Page 36 - College Planning & Management, April 2017

THE BOILER ROOM IS THE CLASSROOM
then pull the data from the network into cloud architecture. Ex- pected savings from the plant’s optimization are 17.2 million kWh and 31.5 million pounds of CO2.
Newer plants have teaching potential as well. The University of Maryland’s Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR) shows how a five-year-old plant with inflexible climate re- quirements can run more efficiently with the right strategy and tech-
nology. James Johnson, the university’s director of facilities and lab services, converted IBBR to an all-variable flow plant and then added an optimization and control layer. From the variable speed drives and sensors installed on chillers, pumps, valves and tower fans,
the software collects a tremendous amount of data about the plant equipment, including water flow, electrical power consumption, load conditions and more. It compares the data to control algorithms, as- sesses plant conditions in real time, and then automatically changes pump and fan speeds using chilled water temperature, equipment staging and other operational changes to maximize efficiency. The plant now runs 27 to 37 percent more efficiently.
Real-World Experience for Future Engineers
Now is the perfect time for colleges and universities to turn their HVAC plants into living labs. Recent technology advances enable a real leap forward in efficiency, and many aging cam-
pus systems are overdue for replacement or upgrade. As energy optimization pioneer Tom Hartman observed last year in a blog post after the International District Energy Association Cam-
pus Energy Summit, campus planners have put off dealing with outdated steam distribution systems for decades, and they are now realizing it doesn’t make sense to keep sinking money into shoring up obsolete technology. Replacement systems will incorporate efficient processes like thermal transfer (the use of heat rejected from chilled water production to produce hot water) and thermal storage. They’ll also use an optimization platform as a central nervous system that continuously monitors the system and adjusts equipment operations to keep it performing efficiently over time.
Students will want to look inside all those elements. I’ve seen firsthand that students crave a hands-on experience with the latest technologies. At the Institute for Sustainability and Engineer-
ing at Northwestern University, my alma mater, I’m teaching an entrepreneurship class with two other clean-tech executives. It’s clear that students need to understand real-world applications and how to commercialize solutions. Part of our mission is to educate and innovate, and universities are where technology innovation happens. We will gladly have engineers work with students on-site at our installations.
Schools that view their HVAC plants as part of the educational experience can engage their students with the next generation of building technology in a way that gives them the insights needed to develop ever simpler, more powerful and more cost-effective building systems. What’s a bigger ROI than that? CPM
Bert Valdman is president and CEO of Optimum Energy, a Seattle-based software and engineering firm that optimizes
HVAC systems. He was senior vice president of strategy at Edison International and chief operating officer of Puget Sound Energy. Contact him at bert.valdman@optimumenergyco.com. Follow his company on Twitter @TrueOptimize.
SLAM DUNK
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36 COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT / APRIL 2017
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