Smart Building Design—Five Energy-Saving Conventions
Joseph Limpert, Affiliated Engineers, Inc.
Scott Gassen, The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
The University of Florida biomedical sciences building is a 163,000-square-foot (sq. ft.) LEED® Gold multidisciplinary reaserch building. The contractor, Whiting-Turner (Scott Gassen), the owner, University of Florida (Faranarz Javaheri), the architect HuntonBrady (Jennifer Melton), the engineer, affiliated engineers (Joseph Limpert) will present five energy-saving conventions as follows:
1) Multi-State Vivarium Control – A customized animal room control console allows for the animal room airflow to be tailored to the needs of the rodents (mice or rats) housed in the animal racks, as well the humans servicing the rooms. The five set points, controllable from the building automation system are as follows:
2) Process Demand HVAC Controls – All laboratories within the building operate on VAV and occupied and unoccupied airflow systems. However, rooms with autoclaves, glass washers, tunnel washer, and cage wash use control system output from equipment to change the state of the room from occupied to unoccupied. Laboratories within the building change state based on occupancy. This system has the ability to save energy when systems are not in use.
3) Recirculation of conditioned air in laboratories – Cooling demand for this laboratory was driven by the climate of central Florida. In lieu of increasing air changes per hour to mitigate the heat load, the team used supplemental re-circulating cooling systems at the perimeter of the building to overcome the heat load imposed by the climate.
4) Strategic placement of laboratory equipment in concentrated areas for HVAC Demand – We will illustrate the heat load generated by laboratory equipment as compared to the space occupied and HVAC requirements to mitigate this load. By locating equipment in small concentrations the building HAVC system is able to remove heat with accelerated air changes in a smaller volume saving energy required to evacuate air in larger open laboratories.
5) Enterprise reporting system and control point monitoring – The biomedical sciences building control system captures and archives almost 40,000 building automation commands and conditions every five minutes. The database built by the building constantly allows for detailed reporting and understanding of the building's performance. The team will use data collected from the enterprise reporting system to demonstrate the savings generated from these conventions during the building's first year of occupancy. The presentation team will provide metrics relative to building performance, goals, and outcome as the building finishes its first year in service. Alternate energy-conservation options not implemented such as enthalpy wheels and loop heat exchanger systems will also be briefly discussed.
Biographies:
Joseph A. Limpert, a PE in principal laboratory engineering, is a managing principal and market leader for the research and development group in Affiliated Engineers, Inc. Gainesville, Florida office. He has developed the special capability of programming and planning mechanical and electrical systems for research facilities and translating the program requirements into system designs. Mr. Limpert is a highly regarded expert in specialized designs to improve system control, flexibility, and economy. He is active professionally and has lectured at numerous industry conferences, addressing sophisticated laboratory facility design. Project experience includes research and development facilities for public and private entities, barrier and containment facilities, clean room production facilities, academic research centers and institutes, and schools for veterinary medicine.
Scott Gassen is a project manager in the life sciences industry for Whiting-Turner, a $3 billion per year commercial, institutional, and industrial construction services firm. Founded in 1909, the company is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and has 18 offices nationwide. Mr. Gassen is responsible for project management for complex life sciences projects, specifically, constructability, budgeting, scheduling, and coordination for the duration of the project lifecycle.
A native of Lindenhurst, New York, Mr. Gassen received his education at Clarkson University, with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering and was awarded the E.I.T. Certificate in 2003. He has been involved in the construction industry for eight years, all of which have been with Whiting-Turner. Mr. Gassen is also an active participant in the companies BIM/VDC program, actively implementing the technology on large projects. He is also highly knowledgeable with laboratory mechanical and electrical systems.
Mr. Gassen has more than $75 million of work in the higher education sector of the life sciences industry as well as more than an additional $40 million in the private sector of the life sciences industry.