The Anthracite Chapter

NEWS April 2016

ASHRAE - Shaping Tomorrow’s Built Environment Today

2015-2016 OFFICERS & CHAIRS President: Rich Karns rkarns@sordoni.com (570) 287-3161 x210 President-Elect: Alyssa Procida alyssa.procida@irco.com (570) 821-4923 Vice-President Eric Turner eftdd@aol.com Treasurer: Jon Keller jon@jfohora.com (570) 342-7778 Secretary & Research Promotion Chair: Maxwell Tamasy mtamasy@smartwattinc.com (724) 797-4908 Board of Governors: Dan Mello: (570) 288-8759 Board of Governors & Student Activities Chair: Tracey Jumper tjumper@smartwattinc.com (570) 471-3480 Board of Governors & Chapter Technology Transfer Chair: Matt Archey, PE marchey@borton-lawson.com (570) 821-1994 x1257 Grassroots Government Activities Chair: A.J. Speicher, PE aspeicher@borton-lawson.com (570) 821-1994 x 303 Historian & Newsletter Editor: Walt Janus, PE wjanus@gpinet.com (570) 342-3700 x5915 Membership Promotion Chair: Gary Booth booth@epix.net (570) 814-0042 Research Promotion Co-Chair: Cory Lock clock@genairesys.com (215) 348-1497 Website Homepage Editor: Karl Grasso kgrasso@anemostat.com (570) 562-2778 Young Engineers in ASHRAE Chair: Walt Stout wstout@borton-lawson.com (570) 821-1994 x1512

President’s Message It is hard to believe it is April already! I am nearing the end of my tenure as Chapter President. With last month’s election in the books, I will be announcing at the April meeting the names of the Officers and Board of Governors members that will be serving the Chapter for the 2016-2017 session. Thank you to all of the voters. And thanks to all of those volunteering. Your participation will ensure that our chapter will remain strong for years to come. On April 21 your chapter will be hosting the live ASHRAE webcast of “Making Net Zero Net Positive – Solving the Efficiency and Cost Paradox”. Please take advantage of the opportunity to participate in this Chapter endeavor, and earn 3 PDH credits at the same time. Matt Archey and his committee members have planned a great program and a great venue for this event. Details are included in this issue of the Anthracite Chapter News. We hope to have a big turn out to this very important event. If your firm would be willing to help sponsor the event, please contact Matt Archey. The theme of this month’s meeting is Student Activities. The Wilkes University Student Branch has had limited involvement with our chapter over this past year. We expect that to change in the next session. In support of the Student Chapter, Tracey Jumper, our Student Activities Committee Chairman, has asked members to contact her to share stories of their own student branch experiences. Sharing these stories with the Student Chapter will show how members have been impacted by their own student involvement. Continued on page 3

Chapter Website: http://anthracite.ashraechapters.org

ASHRAE ANTHRACITE CHAPTER MEETING

Tuesday April 19, 2016

HVAC Control Strategies

Presented by

A.J. Speicher, PE, CCP

A.J. Speicher has over 18 years of HVAC, process mechanical, building automation controls, facility engineering design, commissioning and construction experience. He presently serves as the Buildings Construction / Operations Service Leader for Borton‐Lawson, a full service architecture/engineering firm with offices in Wilkes‐Barre, Bethlehem, State College, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Prior to joining Borton‐Lawson, A.J. was a Project Manager for Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. in Blue Bell, PA focusing on the design and installation of building automation control systems, primarily for pharmaceutical clients. A.J. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University. He is a Certified Commissioning Provider (CCP), registered professional engineer (Pennsylvania, Virginia, Missouri, Massachusetts), a Certified Energy Manager and a LEED Green Associate. A.J. is also a member of the Building Commissioning Association (BCA), the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) and the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). He was a Past President of the Anthracite Chapter of ASHRAE and is currently the President of the National Capital Chapter of the Building Commissioning Association. A.J. will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of controls and control strategies used in comfort HVAC systems.

A Certificate of Attendance will be available at the registration table Location: Rodano’s

53 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 (570) 829-6444

Schedule: 5:00-5:45 p.m. Business Meeting (All are Welcome) 5:30-6:30 p.m. Social Hour (Cash Bar) 6:00-6:30 p.m. Program Registration 6:30-7:15 p.m. Dinner (Buffet) 7:15-8:30 p.m. Technical Presentation Cost: $ 30.00 per person FREE for Students (ASHRAE Members are encouraged to sponsor Students)

Only If You Are Planning to Attend Please Respond by NOON on FRIDAY April 15, 2016 to Walt Janus at (570) 342-3700 Ext. 286 or via e-mail at wjanus@gpinet.com

NEWS and Notes President’s Message, Continued Finally, once again I am appealing to our loyal members to invite coworkers from you firms to attend this meeting, as well as future meetings. It is a great way to meet the people that you are associated with one way or another in the HVAC field and hopefully they may even learn something valuable. When you bring these new faces to our meetings, please introduce them to me and our board members. We are always excited to meet them. See you at the meeting.

Rich Karns Attend the ASHRAE Webinar at Mohegan Sun April 21st

The Anthracite Chapter will be hosting the ASHRAE webcast at Ruth’s Chris at Mohegan Sun, including a free lunch prior to the program, and a free social hour following. Full details are on the following page. Space is limited, and RSVPs are due to c134cttc@ashrae.net by April 14th. If you cannot attend the Chapter event, you can still participate online. The webcast will broadcast live from 1:00 to 4:00 pm EDT. To register, or for more information on the webcast program, continuing education credits, and ASHRAE resources related to net zero, visit www.ashrae.org/webcast. Mark A. Hagan PE Memorial Golf Outing Scheduled for June 21st Details have been set for the Chapter’s annual golf outing to be held at Blue Ridge Trail Golf Club in Mountaintop. Full details and a registration form will follow via a separate e-mail. Hope to see you there! Technology Corner The reprint article “Optimizing Building Controls During Commissioning” is included at the end of this month’s edition of the NEWS, and is courtesy of the ASHRAE Journal. You may submit articles for consideration to be included in future editions to CTTC chair Matt Archey. Post Job Openings in the NEWS Looking for qualified people to fill a position in your organization? You may post industry-related openings in the NEWS and on our website for a donation of $40 per month. For more information contact Walt Janus.

www.ashrae.org/webcast 

2016 ASHRAE WEBCAST MAKING NET ZERO NET POSITIVE:

SOLVING THE EFFICIENCY & COST PARADOX Where:  Ruth’s Chris at Mohegan Sun, Wilkes‐Barre When:    April 21, 2016, 1pm‐4pm       FREE Lunch served at noon       FREE Social a er the webcast RSVP: c134c c@ashrae.net by April 14, 2016       50 seats available on a first come basis 

Reasons to A end  Cons 

Outstanding topic 

Free PDHs (AIA & USGBC) 

Free lunch   

Free social    

Free WiFi   

Free slot play voucher   

None that we can think of… 

see you there!  

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS! 

Thanks to Our Sponsors

The display of business cards in the NEWS recognizes the financial support of the Chapter by the individual or business and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by ASHRAE or the Anthracite Chapter.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

The display of business cards in the NEWS recognizes the financial support of the Chapter by the individual or business and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by ASHRAE or the Anthracite Chapter.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

The display of business cards in the NEWS recognizes the financial support of the Chapter by the individual or business and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by ASHRAE or the Anthracite Chapter.

ANTHRACITE CHAPTER NEWS Walt Janus, Editor c/o Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. 50 Glenmaura National Blvd, Suite 102 Scranton, PA 18505

ASHRAE MISSION

• To advance the arts and sciences of heating, ventilating, air conditioning and

refrigerating to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.

ASHRAE VISION

• ASHRAE will be the global leader, the foremost source of technical and educational

information, and the primary provider of opportunity for professional growth in the arts

and sciences of heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigerating.

2014-15 Matt Archey 2005-06 Manish Patel 1996-97 Charlie Smith 1987-88 Ray Suhocki 2013-14 Matt Archey 2004-05 A.J. Lello 1995-96 Chuck Swinderman 1986-87 Jerry Peznowski 2012-13 Tracey Jumper 2003-04 Dennis Gochoel 1994-95 John Walker 1985-86 Lee Garing 2011-12 A.J. Speicher 2002-03 Phil Latinski 1993-94 Dennis McGraw 1984-85 Spence Martin 2010-11 Tom Swartwood 2001-02 Mike Moran 1992-93 Scott Harford 1983-84 Donald Brandt 2009-10 Brian Flynn 2000-01 Dennis Gochoel 1991-92 Dan Mello 1982-83 Rich Santee 2008-09 Eric Zanolini 1999-00 John Durdan 1990-91 Mark Hagen 1981-82 Bob Mugford 2007-08 Walt Janus 1998-99 Matthew Martin 1989-90 Paul Dreater 1980-81 Kerry Freeman 2006-07 John Havenstrite 1997-98 Dean Butler 1988-89 Bud Reilly

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ANTHRACITE CHAPTER 2015-2016 MEETINGS & EVENTS

Date Theme Program Speaker

Sept. 15 Membership/Bring-a-Buddy

Joint Meeting with AIA

Geisinger Clinic Tour / Building Performance Analysis for Building Performance Rating Tools

M. Dennis Knight*

Oct. 20 Research Promotion –

Donor Recognition

Heating Applications with Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Technology

Phil Latinski

Nov. 17 Students/YEA Building Information Modeling (BIM) Michael Brown

December Family Night No Meeting --

Jan. 19 Research Promotion Hybrid Heating Plant Design Luke Wonnell

Feb. 16 Engineer’s Week

Joint Meeting with PSPE

Basic Electricity Theory and Safety for Non-EEs

Mark Rutkowski

Mar. 15 Nominating Night

Joint Meeting w/SMACNA Through-Penetration Firestop Systems Richard Walke

April 19 Students/Membership HVAC Control Strategies A.J. Speicher

April 21 ASHRAE Webinar Making Net Zero Net Positive:

Solving the Efficiency & Cost Paradox Panel

May 17 Past-Presidents

Joint Meeting with ASHE Infection Control in HVAC Systems Bill Bahnfleth**

June 21 Fun & Fellowship Mark A. Hagan, PE Memorial Golf Tournament --

Aug. 18-20 Chapters Regional Conf. 2016 Region III CRC - Philadelphia, PA --

*ASHRAE Fellow and Distinguished Lecturer **ASHRAE Presidential Member and Distinguished Lecturer

ASHRAE Learning Institute

2016 Spring Online Course Series

HVAC Design: Level I – Essentials - Registration is $1,264 ($1,009 ASHRAE Member)

Gain practical skills and knowledge in designing and maintaining HVAC systems that can be put to immediate use. The training provides real-world examples of HVAC systems, including calculations of heating and cooling loads, ventilation and diffuser selection using the newly renovated ASHRAE Headquarters building as a living lab.

HVAC Design: Level II – Applications - Registration is $854 ($699 ASHRAE Member)

HVAC Design: Level II — Applications provides instruction on HVAC system design for experienced HVAC designers and those who complete the HVAC Design: Level I – Essentials training. The training provides information that allows practicing engineers and designers an opportunity to expand their exposure to HVAC systems design procedures for a better understanding of system options to save energy.

Visit www.ashrae.org/hvactraining to register.

ASHRAE HVAC Design Training 2 Courses, 5 Days of Intense Instruction

Atlanta ● Cleveland ● Halifax ● Hong Kong ● Kuala Lumpur

Miami ● Minneapolis ● San Francisco ● Vancouver

2 WAYS TO REGISTER Take 3 or more courses and save 15% off registration! Internet: www.ashrae.org/onlinecourses Phone: Call toll-free at 1-800-527-4723 (US and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) Price: $284 ($219 ASHRAE Member); Two-part courses: $484 ($359 ASHRAE Member)

Note: You may register up to 24 hours prior to an online course. Courses are in US Eastern Time.

Combined Heat & Power: Creating Efficiency through Design & Operations Mon, March 28, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm EDT Commissioning Process & Standard 202 Wed, March 30, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT IT Equipment Design Evolution & Data Center Operation Optimization Wed, April 6, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT Complying with Standard 90.1-2013: HVAC/Mechanical Wed, April 13, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT Laboratory Design: The Basics and Beyond Mon, April 18, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT

Standard 188-2015 – Successfully Managing the Risk of Legionellosis Mon, April 25, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT

Air-to-Air Energy Recovery Applications: Best Practices Wed, April 27, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT Fundamental Requirements of Standard 62.1-2013 Mon, May 2, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT

Variable Refrigerant Flow System Design & Applications Mon, May 16, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EST The following courses are comprised of two parts. Registrants must attend both parts in order to receive CEU/PDH credits.

Exceeding Standard 90.1-2013 to Meet LEED® Requirements Part 1: Mon, April 11, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT Part 2: Wed, April 20, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT

Operations & Maintenance of High-Performance Buildings Part 1: Tue, May 17, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT Part 2: Wed, May 18, 2016 – 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, EDT

22 ASHRAE Jou rna l ash rae .o rg D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0

Building owners, contractors, design engineers, and commissioning

teams expend huge efforts (and project resources) on verifying

component compatibility with control specifications, basic on/off control

features, and performance at peak design conditions. However, these

systems often are not optimized for a typical operating condition. In a

health-care facility, optimizing building controls is the leading oppor-

tunity for reducing energy expenditures.*

Specific best practices and lessons learned from the recently completed $1 billion expansion project by Me-morial Hermann Healthcare System in the Houston metropolitan area (see the section “Case Study”) highlight the fol-lowing key HVAC and building control features that are required (but not often delivered) at occupancy:

• Simplified HVAC system compo-

nent time of day (TOD) occupancy scheduling via graphical templates.

• Intuitive air-handler cold deck dis-charge temperature reset schedules or more complex dynamic pro-grams for constant changes based on outside air and/or system load conditions. Care must be given when establishing reset triggers. Poorly chosen parameters will lead

to an atypical zone driving the reset parameter to a minimum or maxi-mum value and, therefore, negate any possible energy savings.

• Air terminal reheat flow control sequence templates with prees-tablished (default) dead bands and seasonal lockout triggers to mini-mize the occurrence of simultane-ous heating/cooling.

• Administrative and support ser-vice area night setback strategies for air terminal units and air han-dlers.

• Basic totalizing central plant HVAC distribution metering to segregate, log, and diagnose con-sumption patterns via appropri-

About the AuthorsMichael A. Hatton is the system executive for Me-morial Hermann in Houston. Tim Sullivan, P.E., is a senior mechanical engineer with Smith Seckman Reid in Houston. Larry Newlands, manager of energy systems for Memorial Hermann, is with CB Richard Ellis in Houston.

By Michael A. Hatton, Associate Member ASHRAE; Tim Sullivan, P.E., Member ASHRAE; Larry Newlands

*Although this article focuses on health-care buildings, the concepts apply to other building types.

Optimizing Building ControlsDuring Commissioning

This article was published in ASHRAE Journal, December 2010. Copyright 2010 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. Posted at www.ashrae.org. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE. For more information about ASHRAE Journal, visit www.ashrae.org.

December 2010 ASHRAE Jou rna l 23

ate trends while using preestablished, yet customizable trend log templates resident in the building control sys-tem (BCS).

• Common diagnostic exception report templates to quickly query the BCS for overridden and out of range/failed data points (versus the laborious task of reviewing multi-thousand system points daily).

These focus areas clearly follow the conclusions and rec-ommendations required to optimize a hospital’s HVAC energy expenditures.1-3

When commissioning and verifying key testing, adjust-ing and balancing (TAB) outcomes for building systems, it is mandatory as a best practice to ensure that the previous-ly mentioned control features are fully functional via trend graphs and statistical sampling of field equipment. More im-portantly, these tools should be resident in the BCS operator interface and subsequent dashboards established for continu-ous monitoring.

These dashboards should contain the main setpoints and operating conditions of key systems and energy cost driver components such as air distribution, reheat, chillers, and cool-ing towers. This allows the facility operators to have a quick reference point for verification that the systems are operating within intended parameters.

We suggest that while specifications may include phrases such as “shall be capable of ” and “shall operate over the full range of,” these are not the ultimate parameters for compo-

nents such as local thermostats and operator overrides of criti-cal flows, static pressure, and other HVAC features after oc-cupancy.

The human comfort temperature/humidity ranges are well documented in our industry.4 Therefore, we need to ask “do the majority of hospital patient rooms, common areas, and procedure rooms really require a 20 degree range of local control?” Adequate dead bands designed to limit simultaneous heating and cooling (in all seasons) should be a default setting with air terminal controllers. The com-missioning and controls teams should choose to deviate from this key energy optimization feature only in the small percentage of hospital spaces that truly require localized temperature variation.

Commissioning and recommissioning expenditures must be used to set up the HVAC controls in a health-care facility for optimization over both most likely seasonal swings (based upon latitude), as well as to confirm the design team’s peak performance parameters.

To maximize the return on commissioning expenditures, consider focusing the commissioning team’s scope on thor-oughly reviewing key submittals and pre-functional check-lists only for large, critical equipment and a sampling of other equipment less prone to defects. If discrepancies are found in the percentage reviewed, the remainder of the submittals or equipment must be reviewed. This cost should be funded by the contractor (and enforced by the project team).

Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center Campus is a 2.4 million ft2 Level 1 Trauma Center, and home of Life Flight Operations.

24 ASHRAE Jou rna l ash rae .o rg D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0

Reducing the commissioning em-phasis in these areas frees up ad-ditional effort (and commissioning fees) that are available for review of the HVAC system function as a whole. Therefore, additional focus is avail-able to review and adjust the system when the spaces are fully occupied, which is important because the equip-ment often performs differently after occupancy.

This is also the ideal time to optimize the field-determined setpoints for dif-ferential pressures on pumping systems and static pressure setpoints for air han-dlers. This is best completed after TAB and occupancy.

In summary, commissioning agents often spend limited project dollars triple checking the obvious component level items, rather than focusing on key en-ergy cost drivers (systems) that directly impact a hospital’s future energy expen-ditures.

Parallel with commissioning and re-commissioning efforts, the owner must dedicate resources and ensure a senior level focus on maintaining energy op-timization efforts. Memorial Hermann (see “Case Study” in the next section) refined this focus by:

• Internal benchmarking of each

Figure 1a (top): District energy hospital facility ton hours/week over week. Figure 1b (bottom): District energy hospital facility steam/week over week.

25,000

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campus with its peers and external benchmarking with the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. This has been accomplished with both in-house personnel and outside consultants when required.

• Holding regular energy meetings at each facility to review current trends, rankings, and next steps (goal setting) for optimization that are specific to that loca-tion.

• Training staff on intended design operation of systems, and dedicating time for operator focus on energy man-agement responsibilities.

• Providing staff feedback on how their specific actions affect the facility’s energy use using regular reporting of the facility’s year over year consumption. (The fig-ures in this article were originally produced for this purpose.)

Case Study As an owner/operator with more than 6.5 million ft2 (603

870 m2) of hospital facilities in the metropolitan Houston area, Memorial Hermann’s focus on addressing energy opti-mization since 2008 has resulted in decreasing overall energy consumption (Btu/ft2 [J/m2]) by greater than 11% at its 13

hospital facility portfolio. Those facilities specifically targeted by this multidisciplinary test and tune initiative have reduced consumption by as much as 35%.

Our first large-scale effort at commissioning and retro-commissioning at Memorial Hermann is similar to that de-scribed by Brambley and Katipamula.5 Typical focus areas were water and airside re-balancing, controls optimization strategy implementation, and sensor calibration and replace-ment. In addition, three of the existing facilities required emissions-mandated capital expenditures for new condens-ing heating boilers, which dramatically improved energy ef-ficiencies. The results of these efforts also were reflected and accounted for in the external benchmarking process through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, which tracks his-torical changes in both facility and portfolio outcomes.

One example of a commissioning project is a recently com-pleted specialty hospital that is provided with chilled water and steam services from a central utility district. During its first year of operation, benchmarking ranked it as the least energy-efficient facility in Memorial Hermann’s portfolio. Al-though this project was methodically commissioned, schedule constraints created by a mid-project doubling in size resulted in a challenging start-up period.

26 ASHRAE Jou rna l ash rae .o rg D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 0

Through a methodical and selective recommissioning effort, many BCS and operational items were optimized, re-sulting in stable operation and greatly reduced energy use versus the first year of operation. This hospital has experi-enced a greater than 23% reduction in chilled water consumption while using 50% less steam during recent summer periods as compared to the same period in 2009 (Figure 1, Page 24). Conversely, during identical winter periods the facil-ity used 65% less chilled water and 37% less steam (Figure 2).

For the year, this hospital used 23% less chilled water for the period from September 2009 to September 2010 while experiencing a 44% reduction in steam consumption during the same period (Figure 3). Although we did not attempt to normalize the comparison for year over year weather data (heat-ing degree-days/cooling degree-days), clearly this facility has been optimized given these dramatic changes.

The team implemented several key HVAC optimization strategies includ-ing reset schedules for air-handler discharge air temperature, air-handler static pressure, water side pressure differentials, and reheat loop tempera-tures. Temperature settings in common areas were set at pre-established pa-rameters and programmed via the BCS while patient areas requiring individual control were set up to enable minimal localized adjustment capability with larger dead bands. It appears that the largest gain in efficiency resulted from re-balancing terminal unit minimum airflows to the lowest (prudent) code al-lowable level based on air change rates and outside air quantities as calculated by the design team.

Operating room temperature and flow reset schedules, previously an un-touchable topic, did not initially func-tion as designed with an occupancy sensor trigger. After implementing control algorithms that evaluated space temperature, outside air conditions, humidity, and time of day, the resul-tant operating room setbacks success-fully achieved their goal of reducing both airflow and corresponding reduc-

16,000

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11,234

3,800 3,410 3,920 4,130 4,590 4,200 4,460

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47,352 42,952

Feb. 09 Week 4 Feb. 10 Week 4p

Figure 2a (top): District energy hospital facility ton hours/week over week. Figure 2b (bottom): District energy hospital facility steam/week over week.

Figure 3a (top): District energy hospital facility ton hours/Oct. 09 to Sept. 10 over Oct. 08 to Sept. 09. Figure 3b (bottom): District energy hospital facility steam/Oct. 09 to Sept. 10 over Oct. 08 to Sept. 09.

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of the previous year.

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period of the previous year.

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Oct. 08 to Sept. 09 Oct. 09 to Sept. 10

December 2 010 ASHRAEJou rna l 27

tions in both heating and cooling loads during unoccupied hours of operation (nights/weekends).

As a result of the previously refer-enced testing/tuning, current building energy use has been reduced 15% from its first year of operation and is improv-ing with each period. An unanticipated benefit of the HVAC optimization is that hot and cold calls (i.e., customer work requests) have been virtually eliminated within this facility, resulting in greater patient satisfaction and more efficient use of building operations staff for pre-ventive maintenance activities.

tablished in the BCS with “dashboard” graphics to facilitate review of key data. Data presented on a current versus prior period comparison must be part of any BCS graphical pack-age using spreadsheet-style functions. The owner and operator can more rapidly observe deviations from prior periods and correct them during start-up and future periods of operation.

Project teams may want to consider allocating project funds for the post-occupancy period, which would provide for addi-tional design team, commissioning and TAB services later in the first year of occupancy. This would facilitate review of key system trends to enable further HVAC system optimization with the building in its fully functional state. Having these key dashboard deliverables fully functional at facility start-up/oc-cupancy will enable owners and commissioning professionals to more quickly discover trends and system deficiencies and provide a financial return from reduced energy expenditure in year one.

AcknowledgmentsThanks to Commercial Ventilation Systems, Siemens, John-

son Controls Inc., SSR Cx, Wylie Consulting Engineers, and Systems Commissioning Inc. for their assistance in the bench-marking, commissioning and peer review of the facilities and discussions in this article.

References1. Hanlon, T., P.D. Tinsley, P.E. Stanley. 2010. “Hospital retrocom-

missioning.” ASHRAE Journal 52(5):46 – 48.2. Hatton, M.A. 2010. “Energy use in healthcare: improving your

bottom line via internal and external benchmarking.” Proceedings American Society of Healthcare Engineers.

3. ASHRAE. 2009 Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities: Achieving 30% Energy Savings Toward a Net Zero Energy Building.

4. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.

5. Brambley, M.R., S. Katipamula. 2009. Commercial Building retuning: a low cost way to improve energy performance.” ASHRAE Journal 51(10):12 – 23.

6. Klaczek, W., et al. 2004. “ASHRAE Research Project 1137: Field Performance Assessment of VAV Control Systems Before and After Commissioning: Final Report to ASHRAE.”

Figure 4: District energy hospital facility ton hours/week over week.

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The item with the greatest energy impact addressed by the team related to the calibration of the terminal unit sensors, flow calibration, and direct digital control (DDC) system parameters. This correlates with Klaczek, et al., who found that “the great majority of improvements made to the exist-ing HVAC systems have been through the DDC re-calibration parameters.”6

Process improvements were also implemented regarding HVAC system operations for the maintenance personnel at this facility. Field staff are no longer allowed to make adjust-ments to the main settings on HVAC equipment without ap-proval from one of two supervisors. This enables the BCS to automatically control the systems in the most efficient manner.

This change was prompted by review of chilled water use trends that displayed a large variation in tonnage that could not be correlated to either a weather or system event. Trending allowed the project team to more quickly notice the issue and correct it. It also allowed the supervisory team to coach their staff on the unintended consequences of making adjustments to system setpoints; i.e., the increase in chilled water con-sumption would set a new peak, establishing a higher district energy demand charge for the next year (Figure 4).

ConclusionsASHRAE notes that “the average hospital in North America

consumes nearly 250% more energy than the average com-mercial building.”3 Given this statement and understanding that commissioning is accepted as a standard line item of a health-care facility project budget, project teams should ensure the targeted expenditure of their efforts maximizes the long-term energy performance of the project. Building owners and proj-ect teams should establish energy and benchmark goals in the owner’s project requirements at the start of the project.

While overall utility cost per square foot is directly correlated to consumption patterns and commodity cost, benchmarking facilities on total energy consumption and understanding its en-ergy subcategories (cost drivers) is mandatory to ensure wise expenditures of commissioning and test/tune/balance fees.

Utility production and distribution systems should have consumption metering installed and appropriate trends es-