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Retro-commissioning and the Importance of Facilities
Maintenance Personnel: Connecting the "Head" with the
"Hands"
Geoffrey C. Bell, P.E., Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's (LBNL) Advanced Light Source
(ALS) is a national multi-user facility that generates intense "light"
for scientific and technological research. To produce this light
(i.e., ultraviolet and soft x-ray beams of specific wavelengths
and brightness) a very large and highly specialized machine was
constructed. Its largest component, the storage ring, has a diameter
two-thirds the length of a football field. Small changes in ALS's
interior temperature cause the storage-ring beam pipe to expand
and contract, lengthening or shortening the path of the electrons
in the beam-line and, consequently, change their arrival times at
the experimental research points. Therefore, temperatures in the
ALS facility are carefully monitored and controlled by highly complex
space and process conditioning systems.
Since the "mission" drives the energy use in the ALS
facility, necessarily "tight" temperature constraints
are continuously monitored and controlled. Adding to this complicated
situation, a continuous stream of new researchers and their experiments
keep the facility in a constant state of flux. Therefore, to better
manage energy-use to fulfill the mission, a comprehensive retro-commissioning
(Retro-Cx) was warranted.
With funding support from the DOE's Departmental Energy Management
Program (DEMP) Model Program, a Retro-Cx study has revealed many
opportunities for re-tuning conditioning systems and adjusting their
interrelationships that have reduced overall energy-use and helped
"right-size" a replacement chiller. This data will be
presented.
Labs21 Connection:
A variety of resources were garnered to ensure success of the Retro-Cx
project at the ALS. Importantly, the Retro-Cx team began with high-level
meetings with the facility's "owner" to develop a plan
for the Retro-Cx study to support the ALS's mission. However, executing
an effective Retro-Cx program depends directly on the skill and
commitment of the facility's technicians and staff. Their "real
world" experience and understanding of the conditioning systems
operation and performance can be either a detriment or a benefit
in tuning, adjusting, and resolving HVAC problems and interrelationships
during a Retro-Cx project. LBNL is very fortunate have a dedicated
cadre of technicians and staff, as indicated by HVAC energy reductions
of up to 30 percent.
Biography:
Geoffrey C. Bell is an Energy Engineer in the Environmental
Energy Technology Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(LBNL). He is credited with a number of publications, including
serving as a principal author of the Design Guide for Energy-Efficient
Laboratories. This publication is intended to assist facility owners,
architects, engineers, designers, facility managers, and utility
energy-management specialists in identifying and applying advanced
energy-efficiency features in laboratory-type environments. Mr.
Bell is a Certified State Energy Auditor in New Mexico and a Registered
Professional Engineer in both New Mexico and California. He has
served as an investigator for the U.S. Department of Energy, a teacher
at the University of New Mexico, and an energy engineer contractor
to Sandia Corporation in addition to various other mechanical engineering
consulting positions. Mr. Bell received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering
from Newark College of Engineering and a Masters of Architecture
in Environmental Design from the University of Mexico.
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