This presentation was made in partner with the Massachusetts General Hospital at the American Society of Healthcare Engineering conference in San Francisco.

1. Achieving High Performance
Operation With Energy Alarms
PRESENTERS:
Mike Eardley, Director of Commissioning
Cannon Design
Christopher Longchamps, Senior Facilities Engineer
Partners Healthcare System, Inc

2. Agenda
• Define a High Performance Building
• Demonstrate how Commissioning (Cx) is a critical element
• Define new building Cx, Retro-Cx, and Ongoing Cx
• Ongoing Cx program at Massachusetts General Hospital
• Partners Healthcare System – Strategic Energy Master Plan

3. High Performance Buildings
Characteristics
• Functionality
• Energy Efficiency
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Comfort
• Sustainability
(ability to perform its function
in a long term)

4. Building Systems Commissioning
• Buildings function as intended
• Realize high performance

5. Commissioning Definition
• Commissioning (Cx) is a comprehensive and systematic
process to verify and document that new or renovated
facility systems function completely as designed to meet the
owner’s requirements
• A type of quality assurance to the systems being
commissioned
• Applied to building systems (e.g. HVAC)
• Core element of sustainable buildings, along with energy
modeling and measurement & verification

6. Without Commissioning
• Placement and calibration of Sensors
• Simultaneous Heating and Cooling
• Incorrect function of air-side Economizer and
other efficiency measures
• Operating Schedule is not what is necessary,
or assumed by energy model
• Cycling daylighting and other systems

7. Reference Standards
• ASHE
Health Facility Commissioning Guidelines
ashe.org
• ASHRAE Guideline 0
The Commissioning Process
ashrae.org
• Building Commissioning Association
Essential Attributes of Building Commissioning
bcxa.org

8. Why Commissioning?
green cooling tower shutoff valve impeded
blocked daylight sensor moisture penetration

9. Purpose of Functional Testing
• Verification of an operational system
• Reduces adjustment and tuning during occupancy
• Impacts
 energy
 comfort
 maintenance
 functionality

10. Types of Functional Testing
• Building Automation System
• False load
• Seasonal testing
• Trend analysis

11. Energy Impacts
• Large effort in sustainable and energy efficient design
• Will not be realized if design or intended use is:
 misunderstood
 ignored
• Or if building systems are:
 operating incorrectly
 not thoroughly tested

12. Common Problems – Air-side Economizer
• Damper is stuck / broken / non-functional
• Control algorithms fighting
 heating during economizer
 mechanical cooling when free
cooling available
• Outside sensor calibration or location

13. Building Envelope Commissioning
• Not often considered in basic scope
• Affects Air infiltration, IAQ, air/water
leaks, building systems performance
• Involves many building components,
suppliers & subcontractors
• Coordination meetings; sketches or
drawings; wall systems, roof, trade
penetrations
• Checklist & Inspections

14. Building Envelope
Thermal
Bridging
Moisture
Penetration
Window Water Testing

15. Functional Test – Alarms and Safeties
• Varying levels of rigor
 verify software interactions
 verify hardware interactions
 verify actual conditions
e.g. cold, smoke
• Pull the plug
 simulate actual loss of
power
 does transfer and restart act
as intended?

16. New and Existing Buildings
• Commissioning: Process applied to new construction or
major building renovation
• Re-commissioning: Facility has previously been
commissioned and is in need of a “tune-up”
• Retro-commissioning: Performed on facilities that have been
in service and never commissioned
• Ongoing commissioning: Ongoing program of structured
commissioning throughout the lifetime of a building

17. Retro-Commissioning
• Review of original design
• Targeted functional testing
• Identification of energy measures
• Evaluation of measures
• Energy modeling
• Implementation
• Verification and Persistence

18. Trending
• Functional testing before occupancy is a snapshot
• Trending shows operation over time
• Methods of trending
 building automation system
 portable data loggers
• Analyze trends
 spreadsheet calculations
 software tools

19. Ongoing Commissioning
• Good
 Cx process with
functional testing
• Better
 Re-Cx program
• Best
 Ongoing Cx
• Combination of software,
engineering support, action

20. PHS Strategic Energy
Master Plan Objective
In 2008, PHS Utilities and Engineering Department was charged
to develop a Strategic Energy Master Plan to Address the
Hospital ever-growing demand for energy and the volatile nature
of the Energy market and concerns regarding global warming
and long term sustainability of resource consumption and its
impact on the delivery of critical health care services

21. PHS Strategic Energy
Master Plan Goals

22. MGH Actual Energy Consumption Vs Projection
From PHS Strategic Energy Master Plan Study
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
Total Energy Consumption (Do nothing) MMBTU based on
1,000,000 SEMP 2008 study, including Lunder building
Notes:
Actual Total Energy Consumption MMBTU After SEMP up to
2012 including Lunder building from invoices
1.Lunder Building came on line on May 2011
but not fully occupied until late fall
Projected Actual Total Energy ConsumptionMMBTU with
500,000 MGH SEMP Projected savings from 2012 to 2026
2.Based on escalation of 1.5% load growth
Total Projected Energy Consumption MMBTU with Projected
savings from SEMP including Lunder building
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026

23. MGH SEMP Actual Total Energy Reduction Compared
To 2008 PHS SEMP Energy Reduction Goal
500,000
450,000
400,000
350,000
MMBTU
300,000
250,000 MGH SEMP Primary Goal, 25% energy reduction
from 2008 based line 1,509,875MMbtu
200,000 MGH actual energy reduction compare to Primary
goal
150,000
MGH Projected Energy Reduction Compare to
Primary Goal
100,000
50,000
0
200
200
201
201
201
201
201
201
8
9
0
1
2
3
4
5

24. SEMP Impact On Utilities Cost Per Sq.Ft.
MGH Cost per Sq. Ft.
$14
FY 2008 ($/sq ft)
FY 2012 ($/sq ft) $12.36
$12
$11.04
$10 $9.02
$8
$7.67
$6.90
$ / sq ft
$6.56 $6.83
$6.08
$6 $5.38
$4.97
$4.43
$3.90
$4
$2
$0
MGH Combined MGH Main CNY Simches Yawkey Cox
including Campus 149, 114, 75
CNY, Simches
(6,371,307 ft²) (5,071,825 ft²) (945,947 ft²) (353,535 ft²) (446,960 ft²) (119,808 ft²)

25. SEMP Impact On Utilities Consumption Per Sq.Ft.
600
MGH kBtu per Sq. Ft. FY 2008 (kBtu/sq ft)
FY 2012 (kBtu/sq ft)
500 487
LABS 21
400 376 383
Benchmark DOE 2.1
Hospital
kBtu/sq. ft.
Benchmark 294
300
262 251 252
217 201 217 210
200
142
100
0
MGH Combined MGH Main CNY Simches Yawkey Cox
including Campus 149, 114, 75
CNY, Simches
(6,371,307 ft²) (5,071,825 ft²) (945,947 ft²) (353,535 ft²) (446,960 ft²) (119,808 ft²)

26. ECMS That Have Major Savings On Outpatient,
Research and Outpatient/Research/Office Facility
• Building Occupied / Unoccupied schedule setback
• Reduce minimum CFM set point
• Schedule Room Thermostat with Dead Band
• Fume Hoods modification
• Lighting retrofits
• Chillers Plant optimization
• Steam Traps
• Steam Condensate Heat recovery
• Low temperature Run-Around Heat Recovery
• Reset Pump DP set point
• Reset AHU Supply and Return Fans S.P. set point

27. Lesson Learned
• The Energy conservation measures such as Set point or Schedule
setback can be unintentional altered by mechanic
• The Energy Alarms system need to be developed to monitor the
MEP system for equipment failures and/or operating out of range
• Energy Alarms can be part of an MEP Maintenance Program
• A continuous measurement & verification program needs to be
established to ensure the savings are continued

28. Massachusetts General Hospital
• Researched ongoing Cx
products in the market
• Some required installation
of new equipment
• All were costly
• Concern about level of
detail in the delivered
product
• Settled on
customized, built up
approach

29. Massachusetts General Hospital
• Reviewed Design
• Developed rules based
logic to identify
inefficient operation
• Worked with campus
controls provider to
implement

30. What Do Energy Alarms Look At?
• VAV Airflow
• VAV Heating Coil
• VAV Occupancy Hours
• HW HX Valve Leaking
• AHU Preheat Valve Leaking
• AHU CHW Valve Leaking
• AHU Simultaneous Heating & Cooling
• CHW Low Delta T
• CHW Economizer w/ Chiller(s) Running
• AHU Should be in Economizer; Excessive CHW Use
• AHU Should Not be in Economizer; Excessive outside air
• More than 79 different types of Energy Alarm are monitored

31. Energy Alarms Alarm Window

32. Example of an Air Flow Alarm
• Checks box’s damper operation
• Very effective in locating broken damper actuators
• Trigger: Box air flow is not meeting setpoint
Logic:
• |CFM – CFMSpt| > 0.15 x MaxCFMSpt
[Delay = 1 hr]
• CFM = Actual CFM
• CFMSpt = CFM Setpoint
• MaxCFMSpt = Maximum CFM Setpoint of box

33. What is One Air Flow Alarm Worth?
Schedule: Occupied:
5:00AM – 6:30PM Mon-Fri (Extra CFM) x (hrs of CFM per week /Total hrs in a week)x($6/cfm)
Occ hrs/wk = 67.5 hr (711 cfm – 145 cfm) x (67.5 hr/168 hr) x $4/cfm yr = $ 909 /yr
Unocc hrs/wk = 100.5 hr
Unoccupied:
711 cfm x (100.5 hr/168 hr) x $4/cfm yr = $ 1,701 /yr
Total Estimated Annual Savings= $ 2,610

34. Example of a Heating Coil Alarm
• Checks that the box’s heating valve is closing completely
• Trigger: An unexpected temperature difference across the
heating coil
Logic:
• HWV% < 1% & |SAT – DAT| > 10 & CFMSpt > 0
[Delay = 2 hr]
• HWV% = Hot Water Valve Position
[0%=Closed, 100%=Open]
• SAT = Supply Air Temp [Supply Air from AHU to the Box]
• DAT = Discharge Air Temp
• CFMSpt = CFM Setpoint

35. What is One Heating Coil Alarm Worth?
Schedule: Air Side
5:00AM-6:30PM Mon-Fri (325 cfm – 216 cfm) x (3,534 hr / 8,760 hr)
Occ hrs / yr = 3534 hr = 44 cfm/yr
44 cfm/yr x $4 /cfm = $264/yr
Total Estimated Annual Savings = $176

36. How Does An Occupancy Alarm Work?
• Checks if box switches to unoccupied mode
• Trigger: Box remaining in occupied mode for a
long period of time
Logic:
• Occ > 20 hrs in a 24 hr Period
[Delay = 15 min]
• Occ = Number of hours since midnight that the
box has been occupied

37. Example Of An Occupancy Override
Yawkey Floor 9 Found Overridden ON
Cancer Center Psychiatric Oncology Area
Normal Occupancy Schedule:
5:00AM-6:30PM Mon-Fri
Unoccupied hrs/week: 100.5 hr/wk
Total Minimum CFM: 8,063 CFM
Assuming $ 4/CFM yr
8,063 cfm x (100.5hr/168hr) x $4 /cfm year
Annual Savings: $ 19,294

38. How Does The Process Work?
• Alarms are reviewed on a daily basis
• Once validated there is a work order issued for the repair
• Work directly with maintenance staff on difficult problems
• Work order completed and issue closed

39. How Many Energy Alarms Are There?
More than 400 validated work orders
have been addressed since summer
of 2010 and $600,000 were realized.

40. Questions / Discussion
Achieving High Performance
Operation With Energy Alarms
PRESENTERS:
Christopher Longchamps, Partners Healthcare System
clongchamps@partners.org
Mike Eardley, Cannon Design
meardley@cannondesign.com
@MikeEardley