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Trane Expanded Range of Controls Enables Users to Optimize Building Design and Operations

kacie — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:56:44 +0000

Video Coutesy of Trane YouTube Chanel

In Its 100th Anniversary Year, Trane Looks at the Future of Better Building Performance

kacie — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:56:51 +0000

COMMENTARY: In Its 100th Anniversary Year, Trane Looks at the Future of Better Building Performance

Improving energy efficiency in buildings is one way to solve the world’s appetite for more energy. Trane describes various ways industry is wringing more energy out of existing buildings, and provides some ideas for new buildings.

May 2, 2013Trane | Contracting Business

Trane, which celebrates 100 years of HVAC innovation in 2013, foresees a wide range of groundbreaking innovations in high performance building technologies, operating practices and intelligent building services that will create better, healthier, more comfortable and more productive indoor environments in the years to come.

Sustainable technologies like wind and solar get a lot of press coverage, but when it comes to satisfying the world’s almost insatiable appetite for energy nothing today beats improving the energy efficiency of existing buildings.

While the efficiency of commercial buildings has improved significantly in recent decades, the building industry has only begun to tap the energy reserves trapped in underperforming facilities, according to Trane, a global provider of indoor comfort solutions and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand.

Trane, which celebrates 100 years of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) innovation in 2013, foresees a wide range of groundbreaking innovations in high performance building technologies, operating practices and intelligent building services that will create better, healthier, more comfortable and more productive indoor environments in the years to come.

Modern Technologies, Practices Boost Building Performance

Building owners and operators can realize a wide range of benefits by adopting high performance building technologies and operating principles that are widely available today. New technologies and improved energy-efficiency practices enable commercial buildings to achieve higher levels of energy efficiency, better overall performance, lower lifecycle costs and a smaller environmental footprint.

Numerous sources including the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and European Union Institute for Energy and Transport (IET) say that high performance buildings use 20-30% less energy and cost as much as 50% less to operate over their full occupied life, compared to conventionally equipped and operated buildings.

More energy-efficient building systems and the use of a wide range of energy conservation measures have helped drive down the energy intensity of commercial buildings by 8.5% over the last three decades, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. But the inventory of existing buildings has just scratched the surface when it comes to realizing the full potential of energy efficiency to help reduce global energy consumption and our environmental impact.

McKinsey and Co. research concludes that the U.S. has the opportunity to reduce its non-transportation energy use by 23% by improving energy efficiency. This would eliminate more than $1.2 trillion in wasted spending and reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1.1 gigatons, which is the equivalent of taking every passenger vehicle off U.S. roadways, the research concluded.

Just as importantly, building owners and operators are starting to recognize that better-performing buildings are assets that help organizations accomplish their missions and most important financial and operational goals. They create better, healthier, more productive places for people to work, learn, teach, live, heal, shop, stay and visit.

Many new buildings are being designed and operated using high performance building principles. The problem is that relatively few new buildings are being built these days, at least in North America and Europe. According to the 2013 McGraw Hill Construction Forecast, commercial construction growth in recent years has been “hesitant at best.” In fact, 2012 commercial construction starts were valued at about $50 billion, compared to more than $100 billion in 2007. McGraw Hill forecasts about $56 billion in commercial construction starts in 2013. Things are no better in Europe, where no growth in construction starts is projected through at least 2014, according to the European Aggregates Association.

Opportunities Abound Today in Existing Buildings

For the foreseeable future, the greatest energy, operating and service performance-improvement opportunities can be found in the world’s inventory of existing buildings. These buildings represent an attractive target for efficiency improvements because they account for about one-third of the electricity consumed, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Energy Efficient Buildings Private-Public Partnership, and generate about 18-20% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy retrofitting of European buildings would yield an estimated 20-50% improvement in energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12% and create more than 3 million jobs, according to the European Buildings under a Microscope report, prepared by the Buildings Performance Institute of Europe.

This is a watershed moment in the evolution of the high performance building movement as technologies and practices mature and the body of evidence supporting adoption of these principles continues to grow. Following are some of the factors driving adoption:

Continuing improvements in the economy will likely cause organizations to resume historic levels of capital investment. This includes spending on new construction, building additions and HVAC system retrofits, provided that building owners can achieve an acceptable rate of return on their investment.
The expanded capabilities of building-modeling software make it easier to analyze and predict the long-term impact of choosing high performance building alternatives during the design and construction phases. Meanwhile, the “green premium” is shrinking; the USGBC estimates that the incremental cost of choosing high performance building features ranges from 0 to 6.5%. Trane has found that the cost of implementing energy conservation measures is recouped many times over a building’s long occupied life. For example, replacing outdated lighting fixtures, lamps and controls offers one of the best rates of return on investment, often paying for itself in three years or less. Rapid improvements in LED lighting technologies promise to extend the opportunity for improvements.
While energy prices have not been as volatile at the electric meter as at the gasoline pump, commercial and industrial utility rates have grown at a compounded rate of about 3 percent per year over the last 15 years, according to the EIA. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DOE) reports that overall demand for electricity is on the rise, with the commercial sector as a whole consuming 72 percent more power in 2010 than it did in 1980. Technology advances enable organizations to mitigate the impact of rising energy costs and increased consumption.
Evidence continues to grow that better-performing buildings yield better-performing organizations. For example, research by Michigan State University shows that work-groups moving into Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified buildings achieve higher levels of productivity. A CoStar Group study found that commercial buildings with Energy Star or LEED credentials commanded premium rents, enjoyed higher occupancy rates and sold for higher prices on the open market. A study by the Building Commission of Victoria, Australia, found that worker productivity can be enhanced by about 30 percent with an optimal indoor environment.
Organizations of all kinds are under extreme pressure to do more with less – less budget, fewer resources and a smaller staff. Building automation systems, which are key enablers of optimal building performance, automatically perform tasks that used to require human intervention with the intelligence to optimize results. Wireless communications technology, applied in these systems with open communications standards, will prove to be a breakthrough in improving controls and energy optimization in the commercial existing building market.
Sensors embedded in mechanical systems will provide critical data used by intelligent service programs to analyze, predict problems and take corrective actions with building HVAC equipment which leads to improve reliability, extend equipment life and efficient operation.
Environmental performance goes hand-in-hand with energy efficiency. Exact rules, reporting requirements and milestones are up in the air in many jurisdictions. However it is a sure bet that organizations of all types will be compelled to comply not just with more stringent national, state and local regulations but also with higher expectations from customers, share-owners, employees and the community.

Better-performing Buildings on the Horizon

The world of indoor climate solutions has changed dramatically over the course of the last century, due largely to technical innovations that make buildings better and help owners and operators accomplish their missions and achieve their most critical goals. No doubt the next century will bring about innovations that are every bit as impactful as the convector radiator, turbo-vacuum compressor, unitary air conditioning and building automation controls.

Meanwhile, there is no sense in waiting for the “next big thing” and the new generation of super-efficient buildings when we have the technology and know-how today to extract the tremendous energy reserves that exist within millions of under-performing buildings. Industry leaders like Trane continue to explore concepts that apply to both new and existing buildings and promise to take energy efficiency to new heights in the next several decades:

The biggest leap forward in building efficiency will come not only from improving the performance of individual systems such as HVAC, mechanical, lighting and access control. It will also come from enabling all building systems to operate in harmony. Advancements in control technology, wireless communication and the continuing move to common operating systems will enable unprecedented interoperability of key building systems and allow more sophisticated building control strategies.
Innovative HVAC approaches will either come on line or grow in popularity as the drive to reduce energy consumption continues. Examples include geothermal heat pumps, thermal storage, modular HVAC systems, ductless air conditioning and others.
Performance of even the best-designed and operated buildings degrades over time, according to researchers at the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) who advocate continuous monitoring, fault detection and diagnosis, and commissioning to keep buildings operating at their original design performance (ODP) levels. More organizations will adopt commissioning, re-commissioning and continuous commissioning strategies to help realize the full value of their high performance building investments.
The move to intelligent services and predictive maintenance models will accelerate as building owners and operators strive to improve reliability, reduce operating costs and do more with less. Intelligent services combine technology, access to unprecedented levels of data and sophisticated analytics to continuously collect, interpret and act upon data from building systems and controls to optimize operational performance. Sensors and smart controllers built into HVAC equipment and connected to the web will fuel this sophisticated data analysis. Intelligent analytics will be able to study equipment usage patterns and learn from past experience. With capable service partners, building operators can focus internal resources on other priorities and reduce challenges associated with a shortage of qualified HVAC specialists.
Building modeling and analysis software has come a long way since its introduction during the energy crisis of the early 1970s and the science of modeling continues to advance. Features enable building owners and their energy services partners to compare the impact of various choices and use net present value (NPV) based cost analysis, which provides a more realistic picture of the total savings that energy conservation measures will generate over a building’s lifecycle. Modeling also helps designers accurately match building system capacity to anticipated requirements.
The new generation of building occupants – including the tech-natives born in the information age – has different expectations than their older colleagues. They expect to interact with building systems using their smart devices, for example, changing the way the building industry thinks about user interface. They want to work flexible hours, access data remotely, put a premium on personal time and work for organizations whose values – including environmental values – they share. All of these things have implications for building owners and operators and the systems they choose for their buildings.
Better communications with utilities will enable building operators to take advantage of the best available rates and use thermal storage and other technologies to shift cooling load to off-peak hours. Advanced control systems share data openly between building systems and utilities to enable these capabilities.
Energy companies will find new ways to go to market. For example, instead of selling hardware, original equipment manufacturers may offer their customers the opportunity to buy “occupant comfort” and charge a monthly fee to supply whatever combination of products and services are necessary to keep building occupants comfortable.
The combination of automated controls, wireless communications and more sophisticated electronic sensors will make it easier for operators to personalize comfort settings for individuals and reduce energy costs by avoiding cooling or heating vacant areas at the same level as occupied ones.
Water scarcity is likely to become one of the pivotal environmental concerns of this century and HVAC system providers will no doubt be challenged to develop systems that operate with less water. Like manufacturers of other kinds of equipment, HVAC companies will need to thoroughly examine their products’ environmental end-to-end footprint, from design through disposal.
Many of tomorrow’s high performance buildings will generate some or most of the energy they use onsite, often using alternative generation methods such as solar, wind or fuel cells. An alternative to large regional power plants, this distributed generation model enables buildings to sell any excess power they generate to the public power grid, realizing the potential of a net-zero building that creates more energy than it consumes.

The demand for energy in the developed and developing world continues to grow exponentially, with no end in sight. Finding sustainable energy solutions is a complex problem. Solving it will require us to continue to develop safe and efficient methods to find, develop and produce fossil fuels while also exploring alternative forms of energy generation.

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of energy efficiency in the equation. Tapping into the energy reserves trapped in under-performing buildings can take us a long way toward ensuring that the needs of an energy-intensive world are met.

Trane is a leading provider of indoor comfort solutions and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand. Founded in 1913 by James and Reuben Trane, the company is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. To learn more visit http://www.trane.com/commercial/100years/.

Article courtesy of Contracting Business.com View Entire Article

New Trane TVR II Air Conditioning System Improves Energy Efficiency, Indoor Air Quality and Comfort

kacie — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:13:00 +0000

Highly flexible solution easily allows for adaption as building needs
change
Miami, March 6, 2013 – The new Trane TVR™ II (Trane Variable Refrigerant) air conditioning system enables designers, installers and owners to improve energy efficiency, indoor air quality and indoor comfort when seeking integrated solutions.
Engineers from Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort solutions and
services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, developed this solution in response to customer requests for integrated and flexible heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) solutions. The TVR II was launched in fourth quarter 2012 throughout Latin America.
The TVR II achieves even higher levels of energy efficiency than its predecessor, the
TVR, and also provides new fresh air solutions and advanced controllers that allow integration to a building management system like Tracer™ SC.
“Trane is in a unique position to offer an overall integrated solution, taking advantage of an efficient and flexible solution like TVR II as well as our fresh air options and a building management system like Tracer™ SC,” said Leandro Tolosa-Zenklusen, associate product manager for ductless systems for Trane.
Like its predecessor, TVR II can be applied as the main HVAC system in a building or
as a supplemental system that coordinates with an existing HVAC installation to meet different application requirements.
This solution is ideal for applications with multiple rooms where individual control is critical, such as office buildings, healthcare facilities, high-end residences, schools, apartment/condominium buildings, hospitality and retail. The highly flexible TVR II can be easily customized to specific needs. This system
offers a wide range of heat pump and heat recovery units that can be matched with 10 different styles of indoor units to meet several different requirements.

Trane ® Celebrates a Century of Customer-Driven Innovation at 2013 AHR Expo

kacie — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:49:58 +0000

Company defines the HVAC industry with 100 years of performance, innovation, commitment and knowledge

Dallas, Jan. 28, 2013 – Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort solutions and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, celebrates 100 years of customer-driven innovation at the 2013 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration (AHR) Exposition, held in Dallas, Jan. 28-30.

The company will showcase innovative new products, systems and services; informative on-site demonstrations, technology-based presentations and special anniversary activities at the Trane booth 2005 at the AHR Expo.

“For 100 years, Trane has defined the industry by providing heating and air conditioning solutions to help people live, work and play in comfortable environments,” said Dave Regnery, president of Trane North America. “As we move into our second century, we are excited to play a leadership role in energy efficiency as we drive the advancement of energy management services and energy conservation. Trane will continue to improve lives by uncovering groundbreaking, efficient ways to improve buildings.”

Trane was founded as a family business in 1913 by James Trane and his son, Reuben. Milestone inventions included the convector radiator in 1925 and the pioneering Turbovac in 1939. Today, Trane has grown to become a global leader recognized worldwide as an innovator in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry.

Trane will celebrate anniversaries of the following industry-changing innovations in 2013:

The 75th anniversary of the Trane Centrifugal chiller – the world’s most reliable, most efficient and quietest chiller
The 40th anniversary of Trane Trace™ energy analysis software which compares the energy and economic impact of various energy conservation measures
The 35th anniversary of Trane Tracer™ building controls which are available to suit virtually any application for a variety of building types and for both single and multiple building configurations

For more information on Trane historical achievements, visit

http://www.trane.com/Commercial/100years/.

New Trane Innovations Showcased at AHR Expo

Trane will highlight seven innovative, customer-driven new solutions at the show that benefit healthcare, education, hospitality, retail, commercial, industrial and data center markets to create comfortable, efficient and productive environments.

Trane® Advantage VRF™ Variable Refrigerant systems ─ Trane Advantage VRF variable refrigerant systems — featuring variable-speed compressor technology — offer individualized solutions for improved temperature control and occupant comfort in an energy-efficient package that reduces operating expenses. Variable-speed compressor technology closely matches energy use to the demands of the building, heating and cooling only the areas that require it.

Intelligent Variable Air systems ─ Trane® Intelligent Variable Air systems are new, efficient systems for a building’s HVAC needs, saving energy, installation costs and time. With new design strategies and optimized controls, this system can deliver 20 to 30 percent better energy efficiency than a traditional variable air volume (VAV) system. Customers can easily monitor efficiency with user-friendly dashboards that help to maintain peak performance for the life of the system.

IntelliPak™ I Unitary Rooftop Systems ─The latest Trane® IntelliPak I unitary rooftop systems, (20-130 tons), optimize energy efficiency and performance to deliver maximum customer value. The new Direct-Drive Plenum fan provides static efficiency improvements of 15-20 percent vs. traditional fan technologies. When coupled with higher efficiency refrigeration system components and system control strategies, building energy savings of up to 22 percent can be achieved. Fullload energy-efficiency ratios (EERs) range from 10 to as high as 14.2, with partial-load integrated energy-efficiency ratios (IEERS) which can exceed minimum industry requirements by 20-50 percent.

Trane® Series S™ CenTraVac™ Chiller ─ The new Series S CenTraVac chiller featuring AdaptiSpeed™ technology delivers best in class efficiency, industry leading reliability and the lowest cost of ownership. Designed with replacement and retrofit applications in mind, the chiller offers a smaller footprint for easy access and installation and features several technological innovations for superior performance.

Variable-Speed Water-Source Heat Pump ─ Trane® Axiom™ variable-speed water-source heat pumps include vertical configurations as well as the newly released horizontal units – the industry’s first horizontal water-source heat pumps for commercial applications. Trane variablespeed water-source heat pumps, which are among the industry’s most efficient, are the only commercial units in the industry capable of full integration with building automation systems.

Trane® Wireless Comm ─Trane Wireless Comm offers adherence to ZigBee® Building Automation Systems (BAS), the global standard for interoperable products, enabling secure and reliable wireless monitoring and control over commercial building systems. Trane Wireless Comm is the industry’s first to run BACnet® protocol on top of ZigBee BAS and to be ZigBee® Certified. Trane Wireless Comm provides double the signal range of other typical systems and maximized signal strength than other wireless building automation communication systems. This means increased reliability, simplified systems design and minimized use of repeaters.

Trane® High-Efficiency Terminal Devices ─ Trane® high-efficiency terminal devices offer flexible configurations, maximizing energy efficiency and lowering operating costs. Trane terminal devices with electrically commutated motors and single-zone VAV capability deliver reduced maintenance costs, greater efficiency, and improved acoustics, comfort and indoor air quality.

Best in Class Solutions Featured at AHR Expo

Trane will also feature the following solutions at the AHR Expo: Tracer building controls, Trane HVAC parts and supplies stores, EarthWise™ chilled water systems, Performance Climate Changer™ air handling systems, Terminal unit systems, Light commercial rooftop systems, and Trane Building Services including Rental Services

New Product & Technology Theater Presentation

Attendees can learn more about the new Series S CenTraVac™ chiller during a 15-minute New Product & Technology Theater presentation, Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 12:45 p.m., in theater B in the registration lobby on level one.

In-booth Presentations

Trane leaders will offer short technology-based sessions on Variable Speed, Wireless Comm and Systems within the booth throughout the show. Presentation schedule: http://trane.com/AHR-2013/.

Anniversary Celebration Each Day of the Show

Attendees are invited to visit the Trane booth to enjoy a free birthday cupcake on Monday, Jan. 28 and Tuesday, Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. and Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 11:30 a.m.

For more information, visit: http://www.trane.com/ahr-2013/.

Going green pays off for business park

kacie — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:50:14 +0000

Vancouver’s Park Plaza receives $136,000 rebate on HVAC system upgrades thanks to Clark Public Utilities program

November 12, 2012
Photo by Steven Lane

Park Plaza asset manager Monique Still, right, and building maintenance manager Scott Vale, worked together to earn a $135,760 rebate for a $193,000 project to upgrade the business park’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning. the result is improved energy efficiency.

By Cami Joner
Columbian Staff Reporter

Monday, November 12, 2012

Going green has earned Vancouver’s Park Plaza Business Park more green, in the form of a $135,760 rebate.

Clark Public Utilities issued the refund for the business park’s new energy-efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The money not only covered 70 percent of the $193,000 system’s cost, but the project delivered a few other payoffs as well, according to landlords of the six-building office park off Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard. The 17-year-old complex now uses 30 percent less energy with an HVAC system that entices new tenants and helps persuade existing companies to stick around longer.

Park Plaza now maintains a high rate of occupancy in an otherwise soft leasing market, said Monique Still, asset manager for E.P. Properties, which owns the business park.

“We are at 82 percent (occupancy) right now, and not getting even a quarter of the heating and cooling complaints we used to get,” Still said.

Installed by Trane, the new system replaced an outdated relic that gobbled up energy at every change in outdoor air temperature, said Scott Vale, Park Plaza’s maintenance manager.

That’s no longer a problem because the new system’s software calculates the amount of time it will take to heat up or cool down the buildings, and then runs accordingly.

“It will see when it needs to start up,” Vale said. “It doesn’t take as long to get to 71 degrees.”

The new system heats and cools 350,000 square feet of office space at a savings of nearly 1.4 million kilowatt-hours annually.

“That’s enough to power at least 98 houses for one year,” said Debbie DePetris, a Clark Public Utilities key accounts manager who worked with managers of Park Plaza to administer the rebate.

The utility refunds large-scale energy savings because it’s more cost effective than buying a new source of power, DePetris said. The rebate is part of the utility’s custom commercial projects program, which, after recent changes, currently refunds no more than 50 percent of the project cost, depending on the energy savings.

“Each project is scrutinized by multiple parties” before the work begins, she said.

E.P. Properties’ contractor performed the initial analysis on Park Plaza’s system, which was then reviewed by Clark Public Utilities’ commercial and industrial program manager. The project was then forwarded to officials at the Bonneville Power Administration for review and approval.

“Their engineers make sure it’s realistic,” DePetris said. “Any business that’s a Clark Public Utility customer is eligible as long as their project has verifiable electric energy savings.”

Other building repairs that are eligible for business conservation programs are lighting and security systems. Both are on the “to do” list at Park Plaza, Still said. The refund, which came several months after the project was completed, has helped keep costs down for the business park’s office tenants.

“We did this, of course, because we want to save them money and energy. Those costs often get passed on to tenants,” she said. “This way our tenants don’t have to absorb it.”

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Mandatory Commissioning For All Buildings Proposed For Green Building Standard

kacie — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 15:09:09 +0000

Oct 25, 2012

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Commissioning for all buildings designed and built under a green building standard from ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) would become mandatory under a new proposal open for public input.

ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2011, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, provides a design standard for those who strive for high performance buildings. It covers key topical areas of site sustainability, water-use efficiency, energy ef¬ficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.

Proposed addendum p would remove the “Acceptance Testing” provision (Section 10.3.1.1Building Acceptance Testing) for small buildings. The proposed addendum is open for public review from Oct. 19-Nov. 18, 2012. To comment on the proposed changes or for more information, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.

Currently the standard implies that when a building area is less than 5,000 square feet it is considered to have simple building systems, and thus requires a reduced level of commissioning effort, referred to as Acceptance Testing, according to Jeff Ross-Bain, a member of the Standard 189.1 committee. However, building area does not relate to complexity as many buildings less than 5,000 square feet can be complex.

Under the proposed addendum, building commissioning per Section 10.3.1.2 becomes mandatory for all buildings that are designed and built under the requirements of the standard.

“Commissioning is a robust and well supported discipline with established guidelines (ASHRAE and others), a long history of use and with many practitioners,” he said. “The commissioning process is one that adapts to the specific attributes of a given building. A ‘simple’ building would only require ‘simple’ commissioning regardless of size.”

Ross-Bain noted that “Acceptance Testing” is not a universally defined activity nor does there appear to be specific instructions or guidelines within the industry detailing how this activity is formally completed. Also, a review of the mandatory requirements of Standard 189.1 could be interpreted as producing a relatively complex building (i.e. consumption measurement, on-site renewable energy, daylighting control, outdoor air delivery monitoring, economizers, condensate recovery, etc.), which requires a higher degree of commissioning activity.

Finally, under the current “Acceptance Testing” section, Standard 189.1 would not meet the minimum commissioning prerequisite of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which requires all buildings to undergo the commissioning process.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.

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Additional Compliance Path Proposed For ASHRAE/IES Energy Standard

kacie — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 15:10:10 +0000

Oct 19, 2012

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.orgATLANTA – A proposed optional third path for compliance with the ASHRAE/IES energy standard would provide more flexibility for the industry.Addendum bm to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES (Illuminating Engineering Society) Standard 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is currently open for public review from Oct. 12 until Nov. 26, 2012. For more information, visitwww.ashrae.org/publicreviews.

The proposed addendum would add a compliance path to Standard 90.1 to allow modeling in accordance with Appendix G (Performance Rating Method), provided the percentage improvement of at least 45 percent over a baseline design. In addition, this addendum proposes to make the baseline consistent with the prescriptive requirements of 90.1-2004, and it will remain that way in future versions of the standard.

The current paths in the standard – the Energy Cost Budget method and the Performance Rating Method – can lead to different modeling protocols for different functions, according to Michael Rosenberg, a member of the Standard 90.1 committee. All require slightly different rules, and a single project could require two or more different baselines.

“By allowing an additional compliance option, the standard provides more credit for integrated design resulting in energy savings such as efficient use of building mass, optimized building orientation, efficient HVAC&R system selection and right sizing of HVAC&R equipment,” Rosenberg said.

The baseline could stay the same for beyond code programs as well such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating program, ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, and the federal tax incentive programs. Each simply chooses their own “% better than” target, according to Rosenberg.

“In addition, the performance path will no longer lag behind the prescriptive path as in the past it was not possible to incorporate prescriptive changes that occurred near publication date into the performance path ,” he said. “It also allows for a deliberate and consistent trend for energy reduction in each version of the standard, instead of just following the prescriptive path.

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Groundbreaking Information For Data Center Energy Efficiency Guidance

kacie — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:11:32 +0000

Oct 2, 2012

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ASHRAE Releases Third Edition of Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments

ATLANTA – Four new data center classes that can enable fulltime economizers for a number of applications in many climates are contained in the latest edition of the principal book in the ASHRAE Datacom Series of publications.

Since its first edition in 2004, ASHRAE’s Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, published by ASHRAE’s Technical Committee (TC) 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment, has become the de-facto reference material for unbiased and vendor-neutral information on the design and operational parameters for the entire datacom (data centers and telecommunications) industry.

Based on the latest information from major IT equipment manufacturers, which are an integral part of the committee, it has never been easier to obtain the most meaningful data to guide data center designers and operations staff to design and run their facilities in the most energy efficient manner possible, including how to operate in a completely “chilllerless” environment. Further, the guidance enables a more energy efficient operation without compromising the reliability or “mission” of the data center.

“This third edition creates more opportunities to reduce energy and water consumption but it is important to provide this information in a manner that empowers the ultimate decision makers with regards to their overall strategy and approach,” Don Beaty, chair of the Publications Subcommittee of TC 9.9, said. “The idea is to provide objective data, methodology and guidance, but at the same time, respect the right of the data center designers, owners and operators to optimize the operating environment of their data center based on the criteria most important to their business needs.”

Highlights in this third edition include new air and liquid equipment classes and expanded thermal envelopes for facilities that are willing to explore the tradeoffs associated with the additional energy saving of the cooling system through increased economizer usage and what that means in terms of the impact to IT equipment attributes such as reliability, internal energy, cost, performance, contamination, etc.

“The most valuable update to this edition is the inclusion of IT equipment failure rate estimates based on inlet air temperature,” Beaty said. “These server failure rates are the result of the major IT original equipment manufacturers (OEM) evaluating field data, such as warranty returns, as well as component reliability data. This data will allow data center operators to weigh the potential reliability consequences of operating in various environmental conditions vs. the cost and energy consequences.”

The book is part of the ASHRAE Datacom Series, developed to provide a more comprehensive treatment of datacom cooling and related subjects. Other books in the series are Green Tips for Data Centers, Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments, High Density Data Centers – Case Studies and Best Practices, Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers, Best Practices for Datacom Facility Energy Efficiency, Datacom Power Trends and Cooling Applications, Real-Time Energy Consumption Measurements in Data Centers, Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers and Structural and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers.

The cost of Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, Third Edition, is $54 ($46, ASHRAE members). To order, contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide), fax 404-321-5478, or visitwww.ashrae.org/bookstore.

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TraneOregon hires Martindale, Vanderford

kacie — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:16:53 +0000

POSTED: Friday, August 10, 2012 at 01:08 PM PT
BY: Joel Slaughter

TraneOregon recently added two people to its staff.

Sam Martindale was hired as an operations team lead for the building automation systems division. He will be responsible for administration, implementation and management of all processes related to design and delivery. He also will support overall strategic objectives. He previously served Control Contractors for 16 years as a construction manager, branch manager and operations manager. Before that, he spent 19 years with Honeywell in a variety of capacities.

John Vanderford was hired as a sales leader for the building automation systems division. He will oversee development of long-term customer relationships with building owners, contractors, consultants, engineers and architects in Oregon and Southwest Washington. His career in building automation systems spans approximately 25 years. Most recently he was a principal at Smart Buildings Inc.

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Trane Unitary Rooftop System Exceeds Industry Standard for Energy Efficiency

kacie — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 14:40:45 +0000

- IntelliPak™ I systems deliver energy efficiency ratings of 11 and best installed value -

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn., July 19, 2012 — Trane, a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and services and a brand of Ingersoll Rand, is introducing the next generation of IntelliPak™ I unitary rooftop systems in configurations from 20 tons to 130 tons. The redesigned IntelliPak I systems are the most energy and operationally efficient units available on the market today, delivering the best installed value of any unitary rooftop system. The new IntelliPak I is a packaged rooftop unit that has energy efficiency ratings (EER) of 11 — the highest industry rating on standard configured products. Some IntelliPak I configurations exceed the EER of 11 and achieve as high as 14.2.

The new Trane systems feature eDrive™, a direct-drive plenum fan technology that is up to 20 percent more efficient than traditional forward-curved fans. The belt-free design prevents particles from building up in the filter which cuts operating costs and maintenance demands. The system’s eDrive™ technology is quiet, improving acoustics in critical environments. “Trane is the clear leader in the packaged rooftop business, with some of the most efficient, best-manufactured equipment on the market,” said Jon Gundersen, president of United Mechanical. “Combined with their commitment to single-source responsibility, Trane provides the lowest lifecycle cost of any heating, ventilation and air conditioning manufacturer we’ve worked with.”

The new packaged rooftop systems are equipped with fully-integrated, factory-installed system controls for easy setup. Each unit features a state-of the-art direct digital unit control module that is pre-configured and provides accurate and reliable performance right away. An optional human interface panel also provides superior monitoring capability and better diagnostics, reducing troubleshooting time and lowering service costs.

“The new IntelliPak I systems leverage the best technology available today to provide customers with all the benefits of a truly integrated rooftop HVAC system and set a new industry benchmark for both installation and operation,” said Matt Muhlada, product manager for large rooftops for Trane. “IntelliPak I systems deliver significant cost advantages and efficient operation. As a turnkey system, it offers simplified setup through intuitive, easy-to-use controls. Plus, it fits on existing curbs and lowers labor costs during installation.” The new IntelliPak I is suited for a broad range of applications including large office buildings, restaurants, retail centers, industrial facilities and institutional buildings used for healthcare and education.

IntelliPak I units are built in accordance with Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) guidelines, with all eligible systems receiving certification. Certified IntelliPak I units meet AHRI testing standards on a system level — unlike many competitive products that contain only certified components.

To learn more about the IntelliPak I systems or the complete offering of unitary systems, visit www.trane.com/ipak1.

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