Story of No-Cost Energy Savings at Ohio Union Jeffrey Roe, Senior Energy Engineer Office of Student Life

Office of Student Life

Completed in 2010 338,407 square feet 15 Air Handlers Office of Student Life Completed in 2010 338,407 square feet 15 Air Handlers 3 Makeup Air Units 3 Restaurants + Catering Kitchen ~300 separate thermal zones

Office of Student Life

Learning Objectives 1. How to set up an effective team Office of Student Life Learning Objectives 1. How to set up an effective team 2. What buildings are good candidates 3. What changes were actually made

Effective Teams Have authority to make changes Office of Student Life Effective Teams Have authority to make changes Are willing to take the heat if problems arise Have measureable results

Effective Teams Getting buy in Must have directors on board Office of Student Life Effective Teams Getting buy in Must have directors on board

Effective Teams Include a member from each of: Energy management Office of Student Life Effective Teams Include a member from each of: Energy management Building Mechanical Services (Maintenance) Building Automation Services Director of events Building coordinator Audio visual Housekeeping If possible - coach/guru from local utility

What makes a good building candidate? Student Life What makes a good building candidate? Complexity Energy Utilization Index HVAC Complaints Staff Availability Metering

Ranking of utility costs Student Life Ranking of utility costs FY14 $/SF (FY15 rates) Ohio Union $ 3.46 Morrill $ 2.70 Lincoln $ 2.59 Hall Complex $ 2.34 Lawrence Tower $ 2.22 North Block $ 2.17 South Block $ 1.96 Mansfield Apartments $ 1.91 Hanley $ 1.85 Residence on Tenth $ 1.67

Student Life

Student Life

Student Life

Student Life

But what did we actually do? Student Life But what did we actually do?

What did we actually do? Set up a team meet weekly for 1 hour meetings Student Life What did we actually do? Set up a team meet weekly for 1 hour meetings Try to get a little better each week

Problems found Student Life Offline chiller’s pumps run, mixing warm return back into supply Excessive summertime heating demand Humidistats out of calibration CO2 sensors out of calibration Temperature sensors out of calibration Thermostats out of calibration Damper positions out of calibration Unoccupied mode did not reset supply air temperature Housekeepers leaving lights on Too much minimum air forcing VAVs into heating mode Dampers broken on VAVs Schedule mysteriously changes for one air handler Humidity in basement is so high that condensation forms on HVAC ducts Steam heat exchange air trap blows steam by Supervisory automation head end communication drops out Supervisory automation head end stopped allowing additional trends or trend studies Outsider air minimums set unreasonably high VAV setback temperatures unreasonably widely set Method of triggering unoccupied system to run was not logical Ventilation mode did not kick in until air quality already suffering Lighting control system not programmed Automation system set to run 24 hours a day Mixed air chamber pressure sensors set too sensitive Lag chiller short cycles Air handler discharge air temperature varies more than 4 degrees Boilers do not have reset schedule as per sequence of operations Thermostats ineffective in small rooms when doors are open

Control as best as possible Student Life Control as best as possible Control the lighting Control the chillers Control the air handlers Control the VAV boxes

Student Life Control the lighting Primarily this building has a stand alone lighting scheduling system This was too inflexible / hard to reprogram Similar systems in other buildings would “lose” the program Result – manual solution using overnight students with other primary job, sub-par efficacy New buildings have system tied to the building automation system. No standalone lighting systems.

Student Life Control the chillers Biggest problem: when a chiller fails, the primary pump keeps running Next biggest problem: staged chiller short cycling

Student Life

Control the air handlers Student Life Control the air handlers Schedule Hardware adjustments Outside air Discharge air temperature

Student Life

Student Life

Control the VAV boxes Cooling flow setpoints Heating flow setpoint(s) Student Life Control the VAV boxes Cooling flow setpoints Heating flow setpoint(s) Auto zeroing Locking temperature setpoint Humidity

Student Life

Ideal Student Life

Ideal Student Life

Too much minimum cooling Student Life

Too much minimum cooling Student Life Plus, heating valve doesn’t do anything

Too much minimum cooling Student Life

Too much minimum cooling problem Student Life Too much minimum cooling problem Too hot at beginning of occupied period Cools down below setpoint Switches to heating mode Dumps even more hot air in, also adding heat Return air to air handler is hotter than need be Air handler opens valve to 100% DAT and discharge enthalpy increase Fans speed increase to 100% More zones become starved and warm up Work requests or general complaining begins

Bad Thermostat Location Student Life

Bad Thermostat Location Student Life

Student Life Thank You Jeff Roe Roe.43@osu.edu