Date
Inquiry

Question: Will the following M&V components meet the EAc5 requirements for a lab building (sophisticated owner)? The 6-story building (consistent floor layout) contains labs, offices, conference rooms (~170,000 s.f.) A Central Utility Building (CUB), not a part of submission, provides chilled water and steam to the building. A Building Automation System (BAS) monitors and controls the building . The majority of calibration data is gathered by BAS, however other approaches for data collection (CIR Ruling 10/26/2005) are being implemented (described below). The sophisticated owner\'s (operates numerous lab buildings & acting commissioning agent) approach is Option D of 2001 (IPMVP) Volume I & III incorporating: energy model Collection of calibration data - 12 months Incorporate data into energy model Calibrate simulation data Use calibrated energy model to assist facilities Collection of Calibration Data - Required M&V categories 1&2- Lighting Systems & Controls & Building related process energy and equipment The master panels incorporate smart breakers that provide numerous metrics for evaluation of the different sets of sub-panels servicing banks of labs and other spaces. The sub panels are divided primarily by space type so therefore incorporate both lighting and process energy. To isolate these loads spot meters will be incorporated so that data can be collected on a monthly basis. By subtracting this load from the overall loads from the smart meters the process energy can be isolated. The control system will monitor the Lighting Systems & Controls: All lighting circuits routed through this system Occupancy sensors and photocells BAS can communicate with it and share all monitoring points The activity of the occupancy sensors and photocells are also trended through the BAS to provide additional diagnostic capability to assist trouble shooting. Option B - A proposed alternative to the above (that requires a significant number of spot meters) a set of typical spaces (ex. Lab) will be metered using portable instrumentation for a period of time (ex. Month per season) to identify relevant information about the different loads and uses within the space to establish trends and refine performance. 3 - Constant and Variable Motor Loads The BAS has two main power meters for each of the feeds into the building that are capable of trending consumption (kWh) and demand (kW). The motors that are metered comprise ~90% of the modeled motor use identified by the energy model results. Metering each motor for the project was cost prohibitive. 4 - Variable Frequency Drive Operation (VFD) The BAS controls the VFD operation and trends their operation (% speed). 5 - Chiller Efficiency at variable loads (kW/ton) The chiller control panel in the CUB is capable of calculating the efficiency real time and sharing it with the BAS for the units that are servicing the building. 6 - Cooling load The BAS monitors both the Cooling GPM and supply/return temperatures for the building at the CUB. The cooling load for the Science Center is calculated by these points outside of the BAS, which is calculating the loads for the building and other buildings, and trended by the BAS. 7 - Air and water economizer and heat recovery cycles The BAS controls/monitors the outside air (OA) damper operation, OA temperature, and supply air temperature. The chiller operation is in summer mode only (control panel linked to the BAS and can provide feedback on the chillers serving the building, and their capacity of use) Heat recovery - the air and water temperatures in/out of the coils are controlled/monitored by the BAS, which can are trended to display that heat recovery is occurring. 8 - Air distribution static pressures and ventilation air volumes The flow rates and static pressure (SP) for the main supply air volume for each unit are measured via the BAS. 9 - Boiler efficiencies The boiler control panel measures the boiler efficiency and reports this information to the BAS. 10 - Indoor water risers and outdoor irrigation systems All of the water supplied to the Science Center is from the Central Utility Building (CUB). A meter will be installed to measure the overall quantity of the water being supplied to building. The (5) end uses for the water will be metered and calculated as follows: o RODI - meter o Lab and Non-potable - meter o Kitchen - meter o Irrigation - meter o Building Potable - calculation - quantities from all of the meters above will be summed and subtracted from the overall quantity meter.

Ruling

The proposed approach to measurement and verification of the lab building described above using the BAS, spot metering process loads, and metering water use is acceptable. However, this does not constitute approval of your M&V plan, which is done through the review process. Please note that for LEED-NC v2.2, the correct version of IPMVP is Volume III: Concepts and Options for Determining Energy Savings in New Construction, April, 2003. Please also note that addressing only the ten end-uses above is a LEED-NC v2.1 requirement. The end use metering will depend on the building design and the sophistication of the energy simulation.

Internationally Applicable
Off
Campus Applicable
Off
Credits