A New Return on Investment and Energy Analysis Tool for Evaluating Laboratory Energy Savings Strategies
Gordon Sharp, Aircuity, Inc.
Analyzing a laboratory's HVAC energy consumption and comparing different energy efficiency strategies is often quite difficult to do so; the many unique aspects of these systems and their controls do not lend themselves to conventional commercial or widely available energy analysis programs such as Equest or EnergyPlus. As a result, engineers are left to work around these programs with pre- and post-processing or else come up with a simple custom spreadsheet analysis for each situation. Unfortunately, these analyses often do not have sufficient detail and accuracy with respect to the actual laboratory HVAC system and controls to provide accurate enough comparative analysis, particularly for sustainable projects with multiple energy conservation strategies.
However, a very comprehensive custom laboratory energy analysis and return on investment (ROI) spreadsheet tool has recently been developed that evaluates the combined savings of multiple different laboratory energy efficiency measures such as chilled beams, multiple types of heat recovery, demand-based controls, VAV fume hood controls, evaporative cooling, and other approaches using typical meteorological year 3 (TMY3) temperature and humidity data for 1,700 United States and international cities. In addition to energy savings, the analysis tool can also model the impact on the first cost of various strategies due to both the cost impact of the equipment itself plus potential changes to the HVAC capacity requirements resulting from these systems.
The tool is relatively easy to use and can be used at multiple levels of detail based on the quality of the utilized assumptions. The tool has also been validated by multiple utilities and is currently being used for energy incentive rebate calculations. Finally, the tool can be used to see the environmental impact of energy savings approaches in terms of metric tons of carbon dioxide saved, among other metrics.
During this presentation, the speaker will describe the tool and how it can be used to help compare and even evaluate multiple combinations of many different laboratory energy conservation approaches using a base and proposed case concept. The speaker will cover potential applications, including its use in laboratory planning as a powerful "what if" tool to help determine the most cost effective and impactful energy savings approaches for a project. Finally, to illustrate the tool's performance, the speaker will provide some typical results of the model for different cities and energy savings approaches.
Biography:
Gordon Sharp, the chairman of Aircuity, Inc., has more than 25 years of wide-ranging entrepreneurial experience and holds more than 25 U.S. patents in the fields of energy efficiency and laboratory controls. As founder, former president, and chief executive officer of Phoenix Controls, Mr. Sharp led the development of this world leader in laboratory airflow controls that was acquired by Honeywell in 1998. In 2000, Mr. Sharp founded Aircuity, a smart airside energy efficiency company that was spun out of Honeywell.
Mr. Sharp is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree and master's degree in electrical engineering. Mr. Sharp is a member of the Board of Directors of I2SL, the nonprofit foundation that cosponsors the Labs21 Annual Conference, a member of the ANSI/AIHA Z9.5 Laboratory Ventilation Committee, and a member of the ASHRAE SSPC standard 170 Ventilation of Health Care Facilities committee.