Why Green is Good for People, Part 2

Why Green is Good for People? 

By Lynne Phipps, Taco Contributing Editor

Lynne Phipps, LEED AP

As discussed in Part 1, designing green buildings for the benefit of the people who live and work in them means bringing ample fresh air and natural light into the building and avoiding the use of materials that off-gas substances that are detrimental to human health and well being.

In addition, green indoor environments are both physically and psychologically comfortable for people.

Such design may include:
• The use of smart switches and thermostats for lighting and temperature control.
• Comfortable forms of heat such as radiant heat.
• The use of color, texture, and plants as interior design elements.

The use of technologies such as smart switches, which control lighting based on natural light levels as well as the presence of people in a space, is energy efficient and maximizes the use of natural light. Both factors make the environment more comfortable and healthier for human beings.

Smart thermostats provide similar benefits by regulating temperatures based on the availability of the sun’s thermal energy for heating. Both of these technologies are wonderful advancements. Any time the designer can reliably regulate the indoor environment to improve physical or psychological comfort, the individuals in that environment feel more supported and, as a result, happiness and productivity increase.

The use of color and texture, whether as paint, wall coverings and floor coverings, or as art work, also increases comfort and happiness indoors. In the work environment, this translates to decreased absenteeism and job turnover. It has been reported that second only to salary, the work environment is the most important factor in an individual’s decision to take a given job or stay with a company.

When designing a green building, the use of color is a craft. The designer must juggle the use of color with the ability of that color to reflect rather than absorb the natural light entering the space. Color also brings life to spaces and offers opportunities to add or reinforce a sense of identity, should the designer choose.

Likewise, plants can have a significant positive effect on the indoor environment. Studies have shown that one plant per person significantly increases CO2 in an indoor environment, decreasing absenteeism and reducing stress at work.

All of these elements — natural light, effective temperature control, color, the use of plants – contribute to the successful greening of buildings, whether new construction or retrofits.

Lynne Phipps is an interior architect and green building advocate with a holistic, integrated approach to the built environment. 

Join the Taco HVAC Commercial Designer Pro community to access more technical articles, industry news, videos, and discussions: http://commercial.taco-hvac.com

CANSTRUCTION RI COMPETITION

CANSTRUCTION RI COMPETITION STACKS UP FOOD CANS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HUNGER

At a time when jobs are still hard to come by and food banks are working overtime to meet the nutritional needs of struggling families, area architectural firms, construction companies, and contractors  have stepped up to the plate to help – while having a bit of creative fun for a most worthy cause.

CanstructionRI Design/Build Competition

CanstructionRI, sponsored by the RI Community Food Bank and Taco, Inc. among other companies, is an annual event held at the Providence Place Mall and features the efforts of competing teams building imaginative food can constructions.  This year there were a total of six “sculptures” representing the work of numerous firms.

LLB Architects and Shawmut Design and Construction’s display featured Cangry Birds – birds angry at the state of hunger in RI. It received an honorary mention by the judges. Other notable displays included a New England clam bake with a giant lobster topping out a boiling pot, a tug boat plowing through waves created by blue and white labeled cans, and a Winnie the Pooh display with a lot of honey and peanut butter jars.

Shawmut Design and Construction is the general contractor overseeing the construction of Taco’s new Innovation and Development Center building as well as interior renovations to the manufacturer’s existing 1904 building on Cranston Street in Cranston, RI. Joe Raposo, Shawmut’s Assistant Project Manager, headed up the 2012 LLB Architects-Shawmut canstruction team.

The 2012 competition marked the fourth time that LLB Architects and Shawmut have teamed up to compete in CanstructionRI. Other participating firms included Dimeo Construction, GTECH, Gilbane, Saccoccio Associates and Michael Warner Architect, among others.

Why Green is Good for People?

By Lynne Phipps, Taco Contributing Editor

Most people think of green building design, or sustain able design as being good for the environment. They don’t always think of green buildings as being designed to be good for people. Whether designed as a residence or an office building, green buildings are first and foremost, healthier buildings in which people can live and work.

How do green buildings differ from a standard housing or business unit in terms of the healthfulness of their environment? There are several ways. Green design makes maximum use of any building’s access to natural light and fresh air, and avoids those materials inside the building that can have an adverse effect on health by off-gassing.

Natural lighting in the library of the Nathan Bishop School in Providence, RI.

Natural lighting is not only the least expensive form of light, it is also the healthiest. On the other hand, fluorescent light, which is presently the least expensive mass produced commercial lighting, may also be the least healthy. The use of fluorescent lighting has been associated with problems such as headaches, migraines, eye strain and eye discomfort. Whenever possible, designers and architects should use as much natural light as possible, only subsidizing it with artificial light as needed. In doing so, designers offer reduced energy bills, and provide building occupants with vitamin D and serotonin, both important for health and well being.

Bringing plenty of fresh air into the indoor environment is also a vital element of green design as well as being a requirement of the LEED system. Ample fresh air is also an essential element in dealing with sick building syndrome (SBS). SBS can have several causes. Primary among them is the use of HVAC systems that are not cleaned regularly, which then circulate and recirculate dust, mold spores and other pollutants through the building. A second significant cause of SBS can be the off-gassing of interior building materials, painting and coatings, carpeting, furnishings, etc. These materials can off-gas substances, some of them carcinogenic, over a long period of time. Occupants in buildings with SBS may experience headaches, nausea, dizziness and lethargy.

Curing SBS in an existing building, or preventing it in a new building, is a priority for designers who focus on sustainable design. On any given project, this may be accomplished in a variety of ways. The first often is providing operable windows that make it easy to bring in fresh air. Maximizing natural air flow through any given space, minimizes the effects of polutants and makes for healthier and happier occupants.

Specifying interior finishes that do not pose a health risk to building occupants is another way designers can ensure that a building is a healthy place to live and work. Furnishing, carpets and building materials of natural materials, recycled or recyclable materials, are usually produced by manufacturers that are thinking about off-gassing.

The specifier must also think about the adhesives and/or underlayments that go along with the materials being specified. If a material is green, but the underlayment is not specified, the contractor/installer may not understand enough about the project to know that off-gassing is a critical concern, both for the installation process and for the end user. It is critical that the designer specify not only green materials, but a green installation.

When designers pay close attention to natural light, indoor air quality, and interior material selection, the quality of the interior environment for the end user increases significantly.

In what other ways does green building affect people? Share your insights!

Indoor Air Comfort Provided By a Heat Pump-LoadMatch Delivery System

Notes From the Field: A Mixed Reuse Project with LoadMatch Single Pipe System

In Cincinnati a former tin can factory transformed into New York-Style Lofts, with residents enjoying indoor air comfort provided by a    Heat Pump-LoadMatch^® Delivery System. Lets take a look at the project implementation and technologies deployed to meet unique, sustainable urban opportunities with enhanced energy efficiency for tenants.

View of the renovated American Can Lofts.

The former American Can building, which at one time had been the site of the largest aluminum can manufacturer in the U.S., had been abandoned since the 1990s. It took Ohio developer Bloomfield/Schon + Partners over six years to redevelop the property in light of the serious difficulties posed by environmental contamination at the site and the economic downturn.

Today the American Can Lofts‘ 110 apartment units are at full occupancy, and residents enjoy efficient indoor comfort provided by an HVAC delivery system comprised of ClimateMaster heat pumps in combination with Taco LoadMatch® circulators in a single pipe system. 

The project developer Bloomfield & Schon + Partners and the Cincinnati Air Conditioning have selected  a LoadMatch system as a very cost-effective solution in terms of materials needed, the installation savings it affords, and its energy efficiency in operation. The single pipe system utilizes small, low kW circulators in a self-balancing system that assures the required flow to all heating and cooling units at all times while requiring less pipe and fittings, fewer control valves, and no balancing valves, thereby reducing first-costs. Lower pump head and operation of pumps to match the load reduced operating and maintenance costs.

The fast-paced project schedule meant that the design engineer Ray Fischer only had five weeks to design and size the system instead of a typical timeframe of 2-3 months. As a solution, he has utilized the Taco’s Hydronic System Solution® (HSS) software design tool proved to be of great assistance.

Taco Hydronic System Solutions® Design Software

“The HSS tool saved me a lot of time,” says Ray, who sized all equipment using HSS. The software allows design engineers to size plant and equipment, calculate loads and flows automatically, and make design changes quickly and easily while reducing the chance of errors and time spent on recalculations. Because there were over 30 apartment configurations in the American Can Lofts, a building with two ceiling heights (all above 10 ft.), plus lots of exposed brick, exposed ceilings and window glass, proper sizing of the heat pumps was critical to the eventual comfort experience of tenants. Some apartments with two exposures and lots of glass also required auxiliary duct heaters for added heat in winter.

According to Bob Stiens of Cincinnati Air, piping was a challenge in this project because there are actually two joined buildings, with one built earlier than the other (1907 and 1921 respectively) and at different levels. With the LoadMatch system the team was able to find a way to route across the older building and into the newer building on a similar level and feed all of the apartments.

Taco Vertical Inline pump in the mechanical room.

Powering the HVAC system for the building comes from equipment installed in a rooftop penthouse mechanical room. This space was a small, former elevator machine room in the former factory, and the tight space required close coordination to fit all of the necessary equipment. In it are twin Thermal Solutions gas-fired condensing boilers at 1.5 million BTUs each, supported by four Taco KV and KS Vertical In-line pumps, a Taco Plate & Frame Heat Exchanger and a 4900 Series Air Separator.

Opened last November, the American Can lofts building is a key element driving the Northside neighborhood’s revitalization. Learn more about the project’s success, including technology solutions for efficiency, cost savings and better comfort, visit the project profile website page: http://bit.ly/HeIgKj

Building for the Future: Taco’s Expansion Project Update

Building for the Future: Taco’s Expansion Project 

We continue our blog series featuring construction and development of the Taco Innovation and Development Center and its sustainable design principles.

Work on the new Taco Innovation and Development Center is continuing at a fast pace, aided by a warmer than normal start to winter. The project, which involves renovations to interior office spaces within Taco’s existing building as well as construction of the new Center, is about 40-percent completed, according to Kyle Lloyd, Senior Project Manager for Shawmut Design and Construction, the design-build firm overseeing the project.

Architectural Renderings, Innovation & Development Center

Construction of the Innovation Center, Phase Two of the five-phase project, is about 65-percent completed, with installation of windows almost completed. From there we will continue with dry walling and painting within the two-story structure and begin installing acoustical ceiling panels and finishing the ceiling work, which will include piping and installation of chilled beams. Work has also started on the new Taco Café for employees.

Progress on the Center’s dedicated mechanical room is also under way, and equipment installation has commenced. Far from an ordinary mechanical room, the center’s physical plant design has been mapped out using MEP BIM Revit modeling to allow working products to also be viewed as displays for touring-teaching purposes.

Chris Integlia, Taco Executive Vice President and the project build team leader anticipates grand opening this June. Chris shares, “This is a very exciting project from our point of view, because it has allowed us to work jointly with many of our industry partners – fellow manufacturers, architects, engineers, contractors and tradesmen – to create a facility that will display the latest in advanced hydronic technology. We’re also proud of the positive impact this project is having on the local economy by employing over 200 contractors in our industry”.

In our next project updates, we will be discussing installation of Chilled Beam systems.

The Economics of Green Design, Part 1

Green Building Economics – Energy Costs

By Lynne Phipps, Contributing Editor

What are the financial implications of designing green? How does a client, architect, design team or contractor decide if building green is “worth it?”

Many variables affect the cost of sustainable design, including energy use, materials, labor and the types of building systems chosen.

In this, part 1, we’ll examine energy costs. In part 2, we’ll look at the other three major variables cited above.

The purpose of green design is to create sustainable buildings that will enable organizations and individuals to save money over time. Sustainability by its very nature implies that the money spent on a project will be spent wisely in all phases of the design/build process to create a building:

• With initial costs that are affordable for the client as
• With operating costs that are affordable throughout its life cycle so that building operations can truly be sustainable.

The intention of green design is to be sustainable.  Sustainability means, by it’s very nature, that money is spent wisely. This means design team decisions must make initial construction costs and the costs of ongoing operation affordable for the client, if the building is going truly to be sustainable.

Generally, the design team will amortize energy costs over the course of a year to 1) determine how energy (costs) can be saved, and 2) what, if any, alternative energy systems may be appropriate for a particular building. This initial assessment is essential if long-term energy savings are to be realized. Alternative energy systems are often site and building specific, as is the application of any particular system. It is these factors which largely will determine a project’s level of sustainability over time.

There are several ways to make sure candidate energy systems are affordable and meet the criteria for sustainability for any given client. Paying close attention to the following will make or break a client’s budget:

• What is the client spending on energy now?
• What can be done to conserve energy already being used?
• What would energy cost for that client using an alternative energy plan?
• How will the alternative energy plan for the client be funded?
• Does the alternative energy plan make sense from the stand point of sustainability?

All designers need to look at the client’s current cost of energy before they begin to design. Many LEED points are based on improvement in areas such as energy use and water use. Audits that document when, where and how much energy and water currently are being used are the best starting point. With that information in hand, the designer can examine ways, first to conserve resources, and then to produce/provide them over time.

It’s important to identify ways in which energy can be conserved first, in order to reduce the buildings’ overall resource consumption, whether it’s using traditional resources, which will be depleted and therefore negatively impact the building’s sustainability, or using alternative resources that don’t risk depletion.

It requires some specialized knowledge to determine the appropriate alternative energy application of a particular building or site. Such expertise needs to be brought into the design team, whether through a permanent member or a contracted third party. In large part, the decision will be made on data collected at the site and from the client, as discussed above. However other factors can also affect the building’s energy cost over time, and this is where specialized knowledge is helpful. These factors include a mix of granting resources, tax credits, incentives and other programs from state and other sources. Much of the funding available for alternative energy solutions comes from federal programs, but these programs are often administered by the individual states. For this reason, the designer shouldn’t be surprised to learn that wind power is cost-effective in one place, but not in another, perhaps just across a state line. And the mix of incentives, credits and other programs changes almost continuously.

With the advent of the new international building code, and code changes being made in most states to respond to energy conservation concerns, a growing portion of buildings are now required to be more energy efficient. Designers inevitably will have to pay greater attention to how their projects conserve and consume energy. The good news is that incentives often reduce the cost of greater energy efficiency. Many green professionals find that with the assistance of alternate energy funding, the cost of making most buildings significantly more sustainable is approximately 3% more than standard construction costs.

In addition to the many inherent advantages of green design, this small cost premium for sustainable building makes green design and implementation very attractive, and a sound design decision for virtually every client.

LEED Project Documentation

By Lynne Phipps, Taco Contributing Editor

Every LEED project requires documentation to back up both the design process and the execution of the project. It is complete and proper documentation that determines whether that project receives the LEED rating it deserves.

Generally the critical responsibility to manage and assemble sufficient project documentation is assigned to a design team member with the LEED AP credential. These individuals are trained to be knowledgeable about the building certification process and to thoroughly understand the intricacies of the detailed record keeping required.

Auditing a LEED project can be long and arduous without a solid paper trail. However, making sure key elements are in place will simplify and shorten the process.

One key is to designate one individual as the project record keeper, and assure they understand their responsibilities.

Another is to start early. Don’t put off thorough documentation until “later.” It  is easier to collect relevant documents as events occur than it is to track down documentation after the fact.

A third key is to have a system. Make sure that every member of the project team understands what documents are their responsibility. Set a schedule to have documents sent to the designated record keeper: Daily, weekly, monthly—whatever makes sense for the size, scope and pace of your project.

The documentation for a typical project will include:

• A listing of who is on the design team, their background and qualifications.
• A listing of all team members who work on the construction of the building.
• Documentation of design meetings, including notes on the design process, issues raised and concepts discussed.
• A full set of process drawings.
• A full set of working drawings.
• A full set of specifications.
• Documentation of the bidding process.
• Collection of all contracts and contract specifications.
• A full set of memos documenting any changes.
• Documentation of all deliveries received and shipments sent from the site, including the sender and receiver.
• Documentation of the building commissioning.

Not only must all of these areas be documented in their entirety, but all documentation must be categorized according to the LEED point(s) to which they apply. Linking documents to their corresponding LEED point category is critical to the LEED rating.

With key personnel and these critical elements in place, and a solid system for collecting the necessary data, a project is far more likely to move ahead smoothly, be successful as a building, and achieve its proper LEED rating.

Pumps Don’t Head: Valves Do (Part Two)

Comparing Total System Horsepower: VAV vs. Chilled Beam-LOFlo Systems 

By Greg Cunniff, Applications Engineering Manager, Taco, Inc.

This is the second part of our discussion series “Pumps Don’t Head: Valves Do”. In the first part, we examined how we calculate pump energy consumption.

Now lets graphically compare total system horsepower or electrical demand in the case of energy efficiency for an all-air VAV system, a conventional chilled beam system, and Taco’s LOFlo chilled beam system.

A comparison of peak power demand for a low-flow injection-pumping system.

It’s interesting, and we’ll be the first to admit it, that the efficiency of a LoadMatch circulator used in the calculation is quite low. But focusing on the efficiency of the LoadMatch circulators misses the point, because the lower efficiency LoadMatch circulator does not see much head, so a LoadMatch system (or a LOFlo system which employs LoadMatch circulators) still has a lower overall pump horsepower.

The point is that pumps, regardless of how many are used, do not impose head on a system. Control and balancing valves do. Therefore hydronic systems like LoadMatch and LOFlo – using pumps instead of valves – will have lower overall pump horsepower.

Then there’s the use of variable speed drives to further reduce pump horsepower and energy consumption.  In a single pipe system, like LoadMatch, the VFDs are controlled from Delta T (differential temperature) and not Delta P (differential pressure). Pump mounted VFDs with an integral controller, which Taco now offers,  can sequence both Delta T and Delta P. In fact, Taco is the only pump manufacturer presently offering both control sequences in one on-board controller.

In conclusion, adding pumps doesn’t add head – they work to eliminate head. Single pipe systems (like LoadMatch-LOFlo) achieve savings in pump horsepower by splitting the horsepower between the primnary and terminal secondary pumps. Using a single pipe system eliminates the need for all control and most balancing valves, which in a conventional two-pipe system add head.

The takeaway: hydronic systems are more efficient than air systems and single pipe hydronic systems are the most efficient of all. We are interested in learning about your opinions and experiences.

Pumps Don’t Add Head: Valves Do (Part One)

By Greg Cunniff, Applications Engineering Manager, Taco, Inc.

Net-zero green buildings are in vogue today and for a very good reason: they are meant to operate at no net energy consumption, drawing no net energy from the electrical grid. This sustainable capability is accomplished through a combination of energy efficiency and on-site energy generation, often through co-generation.

A reader recently asked us if there is data to support a claim that electrical consumption in a system employing Taco’s LOFlo injection mixing system would be less than a traditional design with control valves.  To be more precise, what he is getting at is if there would be less energy used in a system configuration using single pipe with two sets of pumps in a primary-secondary configuration vs. a system using one larger pump set along with control valves in the building’s zones.

To answer the question, we need to examine how we calculate pump energy consumption, which is a simple first law problem. And we should take into account today’s variable speed drives which are specifically designed to reduce energy consumption.

First off, it doesn’t make any difference how the pump horsepower is split up. What counts is the total flow and the total head in a system – e.g., placing 40% of the pump head on one set of pumps and 60% with the other.   The total pump horsepower will be the same if the efficiencies of the pumps are the same.

In Taco’s case, using our single pipe LoadMatch® and LOFlo® systems, we can achieve savings in pump horsepower by splitting the pump horsepower between primary and terminal secondary pumps.  This allows for a pump controlled system without control valves and a self balancing system without balance valves. This will save between 15 and 20 ft. of pump head on the total system, depending on how the valves are sized.

For our LOFlo injection mixing system, a three pump system with primary, secondary injection and secondary terminal unit pumps, it doesn’t make any difference if we have two secondary pumps instead of one. Adding pumps does not add head – it eliminates head.

Here is an example of how one can calculate the head in a system with and without using LOFlo.

To calculate pump horsepower multiply head x flow x a conversion factor, divided by the pump efficiency in both loops/ The calculation of total pump horsepower would therefore be as follows:

Conventional system:

Horsepower = 200 gpm x 68 ft./3960/.70 (pump efficiency)

= 4.9 hp

LOFlo system:

Horsepower = 200 gpm x 46 ft. (head of primary and secondary house loop)/3960/.70 (primary pump efficiency) + 200 gpm x 5 ft. (head of terminal unit loop)/ 3960/.25 (efficiency of LoadMatch circulators)

= 3.2 + 1.0

= 4.2 hp

This represents a savings in pump horsepower of 14%, which is not trivial.  In the real world achieving net zero is actually impractical from a cost standpoint as well as impossible from a first law standpoint. However, we can use it to our advantage since it is our firm contention that hydronic systems are more efficient than air systems.

Next up: Comparing Total System Horsepower: VAV vs. Chilled Beam-LOFlo Systems

Chilled Beams: A Viable Alternative to VAV Systems

Chilled Beams: A Viable Alternative to VAV Systems

By Greg Cunniff, Applications Engineering Manager, Taco, Inc.

Chilled beam technology works in tandem with a central air system, which is calibrated to circulate only the amount of air needed for ventilation and latent-load purposes. The chilled beams provide the additional air movement and sensible cooling/heating required through the induced room air and secondary water coil. As ventilation moves through venturi nozzles, creating a low-pressure zone within an active beam, room air is induced upward where it makes contact with the cooling coil. This air and primary ventilation air then mix and are delivered through linear slot diffusers.

The Convective Cooling Component is Natural Convection.

An active chilled beam will add considerable cooling capacity.

It’s in this way that active chilled beams transfer a huge portion of cooling or heating loads from the less efficient air distribution system to the more efficient water distribution system. As more systems are installed in the U.S. and Canada, it will become clear that chilled beam technology has developed into a viable alternative to conventional variable-air-volume (VAV) systems.

What makes this technology so interesting is its broad application for commercial structures and extreme energy and thermal efficiency. A key advantage is that a chilled beam system requires very little ceiling space and height. Another advantage is the high energy carrying capacity of water via pipes. A forced air system is significantly less efficient because of the low density of air, which necessitates large ductwork.

InEuropeintegrated/multiservice chilled beams have circulation systems incorporated into lighting, sound, sprinkler and cable pathways – in time we can expect this development to make its way across the pond to us as well.

Next up…In summary, benefits of chilled beam systems.