FacilityCare September 2009 : Page 23
Technologies to Help Manage Energy Use in Healthcare Facilities more accurately. Noise control and acoustics design are now considered by most people to be standard building features. In order to optimize energy efficiency, the first question to ask is whether building sys- tems and controls are operating as designed and whether they are designed to be easily modified, monitored and controlled in order to meet changes in operating requirements in response to regulatory agency mandates. If the system’s designs are not flexible and a retrofit is warranted, incorporating high- efficiency equipment and adding controls improvements and monitoring into a system’s renovations plan brings a low-cost side bene- fit to improved regulatory compliance. If systems are adequately flexible to meet changing regulatory requirements, enter- prise-level controls systems can provide improved visibility into systems performance by providing easy-to-use trend information. Assessing utilities consumption requires measuring and comparing performance to a standard. Building systems can only perform as well as they are designed. So, one way to add accountability to a building’s utilities con- sumption is to track current building per- formance versus engineering modeling data as a benchmark. Energy performance models are required during the design of modern buildings, and the data generated is used to make engineering and financial cost trade-off decisions. Once build- ings and systems are installed, the target data is used to commission the buildings and systems, ensuring the proper installation and calibration of all building components. Recommissioning is a way to readjust the baseline data to current occupancy and oper- ating conditions. Recommissioning can involve modifications to building elements such as windows, window treatments or shading; lighting changes or adjustments; and HVAC adjustments to rebalance and optimize the energy efficiency of the building to a new baseline. This new baseline data can then be used to measure ongoing energy per- formance and utility consumption. Benchmarking with comparable facilities is another way to obtain comparable energy performance data to check your building’s performance against others with a similar function, design or age. Benchmarking of energy performance is common across all industries, whether healthcare, commercial office buildings, retail, special purpose or high technology. Utilities benchmarking should be more SEPTEMBER 2009 than simple cost comparison. The value of benchmarking is in the comparison of processes and practices in order to learn new ways to adapt your building to more efficient technologies. Managing Energy Use to Deliver Results Remote monitoring and intelligent service applications are maturing technologies that can be used to assist building owners and operators in managing their energy use and optimizing and benchmarking utilities costs. Remote monitoring can be used to optimize equipment and controls functionality at a systems level by remotely detecting substan- dard performance and either modifying the controls parameters or dispatching appropri- ate service technicians to implement repairs. The benefits of remote technology in energy optimization can result in 15 to 20 percent improvement in energy use and as much as a 30 percent reduction in service technician field time, according to Jerry McFarlane, director of Trane National Service business group. Five things determine building energy effi- ciency: design, proper commissioning, ongo- ing operation practices, timely repair and maintenance practices, and disciplined adjustment/modification. This last determi- nant of building energy efficiency is best done using controls. Controls are key to making a building work better. Many controls available on the market today are engineered to be user- friendly and help building owners achieve their desired temperature, humidity and ven- tilation better than any other building sys- tem, no matter what the building’s purpose. Controls range from Web-based, enterprise- wide, integrated controls systems that can pro- vide flexibility and reduced operating expenses to widely compatible field controllers for build- ing renovations with more basic functionality. Controls that can optimize a system’s perform- ance throughout the life of a building are avail- able on the market today. Instrumentation, building sensors, elec- tronic controls, focused efficiency improve- ment and effective conservation practices are all a part of an effective energy management program that will enable effective oversight and management of energy consumption. Access to data – whether it is baseline, com- parative or remotely acquired – is essential. Managing energy use begins and ends with a vision for the building, business or organization – a vision for the way the building will be used, the efficiency of the systems that will be used to support occu- pant’s needs, how the building systems will be operated and maintained, how energy use will be measured and reported, and a plan for what has to be done when performance does not meet specifications. Once the vision is deployed, the perform- ance must be managed; otherwise, nothing will happen and the energy efficiency will drift upward. Effective metering and remote monitoring strategies are effective solutions for achieving quality control and ensuring that energy improvements will “hold the gains” as time goes by. F Laura Rygielski Preston, FACHE, joined Trane in January 2006 to lead its efforts in serving the healthcare market in the Americas. She has spent more than 18 years serving the healthcare facilities industry. At Trane, she is responsible for customer satisfaction, market growth and expansion of offer- ings to meet the evolving needs of the healthcare industry. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) and is board-certified in healthcare management. Laura is also a member of ASHE (American Society of Healthcare Engineers) and has been a member of the faculty of the ASHE Leadership Institute since its inception. Paul Wheeler is a professional engineer, in Texas, with 30 years of building design and construction experience. He’s currently working as a National Service Engineer, focusing on energy efficiency, building equipment life cycle analysis, and technical applications to automate HVAC equipment and controls equipment problem detection and diagnosis. Prior to working for Trane, Wheeler worked at Texas Instruments and Johnson Controls in facilities management roles. A BUILDING SYSTEMS AUDIT PROVIDES ANSWERS When analyzing a building’s performance, the best place to start is to first figure out where you are. A comprehensive building systems audit conducted by a professional high-per- formance building or energy engineer will indi- cate how well the hospital building and sys- tems are performing and how to best achieve optimal performance. And the process will identify and quantify the energy efficiency and cost savings that the building can deliver. Whoever does your building audit, make sure that they: • Are experienced in designing, installing and servicing building systems compara- ble to your building’s size and activities. • Have a successful track record in design, service and installation of building systems. • Can understand and apply total building solutions to address the hospital’s mission and operating budget targets Outcome-focused energy management that serves the needs of the organization is the optimum type of energy management to have. A sound understanding of the building’s systems and structure will help provide that. facilitycare.com FACILITYCARE | 23
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