Case Study: Airside's Impact on Carbon Reduction and Electrification

Walt King, Thrive Inc.

The time is now to address decarbonization and prevent exceeding the 1.5°C threshold. Lab buildings are a large source of energy and carbon reduction opportunity to reach stated goals. A top 15 life sciences company deployed an "efficiency first" airside optimization programs in six of their labs and is receiving $900,000 in annual energy savings; every $1 invested in airside optimization will generate a five-time return on investment on future decarbonization efforts in just five years. This case study will be shared with details on airside's impact on electrification, along with how and why an "efficiency first" approach should be taken in other research facilities.

Learning Objectives

• Understand why decarbonization efforts should take an "efficiency first" approach;
• Learn the correlation between the amount invested in airside optimization and savings on future decarbonization projects;
• Learn which airside optimization measures resulted in $900,000 annual energy savings; and
• Understand how a project similar to the case study can have even more savings when accounting for cost of carbon.

Biography:

Walt is has spent nearly 10 years in the building controls industry and specializes in lab airside optimization programs. He has spent nine years with Aircuity and is also Operating Manager with Thrive Building Solutions providing turnkey decarbonization programs for research facilities. Walt has a B.S. and B.A. from Carnegie Melon University.

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