharvesting, and advanced lighting andcontrols

Employees/Occupants:100 staff/ 950 students

Gross Square Footage: 168,000

Conditioned Space Square Footage: 148,938

Substantial Completion/Occupancy: Sept. 2012

Valley ew Mi le School n Snohomish, Wash., s a new

three-story, 168,000 ft (15 600 m facility that replace

a much smaller an out ate buil ing. rror ng the

istrict’s commitment to resource conservation, the

esign eam use the v ng Buil ing Challenge as a

gui e for efining its sustainable approach. The team

strateg ze on arness ng t e grea es contr utors o

resource conservat on: renewable energy sources to be

mp emente ; captur ng an reus ng em tteo offset raw from the gri ; re ucing consumpt on

through system selection; an supporting behavioral

changes inspire through mon tor ng an report ng.




ABOVE View of the classroom wing with day-light harvesting and rooftop-water collectionsystem in bottom left-hand corner.

LEFT Aerial of site (August 2012) with overlayof pre-existing buildings. The old buildings used1,325,514 kWh/yr combined while the newbuilding only uses 1,239,965 kWh/yr.

OLOGY AWARD CASE STUDIES

The school, owned by the Snohomish School District,

houses 950 students and uses less energy than the previ-

ous 1981 school that was half the size.

Design Collaboration The project was the first for the district to consider the

Living Building Challenge for a net zero-ready school. At

the time, schools built prior to Valley View were too new

to have adequate data to provide a benchmark for previ-

ous sustainable initiatives. It also presented an oppor-

tunity to further define and measure its sustainable

approach goals, objectives and performance.

The district’s sustainable management goals balance

and encompass facilities, operations and health of the

building’s occupants. Their approach incorporates using

durable materials and integrating building components

and systems to withstand the wear and tear, targeting

a 50-year plus life cycle, reducing maintenance and

operations costs, reducing the use of resources and

energy consumption beyond code and state require-

ments, and providing excellent indoor air quality and

comfort. They also wanted to create a space embraced by

the community.

library and lecture hall. Applying the functional goals,

the professional team developed options for meeting

the performance and programmatic objectives. Building

placement played an important role in influencing the

design approach and upholding the conservation goals.

Energy Efficiency The school capitalizes on three strategic approaches

to maximize system efficiency and reduce the overall

building energy consumption:

• Reduce: infusing higher efficient systems that align

with performance objectives;

• Reuse: redirecting typically wasted energy/resourc-

es back into the building’s operations; and

• Renew: introducing new sources to the site without

requiring further demands on mass utilities.

Table 1 outlines the energy conservation approach in

relationship to the school’s triple bottom line. Note that

over the last year the school operated at 26 EUI.

Innovation The geographical location presented opportunities

for technical innovations for this type of facility. Sited

Gym

75,000 Gal.Cistern

RoofWater

Storage

AuxiliaryGym

Performance ArtCenter, Band &Choir Rooms Commons

Library &Administration

Offices

Water-to-WaterHeat Pump

Classrooms

GeothermalField

FIGURE 1 Valley View Middle School: Site and building characteristics.

A committee was engaged to rep-

resent a cross-sector of community

and school district stakeholders.Street presence, maximized views,

classroom orientation for optimum

daylighting, promotion of commu-

nity use after-hours, functionality,

visibility and security were articu-

lated design criteria by this group.

Community-accessible spaces were

configured within the campus to

accommodate outdoor athletic

fields, two gyms, commons area,




product in conjunction with displacement ventilation

in the region. The ground source heat pump system

was sized for 100% of the central plant heating and

cooling capacity. Integrating the WWHP was critical

to the DV approach, as it requires very tight discharge

air temperature (DAT) control to maintain occupantcomfort. During design, water-to-air heat pumps on

the market were unable to achieve the DAT control

required.

Reducing Energy, Improving IAQ The classroom DV system uses a custom “toe kick”

space supply grille under the casework as opposed to

conventional grilles provided by major manufacturers.

CFD model simulations and actual installed systems

have vetted this custom approach that improves the

integration in a typical classroom layout. Hydronic heat-

ing water convectors were used at the exterior under the

windows. The library integrated benches at the windows

with DV as well as internal wall style conventional DV

grilles. The DV system in the administrative spaces used

wall DV manufacturer style grilles with radiant floor atthe perimeter.

Customizing and Integrating Low-Traffic Spaces An opportunity was identified to use energy effi-

ciency in toilet rooms and copier rooms. General

exhaust fans serving these spaces are interlocked with

lighting control systems occupancy sensors to con-

trol the exhaust fans operation. Systems that provide

exhaust for multiple spaces include motorized damp-

ers that isolate the unoccupied spaces and have either

in western Washington, this build-

ing is predominantly in a heat-

ing environment. Year after year

of continuous heating operation

will slowly lower the tempera-

ture of the ground degrading the

capacity to absorb heat from the

ground, impacting the efficiency

of the water-to-water heat pump

(WWHP). As part of the design,

cooling loads were used to offset

this inherent load imbalance, the

24/7 cooling spaces (main electri-

cal, distributed transformer rooms

and MDF and IDF telecom spaces)

are all served by the central plantsystem to effectively recharge the

ground loop. Immediate impacts

of this approach will not be seen as

the temperature change of a well

field is subtle, providing long-term

energy savings. The ground loop

return water temperatures are

being monitored.

Thermal Dynamics of Water The WWHP/displacement ven-

tilation (DV) system combination

affords greater control in maintain-

ing occupant comfort. This proj-

ect was one of the first to use this

TABLE 1 Energy conservation approach in relationship to the school’s triple bottom line.




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Simplifying the Complex


VFDs or ECM motors to control fan speed for the vari-

able exhaust volumes. This approach also optimized

the quantity of air going through the heat recovery

system.

Total Cost of Ownership Total cost of ownership was a driving factor in the

sustainable discussions. The district was savvy to

understand that while sustainable systems are pos-

sibly more expensive upfront, they can reduce a

building’s lifetime operating costs significantly. First

costs for construction on the ground source WWHP,

DV, VAV reheat, radiant floor heating and 90% effec-

tive energy recovery unit systems were the greatest

value to the owner. Energy usage and costs show the

district would end up spending less money on annual

utility and maintenance costs compared to the base-

line alternative and ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1. The

design is more cost effective in total yearly costs, as

well as a Washington State required 30-year life-cycle

cost analysis when compared to other systems. Total

cost of ownership was reviewed to ensure that the

sum of the lowest maintenance and energy costs com-

bined would be realized.

Indoor Air Quality and Thermal ComfortUpholding the district’s final goal for occupant comfort,

the DV system was adopted. The DV system is a proven

approach to enhance energy performance through an

extended economizer range and reduced fan energy

while improving indoor air quality. The design firm

designed and is tracking the performance of these systems

in more than 40 k–12 schools constructed since 2006. Air

is supplied down low, conserving energy by only heating

or cooling the air near the occupants. The introduction of

School OpensSchool is operational whileconstruction is ongoing.Contractors work swing-shift hoursto finish the library, main gym andperformance arts center throughJanuary 2013.

Standard 90.1 Model (Energy Baseline = 57 EUI)

VVMS Actual Energy Use

Projected Design (Energy Model= 26 EUI)

400

350

300

250

200

152

100

50

k W h ( I n T h

o u s a n d s )

2012 – 13 School Year

Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug

Commissioning Fully FunctionalWith construction winding downaround the campus the additionalenergy usage begins to drop. Cxbegins January 2013 with functionalperformance starting March 2013and completed July 2013.

Value of M&V RealizedRefinement of the centralWWHP, dimming controls andmotorized shades. Energysavings produces immediatebudget relief through net billsavings.

Design Intent ActualizedThe facilities energy performance is nowwithin 5% (+/–). This comes despitethe additional usage of the school dueto reallocation of district meeting andcommunity activities moved to thislocation to take full advantage of thenew facilities lower operating costs.

2013 – 14 School Year

FIGURE 2 EUI chart and timeline.





Environmental, Social and Behavioral ImpactResponsive to constituents’ adoption of sustainability,

public institutions are using facilities as an opportunity to

express their conservation philosophy and commitment.

Environmental design elements utilizing integrated

strategies included reduced energy demand via envelope

design, solar technology, geothermal technology, rainwa-

ter harvesting and integrated value messaging.

The school fulfilled the community’s criteria, as well

as becoming a source of operational efficiency for the

district. The district uses Valley View to host a majority of

the off-hour functions as energy and maintenance dol-

lars are approximately half of the district’s other compa-

rable pre-1990s facilities.

Table 2 outlines the environmental components and

their contribution to the sustainable development.

An EMS-based energy dashboard system with touch

screen monitors at multiple locations allows staff and

students to learn about the sustainable features of thebuilding. The system is also web-based, allowing faculty

to use the system as a teaching tool. To further spark stu-

dents’ interest, the EMS metering design of the lighting,

plug and HVAC systems allowed for competitive zones

to be created in six classroom pods. This allows students

to interact with the building systems to see what kind of

impact they have on the overall energy usage. The dash-

board was also integrated with the support of the staff to

allow for the integration of lunch menus, sports scores,

way-finding, school events, etc.

Committed to energy conservation and the

sustainability of the site, the interaction of com-petitive zones and interpretive signage throughout

the school are being used as a teaching tool to edu-

cate occupants on the sustainable design elements

and new technologies integrated into the building

and site. These teaching components will continue

throughout the life cycle of the building to inform

and guide generations of children and staff that

pass through its doors, providing them with a better

understanding of their environment well beyond the

team’s M&V involvement.

2,500

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

E l e c t r i c i t y C o n s u m p t i o n ( k W h )

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

Central Water-to-Water Heat Pump HVAC LightingPlug Loads Computer Loads Kitchen Equipment Telecom

FIGURE 3 Metering for the campus energy usage by category over the course of aweek in October of 2013 to support Cx process.

TABLE 2 Environmental components and their contributions.fresh air and removal of pollutants

at the ceiling level is at a mini-

mum, 50% better than a compara-

ble overhead air-distribution sys-

tem. Specifically, a district where

the design firm has completed six

schools to date with DV, has also

shown 3% to 6% improvement in

attendance that can be attributed

to a healthier building due to

improved ventilation.

DV also exceeds the noise cri-

teria dictated by the Washington

State health department. From a

sound level code value of NC-35,

the teaching environment isimproved to a NC level less than 20.





COLUMN DATA CENTERS

Donald L. Beaty, P.E., is president and David Quirk, P.E., is vice president of DLBAssociates Consulting Engineers, in Eatontown, N.J. Beaty is publications chair and Quirkis the chair of ASHRAE TC 9.9.

T e D g ta Revo ut onBY DONALD L. BEATY, P.E., FELLOW ASHRAE; DAVID QUIRK, P.E., MEMBER ASHRAE

explosion of online health-care ata is not an acci ent, but rather has been riven by

both regulatory forces an the increase availability of technology platforms o suppor t.

ost o now s gn cant port on o our ea t -care n ormat on on ne.

Portals exist that allow us to receive an store ata from hospitals, our primary care

physician, our specialists, our pharmacy, an even ata that we’ve uploa e ourselves,

suc ome mon tor ng o we g t, oo pressure an oo sugar.

Once the data is placed in these portals, it is not only

stored, but can be trended for ready use and interpreta-tion for our next doctor’s visit, or made quickly available

to doctors in emergency situations.

This column provides an understanding of the legisla-

tion that has driven this digital health revolution, with

some glimpses into the future. For data center design

engineers, this is significant in terms of the approaches

to design facilities with the ability to scale for these loads

in health-care data center applications.

Health-Care Regulations There have been several major legislative initiatives

at the federal level over the past three decades, starting

with the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation

Act of 1985 (COBRA), and continuing with the Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

(HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for

Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH),

and the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). Of these, the

two with the biggest impact on digital records and pri-

vacy are HIPAA and HITECH.

The first major legislative act to impact digital (andother) personal health-care records was the Health

Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996,

commonly known as HIPAA. A primary goal of this leg-

islation was to help people keep their health insurance

as they transferred from one job to another regardless of

pre-existing conditions.

It also, however, introduced the concept of protected

health information (PHI), which is generally defined as

any information concerning health status, provision of

health care, and associated payment information that can

be linked to an individual. Upon request by an individual,

this information must be provided within 30 days.PHI can also be released to law enforcement officials

under subpoena or court order, and can be released to

other entities to facilitate treatment, payment, or other

health-care operations, though only the minimum

amount of necessary information can be shared. HIPAA

also requires doctors and pharmacies to ask you how best

to communicate with you (cell vs. home vs. work phone

number) to ensure confidentiality.

The privacy provisions of HIPAA took effect in 2003.

Though in the original legislation PHI was protected

indefinitely, with revisions made in 2013, our PHI is now

only protected 50 years after our death. This has signifi-

cant impacts to digital storage requirements.

The second major legislative act to impact digital

health records was the Health Information Technology

for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or

HITECH. HITECH, as its name implies, was enacted

partly as a stimulus package for the recession that

occurred after the housing market collapse that started

in 2006. It also, however, incentivized the use of elec-

tronic health records (EHRs).In addition to creating and storing records electroni-

cally, hospitals and doctors also needed to demonstrate

“meaningful use” of these records to qualify for stimulus

funding. Meaningful use can take on many forms, and

broad categories include improved care coordination,

better engagement of patients and their families, and

improving public health.

art T ree, Digita Hea t -Care P anning






A fairly simple example of mean-

ingful use would be the use of a

computerized system to check for

drug-drug and drug-allergy inter-

actions with medication and pre-

scription orders. As of 2015, medi-

cal facilities that do not have EHR

implemented are actually penalized

in terms of Medicare payments.

Several provisions of HIPAA and

HITECH impact data operations for

health-care providers and associated

organizations, such as the health-

insurance industry. These require-

ments can be grouped into storage,

access, encryption, backup andrecoverability, and periodic testing of

data recovery.

While detailed discussion of each

of these requirements is beyond the

scope of this article, the net result

of all these requirements is a sig-

nificant increase in the quantity of

records kept, and increased regula-

tion on how it is stored, backed up,

and used. There are requirements

relating both to physical access and

electronic access to the computer

systems and records containing PHI.

An interesting statistic is that of

privacy violations reported during

the first 10 years of HIPAA, only about

6% were data compromises by hack-

ers. Data breaches involving more

than 500 people are required to be

reported to the U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, as wellas to the news media.

Big Data Research vs. Patient PrivacyOne potential conflict in using

Electronic Health Records is to what

extent private data can be used for

public purposes, such as medical

studies. In some ways, the increased

privacy of medical records has

made research more challenging.





For instance, recruitment of sub-

jects for medical trials has, in some

instances, been made much more

difficult by regulations covering

confidentiality of medical condi-

tions. In some cases, follow-up sur-

veys of patients has also dropped,

partly because the informed con-

sent forms associated with the sur-

veys are required to be so lengthy.

Big data research of medical

records has become an increasingly

important and profitable topic.

Patient privacy regulations are serv-

ing as a throttle to the explosive

growth of big data medical research.

Growth Drivers of Digital Records While the impetus for much

of today’s EHR infrastructure is

course, also include much more than

doctor and lab records. An individual

can also record home-based data,

such as weight, blood pressure, and

exercise activity, so that these can be

readily accessed by health-care pro-

fessionals between visits.

Perhaps these home health records

will even be trended with other

home and/or ambient environmen-

tal data, such as humidity and air

quality levels, to allow health-care

providers to better understand and

tailor the individual’s home envi-

ronment for optimal health. This

topic will be addressed in moredetail in a future column article.

The movement away from provid-

ing episodic care has been enabled

by smartphones. The ability to

monitor various items such blood

pressure, blood sugar shows prom-

ise to help improve the health of

those with chronic conditions such

as hypertension, diabetes, etc. As

sensor technology for smartphones

grows, the application of active

patient management for healthier

lives will improve. Using this tech-

nology and approach has helped

keep people out of hospitals and

improved individual lifestyles.

While it’s helped decrease the flow of

people to hospitals, it has increased

the flow of digital data storage.

Smart technology and algo-

rithms are helping reduce therisk of complications and errors

in care delivery. The ability for

computerized pharmacy systems

to look at the entire drug regi-

men of patients, and flag potential

complications or dosing errors,

has helped improve complex drug

therapy and has reduced interac-

tions and side effects. Similarly lab

systems are contacting responsible

regulatory, the free market has

stepped in in many other ways, and

is driving a lot of the industry growth.

At least one internet service provider,

for instance, has adopted a password-

protected storage and trending plat-

form that allows individuals to place

all information related to their health

in a single location.

This potentially provides great

value to the individual, but essen-

tially doubles the amount of storage

needed for EHR since it is stored

both by the individual’s health-care

providers, and also by the individuals

themselves. Some medical records,such as MRI results, can be quite

large (on the order of 100 MB each).

Available data for input into an

individual’s storage system can, of

COLUMN DATA CENTERS



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parties immediately using smartphones or other devices

immediately when abnormal lab test results occur, thus

speeding interventions and reducing workload and

errors.

These are just a select few examples of the growth driv-

ers of digital records.

Data Center Solutions for Digital Health Care The decision, on the part of a health-care provider,

of where to store and manage their data, is complex. It

needs to consider all of the regulatory requirements as

well as other attributes specific to their organization.

There are a range of data center solutions including (as

discussed in Nov. 2012 column, “Cooling as a Service”):

• Cloud Computing;

• Retail colocation;• Wholesale colocation; and

• Build your own data center.

There is a full range of regulatory, as well as, hardware

and software considerations for digital health records

retention. Due to uncertainty in the growth rate for

EHR, data center solutions need to be very scalable.

Future growth trends are largely unknown. They can be

impacted by:

• Future regulation changes;

• Data privacy trends;

• Trend toward consolidation of health-care provid-

ers;

• Tele-health trends; and

• Big data analytics.

If remote data storage and management is used, there

is a need to make sure that these facilities have the hard

and soft protection environments that are required by

HIPAA and HITECH.

Closing Comments The regulatory environment has incentivized a trans-

formation in digital record keeping in an industry that

currently accounts for about 17% of our gross domestic

product. This has provided meaningful improvements

COLUMN DATA CENTERS





in the way health-care records are stored and used, but

also challenges from a privacy perspective.

Health-care research, by way of big data analytics, rep-

resents another frontier of significant advancements in

medical science. Privacy regulations are currently throt-

tling the expansive application of this big data research,

but may change with future regulation changes.

Regulations have played a big part in digital health-

care’s big data boom. The explosion of online health-

care data is not an accident, but rather has been driven

by these regulatory forces.

Data center designers, owners, and operators need

to fully understand the regulations associated with the

use of EHR before making decisions on the location and

management of digital records. As seen, a combination

of regulatory actions and technology enablers have cre-ated an enormous growth in health-care data center

needs.

Designers need to plan accordingly for the future scal-

ing needs of health-care data centers. To do otherwise is

an “accident” waiting to happen.

WEB RESOURCES

HIPAA is the federal Health Insurance Portability and Account-

ability Act of 1996. The Office for Civil Rights enforces the

HIPAA Privacy Rule, which protects the privacy of individu-

ally identifiable health information; the HIPAA Security Rule,

which sets national standards for the security of electronicprotected health information; the HIPAA Breach Notification

Rule, which requires covered entities and business associates

to provide notification following a breach of unsecured pro-

tected health information; and the confidentiality provisions

of the Patient Safety Rule, which protect identifiable informa-

tion being used to analyze patient safety events and improve

patient safety. www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy

The Health Information Technology for Economic and

Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was signed into law in 2009, to

promote the adoption and meaningful use of health informa-

tion technology. Subtitle D of the HITECH Act addresses the

privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic

transmission of health information, in part, through several

provisions that strengthen the civil and criminal enforce-

ment of the HIPAA rules. www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/

administrative/enforcementrule/hitechenforcementifr.html

The Affordable Care Act expands Medicaid coverage to mil-

lions of low-income Americans. www.hhs.gov/healthcare

COLUMN DATA CENTERS



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COLUMN REFRIGERATION APPLICATIONS

BY ANDY PEARSON, PH.D., C.ENG., MEMBE R ASHRAE

Andy Pearson

Andy Pearson, Ph.D., C.Eng., is group engineering director at Star Refrigeration in Glasgow, UK.

Watt s t e B ccas on

James Watt, the Scotsman in the trio of famous names from April’s column, was the ol est

of the three, being born in 1736, over 80 years before Joule an Kelvin. He also live the

longest an arguably ha more impact on the in ustrialization of society than any other.

His life is a mixture of contra ictions, an he is frequently misun erstoo an misrepre-

sente . Like ames Joule, att ha no formal university e ucation but relie on personal

contact with the lea ing aca emics of his ay to formulate an evelop his i eas.

Watt trained as an instrument maker, specializing in

making laboratory instruments for Glasgow University

and the shipping trade. His workshop was set up withinthe precincts of the university after Watt completed his

craftsman’s apprenticeship in one year rather than the

usual seven years. Commissions included laboratory

instruments and navigational aids such as quadrants,

parallel rules, barometers and telescopes as well as

musical instruments including wooden flutes, fifes and

pipe organs. This led to a post of astronomical instru-

ment maker for the university where he worked with

Joseph Black and John Anderson.

One of his repair jobs for the univer-

sity was reconditioning a model of a

Newcomen steam engine, but even after

repair he found it would barely work

because the efficiency was so low. Watt’s

“big idea” came to him in an instant

while strolling on Glasgow Green in

May 1765. It took four years to get this idea—the separate

condenser—designed, tested and patented. Watt partnered

with Matthew Boulton who ran a factory in Birmingham,

England, and their compact steam engines delivered up to

five times more power than the previous design. Although Watt is often credited with inventing the

steam engine and many of its accessories, this is clearly

not so. He took an existing poor design and transformed

it into a practical and beneficial reality. However, it is

also wrong to see him merely as a mechanic using his

skill with machines and tools to effect improvements.

Despite his lack of higher education, he absorbed knowl-

edge from a wide range of fields and was instrumental in

the development of many chemical advances in bleach-

ing, dyeing and the separation of gases.

Sir Humphrey Davy, a colleague in many of these chemi-

cal experiments, said “he was equally distinguished as a

natural philosopher and a chemist, and his inventionsdemonstrate his profound knowledge of those sciences,”

and that Watt had “that peculiar characteristic of genius,

the union of them for practical application.” However, Watt

himself confessed that he was not a businessman, writ-

ing, “I would rather face a loaded cannon than settle an

account.” This is where Matthew Boulton played his part,

managing the business side of Boulton & Watt, leaving his

partner free from the financial worries that had filled his

early career and allowing him to mix

with the finest scientific minds in

Britain and Europe. Watt more than

held his own in such elevated com-

pany despite his humble origins.

A footnote to Watt’s early career

was found in the contents of his

Birmingham workshop gifted to

London’s Science Museum over 100 years after his death.

Among the wide range of woodworking tools were several

specialist pieces required for the manufacture and repair

of flutes, dating back to his early years in Glasgow. These

tools include a manufacturer’s stamp bearing the legend“T LOT,” clearly intended to give the impression the instru-

ment was made by leading French manufacturer, Thomas

Lot, the “Stradivari of flutes.” This adds an intriguing twist

to young Watt’s financial predicament. Fortunately, his

association with Joseph Black’s chemistry department and

its needs for ingenious instrument repair kept him out of

prison and enabled him to take that fateful, inspirational

stroll on Glasgow Green exactly 250 years ago.

How to fund the R&D budget for next year.

P H O T O : B A R O Q U E F L U T E B Y B O A Z B E R

N E Y ,

A F T E R A N

O R I G I N A L B Y T H O M A S L O T , 1

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Through its vertical, space-saving design, theTSL Series can save both time and moneyduring installation.

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www.info.hotims.com/54428-44 www.info.hotims.com/54428-91

ASHRAE’s comprehensive smoke control resource

now includes AtriumCalc, a Microsoft® Excel®

application that lets engineers perform complicated

smoke control calculations in minutes.

Handbook of Smoke Control Engineering,now with AtriumCalc

$129 ($109 ASHRAE Member)

www.ashrae.org/smokecontrol

Smoke Control Calculations

Just Got Easier.


SPECIAL PRODUCTS

DATA CENTERS To receive FREE info on the prod-

ucts in this section, visit the Web

address listed below each item or

go to

www.ashrae.org/freeinfo.

A ChillersOklahoma City-based ClimaCool offers a line

of modular packaged air- and water-cooled

mission-critical chillers with incremental

capacities ranging from 15 to 85 tons (53 kW

to 299 kW), configurable to 1,000 tons (3500

kW) per bank. Their modular design pro-

vides system expandability and redundancy.


Steam Generator

The SuperSteam clean steam unfired steamgenerator from Diversified Heat Transfer,

Towaco, N.J., provides steam for clean ap-

plications including data center humidi-

fication, sterilization, and pharmaceutical

applications.


B BACnet® Gateway The Babel Buster BB2-7010-02 gateway from

Control Solutions, St. Paul, Minn., enables

users to connect SNMP devices to BACnet IP.

It can query MIB OIDs and provide data as

BACnet objects.


Remote Building Management SystemDiamond Controls Solution from Mitsubishi

Electric Cooling & Heating, Suwanee, Ga.,

enables building managers to control

multiple mechanical systems, including

non-HVAC equipment, through a single

interface. The product includes design,

installation and integration services from

the company’s Professional Services Group.


Evaporative Cooler/Humidifier optiMist from Carel USA, Manheim, Pa., is

an evaporative cooler and humidifier for ef-

ficient management of direct evaporative

cooling, indirect evaporative cooling and

adiabatic humidification.


Mixed-Flow Fan The model VMBL mixed-flow fan from

Carnes, Verona, Wis., is designed to deliver

low energy consumption and long life. It fea-

tures heavy-duty construction.


B

BACnet® Gateway

By Control Solutions

A

ChillerBy ClimaCool




PRODUCTS

PRODUCT SHOWPLACE To receive FREE info on the

products in this section, visit

the Web address listed below

each item or go to

www.ashrae.org/freeinfo.

Rooftop FansTjernlund Products, White Bear Lake, Minn.,

offers the RT-Series rooftop fans. The fans

are available with an optional Constant Op-

erating Pressure Control (COP2), which in-

cludes a VFD and transducer to deliver pre-

cise draft or exhaust by modulating fan

speed to maintain a constant negative pres-

sure within a vent or exhaust system as draftor exhaust loads change.


Fume Hood Exhaust Blowers HEMCO , Independence, Mo., offers a line

of fume hood exhaust blowers designed

to exhaust corrosive fumes, humid or pol-

luted air, gases and odors. The blowers are

available in coated steel or PVC, in stan-

dard or explosion proof models, all with a

smooth interior surface that reduces static

pressure loss and chemical waste buildup.


A Industrial Evaporative CondensersSPX Cooling Technologies and SGS Refrigeration,

Overland Park, Kan., have collaborated to

develop the Marley Cube industrial evap-

orative condensers. The series includes a

range of forced-draft and induced-draft

models.


B Building Automation System Tracer Concierge from Trane, Piscataway,

N.J., is a packaged system of building HVAC

and lighting controls. It is designed to be a

simple, turnkey system that is preconfigured

and preprogrammed for each of a project’s

standard floor plans. The system consists of a

factory-programmed Tracer SC system con-

troller, wireless communications interfaces

between devices, a touchscreen user display,

and an optional power meter.


C Zone Valves Belimo Americ as, Danbury, Conn., announc-

es the ZoneTight line of zone valves for

pressure-dependent and pressure-inde-pendent zoning applications in tight spac-

es. The valves feature a “zero-leakage” ball

valve design that minimizes energy losses,

is resistant to clogging, and consumes up

to 95% less energy than conventional zone

valves.


Semi-Hermetic CompresssorGEA Refrigeration Technologies, Bochum,

Germany, offers the GEA Bock HG46 CO2

T semi-hermetic, six-cylinder compressor

for transcritical CO2 applications with

operating pressures of up to 130 bar (13 000

kPa). It features a large displacement of 21.8

m³/h to 30.2 m³/h (770 ft3 /h to 1,070 ft3 /h).


Harmonic FiltersSchaffner EMC, Edison, N.J., introduces the

ECOSine 60 Hz line of passive harmonic fil-

ters to protect motors in a variety of appli-

cations. Tuned to a specific harmonic order,

these filters remove harmful harmonics be-

fore they can damage protected load.


DamperContinental Fan, Buffalo, N.Y., offers the IRIS

damper for supply and exhaust tracking

control, individual comfort control, and

airflow regulation. Its design allows for

airflow to be measured and controlled at

a single station to save time and money in

initial installation and commissioning.


Makeup Air UnitsMinneapolis-based Valent introduces the DGR

direct-fired and IGR indirect-fired lines of

heat-only makeup air units for commercial

or industrial facilities where high outdoor air

volumes are needed but cooling and humid-

ity control are not required.


Redundant Drives ACH550 Redundant Drives from ABB, New

Berlin, Wis., consist of a pair of ABB ACH550

drives integrated into a NEMA-rated enclo-

sure. The redundant drives feature single-

point control connections, which eliminate

the need to duplicate control wiring to pri-

mary and secondary systems.


Packaged AC The M50A modular packaged air-condition-

ing system from Coolerado, Denver, features

the company’s indirect evaporation sys-tem, which provides greater efficiency com-

pared to conventional AC units and does not

use chemical refrigerants. The system is de-

signed to add no moisture to conditioned air.


Geothermal Heat PumpWaterFurnace, Fort Wayne, Ind., introduces the

5 Series 504W11 hydronic geothermal heat

pump, which features the company’s Opti-

Heat vapor injection technology. While most

hydronic geothermal systems generate 130°F

(54°C) water, OptiHeat creates exiting water

temperatures up to 150°F (66°C) via an addi-

tional heat exchanger that diverts excess heat

and reinjects it into the system.


HVLS Fans MacroAir, San Bernadino, Calif., offers the

Airvolution-D (AVD) line of HVLS fans. The

four models in the line feature a direct-drive

motor with a gearless design to deliver im-

proved airflow capacity in a smaller, lighter,

and less noisy motor.


B

Building Automation SystemBy Trane

C

Zone ValveBy Belimo Americas

A

Industrial Evaporative CondensersBy SPX Cooling Technologies and SGS Refrigeration



www.info.hotims.com/54428-XX

Standardized Tools to Reduce Autodesk® Revit® Implementation Costs

kBIM Template and Library for Autodesk Revit is a package of standardized Revit

tools designed to provide large-firm capabilities to smaller firms and improve drawing

development efficiency.

kBIM Template and Library includes a Revit template, customized Revit library, and

supporting help documentation, all designed to enhance the building information

modeling (BIM) process for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and

technology disciplines.

kBIM Template and Library



• Custom view templates

• Standard and customizable device symbols

• Equipment and fixture schedules and families

• Custom schedules and tags

• Standard pipe systems and filters

• Design checks as visibility and graphical settings

• Custom drawing annotation styles and device tags

• Equipment clearance representation

• Device annotation offset for drawing clarity

Provides large-firm capabilities to smaller firms

Find demos, examples, and purchasing information at www.ashrae.org/kbim.

Autodesk and Revit are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries.www.info.hotims.com/54428-94



A S H RA E J O U RN A L a s h ra e .o r g M A Y 2 0 1 51 0 2

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

ADIBATIC AIR INLET COOLING

EcoMESH Adia batic Sys tems Ltd.

www.ecomesh.eu

EcoMESH Benefits

Standard

Installation

EcoMESH

Addition

Water

Spray

Cooler

Air Intake

•Reduced Running Cost

•Reduced Maintenance

•Easy Retrofit

•Improved Reliability

•Increased Capacity

•Self Cleaning Filter

•Shading Benefit

•No Water Treatment

•Longer Compressor Life

Improving the performance of Air Cooled Chillers, Dry Coolers andCondensers and Refrigeration Plants. EcoMESH is a unique mesh andwater spray system that improves performance, reduces energy

consumption, eliminates high ambient problems, is virtually maintenancefree and can payback in one cooling season.

BENEFITSBENEFITS

PCM ProductsPCM Productswww.pcmproducts.netwww.pcmproducts.net

THERMAL ENERGY STORAGETHERMAL ENERGY STORAGEPhase Change Materials between 8ºC(47ºF) and 89ºC(192ºF)release thermal energy during the phase change which releaseslarge amounts of energy) in the form

of latent heat. It bridges the gap between

energy availability and energy use and

load shifting

capability.

• EASY RETROFIT

•LOW RUNNING COST

• REDUCED MACHINERY

• INCREASED CAPACITY

•GREEN SOLUTION

• REDUCED MAINTENANCE

• FLEXIBLE SYSTEM

•STAND-BY CAPACITY

+8ºC

(47ºF)

FOR RENT

HVAC ENGINEERS

All levels. JR Walters Resources, Inc., specializing in

the placement of technical professionals in the E & A

field. Openings nationwide. Address: P. O. Box 617, St.

Joseph, MI 49085-0617. Phone 269-925-3940. E-mail:

[email protected]. Visit our web site at www.

jrwalters.com.

OPENINGS

ASHRAE Journal

Classified Ads

The Foremost

Medium for Reaching

Engineering Professionals

Classifed ads are

ALWAYSproductive.

Classifieds are accepted in the

categories of Job Opportunities,

Rentals, Business Opportunities, andSoftware.

Closing date:

Copy must be received by the clas-

sified department by the 3rd of the

month preceding date of issue.

To place an ad in ASHRAE Journal

Classifieds contact:

Vanessa Johnson

1791 Tullie Circle NEAtlanta, GA 30329

Phone 678-539-1166

Fax 678-539-2166

E-mail: [email protected]

RATE SCHEDULE:

INSTRUCTOR IN HVAC AND ALTERNATIVERENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES: The Department

of Mechanical and Energy Technologies atSUNY Canton seeks candidates for a tenuretrack faculty position beginning in the fallsemester 2015. The successful candidate

will teach courses in the following areas:HVAC - domestic and commercial systems& design, load calculations, equipmentselection & building automation; Alternative &

Renewable Energy Systems – fuel cells, solarenergy, photovoltaic, solar hot water, passivesolar & biofuels.

QUALIFICATIONS: Relevant teaching ex-perience preferred, applied industrial experi-ence will be given emphasis in the selection

process. The successful candidate shouldhave a desire to mentor and advise studentsto ensure their academic success. The abilityto present material in a clear and understand-

able manner is a must. This position requiresa Master’s degree in engineering or engineer-ing technology and a P.E. License or PhD in arelated field.

Persons interested in the above positionshould apply online at https://employment.

canton.edu/ Review of applications will beginimmediately and will continue until the posi-tion is filled. Prior to a final offer of employ-ment, the selected candidate will be required

to submit to a background check including,but not limited to, employment verification,educational and other credential verification,and criminal background check.

CLOSING DATE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLI-CATIONS: Review begins immediately andwill continue until the position is filled.

SUNY Canton, a unit of the State Universityof New York, is an affirmative action, equalopportunity employer. SUNY Canton is building

a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty and

staff and strongly encourages applicationsfrom minority and women candidates.

To place an ad contact:

Vanessa Johnson– Advertising Production &Operations Coordinator

1791 Tullie Circle NE Atlanta, GA 30329

Phone: 678-539-1166Email: [email protected]



M A Y 2 0 1 5 a s h ra e .o r g A S H R A E J O U RN A L 1 0 3

SOFTWARE

www.bcatech.comwww.bcatech.com

407407--659659--06530653

For All HVAC Products

Selection

Pricing / Configuration

Submittals

Parts

Customer Support

More...

Everything Your Reps Need…

...to increase sales

[email protected], www.4mbim.com, www.4msa.com

mep

The power of BIM for MEP design

•Calculations directly from the BIM model

•Automatic generation of all the case studyresults•Automatic generation of the final set ofdrawings (plan views, vertical diagrams,axonometric diagrams, Piping/Ducting Networksin 2D and 3D and others) •Complete documen-

tation of results (detailed calculation sheets,Technical Reports, Bill of Materials and manymore) •IFC import/export to ensure collabora-

tion with other BIM applications.

FineHVAC - HVAC Design HVAC Loads (Ashrae 2013), Chilled and Hot

Water piping, Airduct Sizing, PsychrometricAnalysis (includes also design for Merchantand Naval Surface Ships - Ashrae ch. 13.1 & 13.3).

FineFIRE - Fire Fighting Design NFPA 13 fully calculated systems for tree,

gridded or looped systems (includes also EN12845, BS 9251, FM, CEA 4001 & AS 2118regulations)

FineSANI - Plumbing Design Water supply and Sewerage design

FineELEC - Electrical Design

FineGAS - Gas Network Design

FineLIFT - Elevator Design

ASHRAE Journal Classified Ads

The Foremost Medium for Reaching Engineering Professionals

To place an ad contact:

Vanessa Johnson

Advertising Production &Operations Coordinator

1791 Tullie Circle NE

Atlanta, GA 30329

Phone: 678-539-1166

Fax: 678-539-2166

Email: [email protected]



A S H R A E J O U R N A L a s h ra e .o r g M A Y 2 0 1 51 0 4

ADVERTISING SALESASHRAE JOURNAL

1791 Tullie Circle NE | Atlanta, GA 30329(404) 636-8400 | Fax: (678) 539-2174

www.ashrae.orgGreg Martin | [email protected]

Associate Publisher, ASHRAE Media Advertising Vanessa Johnson | [email protected]

Advertising Production Coordinator

NORTHEAST

Nelson & Miller Associates –Denis O’Malley5 Hillandale Ave., Suite 101Stamford, CT 06902(203) 356-9694 | Fax (203) [email protected]

SOUTHEAST

Millennium Media, Inc. –590 Hickory Flat RoadAlpharetta, GA 30004Doug Fix (770) 740-2078 | Fax (678) 405-3327Lori Gernand (281) 855-0470 | Fax (281) [email protected]; [email protected]

EASTERN CANADA

Nelson & Miller Associates –Denis O’Malley5 Hillandale Ave., Suite 101Stamford, CT 06902(203) 356-9694 | Fax (203) [email protected]

OHIO VALLEY

LaRich & Associates – Tom Lasch512 East Washington St.Chagrin Falls, OH [email protected](440) 247-1060 | Fax (440) 247-1068

MIDWEST

Kingwill Company – Baird Kingwill; Jim Kingwill664 Milwaukee Avenue, Suite 201Prospect Heights, IL 60070(847) 537-9196 | Fax (847) [email protected]; [email protected]

SOUTHWEST

Lindenberger & Associates, Inc. –

Gary Lindenberger; Lori Gernand7007 Winding Walk Drive, Suite 100Houston, TX 77095(281) 855-0470 | Fax (281) [email protected]; [email protected]

WEST

LaRich & Associates – Nick LaRich, Tom Lasch512 East Washington St.Chagrin Falls, OH [email protected]@larichadv.com(440) 247-1060 | Fax (440) 247-1068

KOREA

YJP & Valued Media Co., Ltd – YongJin Park Kwang-il Building #905, Dadong-gil 5Jung-gu, Seoul 100-170, Korea

+82-2 3789-6888 | Fax: +82-2 [email protected]

CHINA, HONG KONG & TAIWAN

China Business Media –Sean Xiao6-310 Xinchao No.162 Liaoyuan RoadFuzhou, Fujian, China86 186 5099 [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL

Steve Comstock (404) 636-8400 | [email protected]

RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING AND REPRINTS

ASHRAE – Greg Martin(678) 539-1174 | [email protected]

Advertisers Index/Reader Service InformationTwo fast and easy ways to get additional information on

products & 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 PageWeb Address



*Regional

AAON, Inc .........................................................19info.hotims.com/54428-1

AAON, Inc .........................................................95info.hotims.com/54428-75

Accurex .............................................................21info.hotims.com/54428-2

Aerionics, Inc./ Macurco .................................88info.hotims.com/54428-3

AHR Expo Orlando 2016 .................................51info.hotims.com/54428-4

A-J Mfg. Co. .....................................................68info.hotims.com/54428-5

ASHRAE HVAC Control Systems ...................86info.hotims.com/54428-100

ASHRAE kBIM .................................... 100 – 101info.hotims.com/54428-94

*ASHRAE PCBEA .............................................97info.hotims.com/54428-93

ASHRAE Smoke Control .................................96info.hotims.com/54428-91

ASHRAE Std. 90.1-13 UM ..............................95info.hotims.com/54428-78

Aurora Pump/Pentair ......................................70info.hotims.com/54428-6

Bard Manufacturing Co..................................99info.hotims.com/54428-7

Bluebeam Software ........................................83info.hotims.com/54428-8

Bosch Thermotechnology Corp .....................59info.hotims.com/54428-9

CaptiveAire .......................................................79info.hotims.com/54428-10

CaptiveAire .......................................................25info.hotims.com/54428-11

Carlo Gavazzi Inc.............................................44info.hotims.com/54428-12

Carrier Corp......................................................31info.hotims.com/54428-13

Carrier Corp......................................................85

info.hotims.com/54428-14ClimaCool Corp ................................................92info.hotims.com/54428-63

ClimaCool Corp. ...............................................76info.hotims.com/54428-15

Climatemaster .................................................81info.hotims.com/54428-16

Climatemaster .................................................95info.hotims.com/54428-77

Component Hardware .....................................69info.hotims.com/54428-17

Control Solutions Inc ......................................93info.hotims.com/54428-69

Daikin North America LLC .............................95info.hotims.com/54428-76

Daikin North America LLC ............... 2nd Cvr-1

info.hotims.com/54428-18

Data Aire, Inc ...................................................45


Distech Controls ..............................................93


Ebtron, Inc ...............................................3rd Cvr


Emerson Network Power ...............................67


Evapco Inc ........................................................92info.hotims.com/54428-64

Fujitsu General America.................................77


Goodway Technologies ...................................82


Greenheck Fan Corp .......................................27


Greentrol Automation .....................................53


Harsco Industrial, Patterson-Kelley.............61


Heat Pipe Technology Inc ..............................52


Hurst Boiler & Welding Co. Inc .....................22


LTG Incorporated .............................................84info.hotims.com/54428-29

MacroAir Technologies .....................................7


Mestek/KN Series ...........................................13


Mestek/RBI Water Heaters ...........................37


Mestek/Xcelon ................................................75


Metraflex ..........................................................82info.hotims.com/54428-34

Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA Inc...15


*Mitsubishi Electric Sales Canada, Inc ......97


Movin Cool/DENSO Products and Services43


MTU Onsite Energy ..........Insert Btwn 40 – 41

Multistack, LLC ...............................................34


Munters Corp ...................................................95


Munters Corp ..........................................4th Cvr


Munters Corp ...................................................23


Onicon, Inc .......................................................71


Ontrol A.S. .........................................................26


Parker Boiler Co. .............................................96info.hotims.com/54428-44

Petra Engineering ...........................................57info.hotims.com/54428-45

Pottorff ..............................................................94info.hotims.com/54428-70

Raypak, Inc .......................................................65info.hotims.com/54428-46

Reliable Controls ...............................................2info.hotims.com/54428-47

Reliable Controls .............................................92info.hotims.com/54428-65

Renewaire, LLC ................................................33info.hotims.com/54428-48

Rinnai America Group.....................................49info.hotims.com/54428-49

Rotor Source, Inc. ...........................................20info.hotims.com/54428-50

Rotronic Instrument Corp ..............................12info.hotims.com/54428-51

Selkirk ...............................................................24info.hotims.com/54428-52

Sentech Corp ...................................................94info.hotims.com/54428-72

Shortridge Instruments .................................42info.hotims.com/54428-53

Southland Industries ......................................94info.hotims.com/54428-71

Specific Systems .............................................95info.hotims.com/54428-79

Spectronics Corp...............................................9info.hotims.com/54428-54

Taco....................................................................87info.hotims.com/54428-55

Taco....................................................................35info.hotims.com/54428-56

Thybar Corp ......................................................92info.hotims.com/54428-62

Titus ...................................................................11

info.hotims.com/54428-57Tjernlund Products, Inc..................................93info.hotims.com/54428-68

Topog-E Gasket Co. .........................................93info.hotims.com/54428-66

Trane ....................................................................5info.hotims.com/54428-58

Unilux Advanced Mfg, LLC.............................94info.hotims.com/54428-73

Unilux Advanced Mfg, LLC.............................86info.hotims.com/54428-59

Vaisala Inc. .........................................................8info.hotims.com/54428-60

Xylem, Inc .........................................................89info.hotims.com/54428-90

Yaskawa America Inc .....................................91


ASHRAE Journal May 2015

Documents

Transcript of ASHRAE Journal May 2015