Test Tool and Power Logger Help Make the Case for Law-School HVAC Upgrade
In Columbus, Ohio, a six-story law-school building requires cooling year-round. "A lot of buildings we can cool with outside air," Mike Klingler, service manager for HVACR contractor Farber Corp., said. "When we get down to 50 to 52°F and below, we can just draw that outside air in and use it for free cooling. But because of the setup of the law-school building, they had to run one of the chillers even when it was 20 to 25°F outside. Because of the duct distribution system, we couldn't rely on outside air in certain areas of the building." ...
Rooftop-Ventilation Upgrade Saving Condo Development $17,100 a Year
At Kalele Kai, a residential community in Oahu's Hawaii Kai, aging centrifugal roof exhaust fans provided no adjustability and were consuming a lot of energy. Hoping to find a more energy-efficient solution, one that would help the condominiums qualify for rebates offered by the local electric company, Alex Dean, president of The Alexander Group Inc. and energy consultant for Kalele Kai's board of directors, approached HVAC manufacturers’ representative Norman S. Wright Co. in June 2008....
Building-Information-Modeling Software Streamlines Design of Entire Campus
In 2002, the government of Trinidad and Tobago gave architects and builders a rare opportunity: to design an entire university from the ground up. Because of the sheer scope of the project, acla:works challenged the team of consultants to adopt a comprehensive integrated virtual building and construction approach using building-information-modeling (BIM) software. ...
Gas-to-Steam Humidifier Helps Museum Preserve Artifacts, Reduce Energy Costs
Dedicated to the memory of Glenn H. Curtiss, who in 1908 manned the first pre-announced public flight in America, the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, N.Y., is filled with hundreds of historical artifacts. Made of a variety of materials (wood, canvas, fabric, paint), those artifacts are subject to cracking, chipping, peeling, and distortion without the right amount of humidity—ideally, 40- to 60-percent relative humidity (RH). The museum, however, lacked a humidification system, and RH hovered between 3 and 10 percent....
New Purge System Removes Excess Oil
At its plant in Charleston, S.C., the Bosch Group, global supplier of automotive, industrial, and building technology, was having trouble maintaining sufficiently low temperatures in each of seven 1,000- and 1,250-ton chillers. One chiller in particular was underperforming. ...
Controls Help Put Salt Lake City Library on Cutting Edge of Public Facilities
For its new library complex, Salt Lake City envisioned three six-story buildings—one for administration, one for the library’s collections, and one with reading galleries and meeting rooms—connected by walkways. The city wanted control systems to manage everything from the environment and access to smoke alarms, window-blind adjustment, sidewalk snow melting, lighting, and ventilation. With numerous windows throughout the facility and a requirement for underfloor installation of HVAC and electrical equipment, the project presented some interesting challenges. ...
Large-Diameter, Low-Speed Fan Solves Air-Movement Problems in Housing Office
Located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Tonopah Residence Complex is a six-story residence building and home to the Office of Housing Services. In the lobby, air-circulation problems were making conditions uncomfortable for the dozen employees who work there and the continuous stream of students who pass through to pay bills or make housing inquiries....
Boston Hotel Lowers Energy Consumption With Help of Kitchen Ventilation Controls
Reducing energy consumption and increasing operational efficiency are top priorities for George DiVenuti, director of engineering for Boston Marriott Copley Place hotel....
Temporary Dehumidification Protects High-End Millwork in New Ballpark
Located in the historic Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis, Target Field, the new 40,000-seat, open-air ballpark Major League Baseball’s Minnesota Twins call home, includes themed restaurants, state-of-the-art locker rooms, and 54 private suites. The ornate millwork, cabinetry, and high-end finishes in these and other indoor areas required special care during the facility’s construction in 2009. ...
School District Betters Indoor-Air Quality While Reducing Outside-Air Requirements
At a recently rebuilt three-story high school in the North East Independent School District (NEISD) in San Antonio, the outdoor-air-supply duct serving...
Modernized Old-World Hotel Goes Green, Provides Comfort With Ductless HVAC
In 1929, construction of the 35,000-sq-ft Hotel Seville in Harrison, Ark., was completed. With a price tag, including furniture, of $170,000, a tremendous...
Web-Based Data Logger Chosen to Verify Performance of New Geothermal System
The top 500 ft of the earth stores heat from solar radiation. While the temperature of the top 30 of those feet changes with the seasons, below 30 ft,...
New High School's Hybrid HVAC System Features Single-Pipe Hydronic System
Built in 1938, Waterloo High School in Waterloo, Ill., part of Waterloo Community Unit School District No. 5, had become seriously overcrowded. In 2006,...
Web-Based, Multiprotocol BAS, LONMARK Controllers Prescribed for Health System
Established in 1888, St. Vincent Health System in central Arkansas had grown around a core of aged buildings and infrastructure. Many critical areas had...
Boarding School Minimizing Energy Use, Optimizing System Performance
Founded in 1891, The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., consists of 50 buildings over 810 acres. In addition to more than 30 residential buildings...
With Help of Water-Source Heat Pumps, Historic Minneapolis Building Reborn
Completed in 1928, Midtown Exchange in south Minneapolis served as a retail and distribution center for Sears, Roebuck and Co. until closing in 1994....
CFD Aids School Districts' Utilization of Thermal Displacement Ventilation
School districts in Southern California are looking to increase the number of their schools that have air conditioning in an attempt to improve learning...
California Hospital Conserves Water With Non-Chemical Treatment System
In response to stricter effluent regulations, the 107-bed Pomerado Hospital in Poway, Calif., was looking for an alternative to the traditional chemicals it was using to treat scale, corrosion, and bacteria in its 600-ton cooling tower. After examining options from several vendors, the hospital chose a non-chemical treatment system from VRTX Technologies....
Design Solutions: Heavy-Duty Ultralow-NOx Boilers Chosen for Resort's Central Plant
Deemed the ninth-largest private construction project in California by California Construction magazine, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians' $350 million transformation of Agua Caliente Casino into a luxury resort included the addition of a hotel tower with 340 guest rooms, a spa, a pool and cabana complex, and a state-of-the-art conference center. In late 2008/early 2009, a 2,000-seat entertainment venue will open. ...
Split-Ductless Cooling, Heating Helps Architect Firm Put Best Foot Forward
When we started designing our own headquarters several years ago, we knew that it was imperative for this building to exemplify sustainable, green-friendly...
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