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Just Say No to Reheat
Peter Rumsey, P.E., Rumsey
Engineers
Dale Sartor, P.E., Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory
Unnecessary reheat is common in conventional HVAC design for laboratories
(as well as for many other building types) for many reasons:
- It's a simple traditional design practice from earlier decades
when energy costs were not as crucial as they are today.
- HVAC in laboratories has traditionally been concerned only with
life safety functions; it's often difficult to plan for future
expansion or diversity of uses in laboratories, so designers often
oversize equipment and specify redundant systems in an attempt
to accommodate future needs.
- Typical "rule of thumb" setpoints used by designers
needlessly cool outside air to temperatures that require reheat.
Reheat results in significant inefficient energy use in labs, and
can comprise 10 to 30 percent of total HVAC energy. There are many
valuable design techniques and technologies for eliminating or reducing
reheat, but few are in common practice. Some significant new labs
have been built recently using design strategies that eliminate
reheat. Two of these will be highlighted in our presentation: the
Science and Engineering Building at University of California, Merced
in Merced, California, and the University of California, Davis Tahoe
Center for Environmental Sciences building in Incline Village, Nevada.
Labs21 Connection:
Eliminating reheat in labs presents a very feasible "first
resort" approach to energy savings for many laboratories because
of the high energy requirements of most labs and the high potential
for savings from relatively cost-effective measures. Eliminating
reheat by moving conditioning capability closer to the lab can allow
for a significant reduction in outside air ventilation and exhaust
volumes. Reheat elimination also has the potential to lower construction
costs in new laboratories or retrofits, because less equipment needs
to be specified and installed. Several design approaches also allow
a more modular build out of laboratory space HVAC, increasing the
future flexibility of the space, which is crucial to optimizing
the long term function of labs. Reheat elimination is an emerging
design strategy with many examples of built projects that have proven
energy efficiency gains.
Our presentation will present reheat elimination as a design strategy
for laboratories that minimizes environmental impacts through lower
energy use; promotes thinking of laboratory design in terms of whole-building
efficiency; has a positive impact on health and safety concerns;
and provides many examples of best practice solutions that can become
standard design practices.
Biographies:
Peter Rumsey, P.E., Principal, as Founder and President
of Rumsey Engineers, Inc., Peter is a global player in energy-efficient
design, with more than 25 years of experience in a broad range of
scientific, government, and private-sector projects. His expertise
includes design of efficient HVAC systems and energy monitoring
systems in commercial buildings and critical environments, management
of project teams, and analysis of design options using computer
simulation tools. One of Rumsey's projects, the Missouri Department
of Natural Resources building in Jefferson City, Missouri, was recently
awarded a LEED® Platinum rating by the U.S. Green Building Council
(USGBC), one of only 16 LEED Platinum buildings in the U.S.
Peter has published extensively on energy efficiency and HVAC issues,
and contributes a regular column on energy efficiency issues to
Environmental Design and Construction Magazine. Before founding
Rumsey Engineers, he held engineering and management positions at
Sol*Arc Architects, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, XENERGY
Energy Consultants, the International Institute for Energy Conservation,
and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
Peter is the recipient of many awards, including the 2005 American
Institute of Architects California Council Affiliated Professions
Honor Award; the 2002 Energy Engineer of the Year Award from the
Bay Area chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE); National
Technology Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating,
and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); and CIO Magazine's Top
100 Nationwide Innovators Award.
Peter has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University
of California, Berkeley, and is a registered mechanical engineer
in 11 states, including California, Arizona, and Texas. He is a
certified energy manager and an active member of ASHRAE and AEE.
The AEE San Francisco Bay Area Chapter named Peter Energy Engineer
of the Year in 2001.
Dale Sartor, P.E., heads the Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) Building Technologies Applications
Team which assists in the transfer of new and underutilized technology
through project focused multi-disciplinary teams. Mr. Sartor has
an A.B. in Architecture, and a Masters in Business Administration.
He is a licensed mechanical engineer, and a licensed general building
contractor. He has over 30 years of professional experience in energy
efficiency and renewable energy applications including 10 years
as a principal of an architecture and engineering company, and 7
years as the head of LBL's In-House Energy Management Program. Mr.
Sartor is an active volunteer in professional organizations, and
lectures extensively. Dale serves on the core team for the Labs21
program and manages a research and development program at LBNL focused
on energy efficiency in buildings for high tech industries (i.e.,
laboratories, cleanrooms, and data centers).
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