SMART LABS. Reduce Energy Consumption, Improve Lab Safety, and Lower Deferred Maintenance

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1 SMART LABS Reduce Energy Consumption, Improve Lab Safety, and Lower Deferred Maintenance From 1999 to 2016 The Georgia Institute of Technology constructed six laboratory buildings in its Bio- Quad region of campus with a combined assignable area of over 1.3 million square feet. While these buildings host some of the most innovative and interdisciplinary research on campus, they are also the most expensive to operate and maintain. Research labs typically consume 6-8 times as much energy as a similar sized classroom building. These six buildings represent only 9% of the total campus square footage but consume 28% of the total campus energy, which equates to about $6 Million of our annual utility budget for electricity and natural gas. FY 2015 Campus Energy Cost $5,959,136, 28% BioQuad Research Bldgs $15,317,273, 72% Remainder of Campus Page 1 of 5

2 Overventilation = Excess Energy Consumption One primary design objective when constructing a lab ventilation system is to provide a safe working environment for the occupants. Lab environments require specialized equipment designed to remove airborne contaminants and minimize occupant exposure to potentially harmful substances. Through this process of removing airborne contaminants, the entire laboratory space is flushed of its conditioned air multiple times per hour. Conditioned air has been cooled, dehumidified, and/or heated to maintain indoor comfort and lab ambient conditions. Lab buildings use 100 percent outside air ventilation, with no recirculation of return air. Thus, the entire internal air volume of a typical lab building is exhausted to the atmosphere via high-power exhaust fans through high-velocity exhaust stacks every 5-8 minutes. An enormous amount of energy is required to supply, heat, cool, humidify, dehumidify, filter, distribute, and exhaust this air. This process takes place 24/7, whether the lab is fully occupied, partially occupied, or vacant. The key parameter is known as air changes per hour (ACH). Many labs in U.S. universities, colleges, private sector, and governmental research facilities use 10 or more ACH. These predefined air change rates per hour (ACH) may vary depending on what work is being done within the space, what type of equipment is being used, and what the heat load is inside the rooms. The labs operate under the Dilution Ventilation principle, where clean air is constantly introduced to help remove any contamination events that might happen. Unfortunately without a method to monitor, assess, and control lab ventilation rates based on any method other than dilution rates, there is an enormous amount of energy spent to condition this air for an event that may or may not occur. An ideal solution to this problem relies on Demand Based ventilation strategies, which use cuttingedge approaches to managing air changes within laboratory spaces. Through the combined use of highly-sensitive monitoring equipment, occupant sensors, upgraded controllers and active feedback to the occupant, we can identify precisely how many ACH are necessary in individual lab spaces, normally 4 ACH when the lab is occupied, and 2 ACH when unoccupied. If the sensing system sees clean air in the space, the air change rates are lowered to safe minimums and only call for the higher ventilation rates when sensing a contaminant. When done correctly and monitored, safety and energy management can work hand-in-hand to improve efficiencies of these energy-intensive spaces. Page 2 of 5

3 How Do We Reduce Excess Energy Consumption? We were initially tasked with finding a way to reach better than 50% energy savings in our labs here at Georgia Tech. In fact, the path to reduction has many winding roads with seemingly endless trailheads that appear to be the right step to take. The most practical approach forward is to apply a combination of tried and true steps that have been successful in our peer institutions across the country, and also apply some inventive ideas specific to our environment here at Georgia Tech. In order to be successful, we must do the following: Establish Baselines Culture Change Continuous Commissioning Lab Energy Savings Comprehensive Lab Audit Exhaust Dispersion Study Deferred Maintenance 1. BASELINES: Establish accurate baselines for existing energy use in the six pilot program buildings. Without valid energy consumption information we are not able to apply real dollars to savings related to conservation measures. Our existing buildings are extensively metered but is the data valid? Proper testing and verification of out utility metering must be done at the start of this project. Page 3 of 5

4 2. COMPREHENSIVE LAB AUDITS: Individual labs must be audited by a combination EHS/Energy team to determine where appropriate energy reduction strategies may be applied. Including members of EHS will assure that safety is paramount in the consideration of any changes. A proper inventory of lab types and equipment will enable our team to identify: a. Real-time, demand based ventilation strategy must be used in all labs where operations and lab types permit ventilation reduction. The demand control system must be able to respond based on lab occupancy and indoor air quality so proper ACH s can be maintained when needed. The types of parameters measured by this system include room temperature, total particulate count, VOC s, and CO2. b. Lighting efficiency upgrades and plug load improvements will reduce energy load through reduced heat gain and fixture efficiency c. Laboratory water consumption must be reduced. Although we have not included water use in initial investigations, there are several buildings within our focus group that seem to be consuming an unusually high amount of water compared to their peers. Water costs in Atlanta are among the highest in the country so any unnecessary use may be increasing utility costs significantly. 3. EXHAUST DISPERSION STUDY & RESULTING ADJUSTMENTS: Perform an exhaust dispersion study to enable reduced exhaust plume heights. Lab exhaust systems are designed to operate in a constant worst-case scenario, when in fact this higher plume may only be needed periodically throughout the year. This enables us to implement realtime savings strategies for the exhaust system based on actual outdoor air conditions, without sacrificing safety. Lower exhaust fan airspeeds can be coupled with higher stack heights, typically an additional 4-8 feet, and elimination of duct noise attenuators. Lowering exhaust levels saves energy and reduces overall noise heard due to high speed exhaust systems. 4. ADDRESS DEFFERED MAINTENANCE: Lab HVAC systems must be properly functioning, have working lab/hvac controllers, and exhaust systems must be a manifold configuration with variable speed capability. Any known deferred maintenance issues with these systems must be fixed before further savings are possible. 5. CONTINUOUS COMMISSIONING: The lab systems must be properly commissioned and maintained. One of the most important factors to ensure continued operational and energy savings is to continuously monitor, maintain, and push the envelope with new methods and technologies. Georgia Tech has invested in highly technical research facilities and it is imperative to invest in the proper level of maintenance and oversight to keep these assets functioning at the level required of a worldclass facility. Page 4 of 5

5 CULTURE CHANGE: The lab energy savings program must be supported and guided from an executive leadership level, as well as building occupant level. The technical aspects of a program like this have already been identified and perfected across the country thru other similar programs. a. A strong commitment from senior leadership enables the program to have the necessary financial and personnel resources available to make the program successful. The program must have this support even after the construction phase is complete in order to keep the performance bar high. b. Often, the most difficult part of any energy savings program is educating the building occupants how the changes will directly affect them. Any successful building level program must be willingly supported by the occupants and not have any adverse effects on their daily work. Page 5 of 5